Palmyra
تدمر · Tadmur · Tadmor · Palmyra Desert City
Hellenistic to Roman (Palmyrene Empire interlude)·Aramaean Palmyrene → Roman·🇸🇾 Homs Governorate, Syria
About
About Palmyra
Desert oasis emporium on Silk Road (1st c. BCE–273 CE) — 'Bride of the Desert' — caravans of Queen Zenobia who challenged Rome (267–272 CE, sacked by Aurelian). Great Colonnade 1,100 m, Temple of Bel (32– Helios), Tower Tombs valley, tetrapylon and Roman theatre. Tragically dynamited by ISIS 2015 (Temple of Bel, Baalshamin). Carved limestone with Palmyrene Aramaic-Greek bilinguals; funerary portraits. Tentative reconstruction by DGAM.
Why it mattersSilk Road; Zenobia; Palmyrene Aramaic; tower tombs; war heritage crime exemplar.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Zenobia's lost treasure
- 02Bel cella acoustics
Theories
- 01Caravan tariff state vs nomad confederation
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 300 BCE or earlier; monumental 1st–2nd c. CE
- Period
- Hellenistic to Roman (Palmyrene Empire interlude)
- Culture
- Aramaean Palmyrene → Roman
- Builders
- Odaenathus, Zenobia
- Purpose
- Caravan desert toll city; Bel cult
- Abandoned
- 273 CE (Aurelian sack) then Umayyad retreat
- Rediscovered
- 1678 English merchants; 1920s French
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
267 CE
Zenobia seizes East
272 CE
Aurelian sacks Palmyra
2015
ISIS dynamites Bel temple
On the ground
Structures & features
34.5580° N · 38.2670° E · 405 m · 3 mapped features
Temple of Bel (destroyed 2015)
templeHelios temple temenos
34.5587° N · 38.2681° EGreat Colonnade and Tetrapylon
colonnade1.1 km avenue to Temple of Bel
34.5575° N · 38.2660° EValley of Tombs (Tower tombs)
tomb4-story funerary towers
34.5540° N · 38.2650° E
Gallery