Summary: Synopsis: After the death of Elagabalus, Uranius Antoninus served as High Priest of Elah Gabal in Emesa. From this vantage, he witnessed the birth of Ardeshir’s Persia and the changing fortunes of the Palmyrenes. “Even the name of Tadmor, or Palmyra, by its signification in the Syrian as well as in the Latin language, denoted the multitude of palm-trees which afforded shade and verdure to that temperate region…Palmyra, for a while, stood forth the rival of Rome; but the competition was fatal, and ages of prosperity were sacrificed to a moment of glory.” - Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter XI, Part IIIhttp://s407341505.onlinehome.us/Episode_B40_Uranius.mp3Dedicated with great respect to Khaled al-Asaad, Palmyra’s devoted protector
