d, if we may judge from a few remaining inscriptions, that
the wealthy Palmyrenians constructed those temples, palaces, and
porticos of Grecian architecture whose ruins, scattered over an extent
of several miles, have deserved the curiosity of our travelers. The
elevation of Odenathus and Zenobia appeared to reflect new splendor on
their country, and 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.

[C] Five hundred and thirty-seven miles from Seleucia, two
hundred and three from the nearest coast of Syria, according
to Pliny.

In his march over the sandy desert between Emesa and Palmyra, the
Emperor Aurelian was perpetually harassed by the Arabs; nor could he
always defend his army, and especially his baggage, from those flying
troops of active and daring robbers who watched the moment of surprise
and eluded the slow pursuit of the legions. The siege of Palmyra was an
object far more difficult and important, and the Emperor, who with
incessant vigor pressed the attacks in person, was himself wounded with
a dart. "The Roman people," says Aurelian, in an original letter, "speak
with contempt of the war which I am waging against a woman. They are
ignorant both of the character and of the power of Zenobia. It is
impossible to enumerate her warlike preparations of stones, of arrows,
and of every species of missile weapons. Every part of the walls is
provided with two or three _balistae_, and artificial fires are thrown
from her military engines. The fear of punishment has armed her with a
desperate courage. Yet still I trust in the protecting deities of Rome,
who have hitherto been favorable to all my undertakings." Doubtful,
however, of the protection of the gods and of the event of the siege,
Aurelian judged it more prudent to offer terms of an advantageous
capitulation: to the Queen, a splendid retreat; to the citizens, their
ancient privileges. His proposals were obstinately rejected, and the
refusal was accompanied with insult.

The firmness of Zenobia was supported by the hope that in a very short
time famine would compel the Roman army to repass the desert, and by the
reasonable expectation that the kings of the East, and particularly the
Persian monarch, would arm in the defense of their most natural ally.
But fortune and the perseverance of Aurelian overcame every obstacle.
The death of Sapor, which happened