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Bene Komare

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The Bene Komare were a Palmyrene tribe who were attested as one of the main four tribes of Palmyra.

Name

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The tribe was known as the Komare (Chomarenoi in Ancient Greek) and were only once mentioned with the Greek name Choneitai; both names mean priests.[1] Komare is the plural of Kumra, which means priest in Aramaic, while Choneitai is the Greek plural of the Canaanite Kohen, which means priest.[1]

Origin and history

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The Canaanite name occurred earlier than the Aramaic one,[2] indicating that they were of Canaanite origin who became established in Palmyra before 32 BC.[3] They were first mentioned in an inscription from Dura-Europos,[4] when in 33 BC, Maliku son of Ramu from the Komare in association with a member of the Gaddibol tribe built a temple for Bel and Yarhibol in that city,[5] which contained a Palmyrene trade colony.[6] The Komare were one of the main four tribes in Palmyra which constituted the nucleus of the city's society.[7] An inscription from November 21 AD mention that a certain Hashash son of Nesa from the Komare had a statue erected for him by his tribe and the tribe of Bene-Mattabol for his efforts in reconciling the two tribes who apparently got involved in a conflict.[7]

The tribe was devoted to the cult of the gods Aglibol and Malakbel,[8] and were connected with those deities temple known as the Holy Garden.[9][4] The Komare were involved in the Palmyrene caravan trade and its merchants were attested in Babylon.[10]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b Gawlikowski 2003, p. 9.
  2. ^ Veyne 2017, p. 35.
  3. ^ Teixidor 1977, p. 121.
  4. ^ a b Gawlikowski 2003, p. 10.
  5. ^ Teixidor 1979, p. 27.
  6. ^ Edwell 2008, p. 36.
  7. ^ a b Teixidor 1977, p. 107.
  8. ^ Teixidor 1979, p. 35.
  9. ^ Teixidor 1977, p. 120.
  10. ^ Dirven 1999, p. 32.

Sources

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  • Dirven, Lucinda (1999). The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos: A Study of Religious Interaction in Roman Syria. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World. Vol. 138. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-11589-7. ISSN 0927-7633.
  • Edwell, Peter (2008). Between Rome and Persia: The Middle Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Palmyra Under Roman Control. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-09573-5.
  • 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.
  • Teixidor, Javier (1977). The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-400-87139-1.
  • 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.
  • Veyne, Paul (2017) [2015]. Palmyra: An Irreplaceable Treasure. Translated by Fagan, Teresa Lavender. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-45293-7.
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