The Bene Ma'zin were a Palmyrene tribe who were attested as one of the main four tribes of the city.

Name and origin

The tribe's name is a plural that apparently referred to the founders' original occupation; it means the "goat herders".[1] Ma'zin is an Arabic word;[2] French archaeologist Javier Teixidor described the tribe as Arab,[3] while Michał Gawlikowski, head of the Polish archaeological expedition in Palmyra between 1980-2011, stated that the tribe is best understood as an alliance of pastoralists from different origins who settled in the city.[1][4]

History

Membership in the tribe seems to have been composite and its name suggest a nomadic origin; the tribe included different clans such as the bene Yedi'bel whose member Mattanai founded the Allat temple in Palmyra.[4] Beside the Allat, the tribe was responsible for the Temple of Baalshamin.[4] The Ma'zin was one of four tribes in Palmyra that constituted its city council which governed the city.[5]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Gawlikowski 2003, p. 9.
  2. ↑ Stoneman 1994, p. 67.
  3. ↑ Teixidor 1979, p. 36.
  4. 1 2 3 Gawlikowski 2008, p. 398.
  5. ↑ Drijvers 1976, p. 14.

Sources

  • Drijvers, Hendrik Jan Willem (1976). van Baaren, Theodoor Pieter; Leertouwer, Lammert; Leemhuis, Fred; Buning, H. (eds.). The Religion of Palmyra. Iconography of Religions. Section XV Mesopotamia and the Near East (Institute of Religious Iconography, State University Groningen). Brill. ISBN 978-0-585-36013-3. ISSN 0169-8036. OCLC 714982019.
  • Gawlikowski, Michał (2008). "The Statues of the Sanctuary of Allat in Palmyra". In Eliav, Yaron Z.; Friedland, Elise A.; Herbert, Sharon (eds.). The Sculptural Environment of the Roman Near East: Reflections on Culture, Ideology, and Power. Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion. Vol. 9. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-9-042-92004-0. ISSN 1780-5961.
  • Gawlikowski, Michał (2003). "Palmyra: From a Tribal Federation to a City". In Freyberger, Klaus Stefan; Henning, Agnes; von Hesberg, Henner (eds.). Kulturkonflikte im Vorderen Orient an der Wende vom Hellenismus zur Römischen Kaiserzeit. Orient-Archäologie. Vol. 11. Verlag Marie Leidorf. ISBN 978-3-896-46641-9. ISSN 1434-162X.
  • Stoneman, Richard (1994). Palmyra and Its Empire: Zenobia's Revolt Against Rome. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-08315-2.
  • Teixidor, Javier (1979). The Pantheon of Palmyra. Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'Empire romain. Vol. 79. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-05987-0.
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