The Palmyra Tariff is an ancient bilingual Greek and Palmyrene inscription discovered in Palmyra, Syria. Dating to the 2nd century CE, the inscription provides valuable insights into the economic and political structure of the city and the wider Roman Empire. It is the longest lapidary Canaanite or Aramaic inscription ever found.
It was discovered in 1881 by Semyon Abamelek-Lazarev, and in 1901 was gifted by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to Tsar Nicholas II and is now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
Historian John Matthews described the limestone tariff as "one of the most important single items of evidence for the economic life of any part of the Roman Empire".
The inscription is known as PAT 0259, CIS II 3913, NSI 147 and TSSI IV 37.
Economic Regulation The primary focus of the Palmyra Tariff Inscription is to outline the tariffs and duties imposed on a range of goods and commodities passing through Palmyra. These tariff rates were established to regulate trade and generate essential revenue for the city. The detailed information on specific tariffs offers a comprehensive view of the economic activities that contributed to Palmyra's prosperity.
The inscription also enumerates the names of officials responsible for overseeing trade matters. This provides valuable insights into the administrative structure of Palmyra during the period.
Layout i ii iii iv Greek Heading (Greek ii 1–2) ? Aramaic Heading (Aramaic ii 1) Main Greek Text (Greek i 1–13) Aramaic ii c 100–148 Aramaic ii b 51–99 Aramaic ii a 2–50 Greek iii a 1–47 Greek iii b 48–93 Greek iii c 49–140 Greek iv a 141–97 Greek iv b 198–237 Main Aramaic Text (Aramaic i 1–11) Greek i 14–15 inserted in Aramaic after line 11; Aramaic i 12–13 follow Aramaic ii 149
Bibliography
Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé, 1883 Inscriptions Palmyréniennes Inédites, Journal Asiatique 1, 231–245; and Inscriptions Palmyréniennes Inédites, Journal Asiatique 2, 149–183 Duval, R., "Communication sur la loi fiscale de Palmyre." JA 8/2 (1883): 537–39 Cagnat, R., "Remarques sur un tarif récemment découvert à Palmyre." Revue de philologie 8 (1884): 135–44 Semyon Abamelek-Lazarev, (1884), Пальмира. Археологические исследования Dessau, H., "Die Steuertarif von Palmyra." Hermes 19 (1884): 486–533 Duval, R., "Le passif dans l'araméen biblique et la palmyrénien." REJ 8 (1884): 57–63 Reckendorf, S., "Der aramäische Teil des palmyrenschen Zoll-und Steuertarifs." ZDMG 42 (1888): 370–415 Chabot, J.-B., "Remarques sur le Tarif de Palmyre." JA (1918)
Teixidor J. (1983), Le Tarif de Palmyre: Un commentaire de la version palmyrenienne, Aula Orientalis 1, pp. 235–252
See also Bilingual inscriptions Marseille Tariff Carthage Tariff
References