Located in the heart of Syria, the city of Palmyra dated back to the 3th millennium BC, and is among the six syrian UNESCO world heritage sites.
Many civilizations changed hands of the city, including the roman empire ; the Rashidun muslim caliphate, due to its important location along the silk road untill its destruction in 1300 by the mongol empire.
Today, Palmyra is endangered, with the ongoing civil unrest in syria and its remote site from the capital Damascus(200km) .
the city was theatre of crime against humanity in the beginning of the Syria civil war in 2011, and it's capture by the Islamic caliphate group ISIL in 2015.
Brief history
The turning point of Palmyra history was during the reign of king Odaenathus who launched a full-scale war against the Sasanid empire and its king Shapur I in 260s.
Zenobia, the wife of the king , succeeded him and proclaimed herself "empress " and established a large empire from the north in today's Ankara the capital of Turkey, to the west in Egypt.
The empire was the cradle of prosperity of the city of Palmyra and reached its apex during the empress reign before its destruction by the roman emperor Aurelian whom considered the self-proclaimed state by the empress as a total challenge and rebellion against Rome.
The empress thus, was defeated and exiled to Rome.
Destruction in Palmyra
Before the syrian civil war, Palmyra attracted visitors from all around the world with approximately 150.000 tourists were visiting the site .
On 13 May 2015 , ISIL began attacking Palmyra and destructing 30% of its archaeological monuments according to the syrian ministry of culture.
ISIL used bombs and dynamite for the destruction of temples like the Temple of Bal,
As the terrorist group considered the monument as adoration to pagan dieties of the past and an act against the pure monotheism.
The Syrian army launched on March 2016 an offensive against ISIL in order to recapture the city backed by the Russian air military.
Situation now
The city was again taken by the free syrian army on December 2024 after the fall of Damascus. The new transitional government of Ahmed Al-sharaa former called A-Jolani, didn't mention the fate of the city and not giving much importance to the civil unrest still endangering the site . On the other hand, the major topic now to be discussed by the new government is economy, and the US sanctions relief .
The new president he does really know or not, that in order to have sympathy and aid from the world you have to show good faith and bona fide by deeds not only needs , and by actions not only words , as the world remains scrupulous concerning the fate of Palmyra and Syria in general, as the new president is a former combatant of Al-Qaida in Iraq . So time is the only true indicator of how will the government will implement institutions and democracy in the country so the country will gain peace and seeing visitors from all around the world.
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