Location
A desert oasis surrounded by palm trees in central Syria, Palmyra is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country’s east and neighbouring Iraq. Home to 65,000 people before the latest fighting, the town is located 215km east of Damascus.
Historic significance
A Unesco world heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. Syrians affectionately refer to it as the “Bride of the Desert.” Palmyra was the capital of an Arab client state of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and carved out its own kingdom in the 3rd Century, led by Queen Zenobia. Before the war, it was Syria’s top tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year. Palmyra was first mentioned in the archives of Mari in the 2nd millennium BC, according to Unicef’s website. The town was the hub of a network of caravan trails that carried silks and spices from eastern Asia to the Mediterranean.
Queen Zenobia
Palmyra became a prosperous region during the Hellenistic period and later became part of the Roman Empire. But its rebellious Queen Zenobia challenged Rome’s authority. In the third century, Palmyrenes beat back the Romans in the west and Persian forces in the east in a revolt led by Zenobia, who became queen after her husband died in mysterious circumstances. By AD270, Zenobia had conquered all of Syria and parts of Egypt. Her forces advanced into what is now Turkey before being defeated by the Roman emperor Aurelian near Antakya. The city was plundered in AD272 after she was captured during a long siege.
Infamous regime jail
In more recent times, Palmyra has had darker associations for Syrians. It was home to the Tadmur prison, where hundreds of prisoners were massacred in the 1980s by the regime of Hafez al-Assad, father of current President Bashir al-Assad, who also followed his father’s path by reportedly torturing thousands of opponents. It was blown up by Dae’sh last year after capturing the town.
Destruction of heritage sites
Last year, Dae’sh destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to AD32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a structure of stone blocks several stories high fronted by six towering columns. The militants also blew up the Arch of Triumph, which had been built under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus between AD193 and AD211. The extremists have destroyed ancient sites across their self-styled Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, viewing them as monuments to idolatry. In August, Dae’sh militants beheaded Khaled al-Asaad, an 81-year-old antiquities scholar who had devoted his life to studying Palmyra. His body was later hung from a Roman column. It’s not yet clear whether the ruins were damaged when Syrian forces retook the town. The Antiquities Ministry said ahead of the town’s fall that the remaining ruins are in good condition. It has vowed to restore the site.
Strategic importance
The loss of Palmyra marks a major setback for Dae’sh, which has been losing ground for months in both Iraq and Syria. The capture of the town brings Syrian forces closer to Raqqa, the Dae’sh group’s de facto capital, and the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, which is almost entirely held by the extremists.