Septimius Orodes was a Palmyrene official and a viceroy for king Odaenathus of Palmyra. [1] He was given the surname Septimius by his monarch. [2]
Worod (hellenized as Orodes) is an Iranian name; it is theorized that he was a Parthian refugee in the Palmyrene court (following the destruction of Parthia by the Sassanians) or the head of pro-Persian faction in Palmyra. [3] However, Worod's son's name was Arabic "Ogeilo". [4] Udo Hartmann denied that he was a Parthian insisting that Worod was a Palmyrene noble. [3] Worod held many offices in Palmyra including the administration of justice and public notary. [3]
It is known that Odaenathus sent an embassy to Persia at an unknown date and the ambassador might be Worod. [5] Shapur I of Persia, the enemy of Palmyra, in the inscription named Res Gestae Divi Saporis, lists the names of all the foreign officials who submitted to him; one of them is named Werōy Wāzārbed ("Orodes, Chief of the Bazaar"), a Middle Persian equivalent of Worod. This led to many speculations over his identity; the evidence is non-existent and any connection between the two is a mere speculation. [5]
- ^ George Albert Cooke (1923). A text-book of North-Semitic inscriptions Moabite, Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic, Nabataean, Palmyrene, Jewish. p. 286. ISBN 9785871887851.
- ^ David S Potter (2014). The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180–395. p. 257. ISBN 9781134694778.
- ^ a b c Pat Southern (2008). Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen. p. 74. ISBN 9781441173515.
- ^ Richard Stoneman (1994). Palmyra and Its Empire: Zenobia's Revolt Against Rome. p. 77. ISBN 0472083155.
- ^ a b Pat Southern (2008). Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen. p. 75. ISBN 9781441173515.