palmyra

A tall dioecious palm (Borassus flabellifer) of tropical Africa and Asia that has large fanlike leaves. Also called palmyra palm.

[Alteration (influenced by PALMYRA) of Portuguese palmeira, from palma, palm tree, from Latin. See palm².]

Ancient city in an oasis of the northern Syrian desert at the site of present-day Tadmur.

The first mention of Tadmur (or Tamar, city of dates), Palmyra's ancient and modern name, goes back to the nineteenth century B.C.E. It was probably a Caananite town that later came under Aramaic influence. In the third century B.C.E., the city achieved international prominence when the Seleucids made it a transfer point of east-west trade. Through trade contacts, the city absorbed Hellenic culture and the Greek language, which was spoken alongside Aramaic, Arabic, Syriac, and other languages. From the time of the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14 - 37 C.E.), the city came under Roman control and was renamed Palmyra (city of palms). During the Pax Romana and with the benefit of paved Roman roads, the city's commercial fortunes expanded.

Palmyra's golden age was the third century C.E. Emperor Caracalla (211 - 217 C.E.) granted Palmyra the status of a Roman colony, exempting it from taxes. The city became the chief way station between Damascus and the Euphrates river. Goods came on caravans of camels from Rome, Egypt, India, the Persian Gulf, and from China along the silk route. Some Palmyran merchants owned ships that sailed the Indian Ocean. Palmyra's busy bazaars and ruling institutions were housed in fine Roman and Mesopotamian stone buildings with Corinthian colonnades, whose ruins remain in good condition today. Palmyra became the seat of the personal empire of Septimius Odaenathus, a member of a local Arab tribe, who gained the title Emperor of the East after saving the Roman Emperor Valerian in 260 from capture by the Sassanian king, Shahpur I.

From 267 to 272 C.E., the city was ruled by Queen Zenobia. Under her vigorous rule, Palmyra in 270 conquered Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia. Zenobia
then declared the empire of Palmyra independent of Rome, but two years later, Roman Emperor Aurelian reconquered all the territory and plundered the city of Palmyra. Zenobia tried to flee by camel toward the Euphrates, but was captured and taken to Rome, where she lived the rest of her days. Palmyra was reduced from a capital to a small frontier city after the destruction caused by Aurelian's reconquest in 273.

Ancient Palmyrenes worshiped the deity Bol (also Baal or Bel) who presided over the movements of the stars. Bol's chief sanctuary, shared with the sun and moon gods Yarhibol and Algibol, still stands. Greek and Roman deities were incorporated into the local belief system. In the second century, the worship of a single unnamed god became important, and by 325, a Palmyra bishop attended the Nicaean Council.

In 634, Khalid ibn al-Walid conquered Palmyra and assimilated it into the expanding Muslim caliphate. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1089 and reportedly had a mere two thousand inhabitants in the twelfth century. After the city was sacked by Tamerlane at the end of the fourteenth century, it fell into ruins. In the seventeenth century, Fakhr al-Din of Lebanon used Palmyra as a military training ground and erected a castle on a hill nearby.

The city was first excavated in 1929, and restorations have continued since then. Today, Tadmur is a city of thirty thousand inhabitants, the site of tourist facilities and a prison.

Bibliography

Bulliet, Richard W. The Camel and the Wheel. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.

Starcky, J., and Gawlikowski, M. Palmyre, revised edition. Paris: Librairie d'Amérique et d'Orient, 1985.

— ELIZABETH THOMPSON

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: tall fan palm of Africa and India and Malaysia yielding a hard wood and sweet sap that is a source of palm wine and sugar; leaves used for thatching and weaving
  Synonyms: palmyra palm, toddy palm, wine palm, lontar, longar palm, Borassus flabellifer

Borassus
Borassus flabellifer in Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Monocots (unranked): Commelinids Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Subfamily: Coryphoideae Tribe: Borasseae Genus: Borassus L.[1]
Species
See text.

The main entrance of Angkor Wat to the temple proper, seen from the eastern end of the Naga causeway and Asian Palmyra Palm

African Palmyra Palm

Ake Assi's Palmyra Palm (Borassus akeassii), fruits.

Young African Palmyra Palm

Borassus (Palmyra Palm) is a genus of six species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and New Guinea. They are tall palms, capable of growing up to 30 m high. The leaves are long, fan-shaped, 2 to 3 m in length. The flowers are small, in densely clustered spikes, followed by large, brown, roundish fruits.

Species

• Borassus aethiopium - African Palmyra Palm (and other names) (tropical Africa)
• Borassus akeassii - Ake Assi's Palmyra Palm (West Africa)
• Borassus flabellifer - Asian Palmyra Palm (and other names) (southern Asia and southeast Asia)
• Borassus heineanus - New Guinea Palmyra Palm (New Guinea)
• Borassus madagascariensis - Madagascar Palmyra Palm (Madagascar)
• Borassus sambiranensis - Sambirano Palmyra Palm (Madagascar)

Contents 1 Cultivation and uses 2 Gallery of Borassus 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Cultivation and uses

Palmyra Palms are economically useful, and widely cultivated in tropical regions. The palmyra palm has long been one of the most important trees of Cambodia and India, where it is used over 800 different ways. The leaves are used for thatching, mats, baskets, fans, hats, umbrellas, and as writing material. In Indonesia the leaves of this plant are formerly used in the ancient culture as papers, known as lontar and also a Cambodian natural symbols tree that growing around Angkor Wat. Khmer call it Tnaot. In Myanmar the tree is known as "htan-bin" and its fruit as "htan-thee." The sugar palm can live 100 year or more.

Palmyra palms were used in ancient India to write on, as a kind of papyrus. Leaves of suitable size and shape and texture, with sufficient maturity are chosen. The leaves are then seasoned by boiling in salt water with turmeric powder. This acts as a preservative. The leaves are then dried. When they are dry enough, the faces of the leaves are polished with pumice stone. Then they are cut in the proper size. A hole is cut out in one corner. Each leaf will have four pages. The writing is done with a stylus. The writing is of a very cursive and interconnected style. The leaves are then tied up as sheaves.

The stalks are used to make fences and also produce a strong, wiry fiber suitable for cordage and brushes. The black timber is hard, heavy, and durable and is highly valued for construction.

The tree also yields many types of food. The young plants are cooked as a vegetable or roasted and pounded to make meal. The fruits are eaten roasted or raw, and the young, jellylike seeds are also eaten. A sugary sap, called Toddy, can be obtained from the young inflorescence, either male or female ones. Toddy is (called "Kallu (కల్లు)" in Telugu. The todday is fermented to make a beverage called arrack, or it is concentrated to a crude sugar called jaggery. It is called Gula Jawa (Javanese sugar) in Indonesia and is widely used in the Javanese cuisine. In addition, the tree sap is taken as a laxative, and medicinal values have been ascribed to other parts of the plant.

This tree has a high respect in Tamil Culture. It is natural, then, to call it a "karpaha" or celestial tree, because all its parts without exception could be used by man.

In Tamil Nadu / Jaffna the seeds are planted and made to germinate and the fleshy sprouts (below the surface) are boiled and eaten. It is very fibrous and nutricious, known as "Panai Kizhangu" or "Panamkizhangu" in Tamil and "Tagalu" in Telugu. The germinated seed's hard shell is also cut open to take out the crunchy kernel which tastes like a sweeter Water Chestnut. It is called "dhavanai" in Tamil. The Palmyra tree is the official tree of Tamil Nadu.

The riped fibrous outer layer of the palm fruits are also boiled / heated in fire and eaten. When the fruit is tender the kernel inside the hard shell called Nungu Fruit in Tamil and Thati Munja (తాటి ముంజ )" in Telugu is like a jelly and very delicious as well. The fruit is an excellent coolant in the hot coastal summers, rich in minerals.

When the crown of the tree is cut we get an edible cake from which the leaves grow out. This is called "Pananchoru" in Tamil.

Gallery of Borassus

Bird nest on Asian palmyra palm	TRUNK in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Asian Palmyra Palm in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Asian Palmyra Palm leaves & rufous treepie in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Asian Palmyra Palm FRUIT, LEAVES & AYA's NESTS in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Asian Palmyra Palm fruits of Palmyra at Guntur, India	African Palmyra	African Palmyra Palm
African Palmyra Palm fruit	Seed of African Palmyra Palm	Fruit of African Palmyra Palm	African Palmyra Palm

See also

• Sitala

References

1. ^ Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 1187. 1753. Type:B. flabellifer

External links

• http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Borassus/index.html
• http://www.khemarinn.wordpress.com
• http://www.plantapalm.com/vpe/photos/Species/borassus_flabellifer.htm
• http://www.plantapalm.com/vpe/photos/Species/borassus_aethiopium.htm
• http://www.borassus-project.net

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