A fragmentary Palmyrene inscription dated to May (Iyyar) 233 CE (Palmyrene year 545) was translated by Michalowski (1966:114–115) and may preserve indirect evidence for an earthquake at Palmyra. The text records gratitude to an unknown deity for the survival of two individuals following what is described as a “shaking.” The verb is preserved, but the object—“of the earth”—is not, owing to the fragmentary state of the inscription. Michalowski cautiously suggested that the original text may have referred to a shaking of the earth rather than a more general disturbance.

The Palmyrene term DRGZ, rendered as “shaking,” is noted by Ambraseys (2009:136) as meaning “to be unsteady,” “restless,” or “agitated,” allowing for both seismic and non-seismic interpretations. If the inscription refers to a real earthquake, its firm date provides a terminus ante quem of May 233 CE. However, Ambraseys found no independent records for an earthquake affecting Palmyra in that year and emphasized that the inscription may instead reflect fear or “trembling” associated with civil unrest. As noted by Ambraseys, this interpretation accords with the historical context of the early third century CE, when Syria experienced instability following the end of the Antonine dynasty and during the rise of the Severan emperors. Palmyra lay within the Phoenician administrative division, and its garrison participated in Roman campaigns against the Parthians, circumstances that could plausibly account for expressions of collective anxiety rather than seismic destruction ( Browning 1979:44). The inscription therefore remains ambiguous and cannot be securely classified as earthquake evidence, though its language and precise dating justify cautious inclusion in discussions of possible early third- century seismic activity at Palmyra.