Of the nearly 4000 portraits now known from Palmyra, thanks to the work of the Palmyra Portrait Project, twenty-six portraits can be distinguished, representing a small but important group, all sharing one trait: They depict men with Roman type swords. The type of swords, clothes, and other attributes separate them from the men with military equipment shown in connection to caravan or trade scenes, and make certain their association with the Roman army.

The loculus reliefs in the corpus representing men with Roman-style swords in their hands are closely examined in a new publication by Olympia Bobou and Rubina Raja in Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie. With a full catalogue of the 26 loculus reliefs in question, the new publication sheds a brilliant light on yet another facet of Palmyrene sculpture, offering a new insight into the complexity of the ancient city. 

Bobou, O. & Raja, R. (2023). “You’re in the Army Now: Funerary Representations of Military Personnel in Palmyra”, Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 15, 186-228.