The Roman emperor, Gordian III, died in 244 during a campaign against Persia and this might have been the event which led to the election of a lord for Palmyra to defend it:Odaenathus, whose elevation, according to the historian Udo Hartmann, can be explained by Odaenathus probably being a successful military or caravan commander, and his descent from one of the most influential families in the city. Odaenathus' title as lord was "ras" in Palmyrene and exarchos in Greek as revealed by bilingual inscriptions from Palmyra. The "ras" title enabled the bearer to effectively deal with the Sassanid threat, in that it probably vested in him supreme civil and military authority; an undated inscription refers to Odaenathus as a "ras" and records the gift of a throne to him by a Palmyrene citizen named "Ogeilu son of Maqqai Haddudan Hadda", which confirms the supreme character of Odaenathus' title. The office was created for Odaenathus, and was not a usual title in the Roman Empire, and not a part of Palmyrene government traditions.