Odaenathus#Relation with Rome

{{further|Portraits of Odaenathus}}

"Odaenathus" is the Latin transliteration of the king's name;{{#tag:ref|The Greek transliterations ({{langx|grc|Ὀδαίναθος}} {{transliteration|grc|Odaínathos}} or {{lang|grc|Ὠδέναθος}} {{transliteration|grc|Ōdénathos}}), and the Latin ones ({{langx|la|Odaenathus}}, {{lang|la|Odenathus}}, {{lang|la|Odinatus}} or {{lang|la|Ordinatus}}), are more or less corrupted transliterations of the Palmyrene and the Arabic respectively.{{sfn|Sommer|2018|p=167}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Sommer|2018|p=167}} he was born Septimius Odainat in {{circa|220}}.{{#tag:ref|The 220 date was proposed by the archaeologist Michael Gawlikowski, head of the Polish archaeological expedition in Palmyra; the archaeologist Ernest Will, however, maintained that the king was born c. 200.{{sfn|Hartmann|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aqvpBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA348 348]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Sommer|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wt5CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT252 146]}} His name is written in transliterated Palmyrene as {{transliteration|syc|Sptmyws ʾDynt}}.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}}{{sfn|al-As'ad|Yon|Fournet|2001|p=18}} "{{transliteration|syc|Sptmyws}}" (Septimius), which means "born in September",{{sfn|Petersen|1962|pp=347, 348, 351}} was Odaenathus' family gentilicium (Roman surname), adopted as an expression of loyalty to the Roman Severan dynasty and the emperor Septimius Severus who had granted the family Roman citizenship in the late second century.{{sfn|Shahîd|1995|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BEvEV9OVzacC&pg=PA296 296]}}{{sfn|Matyszak|Berry|2008|p=244}} {{transliteration|syc|ʾDynt}} (Odainat) is the Palmyrene diminutive for ear, related to {{transliteration|ar|Uḏaina}} in Arabic and {{transliteration|ar|'Ôden}} in Aramaic.{{sfn|Stark|1971|p=65}}{{sfn|al-As'ad|Yon|Fournet|2001|p=18}} Odaenathus' genealogy is known from a stone block in Palmyra with a sepulchral inscription that mentions the building of a tomb and records the genealogy of the builder: Odaenathus, son of Hairan, son of Wahb Allat, son of Nasor.{{sfn|Addison|1838|p= [https://archive.org/details/damascusandpalm01addigoog/page/n169 166]}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}} In Rabbinic sources, Odaenathus is named "Papa ben Nasor" (Papa son of Nasor);{{#tag:ref|According to the authors of the Genesis Rabbah (76,6), a verse from the Book of Daniel (7.8) refers to a certain ben Nasor, who was identified as Odaenthus by several modern historians and Talmudic scholars, including Heinrich Graetz, Marcus Jastrow and Saul Lieberman.{{sfn|Feldman|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YKOODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA431 431]}} The rabbi Solomon Funk considered ben Nasor a relative of Odaenathus, while the historian Jacob Neusner considered it possible that ben Nasor was either Odaenathus or a family member of his. According to the historian Lukas de Blois, Odaenathus is the strongest candidate; in Ketuboth (51B), ben Nasor is mentioned as king, and the only known king with the name "Nasor" mentioned in his genealogy is Odaenathus.{{sfn|de Blois|1975|p=13}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA42 42]}} the meaning of the name "Papa" and how Odaenathus earned it is unclear.{{#tag:ref|According to the historian Louis Feldman, Papa is likely a Latin translation of the Semitic Abba (father).{{sfn|Feldman|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YKOODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA431 431]}} Papa was a proper name used in Hatra, and several Jewish Amoraim bore the names "Pappa" (Ppʿ) or "Pappus" (Ppws), from the root ppy or pph, which means "talk in a proud manner"; according to the historian Udo Hartmann, it is possible that the rabbis named Odaenathus Papa for his arrogance. It is also possible that since Odaenathus' grandfather was a son of Nasor, Papa is a Greek loanward related to πάππος ({{transliteration|grc|páppos}}), meaning grandfather.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA42 42]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA42 42]}}

File:Cult relief of the Gad (Fortune) of Dura, from the Temple of the Gadde.jpg at Dura-Europos depicting the god "Gad" of Dura (center), King Seleucus I Nicator (right) and Hairan son of Maliko son of Nasor, a possible relative of Odaenathus (left).{{sfn|Kropp|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=fsoipziOWpYC&pg=PA225 225]}}]]

The King appears to be of mixed Arab and Aramean descent:{{sfn|Powers|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=A7joBeDsajcC&pg=PA130 130]}} his name, the name of his father, Hairan, and that of his grandfather, Wahb-Allat, are Arabic;{{sfn|Stark|1971|pp=65, xx, 85}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA88 88]}} while Nasor, his great-grandfather, has an Aramaic name.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA195 195]}} Nasor might not have been the great-grandfather of Odaenathus, but a more distant ancestor;{{sfn|Gawlikowski|1985|p= 260}} the archaeologist Frank Edward Brown considered Nasor to be Odaenathus' great-great or great-great-great grandfather.{{sfn|Brown|1939|p= [https://books.google.com/books?hl=nl&id=fRYVAQAAIAAJ&dq 257]}} This has led some scholars, such as Lisbeth Soss Fried and Javier Teixidor, to consider the origin of the family to be Aramean.{{sfn|Fried|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=tQHQBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT113 95]}}{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA195 195]}} In practice, the citizenry of Palmyra were the result of Arab and Aramaean tribes merging into a unity with a corresponding consciousness; they thought and acted as Palmyrenes.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA88 88]}}{{sfn|Sommer|2018|p= 146}}

The fifth-century historian Zosimus asserted that Odaenathus descended from "illustrious forebears",{{#tag:ref|Odaenathus is mentioned as the "lowest of the kings" in the Book of Elijah,{{sfn|Riessler|1928|pp=[https://archive.org/details/AltjudischesSchrifttumAusserhalbDerBibel/page/n231 235], [https://archive.org/details/AltjudischesSchrifttumAusserhalbDerBibel/page/n1275 1279]}} which is a collection of texts dating to different periods, such as pieces from 1 Kings, an apocalyptic depiction of the Sassanid fights against Rome, and an Abrahamic apocalypse depicting Israel's exaltation and the pagan world's humiliation.{{sfn|Riessler|1928|p=[https://archive.org/details/AltjudischesSchrifttumAusserhalbDerBibel/page/n1275 1279]}} The sixth-century Byzantine historian Agathias mentioned Odaenathus as a man of low birth. The statement of Zosimus contradicts those low birth accounts. In the view of the historian Averil Cameron, the phrase used by Agathias, {{lang|grc|ἀφανὴς μὲν τὰ πρῶτα}} ({{transliteration|grc|aphanḗs men ta prṓta}}), is an antithesis to {{lang|grc|μεγίστην ἀράμενος δόξαν}} ({{transliteration|grc|megístēn arámenos dóxan}}), and Agathias used the same phrase to describe the first Sasanian king Ardashir I,{{sfn|Cameron|1969–1970|p=141}} who traced his descent to the Avestan and Achaemenid kings.{{sfn|Cameron|1969–1970|p=108}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA195 195]}} but the position of the family in Palmyra is debated; it was probably part of the wealthy mercantile class.{{sfn|Ball|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=73-JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 77]}} Alternatively, the family may have belonged to the tribal leadership which amassed a fortune as landowners and patrons of the Palmyrene caravans.{{#tag:ref|Palmyrene caravan patrons owned the land on which the caravan animals were raised, providing animals and guards for the merchants who led the caravans.{{sfn|Howard|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=6QPWXrCCzBIC&pg=PA159 159]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Powers|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=A7joBeDsajcC&pg=PA130 130]}} The historians Franz Altheim and Ruth Stiehl suggested that Odaenathus was part of a new elite of Bedouins driven from their home east of the Euphrates by the aggressive Sassanian dynasty after 220.{{sfn|Altheim|Stiehl|Knapowski|Köbert|1965|p= 256}}{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA77 77]}} However, it is certain that Odaenathus came from a family which had belonged to the upper class of the city for several generations;{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA89 89]}} in Dura-Europos, a relief dated to 159/158 (470 of the Seleucid era, SE) was commissioned by Hairan son of Maliko son of Nasor.{{#tag:ref|Each Seleucid year started in the late autumn of a Gregorian year; thus, a Seleucid year overlaps two Gregorian ones.{{sfn|Biers|1992|p= 13}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Kropp|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=fsoipziOWpYC&pg=PA225 225]}} This Hairan might have been the head of the Palmyrene trade colony in Dura-Europos and probably belonged to the same family as Odaenathus.{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA154 154]}}{{sfn|Drijvers|1980|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=69YUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} According to Brown, it is plausible, based on the occurrence of the name Nasor in both Dura-Europos and Palmyra (where it was a rare name), that Odaenathus and Hairan son of Maliko belonged to the same family.{{sfn|Brown|1939|p= [https://books.google.com/books?hl=nl&id=fRYVAQAAIAAJ&dq 257]}}

File:Odenaethus Glyptoteket.jpg museum]]

No definite images of Odaenathus have been discovered, hence, there is no information about his appearance; all sculptures identified as Odaenathus lack any inscriptions to confirm whom they represent.{{sfn|Wadeson|2014|pp=49, 54}} Two sculpted heads from Palmyra, one preserved in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum and the other in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, were identified by the archaeologist {{ill|Harald Ingholt|de}} as representing Odaenathus based on their monumentality and regal style.{{sfn|Wadeson|2014|p=54}} The academic consensus does not support Ingholt's view,{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA87 87]}}{{sfn|Balty|2002|pp=731, 732}} and the heads he ascribed to the king can be dated to the end of the second century.{{sfn|Equini Schneider|1992|p=128}} More likely, two marble heads, one depicting a man wearing a royal tiara, the crown of Palmyra, and the other depicting a man in a royal Hellenistic diadem, are depictions of the king.{{sfn|Kropp|Raja|2016|p=13}} In addition, a Palmyrene clay tessera, depicting a bearded man wearing a diadem, could be a portrait of the king.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|2016|p=131}}

Traditional scholarship, based on the sepulchral inscription from Odaenathus' tomb, believed the builder to be an ancestor of the king and he was given the designation "Odaenathus I".{{#tag:ref|This assumption was facilitated by a passage in the work of {{ill|Anonymus post Dionem|de}}, usually associated with the sixth-century historians Eustathius of Epiphania or Peter the Patrician,{{sfn|Cataudella|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=w-t5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA440 440]}} which speaks about a younger Odaenathus asking the Roman emperor to punish his official Rufinus for the latter's role in assassinating an elder Odaenathus.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= 314}} For information see Assassination of Odaenathus: Roman conspiracy.|group=note}}{{sfn|Sartre|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA512 512]}} The name of King Odaenathus' father is Hairan as attested in many inscriptions.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|1985|p=253}} In an inscription dated to 251, the name of the ras ("lord") of Palmyra, Hairan, son of Odaenathus, is written,{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 60]}} and he was thought to be the son of Odaenathus I.{{sfn|Sartre|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA512 512]}} Prior to the 1980s, the earliest known inscription attesting King Odaenathus was dated to 257, leading traditional scholarship to believe that Hairan, ras of Palmyra, was the father of the king and that Odaenathus I was his grandfather.{{#tag:ref|The archaeologist William Waddington considered King Odaenathus the son of ras Hairan while the historian Theodor Mommsen considered the latter an older brother of the king.{{sfn|Harrer|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=i4VLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Sartre|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA512 512]}}{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29]}} However, an inscription published in 1985 by the archaeologist Michael Gawlikowski and dated to 252 mentions King Odaenathus as a ras and records the same genealogy found in the sepulchral inscription, confirming the name of King Odaenathus' grandfather as Wahb Allat;{{sfn|Sartre|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA512 512]}} thus, he cannot be a son of Hairan son of Odaenathus (I).{{sfn|Gawlikowski|1985|p=260}}{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA78 78]}} Therefore, it is certain that King Odaenathus was the builder of the tomb, ruling out the existence of "Odaenathus I".{{#tag:ref|Although the conclusions of Gawlikowski became the academic consensus, the archaeologist Jean-Charles Balty argued that Odaenathus who built the tomb was not the same as King Odaenathus, stating that a new inscription can alter everything formerly known about the family.{{sfn|Kaizer|2008|p=660}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= 314}}{{sfn|Sartre|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA512 512]}} The ras Hairan mentioned in the 251 inscription is identical with Odaenathus' elder son and co-ruler, Prince Hairan I.{{sfn|Sartre|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA512 512]}}{{sfn|Sartre|2005b|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=9y7nTpFcN3AC&pg=PA352 352]}}

Palmyra was an autonomous city within the Roman Empire, subordinate to Rome and part of the province of Syria Phoenice.{{sfn|Edwell|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DQgmOZlsEWcC&pg=PA27 27]}} Odaenathus descended from an aristocratic family, albeit not a royal one as the city was ruled by a council and had no tradition of hereditary monarchy.{{sfn|Ball|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=73-JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}}{{sfn|Edwell|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DQgmOZlsEWcC&pg=PA34 34]}}{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=muVoB0O_XXMC&pg=PT62 125]}} For most of its existence, the Palmyrene army was decentralized under the command of several generals,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 45]}} but the rise of the Sassanian Empire in 224, and its incursions, which affected Palmyrene trade,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA43 43]}} combined with the weakness of the Roman Empire, probably prompted the Palmyrene council to elect a lord for the city in order for him to lead a strengthened army:{{sfn|Ball|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=73-JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 77]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 45]}}{{sfn|Potter|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=g4ZmqsyC5kEC&pg=PA160 160]}}

The Roman emperor, Gordian III, died in 244 during a campaign against Persia and this might have been the event which led to the election of a lord for Palmyra to defend it:{{nbsp}}Odaenathus,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA44 44]}} whose elevation, according to the historian Udo Hartmann, can be explained by Odaenathus probably being a successful military or caravan commander, and his descent from one of the most influential families in the city.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA90 90]}} Odaenathus' title as lord was ras in Palmyrene and exarchos in Greek as revealed by bilingual inscriptions from Palmyra.{{#tag:ref|The dated inscriptions mentioning the title are from October 251 and April 252: the 251 inscription refers to Odaenathus' eldest son Hairan I as ras, while the 252 inscription refers to Odaenathus.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 30]}}{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA210 210]}} Although the first known inscription attesting Odaenathus' title dates to 252, it is confirmed that he rose to the position at least one year earlier, based on Hairan I's attestation as ras in 251, and it is probable that he took the title in the aftermath of Gordian III's death.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA44 44]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA209 209]}} The ras title enabled the bearer to effectively deal with the Sassanid threat, in that it probably vested in him supreme civil and military authority;{{#tag:ref|Whether the ras title indicates a military or a priestly position is not known,{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA131 131]}} but the military role is the more likely.{{sfn|Mennen|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=uZqQjkb07g8C&pg=PA224 224]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 45]}} an undated inscription refers to Odaenathus as a ras and records the gift of a throne to him by a Palmyrene citizen named "Ogeilu son of Maqqai Haddudan Hadda", which confirms the supreme character of Odaenathus' title.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA44 44]}} The office was created for Odaenathus,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 45]}} and was not a usual title in the Roman Empire, and not a part of Palmyrene government traditions.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA44 44]}}{{sfn|Mackay|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=6rLDy6qqi0UC&pg=PA272 272]}}

File:DuraEuropos-TempleOfBel.jpg, belonging to the Palmyrene colony in Dura-Europos; destroyed by the Sassanians in 256.{{#tag:ref|There are two temples of Bel in Dura-Europos; the first was established by the Palmyrenes in the early first century outside the city wall in the necropolis and the second (depicted in this picture, also named "the temple of the Palmyrene gods") was administered by Palmyrenes only in the third century.{{sfn|Dirven|1999|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_LfXg2r6FT0C&pg=PA42 42]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Dirven|1999|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_LfXg2r6FT0C&pg=PA42 42]}}]]

Hairan I was apparently elevated to co-lordship by his father, as an inscription from 251 testifies.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA210 210]}} As early as the 240s, Odaenathus bolstered the Palmyrene army, recruiting desert nomads and increasing the number of the Palmyrene heavy cavalry (clibanarii).{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 45]}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA99 99]}} In 252, the Persian emperor, Shapur I, started a full-scale invasion of the Roman provinces in the east.{{sfn|Millar|1993|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=IA-YlZqHv90C&pg=PA159 159]}}{{sfn|Edwell|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DQgmOZlsEWcC&pg=PA185 185]}} During the second campaign of the invasion, Shapur I conquered Antioch on the Orontes, the traditional capital of Syria,{{sfn|Downey|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=myTWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 97]}} and headed south, where his advance was checked in 253 by a noble from Emesa, Uranius Antoninus.{{sfn|Klijn|1999|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=4geGv5N8AUoC&pg=PA98 98]}} The events of 253 were mentioned in the works of the sixth-century historian John Malalas who also mentioned a leader by the name "Enathus" inflicting a defeat upon the retreating Shapur I near the Euphrates.{{sfn|Klijn|1999|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=4geGv5N8AUoC&pg=PA98 98]}} "Enathus" is probably identical with Odaenathus,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA182 182]}} and while Malalas' account indicates that Odaenathus defeated the Persians in 253,{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA158 158]}} there is no proof that the Palmyrene leader engaged Shapur I before 260 and Malalas' account seems to be confusing Odaenathus' future actions during 260 with the events of 253.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA100 100]}}

Shapur I destroyed the Palmyrene trade colonies along the Euphrates, including the colonies at Anah in 253 and at Dura-Europos in 256.{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA177 177]}} The sixth-century historian Peter the Patrician wrote that Odaenathus approached Shapur I to negotiate Palmyrene interests but was rebuffed and the gifts sent to the Persians were thrown into the river.{{sfn|Klijn|1999|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=4geGv5N8AUoC&pg=PA98 98]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA182 182]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA60 60]}} The date for the attempted negotiations is debated: some scholars, including John F. Drinkwater, set the event in 253; while others, such as Alaric Watson, set it in 256, following the destruction of Dura-Europos.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 30]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA182 182]}}

Several inscriptions dating to the end of 257 or early 258 show Odaenathus bearing the Greek title {{lang|grc|ὁ λαμπρότατος ὑπατικός}} ({{transliteration|grc|ho lamprótatos hupatikós}}; {{langx|la|clarissimus consularis|link=no}}).{{sfn|Harrer|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=i4VLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}}{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA158 158]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA47 47]}} This title was usually bestowed on Roman senators who held the consulship.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA47 47]}} The title was also mentioned in Odaenathus' undated tomb inscription and Hairan I was mentioned with the same title in the 251 inscription.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA179 179]}} Scholarly opinions vary on the exact date of Odaenathus' elevation to this position.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA44 44]}} Gawlikowski and the linguist Jean Starcky maintained that the senatorial rank predates the ras elevation.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA179 179]}} Hartmann concluded that Odaenathus first became a ras in the 240s, then a senator in 250.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA179 179]}} Another possibility is that the senatorial rank and lordship occurred simultaneously; Odaenathus was chosen as a ras following Gordian's death, then, after Emperor Philip the Arab concluded a peace treaty with the Persians, the Emperor ratified Odaenathus' lordship and admitted him to the senate to guarantee Palmyra's continued subordination.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA44 44]}}

The clarissimus consularis title could be a mere honorific or a sign that Odaenathus was appointed as the legatus of Phoenice.{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA131 131]}}{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA159 159]}} However, the title ({{lang|grc|ὁ λαμπρότατος ὑπατικός}}) was sometimes used in Syria to denote the provincial governor and the archaeologist William Waddington proposed that Odaenathus was indeed the governor of Phoenice.{{#tag:ref|The educator Hermann Schiller rejected that Odaenathus was a governor of Phoenice; the title ({{lang|grc|ὁ λαμπρότατος ὑπατικός}}) was also attested in Palmyra for different notables and it could have been an honorary title of high degree.{{sfn|Harrer|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=i4VLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Harrer|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=i4VLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}}{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA195 195]}} Five of the inscriptions mentioning Odaenathus as consul are dated to 569 SE (258) during which no governor for Phoenice is attested, which might indicate that this was Odaenathus' year of governorship.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA48 48]}} In Phoenice's capital city Tyre, the lines "To Septimius Odaenathus, the most illustrious. The Septimian colony of Tyre" were found inscribed on a marble base;{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA48 48]}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 77]}} the inscription is not dated and if it was made after 257 then it indicates that Odaenathus was appointed as the governor of the province.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA48 48]}} These speculations cannot be proven, but as a governor Odaenathus would have been the highest authority in the province, above legionary commanders and provincial officials; this would make him commander of the Roman forces in the province.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA48 48]}} Whatever the case may be, starting from 258 Odaenathus strengthened his position and extended his political influence in the region.{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA131 131]}} By 260, Odaenathus held the rank, credibility and power to pacify the Roman East following the Battle of Edessa.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA48 48]}}

File:Naghsh-e rostam, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 12.jpg depicting the triumph of Shapur I over Valerian]]

Faced with Shapur I's third campaign,{{sfn|Millar|1993|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=IA-YlZqHv90C&pg=PA166 166]}} the Roman emperor Valerian marched against the Persian monarch but was defeated near Edessa in late spring 260 and taken prisoner.{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA167 167]}} The Persian emperor then ravaged Cappadocia and Cilicia, and claimed to have captured Antioch on the Orontes.{{#tag:ref|There is no proof that Shapur I entered the central areas of northern Syria; he seems to have moved directly west into Cilicia.{{sfn|Millar|1993|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=IA-YlZqHv90C&pg=PA166 166]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA23 23]}} Taking advantage of the situation, Fulvius Macrianus, the commander of the imperial treasury, declared his sons Quietus and Macrianus Minor as joint emperors in August 260, in opposition to Valerian's son Gallienus.{{#tag:ref|At first Fulvius Macrianus showed loyalty to Gallienus.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA44 44]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Drinkwater|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA44 44]}} Fulvius Macrianus took Antioch on the Orontes as his center and organized the resistance against Shapur I; he dispatched Balista, his praetorian prefect, to Anatolia.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA44 44]}} Shapur I was defeated in the region of Sebaste at Pompeiopolis, prompting the Persians to evacuate Cilicia while Balista returned to Antioch on the Orontes.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29]}}{{sfn|Drinkwater|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA44 44]}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 57]}} Balista's victory was only partial: Shapur I withdrew east of Cilicia, which Persian units continued to occupy.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 58]}} A Persian force took advantage of Balista's return to Syria and headed further west into Anatolia.{{sfn|Drinkwater|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA44 44]}} According to the Augustan History, Odaenathus was declared king of Palmyra as soon as the news of the Roman defeat at Edessa reached the city.{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA159 159]}} It is not known if Odaenathus contacted Fulvius Macrianus and there is no evidence that he took orders from him.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA59 59]}}

{{Main|Odaenathus' Sasanian Campaigns}}

Odaenathus assembled the Palmyrene army and Syrian peasants, then marched north to meet the Persian emperor, who was returning to Persia.{{#tag:ref|Zosimus wrote that Odaenathus' army, with which he fought Shapur I in 260, included his own Palmyrene troops and remnants of Valerian's Roman legions.{{sfn|de Blois|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YUrMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 191]}} No evidence exists for Roman units in his ranks, but it is possible, considering that he was fighting in the vicinity of Roman legionary bases. Troops based there might have been loyal to Gallienus and thus have chosen to join Odaenathus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA60 60]}} Whether Roman soldiers fought under Odaenathus or not is a matter of speculation.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA60 60]}}
The peasant element in the army was mentioned in the writings of later historians, such as the fourth century writers Festus and Orosius;{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA107 107]}} the latter called the army of Odaenathus manus agrestis syrorum,{{sfn|de Blois|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YUrMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 191]}} leading the historian Edward Gibbon to portray Odaenathus' troops as a "scratch army of peasants". The historian Richard Stoneman rejected Gibbon's conclusion, arguing that the success of the Palmyrenes against Shapur I and the victories achieved by Zenobia following her husband's death, which brought Syria, Egypt and Anatolia under Palmyrene authority, can hardly be ascribed to an ill-equipped, untrained peasant army.{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA107 107]}} It is more logical to interpret agrestis as denoting troops from outside the urban centres, and thus, it can be concluded that Odaenathus levied his cavalrymen from the regions surrounding Palmyra where horses were normally bred and kept.{{sfn|Nakamura|1993|p=138}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA177 177]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA59 59]}} The Palmyrene monarch fell upon the retreating Persian army between Samosata and Zeugma, west of the Euphrates, in late summer 260.{{#tag:ref|The account of Odaenathus attacking the retreating Persians is according to the eighth century historian Syncellus.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 66]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA59 59]}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA139 139], [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA144 144]}} He defeated the Persians, expelling Shapur I from the province of Syria.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA59 59]}} In early 261, Fulvius Macrianus headed to Europe accompanied by Macrianus Minor, leaving Quietus and Balista in Emesa.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA59 59]}} Odaenathus' whereabouts during this episode are not clear; he could have distributed the army in garrisons along the frontier or might have brought it back to his capital.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA60 60]}} The Palmyrene monarch seems to have waited until the situation clarified, declaring loyalty to neither Fulvius Macrianus nor Gallienus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA60 60]}} In the spring of 261, Fulvius Macrianus arrived in the Balkans but was defeated and killed along with Macrianus Minor; Odaenathus, when it became clear that Gallienus would eventually win, sided with the Emperor and marched on Emesa, where Quietus and Balista were staying. The Emesans killed Quietus as Odaenathus approached the city,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA60 60]}} while Balista was captured and executed by the King in autumn 261.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 77]}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA144 144], 145}}

The elimination of the usurpers left Odaenathus as the most powerful leader in the Roman East.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA60 60]}} He was granted many titles by the Emperor but those honors are debated among scholars:{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 290]}}

• Dux Romanorum (commander of the Romans) was probably given to Odaenathus to recognize his position as the commander in chief of the forces in the east against the Persians; it was inherited by Odaenathus' son and successor Vaballathus.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA291 291]}}

File:Odaenathus dedication.png

• Corrector totius orientis (righter of the entire East): it is generally accepted by modern scholars that he bore this title.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA67 67]}} A corrector had overall command of Roman armies and authority over provincial governors in his designated region.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}}{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=muVoB0O_XXMC&pg=PT61 124]}} There are no known attestations of the title during Odaenathus' lifetime.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA67 67]}} Evidence for the King bearing the title consists of two inscriptions in Palmyrene: one posthumous dedication describing him as MTQNNʿ of the East (derived from the Semitic root TQN, meaning to set in order);{{#tag:ref|The root TQN exists in several languages: Aramaic (meaning "to prepare", "to fix", "set in order"), Akkadian (where the word taqan means "be settled", "in order"), Arabic (meaning "improve", "fix", "set in order").{{sfn|Murtonen|1989|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=t_9NkGsNtcYC&pg=PA446 446]}}|group=note}} and the other describing his heir Vaballathus with the same title, albeit using the word PNRTTʿ instead of MTQNNʿ.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA68 68]}}

:However, the sort of authority accorded by this position is widely debated.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}} The problem arises from the word MTQNNʿ; its exact meaning is unclear.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA68 68]}} The word is translated into Latin as corrector, but "restitutor" is another possible translation; the latter title was an honorary one meant to praise the bearer for driving enemies out of Roman territories.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA68 68]}} However, the inscription of Vaballathus is clearer, as the word PNRTTʿ is not a Palmyrene word but a direct Palmyrene translation of the Greek term Epanorthotes, which is usually an equivalent to a corrector.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA68 68]}}

:According to the historian David Potter, Vaballathus inherited his father's exact titles.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}} Hartmann points out that there have been cases where a Greek word was translated directly to Palmyrene and a Palmyrene equivalent was also used to mean the same thing.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA68 68]}} The dedication to Odaenathus would be the use of a Palmyrene equivalent, while the inscription of Vaballathus would be the direct translation.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}} It cannot be certain that Odaenathus was a corrector.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA68 68]}}

• Imperator totius orientis (commander-in-chief of the entire East): only the Augustan History claims that Odaenathus was given this title; the same source also claims that he was made an Augustus, or co-emperor, following his defeat of the Persians.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 290]}} Both claims are dismissed by scholars.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 290]}} Odaenathus seems to have been acclaimed as imperator by his troops, which was a salutation usually reserved for the Roman emperor; this acclamation might explain the erroneous reports of the Augustan History.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 32]}}

Regardless of his titles, Odaenathus controlled the Roman East with the approval of Gallienus, who could do little but formalize Odaenathus' self-achieved status and settle for his formal loyalty.{{#tag:ref|The Roman East traditionally included all the Roman lands in Asia east and south of the Bosphorus.{{sfn|Ball|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=73-JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 6]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 214]}}{{sfn|Vervaet|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=nG-S-X_uI6EC&pg=PA137 137]}} Odaenathus' authority extended from the Pontic coast in the north to Palestine in the south.{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA160 160]}} This area included the Roman provinces of Syria, Phoenice, Palaestina, Arabia, Anatolia's eastern regions and, following the campaign of 262, Osroene and Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA160 160]}}{{sfn|Falk|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=z10-Xz9Kno4C&pg=PA333 333]}}{{sfn|de Blois|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7-jUAMmMS5cC&pg=PA35 35]}}

Perhaps driven by a desire to take revenge for the destruction of Palmyrene trade centers and to discourage Shapur I from initiating future attacks, Odaenathus launched an offensive against the Persians.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA70 70]}} The suppression of Fulvius Macrianus' rebellion probably prompted Gallienus to entrust the Palmyrene monarch with the war in Persia and Roman soldiers were in the ranks of Odaenathus' army for this campaign.{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA159 159]}} In the spring of 262, the King marched north into the occupied Roman province of Mesopotamia, driving out the Persian garrisons and recapturing Edessa and Carrhae.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA173 173]}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA168 168]}} The first onslaught was aimed at Nisibis, which Odaenathus regained but sacked, since the inhabitants had been sympathetic towards the Persian occupation.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA168 168]}} A little later he destroyed the Jewish city of Nehardea, {{convert|45|km|mi}} west of the Persian capital Ctesiphon,{{#tag:ref| The tenth century geonim Sherira Gaon, in his work "Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon", stated that Papa ben Nasor destroyed the city in 570 SE, corresponding to 259.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} de Blois proposed that Odaenathus' destruction of Nehardea in 259 was in support of Valerian.{{sfn|de Blois|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7-jUAMmMS5cC&pg=PA2 2]}} However, Neusner suggested that the correct date is 262 or 263,{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA370 370]}} and considered the date given by Sherira Gaon impossible since the destruction of the city would have required a large army, and the only large force invading the region in that period was headed by Odaenathus during his first campaign. Feldman noted that Palmyra counted on the maneuverability of its soldiers not on the size of its armies, thus doubting the conclusions of Neusner.{{sfn|Feldman|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YKOODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA431 431]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA169 169]}} as he considered the Jews of Mesopotamia to be loyal to Shapur I.{{sfn|Dubnov|1968|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LLCXomFNU3cC&pg=PA151 151]}} By late 262 or early 263, Odaenathus stood outside the walls of the Persian capital.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA172 172]}}

The exact route taken by Odaenathus from Palmyra to Ctesiphon remains uncertain; it was probably similar to the route Emperor Julian took in 363 during his campaign against Persia.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA171 171]}} If he did use this route, Odaenathus would have crossed the Euphrates at Zeugma then moved east to Edessa followed by Carrhae then Nisibis. Here, he would have descended south along the Khabur River to the Euphrates valley and then marched along the river's left bank to Nehardea.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA171 171]}} He then penetrated the Sassanian province of Asōristān and marched along the royal canal Naarmalcha towards the Tigris, where the Persian capital stood.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA171 171]}}

Once at Ctesiphon, Odaenathus immediately began a siege of the well-fortified winter residence of the Persian kings; severe damage was inflicted upon the surrounding areas during several battles with Persian troops.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA172 172]}} The city held out and the logistical problems of fighting in enemy territory probably prompted the Palmyrenes to lift the siege.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA172 172]}} Odaenathus headed north along the Euphrates carrying with him numerous prisoners and much booty.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA172 172]}} The invasion resulted in the full restoration of the Roman lands which had been occupied by Shapur I since the beginning of his invasions in 252: Osroene and Mesopotamia.{{#tag:ref|Contrary to the account of the Augustan History, there is no proof that Odaenathus occupied Armenia.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA174 174]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Falk|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=z10-Xz9Kno4C&pg=PA333 333]}}{{sfn|de Blois|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7-jUAMmMS5cC&pg=PA3 3]}} However, Dura-Europus and other Palmyrene posts south of Circesium, such as Anah, were not rebuilt.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA173 173]}} Odaenathus sent the captives to Rome, and by the end of 263 Gallienus assumed the title Persicus maximus ("the great victor in Persia") and held a triumph in Rome.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA71 71]}}

In 263, after his return, Odaenathus assumed the title of King of Kings of the East (Mlk Mlk dy Mdnh),{{#tag:ref|Odaenathus' title as it appears in Palmyrene inscriptions was "King of Kings and Corrector of the East".{{sfn|Butcher|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YJPn3-rRjC0C&pg=PA60 60]}}|group=note}} and crowned his son Herodianus (Hairan I) as co-King of Kings.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA149 149], [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA176 176], [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA178 178]}}{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 333]}} A statue was erected and dedicated for Herodianus to celebrate his coronation by Septimius Worod, the duumviri (magistrate) of Palmyra, and Julius Aurelius, the Queen's procurator (treasurer). The dedication, in Greek, is undated,{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} but Septimius Worod was a duumviri between 263 and 264. Hence, the coronation took place c. 263.{{#tag:ref|Gawlikowski proposed that the statue was erected and the coronation took place following the victory in 260.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|2005b|p= 1301}} Gawlikowski also suggested that Odaenathus adopted the title "King of Kings" before his first Persian campaign in preparation for the war and the replacement of the Sassanid dynasty, a goal that was not achieved.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|2016|p=131}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA178 178]}} Contemporary evidence for Odaenathus bearing the title of King of Kings is lacking; all firmly dated inscriptions attesting Odaenathus with the title were commissioned after his death, including one that is dated to 271.{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA78 78]}}{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA177 177]}} However, Herodianus died with his father,{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA198 198]}} and since he is directly attested as "King of Kings" during his father's lifetime, it is unimaginable that Odaenathus was simply a king while his son was the King of Kings.{{sfn|Kaizer|2008|p= 659}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA72 72]}} An undated inscription, written in Greek and difficult to decipher, found on a stone reused in the Palmyrene Camp of Diocletian, addresses Odaenathus as King of Kings (Rex regum) and was probably set during his reign.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA176 176]}}

According to the dedication, Herodianus was crowned near the Orontes, which indicates a ceremony taking place in Antioch on the Orontes, the metropolis of Syria.{{#tag:ref|The archaeologist Daniel Schlumberger suggested Emesa (present-day Homs) as the location of the coronation, but the ancient city was located about a mile away from the river. Hence, the academic consensus prefers Antioch on the Orontes;{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA178 178]}} a lead token bearing Herodianus image, probably struck to celebrate the coronation, was found in the city.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 333]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} The title was a symbol of legitimacy in the East, dating back to the Assyrians, then the Achaemenids, who used it to symbolize their supremacy over all other rulers; it was later adopted by the Parthian monarchs to legitimize their conquests.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA180 180]}} The first Sassanian monarch, Ardashir I, adopted the title following his victory over the Parthians.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA181 181]}} Odaenathus' son was crowned with a diadem and a tiara; the choice of Antioch on the Orontes was probably meant to demonstrate that the Palmyrene monarchs were now the successors of the Seleucid and Iranian rulers who had controlled Syria and Mesopotamia in the past.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 333]}}

File:Odaenathus Kingdom.png

In analyzing the rise of Odaenathus and his complicated relationship with Rome, the historian Gary K. Young concluded that "to search for any kind of regularity or normality in such a situation is clearly pointless".{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 216]}} In practice, Palmyra became an allied kingdom of Rome, but legally, it remained part of the empire. The "King of Kings" title was probably not aimed at the position of the Roman emperor but at Shapur I; Odaenathus was declaring that he, not the Persian monarch, was the legitimate King of Kings of the East.{{sfn|Young|2003|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 214], 215}} Odaenathus' intentions are questioned by some historians, such as Drinkwater, who attributed the attempted negotiations with Shapur I to Odaenathus' quest for power.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA182 182]}} However, in contrast to the norm of this period when powerful generals frequently proclaimed themselves emperors, Odaenathus chose not to attempt to usurp Gallienus' throne.{{sfn|Mommsen|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dk2FAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA298 298]}}

The relationship between Odaenathus and the Emperor should be understood from two different perspectives: Roman and Syrian. In Rome, broad power delegation by the Emperor to an individual from outside the imperial family was not considered a problem;{{sfn|Potter|1996|p=271}} such authority had been granted several times since the days of Augustus in the first century.{{sfn|Potter|1996|p=274}} The Syrian perspective was different:{{sfn|Potter|1996|p=271}} according to Potter, the dedication celebrating Herodianus' coronation on the Orontes should be interpreted to mean a "Palmyrene claim to kingship in Syria" and control over it during the reign of Odaenathus.{{sfn|Potter|1996|pp=273, 274}} What the central government thought of such claims is unclear, but it is doubtful that Gallienus recognized the situation as the Palmyrenes understood it.{{sfn|Potter|1996|p=274}} In the Roman Empire's hierarchical system, a vassal king using the title of King of Kings did not indicate that he was a peer of the Emperor or that the ties of vassalage were cut.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA182 182]}} Such different understandings eventually led to the conflict between Rome and Palmyra during the reign of Zenobia, who considered her husband's Roman offices hereditary and an expression of independent authority.{{#tag:ref|As queen consort, Zenobia remained in the background and was not mentioned in the historical record.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA72 72]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Potter|1996|p=281}}

The King had effective control over the Roman East where his military authority was absolute.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 214]}}{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 171]}} Odaenathus respected Gallienus' authority to appoint provincial governors,{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 171]}} but dealt swiftly with opposition: the {{ill|Anonymus post Dionem|de}}, usually associated with the sixth-century historian Eustathius of Epiphania or Peter the Patrician,{{sfn|Cataudella|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=w-t5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA440 440]}} mentions the story of Kyrinus, or Quirinus, a Roman official, who showed dissatisfaction with Odaenathus' authority over the Persian frontier, and was immediately executed by the King.{{#tag:ref|No information on the identity of Kyrinus exists;{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA156 156]}} it is possible that he is the same person as Aurelius Quirinius, who is recorded as head of the financial administration of Egypt in 262.{{sfn|Alföldi|1939|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q79mAAAAMAAJ&q 176]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA156 156]}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 66]}}{{sfn|Alföldi|1939|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q79mAAAAMAAJ&q 176]}} In general, Odaenathus' actions were connected to his and Palmyra's interests only. His support of Gallienus and his Roman titles did not hide the Palmyrene base of his power and the local origin of his armies, as with his decision not to wait for the Emperor to help in 260.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA159 159]}}{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 32]}} Odaenathus' status seems to have been, as Watson puts it, "something between powerful subject, independent vassal king and rival emperor".{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 32]}}

File:Hairan I.jpg wearing the Palmyrene crown]]

Odaenathus behaved as a sovereign monarch;{{sfn|Sartre|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA514 514]}} outside his kingdom of Palmyra, he had overall administrative and military authority over the provincial governors of the Roman eastern provinces.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}} Inside Palmyra, no Roman provincial official had any authority; the King filled the government with Palmyrenes.{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA257 257]}} In parallel to the Iranian practice of making the government a family enterprise, Odaenathus bestowed his own gentilicium (Septimius) upon his leading generals and officials such as Zabdas, Zabbai and Worod.{{#tag:ref|This gentilicium was exclusive to the family of Odaenathus prior to the 260s.{{sfn|Millar|1971|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0fIq9wd3Z3oC&pg=PA209 9]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA257 257]}} Most Palmyrene constitutional institutions continued to function normally during Odaenathus' reign;{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}} he maintained many civic establishments,{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA131 131]}}{{sfn|Sivertsev|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=OfWUkVoHP7YC&pg=PA72 72]}} but the last magistrates were elected in 264,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA43 43]}} and the Palmyrene council was not attested after that year. After this year, a governor, Septimius Worod, was appointed by the King for the city of Palmyra,{{sfn|Hartmann|2016|p= 64}} who also functioned as a viceroy when Odaenathus was on campaign.{{sfn|Cooke|1903|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=KwsIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA286 286]}}

A lead token depicting Herodianus shows him wearing a tiara crown shaped like that of the Parthian monarchs, so it must have been Odaenathus' crown;{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA256 256]}} this combination of imagery, together with the "King of Kings" title, indicates that Odaenathus considered himself the rival of the Sassanians and the protector of the region against them.{{sfn|Potter|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=g4ZmqsyC5kEC&pg=PA162 162]}} Many intellectuals relocated to Palmyra and enjoyed the King's patronage;{{sfn|Potter|1990|p=154}} most prominently Cassius Longinus, who probably arrived in the 260s.{{sfn|Heath|1999|p=4}} It is possible that Odaenathus influenced local writers to promote his rule;{{sfn|Butcher|1996|p=525}} a prophecy in the thirteenth Sibylline Oracle, written after the events it "prophesied",{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 137]}} reads: "Then shall come one who was sent by the sun [i.e., Odaenathus], a mighty and fearful lion, breathing much flame. Then he with much shameless daring will destroy ... the greatest beast – venomous, fearful and emitting a great deal of hisses [i.e., Shapur I]".{{sfn|Kaizer|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MDzbX7h3h-gC&pg=PA185 185]}} The authority of Odaenathus did not appease all factions in Syria and the glorification of the King in the oracle could be a politically sponsored propaganda aimed at expanding Odaenathus' support.{{#tag:ref|The Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle was compiled by several writers who were probably Syrians and attempted to promote Syrian rulers by portraying them as the saviours of Rome from Persia. The initial text was completed during the time of Uranius and revised during the reign of Odaenathus with 19 lines added comprising the prophecy of Odaenathus' victories.{{sfn|Butcher|1996|p=525}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Butcher|1996|p=525}} Another writer in the Palmyrene court, Nicostratus of Trebizond, probably accompanied the King on his campaigns and wrote a history of the period, starting with Philip the Arab and ending shortly before Odaenathus' death.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA205 205]}} According to Potter, Nicostratus' account was meant to glorify Odaenathus and demonstrate his superiority over the Roman Emperor.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA206 206]}}

File:Gallienus captives.jpg

File:Gallienus radiate lion.jpg lion on its reverse. The animal is probably a reference to Odaenathus who is described as a lion in the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle]]

Odaenathus minted coinage only in the name of Gallienus,{{sfn|Fowlkes-Childs|Seymour|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-GGLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA256 256]}} and produced no coins bearing his own image.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}} The engraver Hubertus Goltzius forged coins of Odaenathus in the sixteenth century;{{sfn|Clinton|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Jq6CJqB-qmAC&pg=PA63 63]}} according to the eighteenth-century numismatist Joseph Hilarius Eckhel "The coins of Odenathus are known only to Goltzius; and if anyone will put faith in their existence, let him go to the fountain head (i.e. Goltzius)". According to the Augustan History, Gallienus minted a coin in honour of Odaenathus where he was depicted taking the Persians captive;{{sfn|Stevenson|1889|p= [https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofroma00stev#page/582/mode/2up 583]}} a coin of Gallienus minted in Antioch and dated to c. 264–265 depicts two seated captives on its reverse and was associated with the victories of Odaenathus by the historian Michael Geiger.{{sfn|Geiger|2015|p=224}} Other coins of Gallienus depict lions on their reverses; the animal was portrayed in several fashions: bare headed with a bull's head between its paws; radiate head; radiate head with a bull's head between its paws; or an eagle standing on its back. The historian Erika Manders considered it possible that those coins were issued for Odaenathus, as the depiction of a lion is reminiscent of the thirteenth Sibylline Oracle's description of Odaenathus as a "mighty and fearful lion, breathing much flame".{{#tag:ref|The historian David Woods rejected the different interpretations of the radiate lion, considering it a sign of the Emperor's brevity; a motif that can be traced back to Alexander the Great of Macedon's birth legends.{{sfn|Woods|2018|p=193}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Manders|2012|pp=297–298}}

The primary sources are silent regarding events following the first Persian campaign, but this is an indication of the peace that prevailed and that the Persians had ceased being a threat to the Roman East.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA73 73]}} The evidence for the second campaign is meager; Zosimus is the only one to mention it specifically.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA76 76]}} A passage in the thirteenth Sibylline Oracle is interpreted by Hartmann as an indication of a second offensive.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA183 183]}} With the rise of the Sassanid dynasty, Palmyrene trade caravans to the East diminished with only three recorded after 224. The last caravan returned to Palmyra in 266, and this was probably facilitated by the campaign, which probably took place in 266.{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA176 176, 177]}} The King marched directly to Ctesiphon, but he had to break off the siege and march north to face an influx of Germanic raiders attacking Anatolia.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA76 76]}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA216 216]}}

The Romans used the designation "Scythian" to denote many tribes, regardless of their ethnic origin, and sometimes the term would be interchangeable with Goths. The tribes attacking Anatolia were probably the Heruli who built ships to cross the Black Sea in 267 and ravaged the coasts of Bithynia and Pontus, besieging Heraclea Pontica.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA76 76]}} According to the eighth-century historian George Syncellus, Odaenathus arrived at Anatolia with Herodianus and headed to Heraclea but the riders were already gone, having loaded their ships with booty.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA76 76]}} Many perished, perhaps in a sea battle with Odaenathus' forces, or possibly they were shipwrecked.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA76 76]}}

Odaenathus was assassinated, together with Herodianus, in late 267. The date is debated and some scholars propose 266 or 268, but Vaballathus dated the first year of his reign between August 267 and August 268, making late 267 the most probable date.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA77 77]}} The assassination took place in either Anatolia or Syria.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA78 78]}}{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 172]}} There is no consensus on the manner, perpetrator or the motive behind the act.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA78 78]}}

• According to Syncellus, Odaenathus was assassinated near Heraclea Pontica by an assassin also named Odaenathus who was killed by the King's bodyguard.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}}
• Zosimus states that Odaenathus was killed by conspirators near Emesa at a friend's birthday party without naming the killer.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA220 220]}} The twelfth-century historian Zonaras attributed the crime to a nephew of Odaenathus but did not give a name.{{sfn|Potter|2014|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA259 259], [https://books.google.com/books?id=hGuGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT585 629]}} The Anonymus post Dionem also does not name the assassin.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}}
• The Augustan History claims that a cousin of the King named Maeonius killed him.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 70]}}

• Roman conspiracy: the seventh-century historian John of Antioch accused Gallienus of being behind the assassination.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}} A passage in the work of the Anonymus post Dionem speaks of a certain "Rufinus" who orchestrated the assassination on his own initiative, then explained his actions to the Emperor who condoned them.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA78 78]}} This account has Rufinus ordering the murder of an older Odaenathus out of fear that he would rebel, and has the younger Odaenathus complaining to the Emperor.{{#tag:ref|This story contributed to the now-discounted assumption that Odaenathus I existed.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|pp= 314, 315}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}} Since the older Odaenathus (Odaenathus I) has proven to be a fictional character, the story is ignored by most scholars.{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA108 108]}} However, the younger Odaenathus could be an oblique reference to Vaballathus and Rufinus could be identified with Cocceius Rufinus, the Roman governor of Arabia in 261–262. The evidence for such a Roman conspiracy is weak.{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA108 108]}}

File:Maeonius.jpg as depicted in the Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum]]

• Family feud: according to Zonaras, Odaenathus' nephew misbehaved during a lion hunt.{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA259 259]}} He made the first attack and killed the animal to the dismay of the King.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 72]}} Odaenathus warned his nephew, who ignored the warning and repeated the act twice more, causing the King to deprive him of his horse, a great insult in the East.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 72]}}{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 292]}} The nephew threatened Odaenathus and was put in chains as a result. Herodianus asked his father to forgive his cousin and his request was granted. However, as the King was drinking, the nephew approached him with a sword and killed him along with Herodianus.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 72]}} The bodyguard immediately executed the nephew.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 72]}}
• Zenobia: the wife of Odaenathus was accused by the Augustan History of having formerly conspired with Maeonius, as Herodianus was her stepson and she could not accept that he was the heir to her husband instead of her own children.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}} However, there is no suggestion in the Augustan History that Zenobia was directly involved in her husband's murder;{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 292]}} the act is attributed to Maeonius' degeneracy and jealousy.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}} Those accounts by the Augustan History can be dismissed as fiction.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 58]}} The hints in modern scholarship that Zenobia had a hand in the assassination out of her desire to rule the empire and her dismay at her husband's pro-Roman policy can be dismissed as there was no reversal of that policy during the first years following Odaenathus' death.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA78 78]}}
• Persian agents: the possibility of a Persian involvement exists, but the outcome of the assassination would not have served Shapur I unless a pro-Persian monarch was established on the Palmyrene throne.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA79 79]}}
• Palmyrene traitors: another possibility would be Palmyrenes dissatisfied with Odaenathus' reign and the changes of their city's governmental system.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 292]}}

The historian Nathanael Andrade, noting that since the Augustan History, Zosimus, Zonaras, and Syncellus all refer to a family feud or a domestic conspiracy in their writings, they must have been recounting an early tradition regarding the assassination. Also, the story of Rufinus is a clue to tensions between Odaenathus and the Roman court.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA146 146]}} The mint of Antioch on the Orontes ceased the production of Gallienus' coins in early 268, and while this could be related to fiscal troubles, it could also have been ordered by Zenobia in retaliation for the murder of her husband.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 151]}} Andrade proposed that the assassination was the result of a coup conducted by Palmyrene notables in collaboration with the imperial court whose officials were dissatisfied with Odaenathus' autonomy.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA146 146], [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 152]}} On the other hand, Hartmann concluded that it is more probable that Odaenathus was killed in Pontus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA78 78]}}

File:ZENOBIA - RIC V 2 - 80000750.jpg

Odaenathus was married twice. Nothing is known about his first wife's name or fate.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA8 8]}} Zenobia was the King's second wife, whom he married in the late 250s when she was 17 or 18.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA4 4]}}

How many children Odaenathus had with his first wife is unknown and only one is attested:

• Hairan I{{snd}}Herodianus: the name Hairan appears on a 251 inscription from Palmyra describing him as ras, implying that he was already an adult by then.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA8 8]}} In the Augustan History, Odaenathus' eldest son is named Herod; the dedication at Palmyra from 263 which celebrates Hairan I's coronation mentions him with the name Herodianus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA8 8]}} It is possible that the Hairan of the 251 inscription is not the same as the Herodianus of the dedication from 263,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA8 8]}} but this is contested by Hartmann, who concludes that the reason for the difference in the spelling is the language used in the inscription (Herodianus being the Greek version),{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 58]}} meaning that Odaenathus' eldest son and co-king was Hairan Herodianus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA9 9]}} Hartmann's view is in line with the academic consensus.{{sfn|Kaizer|2008|p=661}}

The children of Odaenathus and Zenobia were:

File:Antoninian Vaballathus Augustus.jpg

• Vaballathus: he is attested on several coins, inscriptions, and in the ancient literature.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA10 10]}}
• Hairan II: his image appears on a seal impression along with his older brother Vaballathus; his identity is much debated.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA10 10]}} Potter suggested that he is the same as Herodianus, who was crowned in 263, and that the Hairan I mentioned in 251 died before the birth of Hairan II.{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hGuGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT585 628]}} Andrade suggested the opposite, maintaining that Hairan I, Herodianus and Hairan II are the same.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=mLhwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 121]}}
• Herennianus and Timolaus: the two were mentioned in the Augustan History and are not attested in any other source;{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA10 10]}} Herennianus might be a conflation of Hairan and Herodianus while Timolaus is most probably a fabrication,{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA58 58]}} although the historian Dietmar Kienast suggests that he might be Vaballathus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA174 174]}}

Possible descendants of Odaenathus living in later centuries are reported: Lucia Septimia Patabiniana Balbilla Tyria Nepotilla Odaenathiana is known through a dedication dating to the late third or early fourth century inscribed on a tombstone erected by a wet nurse to her "sweetest and most loving mistress".{{#tag:ref|It is debated whether the inscription should be understood as an evidence for descendants of Odaenathus in Rome.{{sfn|Baldini|1978|p=148}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA187 187]}} The tombstone was found in Rome at the San Callisto in Trastevere.{{sfn|Lanciani|1909|p= [https://archive.org/stream/wanderingsinroma00lancrich#page/168/mode/2up 169]}} Another possible relative is Eusebius who is mentioned by the fourth century rhetorician Libanius in 391 as a son of one Odaenathus, who was in turn a descendant of the King;{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110]}} the father of Eusebius is mentioned as fighting against the Persians (most probably in the ranks of Emperor Julian's army).{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA415 415]}} In 393, Libanius mentioned that Eusebius promised him a speech written by Longinus for the King.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110]}} In the fifth century, the philosopher "Syrian Odaenathus" lived in Athens and was a student of Plutarch of Athens;{{sfn|Curnow|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E82oRzHYLhMC&pg=PA199 199]}} he might have been a distant descendant of the King.{{sfn|Traina|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_O1KheDl1HMC&pg=PA47 47]}}

File:Palmyra inscription.png

File:Peristyl House Palmyra Syria.JPG

Mummification was practiced in Palmyra alongside inhumation and it is a possibility that Zenobia had her husband mummified.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 154], [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 155]}} The stone block bearing Odaenathus' sepulchral inscription was in the Temple of Bel in the nineteenth century,{{sfn|Addison|1838|p= [https://archive.org/details/damascusandpalm01addigoog/page/n169 166]}} and it was originally the architrave of the tomb.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|1985|p=253}} It had been moved to the temple at some point and so the location of the tomb to which the block belonged is not known.{{sfn|Addison|1838|p= [https://archive.org/details/damascusandpalm01addigoog/page/n169 166]}} The tomb was probably built early in Odaenathus' career and before his marriage to Zenobia and it is plausible that another, more elaborate, tomb was built after Odaenathus became King of Kings.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 154]}}

Roman law forbade the burial of individuals within a city.{{sfn|Nicholas|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=92zXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 18]}} This rule was strictly observed in the west, but it was applied more leniently in the eastern parts of the empire.{{sfn|Cormack|2004|p=38}} A burial within a city was one of the highest honors an individual other than the Emperor and his family could receive in the Roman Empire.{{sfn|Kuhn|2017|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ioJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA200 200]}} A notable person may be buried in this manner for different reasons, such as his leadership or monetary donations.{{sfn|Cormack|2004|p=38}} It meant that the deceased was not sent beyond the walls for fear of miasma (pollution), and that he would be part of the city's future civic life.{{#tag:ref|Generally, the initiative of granting an individual an intramural burial came from the demos and had to be confirmed through acclamatio; due to this requirement, the honor was a rarity.{{sfn|Kuhn|2017|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ioJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA200 200]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Kuhn|2017|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ioJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA200 200]}} At the western end of the Great Colonnade at Palmyra, a shrine designated "Funerary Temple no. 86" (also known as the House Tomb) is located.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|2005a|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA55 55]}}{{sfn|Casule|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=QNGyWSx8U34C&pg=PA103 103]}} Inside its chamber, steps lead down to a vault crypt which is now lost.{{sfn|Casule|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=QNGyWSx8U34C&pg=PA103 103]}}{{sfn|Darke|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=HuXAHGDSjNIC&pg=PA238 238]}} This mausoleum might have belonged to the royal family, being the only tomb inside the city's walls. Odaenathus' royal power in itself was sufficient to earn him a burial within the city walls.{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA67 67]}}{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA158 158]}}

The Augustan History claims that Maeonius was proclaimed emperor for a brief period before being killed by soldiers.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA78 78]}}{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA108 108]}}{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 292]}} However, no inscriptions or other evidence exist for Maeonius' reign,{{sfn|Brauer|1975|p= 163}} the very existence of which is doubtful.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA223 223]}} The disappearance of Septimius Worod in 267 could be related to the internal coup; he could have been executed by Zenobia if he was involved; or killed by the conspirators if he was loyal to the King.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA146 146]}} Odaenathus was succeeded by his son, the ten-year-old Vaballathus, under the regency of Zenobia;{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 299]}} Hairan II probably died soon after his father,{{sfn|Stoneman|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA115 115]}} as only Vaballathus succeeded to the throne.{{sfn|Southern|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2p9hCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 150]}}

File:Odaenathus the Victorious.png.]]

Odaenathus was the founder of the Palmyrene royal dynasty.{{sfn|Sahner|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=dBIoBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT152 133]}} He left Palmyra the premier power in the East,{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 163]}} and his actions laid the foundation of Palmyrene strength which culminated in the establishment of the Palmyrene Empire in 270.{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA158 158]}} Hero cults were not common in Palmyra, but the unprecedented position and achievements of Odaenathus might have given rise to such a practice:{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA139 139]}} a mosaic excavated in Palmyra depicts the Greek myth of Bellerophon defeating the Chimera on the back of Pegasus in one panel,{{sfn|Gawlikowski|2010|p= 11-12}} and a man in Palmyrene military outfit riding a horse and shooting at two tigers, with an eagle flying above in the other. According to Gianluca Serra, the conservation zoologist based in Palmyra at the time of the panel's discovery, the tigers are Panthera tigris virgata, once common in the region of Hyrcania in Iran.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|2005b|pp= 1300, 1302}} Gawlikowski proposed that Odaenathus is heroized as Bellerophon, and that the archer is also a depiction of Odaenathus fighting the Persians depicted as tigers. This is supported by the title of mrn (lord) which appear on the archer panel, an honor carried only by Odaenathus and Hairan I.{{sfn|Gawlikowski|2005c|pp= 29-31}} The mosaic with its two panels indicates that Odaenathus was probably treated as a divine figure, and may have been worshipped in Palmyra.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA139 139]}}

Odaenathus' memory as an able king, and loyal Roman, was used by the emperors Claudius II and Aurelian to tarnish Zenobia's reputation by portraying themselves as Odaenathus' avengers against his wife, the usurper who gained the throne through plotting.{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hTRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 152]}} The King was praised by Libanius,{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA200 200]}} and the fourth-century writer of the Augustan History, while placing Odaenathus among the Thirty Tyrants (probably because he assumed the title of king, in the view of the eighteenth-century historian Edward Gibbon),{{sfn|Gibbon|1906|p= 352}} speaks highly of his role in the Persian War and credits him with saving the empire: "Had not Odaenathus, prince of the Palmyrenes, seized the imperial power after the capture of Valerian when the strength of the Roman state was exhausted, all would have been lost in the East".{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 64]}} On the other hand, Odaenathus is viewed negatively in Rabbinic sources. His sack of Nehardea mortified the Jews,{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA209 209]}} and he was cursed by both the Babylonian Jews and the Jews of Palestine.{{sfn|Falk|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=z10-Xz9Kno4C&pg=PA333 333]}} In the Christian version of the Apocalypse of Elijah, probably written in Egypt following the capture of Valerian,{{sfn|Bousset|1900|p=[https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfrki14unkngoog/page/n202 108]}} Odaenathus is called the king who will rise from the "city of the sun" and will eventually be killed by the Persians;{{sfn|Bousset|1900|pp=[https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfrki14unkngoog/page/n198 105], [https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfrki14unkngoog/page/n200 106]}} this prophecy is a response to Odaenathus' persecution of the Jews and his destruction of Nahardea.{{sfn|Bousset|1900|pp=[https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfrki14unkngoog/page/n200 106, 107]}} The Jewish Apocalypse of Elijah identifies Odaenathus as the Antichrist.{{#tag:ref|The Apocalypse of Elijah is an apocryphal work that exists in two versions, one is Jewish and written in Hebrew, and the other is Christian and written in Coptic.{{sfn|Wintermute|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TNdeolWctsQC&pg=PA729 729, 730]}} The Christian version seems to be based on a Jewish prophecy written in Egypt in the time of the turmoil after Valerian's capture; the Jews were probably expecting the Persians to win and allow them to return to Jerusalem by eliminating Odaenathus, whom they considered an enemy.{{sfn|Bousset|1900|p=[https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfrki14unkngoog/page/n202 108]}} According to the prophecy: "In those days, a king will arise in the city which is called "the city of the sun," and the whole land will be disturbed. [He will] flee to Memphis (with the Persians). In the sixth year, the Persian kings will plot an ambush in Memphis. They will kill the Assyrian king."{{sfn|Wintermute|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TNdeolWctsQC&pg=PA743 743]}} The Coptologist Oscar Lemm considered that by the Persian and Assyrian kings, the prophecy meant the sixth-century BC kings Cyrus the Great of Persia and the Chaldean Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia. Lemm also considered the killing of the Assyrian king in Memphis an allusion to the defeat of the Babylonians by Persia.{{sfn|Wintermute|2011|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TNdeolWctsQC&pg=PA743 743]}} The theologian Wilhelm Bousset considered the prophecy to be pointless if it actually meant that the Persians and Assyrian kings warred in Egypt since such a conflict never happened. Noting the confusion between Syria and Assyria in many Roman sources, including the Sibylline prophecies, Bousset identified the Assyrian king with Odaenathus; Palmyra was known as the city of the sun in many apocalyptic traditions.{{sfn|Bousset|1900|p=[https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfrki14unkngoog/page/n200 106]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Bousset|1908|p=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofr01hastuoft/page/580 580]}}

{{rquote|right|Odaenathus, the mention of whose name alone caused the hearts of the Persians to falter. Everywhere victorious, he liberated the cities and the territories belonging to each of them and made the enemies place their salvation in their prayers rather than in the force of arms.|Libanius, on the exploits of Odaenathus.{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110]}}}}

The successes of Odaenathus are treated sceptically by a number of modern scholars.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA289 289]}} According to the Augustan History, Odaenathus "captured the king's treasures and he captured, too, what the Parthian monarchs hold dearer than treasures, namely his concubines. For this reason Shapur [I] was now in greater dread of the Roman generals, and out of fear of Ballista and Odaenathus he withdrew more speedily to his kingdom."{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 63]}} Sceptical scholars, such as Martin Sprengling, considered such accounts of ancient Roman historians "poor, scanty and confused".{{sfn|Sprengling|1953|p= [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015014633245;view=1up;seq=131;size=150 108]}} However, the coronation dedication of Herodianus' statue, which stood on the Monumental Arch of Palmyra,{{sfn|Kaizer|2008|p= 659}} records his defeat of the Persians, for which he was crowned,{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA178 178]}}{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} thus providing Palmyrene evidence that explicitly mentions the war against Persia; the victory attested is probably related to the first Persian campaign and not the battle of 260.{{sfn|Sommer|2018|pp= 152, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wt5CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT263 153]}}

The historian Andreas Alföldi concluded that Odaenathus started his wars with Persia by attacking the retreating Persian army at Edessa in 260. Such an attack is rejected by sceptical scholars; Sprengling noted that no evidence exists for such an engagement.{{sfn|Sprengling|1953|p= [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015014633245;view=1up;seq=131;size=150 108]}} The Iranologist Walter Bruno Henning considered the accounts of Odaenathus' attack in 260 greatly exaggerated. Shapur I mentions that he made the Roman prisoners build him the Band-e Kaisar near Susiana, and built a city for those prisoners, which evolved into the current Gundeshapur; Henning cited those arguments as evidence for Shapur I's success in bringing his army and prisoners back home and Roman exaggeration regarding Odaenathus' successes.{{sfn|Henning|1939|p=843}} Sprengling suggested that Shapur I did not have enough troops to garrison the Roman cities he occupied, and he was old and focused on religion and building; hence, Odaenathus merely retook abandoned cities and marched on Ctesiphon to heal Rome's pride, while being careful not to disturb the Persians and their emperor.{{sfn|Sprengling|1953|p= [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015014633245;view=image;size=150;page=root;seq=132;num=109 109]}} Other scholars, such as Jacob Neusner, noted that while the accounts of the 260 engagement might be an exaggeration, Odaenathus did become a real threat to Persia when he regained the cities formerly taken by Shapur I and besieged Ctesiphon.{{sfn|Neusner|1966|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=OaY3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA10 10]}} The historian Louis Feldman rejected Henning's proposals;{{sfn|Feldman|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YKOODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA432 432]}} and the historian Trevor Bryce concluded that whatever the nature of Odaenathus' campaigns, they led to the restoration of all Roman territories occupied by Shapur I{{snd}}Rome was free of Persian threats for several years after Odaenathus' wars.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA289 289]}}

{{reflist|group=note|colwidth=40em}}

{{reflist|30em}}

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{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Odaenathus}}

• [http://www.syriaphotoguide.com/home/palmyra-funerary-temple-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B2%D9%8A/ Panoramic pictures of Odaenathus' possible mausoleum (The Funerary Temple nr. 86)]
• [http://www.britannica.com/biography/Septimius-Odaenathus Odaenathus' passage in Encyclopædia Britannica]

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{{S-hou|House of Odaenathus| |220| |267|}}

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{{S-ttl|title=Ras of Palmyra|regent1=Hairan I (Herodianus)|years=240s–260|years1= ?–260}}

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Became king}}

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{{S-ttl|title=King of Palmyra|years=260–267}}

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{{S-ttl|title=King of Kings of the East|regent1=Herodianus as junior
King of Kings|years=263–267|years1=263–267}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Odaenathus}}

Category:220s births

Category:267 deaths

Category:Ancient Roman generals

Category:Palmyrene Empire

Category:Thirty Tyrants (Roman)

Category:Palmyrene monarchs

Category:Septimii

Category:Arabs in the Roman Empire

Category:3rd-century monarchs in the Middle East

Category:People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars

Category:3rd-century Arab people