Septimius Haddudan

Septimius Haddudan
Septimius Haddudan
High Priest of the Temple of Bel
Monarch	Odaenathus
Personal details
Born	Palmyra, Roman Syria
Parents	Septimius Ogeilu Haddudan

Last updated May 02, 2019

Septimius Haddudan was a 3rd-century Palmyrene official, the only known Palmyrene senator other than Odaenathus,^[1] and a priest and symposiarch of the god Bel,^[2] who is known to have opposed the rule of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra and aided the Roman Empire during their wars against the queen.

Palmyra is an ancient Semitic city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second millennium BC. Palmyra changed hands on a number of occasions between different empires before becoming a subject of the Roman Empire in the first century AD.

Septimius Udhayna, Latinized as Odaenathus, was the founder king (Mlk) of the Palmyrene Kingdom centered at Palmyra, Syria. He lifted his city from the position of a regional center subordinate to Rome into the supreme power in the East. Odaenathus was born into an aristocratic Palmyrene family that received Roman citizenship in the 190s under the Severan dynasty. He was the son of Hairan the descendant of Nasor. The circumstances surrounding his rise are ambiguous; he became the lord (Ras) of the city, a position created for him, as early as the 240s and by 258, he was styled a consularis, indicating a high status in the Roman Empire.

Bel, signifying "lord" or "master", is a title rather than a genuine name, applied to various gods in the Mesopotamian religion of Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia. The feminine form is Belit 'Lady, Mistress'. Bel is represented in Greek as Belos and in Latin as Belus. Linguistically Bel is an East Semitic form cognate with Northwest Semitic Baal with the same meaning.

Origin

Haddudan is a rather obscure figure, so there is very little known about his origins. He was most likely born in Palmyra, and an inscription at the Temple of Bel reveals his ancestry, where he is recorded as "The son of Septimius Ogeilu Maqqai".^[2]

The Temple of Bel, sometimes also referred to as the "Temple of Baal", was an ancient temple located in Palmyra, Syria. The temple, consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel, worshipped at Palmyra in triad with the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Yarhibol, formed the center of religious life in Palmyra and was dedicated in 32 AD. The temple would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire in a campaign against the temples of the East made by Maternus Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect of Oriens, between 25 May 385 to 19 March 388. Its ruins were considered among the best preserved at Palmyra, until they were further destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in August 2015. The arched main entrance into the temple is still intact, as well as its exterior walls and fortified gate.

Like Odaenathus and many other important Palmyrene officials at the time, his family adopted the surname of the Severi as a sign of loyalty to the imperial throne.^[3] His father was extremely loyal to Odaenathus, and he made a dedication in his honor.^[4] Haddudan's family were also credited by some historians as the "king-makers" of Odaenathus.^[2]

Career

He is known to have opposed the rule of Queen Zenobia who rebelled against the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century, and later to oppose the rebels who tried to defy Emperor Aurelian after the capture of Zenobia.^[1]

The Roman Empire was the post-Roman Republic period of the ancient Roman civilization. Ruled by emperors, it had large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Caucasus. From the constitutional reforms of Augustus to the military anarchy of the third century, the Empire was a principate ruled from the city of Rome. The Roman Empire was then ruled by multiple emperors and divided in a Western Roman Empire, based in Milan and later Ravenna, and an Eastern Roman Empire, based in Nicomedia and later Constantinople. Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until 476 AD, when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustus after capturing Ravenna and the Senate of Rome sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople. The fall of the Western Roman Empire to barbarian kings, along with the hellenization of the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine Empire, is conventionally used to mark the end of Ancient Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of barbarian invasions and migrations into Roman territory; civil wars; peasant rebellions; political instability with multiple usurpers competing for power; growing influence and Roman reliance on barbarian mercenaries (foederati) and commanders nominally working for Rome, but increasingly independent; plague; debasement of currency; and economic depression. The crisis began with the assassination of Emperor Severus Alexander by his own troops in 235. This initiated a 50-year period during which there were at least 26 claimants to the title of emperor, mostly prominent Roman army generals, who assumed imperial power over all or part of the Empire. The same number of men became accepted by the Roman Senate as emperor during this period and so became legitimate emperors.

Aurelian was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. Born in humble circumstances, he rose through the military ranks to become emperor. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following year he conquered the Gallic Empire in the west, reuniting the Empire in its entirety. He was also responsible for the construction of the Aurelian Walls in Rome, and the abandonment of the province of Dacia.

He is mentioned in an inscription at the Temple of Bel mentioning his help to the Romans during the Palmyrene revolts.^[5]^[2] The inscription styles him as "The high priest Septimius Haddudan, illustrious senator, son of Septimius Ogeilu Maqqai, who had aided the army of Aurelian Caesar",^[2] which shows that the priests of the Temple of Bel were probably among the first of the Palmyrenes to support the Emperor Aurelian and defy Zenobia.^[2] Although it is implied that he had helped the Romans in one way or another during the Palmyrene revolts, it is unknown how, why and when,^[6] as the line giving the Seleucid date is damaged.^[7]

It is probable that he had aided the Romans during the short-lived rebellion of 273 when the Romans were waging war on the Capri in the Balkans,^[8] but it is also possible that the inscription refers to his military cooperation during the Siege of Palmyra and the subsequent capture of Zenobia and her son in 272.^[8]

Capri is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic.

Whatever the "help" he supposedly gave to the Romans, it's feasible that he was Aurelian's choice of local leader or figurehead after the capture of Zenobia in 272, with there being a need to place someone at the head of local administration in the city, and also likely that he facilitated in the restoration of law and order after the rebellion.^[8]

His fate, like many other Palmyrenes after the sack of the city by the Romans under Aurelian, remains unknown. But it was likely that he was spared for his help for the empire.

In fiction

Haddudan is a minor character in JD Smith's 2014 highly fictionalized work of historical fiction, The Rise of Zenobia, as well as in Judith Weingarten's The Chronicle of Zenobia. In the latter work, Haddudan is represented as cold, calculating and ruthless.

In the 1996 highly fictionalized Syrian soap opera, Al-Ababeed (The Anarchy), based on 3rd century Palmyra, the character of Elahbel in the show, the powerful, ruthless and treacherous Palmyrene courtier who betrays Zenobia and gives aid to the Romans, played by Salloum Haddad, appears to be based on Haddudan.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Septimius Haddudan

		4. Maqqai Haddudan



	2. Septimius Ogeilu Haddudan







1. Septimius Haddudan

Related Research Articles

The 270s decade ran from January 1, 270, to December 31, 279.

Septimia Zenobia was a third century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the city, Odaenathus. Her husband became king in 260, elevating Palmyra to supreme power in the Near East by defeating the Sassanians and stabilizing the Roman East. After Odaenathus' assassination, Zenobia became the regent of her son Vaballathus and held de facto power throughout his reign.

Year 272 (CCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Veldumnianus. The denomination 272 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Claudius Gothicus, also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to "pestilence", possibly the Plague of Cyprian that had ravaged the provinces of the Empire.

Lucius Julius Aurelius Septimius Vaballathus Athenodorusc. 259–74 AD) was emperor of the Palmyrene Empire centered at Palmyra in the region of Syria. He came to power as a child under his regent mother Zenobia, who led a revolt against the Roman Empire and formed the independent Palmyrene Empire.

The Battle of Emesa was fought in 272 between the Roman armies led by their emperor Aurelian and the Palmyrene forces led by their queen, Zenobia and general Zabdas.

The Battle of Immae was fought in 272 between the Roman army of Emperor Aurelian, and the armies of the Palmyrene Empire, whose leader, Queen Zenobia, had usurped Roman control over the eastern provinces.

The Palmyrene Empire was a splinter state centered at Palmyra which broke away from the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century. It encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, Egypt and large parts of Asia Minor.

Zabdas was a 3rd century Syrian general who led the forces of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra during her rule as regent of her son Vaballathus and her subsequent rebellion against the Roman Emperor under the short-lived independent Palmyrene Empire. He led Palmyra's expeditions in the middle east which included annexing territory spanning from Roman Egypt to Asia Minor.

Callinicus, surnamed or nicknamed Sutorius or Suetorius, sometimes known as Kallinikos of Petra or Callinicus of Petra was an ancient Greek historian of Arab descent, Orator, Rhetorician and Sophist who flourished in the 3rd century.

Aurelius/Iulius Marcellinus was a Roman soldier and Imperial functionary who had a brilliant equestrian career and was elevated to the Senate when he was chosen by the Emperor Aurelian as his consular colleague. His appointment as Consul is thought to have been a reward for his loyalty and steadfastness in 273 when, as Aurelian's deputy in charge of the eastern provinces of the Empire where the authority of the Imperial Government had only recently been restored, he resisted attempts to suborn him by a rebellious faction in the city of Palmyra.

The Battle of Ctesiphon took place in 263 between the Sassanid Empire and Palmyrene army under the Palmyrene king Odaenathus. Following the Sasanians' defeat and loss of Syria and Cappadocia to the Roman Empire at the hands of Odaenathus and Balista; The Palmyrene monarch invaded Mesopotamia and stood at the walls of Ctesiphon and devastated the region around it, however he could not conquer it. The logistical problems of fighting in enemy territory forced the Palmyrenes to leave the siege carrying with them numerous prisoners and booty. The prisoners were sent to Rome, enabling the Roman emperor Gallienus to hold a triumph.

The Siege of Tyana occurred in 272 AD. The forces of the Roman Emperor Aurelian were seeking to conquer the Palmyrene Empire.

Septimius Worod was a Palmyrene official and a viceroy for king Odaenathus of Palmyra. He was given the surname Septimius by his monarch.

Septimius Herodianus or Hairan was the son and co-king of Odaenathus of Palmyra. Through his father's marriage to Zenobia, Hairan had a half brother with the same name Hairan II.

Hairan II was a Palmyrene prince, the son of king Odaenathus and, possibly, his second wife Zenobia.

The Sack of Bostra occurred around the spring of 270 AD when Queen Zenobia of Palmyra sent her general, Zabdas, to Bostra, the capital of Arabia Petraea to subjugate the Tanukhids who were challenging Palmyrene authority.

The Palmyrene invasion of Egypt occurred in the summer, or possibly in October, of 270 AD when the forces of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, led by her general Zabdas and aided by an Egyptian general named Timagenes, invaded and subsequently annexed Egypt, which was under control of the Roman Empire at the time.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[FOOTNOTESouthern2015[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid2p9hCQAAQBAJpgPA43lpgPA43_42]-1] 1 2 Southern 2015, p. 42.

[FOOTNOTEStoneman1994[httpsbooksgooglenlbooksid8kLFfE1qPhICpgPA177_177]-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stoneman 1994, p. 177.

[FOOTNOTEStoneman1994[httpsbooksgooglenlbooksid8kLFfE1qPhICpgPA78_78]-3] Stoneman 1994, p. 78.

[FOOTNOTEStoneman1994[httpsbooksgooglenlbooksid8kLFfE1qPhICpgPA77_77]-4] Stoneman 1994, p. 77.

[FOOTNOTEWatson2014[httpsbooksgooglenlbooksidh5cMho6zFckCpgPA81_81]-5] Watson 2014, p. 81.

[FOOTNOTESouthern2015[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid2p9hCQAAQBAJpgPA149lpgPA149_149]-6] Southern 2015, p. 149.

[FOOTNOTESouthern2015[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid2p9hCQAAQBAJpgPA149lpgPA150_150]-7] Southern 2015, p. 150.

[FOOTNOTESouthern2015[httpsbooksgooglecombooksid2p9hCQAAQBAJpgPA150lpgPA150_150]-8] 1 2 3 Southern 2015, p. 150.