This article about the history of Greco-Roman Palmyra recently posted here [0] shows that Palmyra citizens made their living as caravan traders ferrying goods f

This article about the history of Greco-Roman Palmyra recently posted here [0] shows that Palmyra citizens made their living as caravan traders ferrying goods from India and China to the Roman empire across the Syrian desert. It's likely that part of their success in doing so was by having effective alliances with Bedouin tribes of the region. >"Palmyra’s role in all this was to help get the merchandise over the eight hundred miles that separated the cities and ports of Syria from the Persian Gulf and the sea route, by crossing the Syrian desert to the welcoming banks of the Euphrates and the fertile Persian territory; this was the annual adventure of the large caravans. The bartering and the palavers with tribal chiefs and the bribing of the Roman and Persian customs officers were done in Greek and Aramaic, the international languages of business." So this "taxation" likely has a history going back over 2,000 years and would be a known feature of trading relations, not very different from paying a fee to use the Suez canal today. [0] https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/home/oasis-palmyra https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/home/oasis-palmyra