Septimius Odaenathus (Palmyrene: ; ; 220 – 267) was the founder king ("Mlk") of the Palmyrene Kingdom who ruled from Palmyra, Syria. He elevated the status of his kingdom from a regional center subordinate to Rome into a formidable state in the Near East. Odaenathus was born into an aristocratic Palmyrene family that had 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.