The Palmyra Tariff is an ancient bilingual limestone inscription discovered in Palmyra,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Dating to the 2nd century CE, the inscription provides valuable insights into the economic and political structure of the city and the wider Roman Empire. It is the longest lapidary Aramaic inscription ever found. It was discovered in 1881 by

Semyon Abamelek-Lazarev Prince Semyon Semyonovich Abamelek-Lazarev (also ''Abamelik-Lazaryan''; Russian: Семён Семёнович Абамелек-Лазарев; 24 November 1857 in Moscow – 2 October 1916 in Kislovodsk) was a Russian millionaire of Armenian ...

, and in 1901 was gifted by the Ottoman Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

to Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

and is now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Historian John Matthews described the tariff as "one of the most important single items of evidence for the economic life of any part of the Roman Empire". The inscription is known as PAT 0259, CIS II 3913, NSI 147 and TSSI IV 37.

Economic Regulation

The primary focus of the Palmyra Tariff Inscription is to outline the tariffs and duties imposed on a range of goods and commodities passing through Palmyra. These tariff rates were established to regulate trade and generate essential revenue for the city. The detailed information on specific tariffs offers a comprehensive view of the economic activities that contributed to Palmyra's prosperity. The inscription also enumerates the names of officials responsible for overseeing trade matters. This provides valuable insights into the administrative structure of Palmyra during the period.

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Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé Marie-Eugène-Melchior, vicomte de Vogüé (25 February 1848 – 29 March 1910) was a French diplomat, Orientalist, travel writer, archaeologist, philanthropist and literary critic. Biography Born in Nice, France, he served in the Franco-Prussi ...

, 188
Inscriptions Palmyréniennes InéditesJournal Asiatique 1, 231–245
and Inscriptions Palmyréniennes Inédites
Journal Asiatique 2, 149–183
* Duval, R., "Communication sur la loi fiscale de Palmyre." JA 8/2 (1883): 537–39 * Cagnat, R., "Remarques sur un tarif récemment découvert à Palmyre." Revue de philologie 8 (1884): 135–44 *

, (1884), Пальмира. Археологические исследования * Dessau, H., "Die Steuertarif von Palmyra." Hermes 19 (1884): 486–533 * Duval, R., "Le passif dans l'araméen biblique et la palmyrénien." REJ 8 (1884): 57–63 * Reckendorf, S., "Der aramäische Teil des palmyrenschen Zoll-und Steuertarifs." ZDMG 42 (1888): 370–415 * Chabot, J.-B., "Remarques sur le Tarif de Palmyre." JA (1918) * * * * Teixidor J. (1983), Le Tarif de Palmyre: Un commentaire de la version palmyrenienne, Aula Orientalis 1, pp. 235–252 * * * * *

References

{{reflist Palmyrene inscriptions Aramaic inscriptions Bilingualism 2nd-century inscriptions 1881 archaeological discoveries Archaeological discoveries in Syria

Economic Regulation

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