of the most ancient commerce of the eastern world; and that it was with a view of obtaining a shorter route, by the Euphrates, that Solomon turned his attention to Tadmor, distant but three days' journey from it. An ancient historian,' says Volney, 'who has informed us that Nabuchodonosor, before he laid siege to Jerusalem, took possession of Tadmor, clearly indicates that the latter city acted in concert with the two neighbouring capitals, Tyre and Jerusalem. Their gradual decline became, under the Persian empire and the successors of Alexander, the efficient cause of the sudden greatness of Palmyra in the time of the Parthians and Romans; she had then enjoyed a long peace for many centuries, which allowed her inhabitants to erect those monuments of opulence whose ruins we still admire.' The verdant part of the ground was, perhaps, in remote times far more extensive than it is at present, the sands having without doubt encroached in a considerable degree on the tract calculated for bearing the fruits of the earth. A place possessed of the advantages we have mentioned was soon made a point of resort for the caravans by which the various rich commodities of India were transported to European countries. Palmyra thus grew to be an independent and wealthy city; and appears to have been permitted by the Romans, during their Parthian wars, to maintain a strict neutrality. Trajan, however, incorporated it with the imperial Roman state, and it should seem that during the period in which it held the subordinate rank of a Roman colony (namely, for a century and a half subsequently), those temples and palaces of Grecian architecture, whose widely extended ruins have occasioned so much speculation, were erected. In old times Palmyra was doubtless encompassed by palms and fig trees, and it might probably have been reduced to its present forforn and miserable appearance by the oceans of sand drifted over it by whirlwinds. The walls of the city are flanked with square towers; and are of the extent of three miles in circumference. But there is no authentic history of Palmyra till after the captivity of the emperor Valerian by the Persians. It is first mentioned by the Roman historians, as a place which Marc Antony attempted to plunder, upon pretence that it had not observed a just neutrality between the Romans and Parthians. Pliny takes notice of it, as situated in a rich soil, among pleasant streams, and separated from the rest of the world by a vast sandy desert, which had preserved its independence between Parthia and Rome. After the captivity of Valerian, it was become an opulent city, to which its situation in the vicinity of the Roman and Parthian empires greatly contributed; as the caravans, going to or returning from the east, frequented the place, and thus rendered it a considerable seat of merchandise. But, when the defeat and captivity of Valerian had so much weakened the empire that the Persians seemed to be in a fair way of becoming masters of all the eastern provinces, the Palmyrenians began to attempt recovering their liberty. Odenatus, prince of Palmyra, sent a polite letter to Sapor on his return, accompanied with con siderable presents; but by that haughty conqueror his letter and embassy were treated with the most provoking contempt. The presents were thrown into the Euphrates; and to his letter Sapor replied, That his insolence in presuming to write to his lord was inexcusable; but, if he could atone for it in any way, it would be by presenting himself before the throne bound hand and foot. Upon this Odenatus was so provoked that he swore either to bring down the pride of the haughty conqueror, or die in the attempt. Accordingly, having assembled what forces he could, he fell upon the Persians, destroyed a great number of them, took a great part of their baggage, with Sapor's queen, and some of his concubines. But though the Persians were often vanquished, and the independency of Palmyra often established, Valerian was never released from his captivity, though Odenatus earnestly endeavoured to rescue him from his enemies. Odenatus enjoyed his sovereignty but a short time; being murdered by his nephew, who was soon after put to death by Zenobia, the widow of Odenatus. Zenobia was possessed of very extraordinary endowments both of body and mind. Immediately on the murder of her husband, she assumed the government, avenged his death, and soon strengthened herself so much that she resolved to submit neither to the Roman nor Persian power. Arabia, Armenia, and Persia, dreaded her enmity and solicited her alliance. To the dominions of Odenatus, which extended from the Euphrates to the frontiers of Bithynia, she added the inheritance of her ancestors, the populous and fertile kingdom of Egypt. The emperor Claudius II. acknowledged her merit, and was content that, while he pursued the Gothic war, she should enjoy the dignity of the empire in the east. The conduct, however, of Zenobia, was attended with some ambiguity.. She blended with the popular manners of Roman princes the stately pomp of the courts of Asia, and exacted from her subjects the same adoration that was paid to the successors of Cyrus. She bestowed on her three sons a Roman education, and often showed them to the troops adorned with the imperial purple. For herself she reserved the diadem and title of queen of the east. When Aurelian passed over into Asia, his presence restored obedience to Bithynia, already shaken by the arms of Zenobia. Advancing at the head of his legions, Ancyra submitted, and he was admitted into Tyana, after an obstinate siege, by the treachery of a perfidious citizen. The generous though fierce Aurelian abandoned the traitor to the rage of the soldiers: a superstitious reverence induced him to treat with lenity the countrymen of Apollonius the philosopher. Antioch was deserted on his approach; till he recalled the fugitives, and granted a general pardon to all who, from necessity, had fought for the Palmyrenian queen. The unexpected mildness of such conduct reconciled the Syrians, and, as far as the gates of Emesa, the people submitted to his arms. Zenobia, however, opposed the emperor's approach. The fate of the east was decided in two great battles; the first fought near Antioch, the second near Emesa. In both, the queen of Palmyra animated the armies by her presence, and devolved the execution of her orders on Zabdas, who had already signalised his military talents by the conquest of Egypt. The numerous forces of Zenobia consisted for the most part of light archers, and of heavy cavalry clothed in complete steel. The Moorish and Illyrian horse of Aurelian were unable to sustain the ponderous charge of their antagonists. They fled in real or affected disorder, engaged the Palmyrenians in a laborious pursuit, harassed them by a desultory combat, and at length discomfited this impenetrable body of cavalry. The infantry, when they had exhausted their quivers, remained exposed to the swords of the legions. After the defeat of Emesa, Zenobia found it impossible to collect a third army. As far as the frontier of Egypt, the nations subject to her empire had joined the standard of the conqueror. Palmyra was her last resource. She retired within its walls; made every preparation for a vigorous resistance; and declared, with the intrepidity of a heroine, that the last moment of her reign and of her life should be the same. In his march over the sandy desert, between Emesa and Palmyra, Aurelian was perpetually harassed by the Arabs; nor could he always defend his army, and especially his baggage, from those flying troops of daring robbers. 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 balista, and artificial fires are thrown from her military engines,' &c. Aurelian at last judged it 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. Zenobia hoped, that in a short time famine would compel the Roman army to repass the desert; and that the kings of the east, particularly the Persian monarch, would arm in the defence of their natural ally. But the death of Sapor distracted the councils of Persia; and the inconsiderable succors that attempted to relieve Palmyra were easily intercepted. The Roman camp was increased by the return of Probus with his victorious troops from the conquest of Egypt. It was then that Zenobia resolved to fly. She mounted the fleetest of her dromedaries; and had reached the banks of the Euphrates, about sixty miles from Palmyra, when she was overtaken by Aurelian's light horse, seized, and brought back a captive. Her capital soon after surrendered, and was treated with unexpected lenity. When the Syrian queen was brought into the presence of Aurelian, he sternly asked her, How she had presumed to rise in arms against the emperors of Rome? The answer of Zenobia was a prudent mixture of respect and firmness: Because I disdained to consider as Roman emperors an Aureolus or a Gallienus. You alone I acknowledge as my conqueror and my sovereign.' But the courage of Zenobia deserted her in the hour of trial; she trembled at the clamors of the soldiers, who called aloud for her immediate execution; forgot the bold despair of Cleopatra, which she had proposed as her model, and ignominiously purchased life by the sacrifice of her fame and her friends. It was to their councils, which governed the weakness of her sex that she imputed the guilt of her obstinate resistance; it was on their heads that she directed the vengeance of the cruel Aurelian. The fame of Longinus, who was included among the numerous and perhaps innocent victims of her fear, will survive that of the queen who betrayed, or the tyrant who condemned him. Genius and learning were incapable of moving a fierce unlettered soldier, but they had served to elevate and harmonise the soul of Longinus, Without uttering a complaint, he calmly followed the executioner, pitying his unhappy mistress, and comforting his afflicted friends. Returning from the conquest of the east, Aurelian had already crossed the straits which divide Europe from Asia, when he was provoked by the intelligence that the Palmyrenians had massacred the governor and garrison which he had left among them, and erected the standard of revolt. Without delay, he once more turned towards Syria. Antioch was alarmed by his rapid approach, and the helpless city of Palmyra felt the irresistible weight of his resentment. We have a letter of Aurelian himself, in which he acknowledges, that old men, women, children, and peasants, had been involved in that dreadful execution which should have been confined to armed rebellion: and, although his principal concern seems directed to the re-establishment of a temple of the sun, he discovers some pity for the remnant of the Palmyrenians, to whom he grants the permission of rebuilding and inhabiting their city. But it is easier to destroy than to restore. The seat of commerce, of arts, and of Zenobia, gradually sunk into an obscure town, a trifling fortress, and at length a miserable village. Little is known concerning the fortunes of Palmyra since the time of Mahomet, except that it was considered as a place of strength; and that in the twelfth century there were 2000 Jews in it. The company with whom Mr. Wood, the publisher of The Ruins of Palmyra, travelled, arrived at the end of the plain, where a ridge of barren hills, by which it was divided on the right and left, seemed to meet; between them there was a vale, through which an aqueduct formerly conveyed water to Palmyra. On each side of this vale they remarked several sepulchres of the ancient Palmyrenes, which they had scarcely passed, when the hills opening on a sudden, they discovered such piles of ruins as they had never seen. They were all of white marble; and, beyond them, towards the Euphrates, was a wide level, stretching farther than the eye could reach, totally desolate, and without bounds. After having gazed some time upon this prospect, which rather exceeded than fell short of their expecta tions, they were conducted to one of the huts of the Arabs, of which there were about thirty in the court of the great temple. The inhabitants of both sexes were well shaped, and the women, though very swarthy, had good features. They were veiled, but did not so scrupulously conceal their faces as the eastern women generally do. They painted the ends of their fingers red, their lips blue, and their eye-brows and eye-lashes black. They had large rings of gold or brass in their ears and nostrils. These celebrated ruins consist of temples, palaces, and porticoes of Grecian architecture; and lię scattered over an extent of several miles. They were accidentally discovered by some English travellers from Aleppo above a century ago. The most remarkable of them is the temple of the Sun, of which the ruins are spread over a square of 220 yards. It was encompassed with a stately wall, built of large square stones, and adorned with pilasters within and without, to the number of sixty-two on a side. Within the court are the remains of two rows of noble marble pillars thirty-seven feet high, with their capitals of most exquisite workmanship. Of these only fifty-eight remain entire, but they appear to have gone round the whole court, and to have supported a double piazza. The walks opposite the castle appear to have been spacious. At each end of this line are two niches for statues, with their pedestals, borders, supporters, and canopies, carved with the utmost propriety and elegance. The space within this enclosure seems to have been an open court, in the middle of which stood the temple encompassed with another row of pillars of a different order, and much taller, being fifty feet high; but of these sixteen only remain. The whole space contained within these pillars is fifty-nine yards in length, and nearly twenty-eight in breadth. The temple is thirtythree yards long, and thirteen or fourteen broad. It points north and south; and exactly in the middle of the building, on the west side, is a most magnificent entry, on the remains of which are some vines and clusters of grapes, carved in the most masterly imitation of nature that can be conceived. Just over the door are discerned a pair of wings, which extend its whole breadth; but the body, whether of an eagle, or an angel, is destroyed. The north end of this temple is adorned with the most curious fret-work and bas-relief; and in the middle there is a dome or cupola about ten feet diameter. North of this place is an obelisk, consisting of seven large stones, besides its capital. It is about fifty feet high; and, just above the pedestal, is twelve feet in circumference. About a quarter of a mile from this pillar, to the east and west, are two others, besides the fragment of a third. About 100 paces from the middle obelisk is a magnificent entry to a piazza, which is forty feet broad, and more than half a mile long, enclosed with two rows of marble pillars twenty-six feet high, and eight or nine in compass. Of these there still remain 129, but there must originally have been no less than 560. The upper end of the piazza was closed by a row of pillars. To the left are the ruins of a stately banquetting-house, built of better marble, and finished with yet greater elegance, than the piazza. The pillars which supported it were of one entire stone. It measures twenty-two feet in length, and in compass eight feet nine inches. In the west side of the piazza are several apertures for gates into the court of the palace. Each of these was adorned with four porphyry pillars, placed by couples in the front of the gate facing the palace, two on each side. Two of these only remain entire. They are thirty feet long, and nine in circumference. On the east side of the piazza stand a great number of marble pillars, some perfect, but the greater part mutilated. At a little distance are the remains of a small temple, without a roof. Before the entry, which looks to the south, is a piazza supported by six pillars, two on each side of the door, and one at each end. The pedestals of those in front have been filled with inscriptions, both in the Greek and Palmyrene languages, which are become totally illegible. Among these ruins are many sepulchres. They are all square towers, four or five stories high. There is a walk across the whole building, the space on each hand is subdivided into six partitions by thick walls. The space between the partitions is wide enough to receive the largest corpse; and in these niches there are six or seven piled upon one another. Many inscriptions have been found at Palmyra, which have occupied much of the attention of the learned. See Barthelemy's Reflections on the Palmyrene Alphabet, published at Paris in 1754; An Explication of the Inscriptions at Palmyra hitherto published by John Swinton, of Christ Church, Oxford; Philosophical Transactions, No. 217 and 218; Ancient Universal History, Vol. 1; and, above all, the Ruins of Palmyra, or Tadmor in the Desert, published by Mr. R. Wood, who, with M. Bouverie and Mr. Dawkins, travelled thither in 1751. The result of their observations was published in 1753, in the form of an atlas. The ruins of this once mighty and celebrated city are represented in fifty-seven copper plates, sixteen by twelve inches, printed on imperial paper. They are admirably executed; Palmyra was visited by Mr. Bruce, before his journey into Abyssinia. Before he came in sight of the ruins, he ascended a hill of white gritty stone, in a very narrow winding road; but, on getting up to the top, he was struck with the most stupendous sight which, he believes, ever mortal saw. The whole plain below, which is very extensive, was so covered with magnificent buildings that they seemed to touch one another. All of them are finely proportioned, and composed of white stones, which at that distance appeared like marble. In the neighbourhood of Palmyra are some salt-marshes; and to the adjacent country a trade is carried on in kelp from Tripoli in Syria. Respecting the latitude and longitude there are various opinions. Before Mr. Bruce left Palmyra, he observed its latitude with a reflecting quadrant of Hadley, but, as the instrument was out of order, he could not determine it exactly. In his opinion, however, 33° 58′ is the latitude. From such observations as he could make on the longitude, he concluded it to be 37° 9′ E. of Greenwich. Mr. R. Wood makes the lat. 34° He must not think to shelter himself from so pal pable an absurdity, by this impertinent distinction. Tillotson. N. That which appears to be nearest the truth is long. 38° 50′ E., lat. 33° 20′ N. It stands about fifty leagues south-east of Aleppo, as much from Damascus, and twenty leagues west of the Euphrates. PALMYRAS POINT, the south point of Balasore Bay, Bengal, is a low point, covered with palm-trees, and on each side of it a river, that on the south being navigable for small vessels. The bay of Balasore has but little depth, and the great danger here is of mistaking Cape False for the Point. No ship should enter Balasore roads between Lady-day and Midsummer, and at all seasons a pilot should be taken on board. The East India Company have lately erected a light-house here. Long. 87° 5' E., lat. 20° 44' N. PALNAUD, a district of the Carnatic, Hindostan, situated principally between 16° and 17° of N. lat., and on the south side of the Kistnah. This district was ceded by the nabob of the Carnatic to the British, in 1801, and is now comprehended in the collectorship of Guntoor. The chief towns are Macheria, Timerycotta, and Currumconda. PALO, a town of Diarbekir, Asiatic Turkey, is situated on the edge of a mountain, upon the banks of the Euphrates. The top of the mountain is covered with ruins, supposed to be those of Balisbiga; and quantities of old coins and medals are continually dug up here. The present population of Palo is about 8000 Turks, Armenians, and Koords; but the town is ill built, and subject to earthquakes. The Euphrates is here extremely rapid. Sixty miles north of Diarbekir. PALPABLE, adj. PALPABILITY, n. s. PALPABLENESS, PALPABLY, adv. PALPATION, n. s. Fr. palpable; Latin palpor. Perceptible to the touch; hence easily detected; gross; coarse; plain: palpability and palpableness are synonymous, expressing the state or quality of being perceived by the touch; plainness; obviousness: palpably is the corresponding adverb: palpation (of which we find no instance) the act of feeling. That grosser kind of heathenish idolatry, whereby they worshipped the very works of their own hands, was an absurdity to reason so palpable, that the prophet David, comparing idols and idolaters together, maketh almost no odds between them. It was so palpable, I could have touched them. PALPAH, a mountainous and barren district of Northern Hindostan, situated between 28° and 29° of N. lat. It forms one of the principalities subject to the rajah of Nepaul, called the territories of the twenty-four rajahs. It is intersected by the Gunduck. PALPAH, the capital of the above-mentioned district, the residence of a Hindoo chief named Mehadut Sein, who is tributary to Nepaul. It is situated among the mountains on the banks of the Gunduck River. Long. 82° 55′ E., lat. 28° 11' N. PALPITATE, v. a. Į French palpiter; Lat. PALPITATION, n. s. S palpito (à Gr. wall). To pant; throb; beat as the heart; flutter: the substantive corresponding. The heart strikes five hundred sort of pulses in an hour; and hunted into such continual palpitations, through anxiety and distraction, that fain would it break. Harvey. I knew the good company too well to feel any palpitations at their approach. of weak fibres. Anxiety and palpitations of the heart are a sign Arbuthnot on Aliments. Her bosom heaves With palpitations wild. While, as beautiful as May, Tatler. Thomson's Spring. A female child of ten years tried to stoop Index. PALSGRAVE (John), a learned writer, who flourished in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. He received his grammatical learning at London, his native place. He studied logic and philosophy at Cambridge, where he became A. B., after which he went to Paris, where he spent several years in study, took the degree of A. M., and acquired such excellence in the French tongue that, in 1514, when a treaty of marriage was negociated between Louis XII. of France, and the princess Mary, sister of Henry VIII. of England, Mr. Palsgrave was appointed to be tutor in that language. But Louis XII. dying soon after his marriage, Palsgrave attended his fair pupil back to England, where he taught French to the young nobility, obtained preferment in the church, and was appointed one of the king's chaplains in ordinary. In 1531 he settled at Oxford, and in 1582 was made A. M. and B. D. He was much esteemed for his learning; and, though an Englishman, was the first who reduced the French tongue to grammatical rules, or fixed it to any kind of standard. This he executed with great ingenuity, in a large work which he published in that language at London, entitled L'Eclaircissement de la Language Françoise, in three books, thick foHo, 1530, with a large English introduction; so that the French nation stand originally indebted to England for that universality which their language at present possesses. He translated into English a Latin comedy called Acolastus, written by one William Fullonius, an author then living at Hagen in Holland. He died in 1540. PAL'SY, n.s. Lat. paralysis, of which it seems a corruption. A privation of animal motion or feeling. The palsy, and not fear, provokes me. Shakspeare. Palled, thy blazed youth A palsy may as well shake an oak, as shake the delight of conscience. South. Though she breathes in a few pious peaceful souls, like a palsied person, she scarce moves a limb. Decay of Piety. Let not old age long stretch his palsied hand; Those who give late are importuned each day. Gay. There is a threefold division of a palsy; a privavation of motion, sensation remaining; a privation of sensation, motion remaining; and, lastly, a privation of both together. Quincy. Eneas! Jesus, the true Messiah, in whose name I preach and act immediately healeth thee! And upon this the palsy left him, and the disabled man was all at once so strengthened that he arose immediately and did it. Doddridge on Acts ix. PALSY. See MEDICINE, Index. PALTER, v. n. & v. a. As Skinner and PALTERER, Minsheu think, PALTRINESS, from Fr. poltron. PALTRY, adj. Mr. Thomson more probably from Span. falter, or balder (barb. Lat. palitare), fallo. To shuffle; shift; deal insincerely; deceive: according to Ainsworth it has also been used for to squander, as he falters his fortune' a palterer is a shuffler; insincere dealer or negociator: paltry, low; tricky; sordid; mean. 6 Be these juggling fiends no more believed, That palter with us in a double sense; That keep the word of promise to our ear, And break it to our hope. Shakspeare. Macbeth. Then turn your forces from this paltry siege, And stir them up against a mightier task. Shakspeare. Whose compost is paltry and carried too late, Such husbandry useth that many do hate. Tusser. For knights are bound to feel no blows From paltry and unequal foes. It is an ill habit to squander away our wishes upon paltry fooleries. L'Estrange. Hudibras. When such paltry slaves presume To mix in treason, if the plot succeeds, They're thrown neglected by; but, if it fails, They're sure to die like dogs. Addison's Cato. PALUDAMENTUM, in Roman antiquity, a habit that differed but little from the chlamys, except that this last belonged chiefly to the lower class of people. It was worn by the officers and principal men among the Romans in time of war, who are therefore called Paludati; distinguished from the common soldiers, who, because they wore the sagum, were called sagati. The paludamentum came down only to the navel, was open on the sides, had short sleeves resembling angels' wings, and was generally white or red. It is also used to signify the common soldier's coat. PALY, or PALE, in heraldry, is when the shield is divided into four or more equal parts, by perpendicular lines falling from the top to the bottom. PALY BENDE is when the escutcheon is divided by perpendicular lines, which is paly; and also by diagonals, which is called bendy. PAM, n. s. Probably, as Johnson says, from palm, victory, as trump from triumph. The knave of clubs. Ev'n mighty pam that kings and queens o'erthrew, And mowed down armies in the fights of lu. Pope. PAMELIUS (James), a Flemish divine, the son of Adolphus, counsellor of state to Charles V., born at Bruges, in 1536. He was canon of Bruges; and Philip II. appointed him bishop of St. Omer; but, in going to take possession of his episcopate, he died at Mons. He wrote several works; of which the chief is his Notes upon Tertullian and Cyprian. PAMIGER, or PAMINGER (Leonard), or the elder, was a scholar, musician, and the intimate friend of Martin Luther. He composed a great variety of church music, printed in four volumes, which appeared at different periods after his decease in 1568, under the superintendance of his son Sophonias. The latter was born in 1526, studied under Luther and Melancthon, at Wittemberg, and afterwards suffered much persecution on account of his religious opinions. He became in 1568 rector of the choir at Oetingen; but, his principles forcing him to quit that place, he returned to Nuremberg, where he supported himself principally by the sale of his father's works, and by teaching at the Carthusian convent. His death took place in 1603. PAMPAS DEL SACRAMENTO, vast plains of South America, to the eastward of the Andes, running in a direction nearly north and south through the province of Peru, to the extent of nearly 8000 square leagues. They are so level that they have been compared to the ocean, and are shaded with forests of eternal verdure. They are between the Ucayale and the limits of the Portuguese territories, which bound them to the east and west, while to the north they are bounded by the river Amazons. They contain abundance of lakes and rivers, whose isles and havens are Rain inhabited by tribes greatly diversified. and thunder are frequent, and for some hours of the day thick fogs always rest on the trees. The thickness of the woods often prevents the rain from penetrating to the earth, and the warmth and moisture give birth to innumerable insects and reptiles, and render these regions very unhealthy. Here some of the rarest vegetable products are found: balsams, oils, gums, resins, incense, cinnamon superior to that of Ceylon in strength, but not so valuable, on account of a juice which it transudes; cocoa, cascarilla, and |