#odenathus

Septimius Udhayna, Latinised as Odenathus, in the year 220AD in the city of Palmyra. Palmyra was one of the cities that made up the Syria Phoenice province of the Roman Empire. Odenathus was born shortly before the period known as the ‘Crisis of the Third Century‘. He was born to a noble family but not one of Royal blood as the City was ruled by a council and not a Royal family.

The rise of the aggressive Sassanid Empire and the fall of the Parthian Empire resulted in increased Persian raids. These raids would affect Palmyrene income as the cities primary source of income was through trade caravans. This as well as the weakening of the Roman Empire was, possibly, one of the main reasons behind the decision by the Palmyra Council to elect a Ras (Lord) to lead a strengthened army in the field.

The earliest known mention of Odenathus as Ras is in an inscription from 251AD. There is also mention of Odenathus as a Roman Senator, but when his ascension to the Senatorial Class happened is unknown. It is possible that this occurred after his appointment to the rank of Ras, but it is also possible that both events occurred at the same time. Odenathus didn’t waste any time and bolstered the Palmyrene army by recruiting Desert Nomads and increasing the number of armoured heavy cavalry in the Army.

The Sassanids would cross the Euphrates in 252AD under the leadership of King of Kings Shapur the First. The Persians widely raided Roman Lands and destroyed many Palmyrene trade colonies on the Euphrates. It is said that Odenathus attempted to negotiate with Shapur, but it is said that these attempts were rejected and gifts Odenathus had tried to give to the Persians were thrown in the river.

By 258AD, at the latest, Odenathus was appointed as Governor of Syria Phoenice; this would make him the highest authority in the province and the commander of all Roman forces in the province. Starting not long after his appointment as Governor, Odenathus would begin to strengthen his position and political standing. In 260AD by the time of the battle of Edessa, Odenathus held the power, rank and standing to pacify the chaos that would grip the Roman East.

The battle of Edessa would prove to be a disastrous for the Roman Empire as the Emperor Valerian and his entire army of between 60,000 and 70,000 men were defeated and Valerian was captured. This defeat would be catastrophic for the Empire.

Odenathus was declared King of Palmyra almost as soon as news reached the city. Odenathus would have been faced with a number of choices at this point; he could have chosen to declare Palmyrene independence and ruled as King, he could have sided with the Sassanids and he could have thrown his lot in with the Rebellion of Fulvius Macrianus and his sons. But instead Odenathus chose to remain loyal to Valerians son and successor Gallienus. When he declared his loyalty to the current Emperor is unknown, but it is widely believed to be after the defeat of Macrianus in the Balkans.

In the summer of 260AD, Odenathus marched North to attack the Sassanid invaders. He fell upon them just west of the Euphrates and defeated the Persian forces - expelling the King of Kings Shapur from Syria. After news of the defeat of Fulvius Macrianus reached Odenathus, the King marched on Emessa where the imperial pretenders two remaining sons were. The locals killed Quietus and Balista was captured and executed by Odenathus

The defeat of the usurpers left Odenathus as by far the most powerful man in the East and while he remained loyal to the Emperor, true power in the region belonged with Palmyra and Odenathus. There is a source which claims that Odenathus was proclaimed Augustus (co-emperor) following his defeat of the Persians, but this source is widely discredited.

In the spring of 262AD, Odenathus invaded Sassanid Lands and crossed the Euphrates. He marched south towards the Sassanid capital at Ctesiphon, he liberated the Roman province of Mesopotamia on his way and defeated many Persian Garrisons and by late 262AD, he had besieged the Sassanid Capital.

Though he would be unsuccessful in his siege (The logistics of fighting in enemy territory was too much to over come) and he would return to Roman Lands laded with the spoils of war (Gold and Prisoners). In 263AD he would send the prisoners to Rome and be awarded a triumph by the Emperor.

Also in 263AD after returning to Palmyra, Odenathus would declare himself King of Kings of the East and crown his son as Co-King. This declaration was a direct insult upon Shapur, but not to Gallienus. While Odenathus had taken this new title, he did not show any kind of disloyalty to the Emperor and submitted to the Emperors authority.

In 266AD, Odenathus would again invade Persia and reach the Sassanid Capital, but he would again be forced to abandon his siege and march north to deal with invaders striking at Anatolia (Modern Turkey). These raiders were most likely either Scythian or Gothic in origin, but by the time Odenathus arrived in Anatolia, they would have already left.

In 267AD possibly at the conclusion or at the tail end of the Anatolian campaign, Odenathus and his son Hairan would be assassinated. Who struck at the King and who planned the assassination is something lost to history, but there are many theories from Gallienus to Shapur being involved and to his Second Wife Zenobia being the one responsible, but it is likely we will never know the truth about the death of Odenathus.

Odenathus was succeeded as King of Kings of the East and King of Palmyra by his ten-year old son Vaballathus, though true power would lie with Queen Regent Zenobia. Zenobia would later proclaim Palmyra independent of Rome in one of the key moments of the Third Century Crisis.