Location: Homs Governorate Map
Palmyra is located in the area of the modern city
of Tadmor, which had around 51,000 inhabitants before the Syrian
Civil War.
The first archaeological finds came from the
Neolithic period. The first written mention of the city itself
occurred in ancient Near Eastern times: it was mentioned in the
annals of several Assyrian kings and in the Old Testament. Palmyra
was later part of the Seleucid Empire and flourished after
annexation by the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Palmyra
enjoyed some autonomy within the Roman Empire and became part of the
province of Syria. The metropolis had its own Senate (Boulé), which
was responsible for public works and the local militia, and an
independent tax system. In the 3rd century it was elevated to a
colonia. During the imperial crisis of the 3rd century, the city
gained great political importance and briefly became independent in
270. The city's empire represented a significant power factor in the
Near East. However, Palmyra was reconquered by Roman troops in 272
and largely destroyed in 273 after a failed second rebellion.
Palmyra was located on an important caravan route in Syria,
halfway from Damascus via the Roman oasis of Al-Dumair and further
via the castle of Resafa to the Euphrates. In the middle of the
Syrian desert, two springs provide water that is used to irrigate
the still preserved palm gardens in the south and east of the city.
The city's wealth made it possible to build monumental building
projects. By the third century, the city was a prosperous metropolis
and had risen to become a regional center of the Middle East. The
Palmyrians were among the renowned traders, established stations
along the Silk Road and traded throughout the empire. The social
structure of the city was tribal and its residents spoke their own
language, the Palmyrene dialect of Aramaic. Greek was used for
commercial and diplomatic purposes. Palmyra's culture, influenced by
the Romans, Greeks and Persians, is unique in the region. The
inhabitants worshiped local deities and Mesopotamian and Arabian
gods.
The city has been part of Syria as an independent state
since the Ottomans were expelled in 1918. It is now home to
distinctive art and architecture and was declared a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1980. In May 2015, members of the terrorist
organization “Islamic State” (IS) took Palmyra and subsequently blew
up important historical buildings; the site was also looted. In
March 2016, Syrian forces with Russian support temporarily regained
control of Palmyra, but in December 2016, after heavy fighting, IS
fighters re-entered Palmyra. In March 2017, IS had to evacuate the
city for a second time.
Palmyra is located 215 km (134 miles) northeast of the Syrian capital
Damascus. The ruined city lies in an oasis surrounded by palm trees
(around 20 different varieties). It is located in the center of the
Aleppo highlands and is enclosed by two mountain ranges to the north and
southwest. To the south and east, Palmyra is surrounded by the Syrian
Desert. A small wadi (al-Qubur) traverses the area before flowing out of
the western hills behind the town in the oasis's eastern gardens. The
tributary stream Efqa flows south of the wadi. Around 70, Pliny the
Elder praised the city for its location, the richness of the soil and
the fields on the outskirts of the city, which had previously made
agriculture and livestock breeding possible.
The word Tadmor (in
Palmyrene inscriptions tdmry or tdmwry) has an ancient Semitic origin,
the Greek name Palmyra refers to the vegetation of the oasis (in the
figurative sense “palm city”). Today it is generally believed that
Palmyra is derived from Tadmor. Tamar means “date palm” in Hebrew and,
according to legend, was the name of a city that Solomon founded; This
name reference was transferred to the oasis settlement of Tadmor.
The name Palmyra first appeared at the beginning of the first
century AD and was used throughout the Roman Empire; However, the form
of the name Tadmor was still used in Palmyra itself. The American
archaeologist Michael Patrick O'Connor claimed that Palmyra and Tadmor
come from Hurrian origins. Here he creates a connection between the
Hurrian verbs pal (to know) and tad (to love). In the thirteenth
century, the Syrian geographer Yāqūt ar-Rūmī wrote that Tadmor was the
name of a daughter of one of Noah's distant descendants and that she was
buried in the city.
The earliest signs of human settlement in the oasis date back to the
7th millennium BC. BC. Determine. Palmyra (Tadmor) is mentioned in Old
Assyrian and Babylonian texts (variously spelled: Tadmu/i/ar). At the
time of the Mari archives in the 2nd millennium BC. The oasis there
apparently already functioned as an important trading post. The place
appears again and again in later sources, without any detailed reports
being handed down. In the 1st century B.C. Priests of Bēl-Marduk and a
Bēl temple are documented there. This was one of the most important
religious buildings in the entire Near East, especially in the 1st
century AD. The Bēl cult lasted in Palmyra until late antiquity.
The city was founded in the late 1st century BC. Conquered by Roman
troops in the 1st century AD and was under Roman sovereignty from the
1st century AD. It was given the status of a free city by Emperor
Hadrian (who briefly stayed in Palmyra in 129/30) and Emperor Caracalla
elevated it to a colonia. This not only brought prestige, but also tax
privileges. By the year 100, the city had established itself as a
central trading hub for the Indian trade. Palmyra was able to benefit
from its connection to the Silk Road and quickly achieved great wealth.
A peculiar culture developed in Palmyra, which fused Greco-Roman and
Oriental elements. Numerous different influences can be identified,
particularly in the religious area. The city's wealth was expressed in
monumental buildings. Apparently Palmyra set up its own militia early on
to protect the caravans against robbers; The Palmyrene archers in
particular quickly gained fame. Palmyrene units are also documented as
Roman auxiliary troops in the lower Danube region and in Numidia. The
city's troops would become important in the middle of the third century,
when the Persian Sassanids attacked the Roman East and were even able to
capture Emperor Valerian in 260 (see Imperial Crisis of the 3rd
Century). Faced with this crisis, Palmyra developed enormous activity to
protect its interests.
After the Sassanids' victory over Roman
troops in the Battle of Edessa in 260, the Palmyrenes first tried to get
closer to the Persians. After the Persian King Shapur I rejected this
request, the Palmyrene prince Septimius Odaenathus sided with Rome and
attacked the Persians surprisingly and successfully. In doing so, he
suddenly made the city an important power factor in the region and
effectively independent. Survivors of the defeated Roman army joined
Odaenathus and reinforced his army. After he defeated the usurper
Quietus in 261, Emperor Gallienus appointed him corrector totius
Orientis and thus effectively his deputy in this region. Between 262 and
266, the Palmyrene troops under Odaenathus conquered large parts of
Mesopotamia from the Persians. During this time, Odaenathus formally
subordinated himself to Rome, especially since the interests of the
prince and the Roman emperor coincided: defending against the Persians
and securing trade routes. However, Odaenathus gained a lot of
influence, so that hidden tensions also became noticeable.
After
the murder of Odaenathus in 267 (the background is unclear), his wife
Zenobia continued the policy, but the resurgent Romans were apparently
not prepared to simply transfer the father's special position to
Odaenathus' son. An open military conflict broke out. Zenobia took
control of Syria in the name of her son Vaballathus and also occupied
the rich Roman province of Egypt in 270. When the Roman Emperor Aurelian
attacked Palmyra in 272, Zenobia also had her son proclaimed emperor and
took the title of Augusta herself. Aurelian defeated the Palmyrene
troops at Immae near Antioch and again at Emesa and took Zenobia as a
prisoner to Rome. During the Roman occupation, the population of
Palmyra, which had initially been treated leniently, rose in a second
revolt shortly afterwards under Septimius Antiochus. After its defeat,
Palmyra was destroyed by the Romans. The territory temporarily
controlled by Palmyra fell back to Rome and Persia.
Emperor
Diocletian had the city rebuilt in a much smaller size around 300 AD and
built a Roman military camp here. Christianity also reached Palmyra, and
the city became a bishop's seat in the early 4th century. The old Temple
of Baal served as a church from the 5th century. In 527, the Eastern
Roman Emperor Justinian I had Palmyra fortified again and stationed the
dux of Emesa with troops here. But the city's time of prosperity was
long over. In 634, Islam came to Palmyra with the Arabs, and after 636
the settlement finally passed from Eastern Roman hands to that of the
Muslims, who built a mountain fortress near the city. As a result, most
of the residents left the place, which had become meaningless.
In
1751, an English expedition visited the ruined city and took careful
architectural photographs of the best-preserved ancient ruins. After
they were published in a monumental documentation in 1753, they exerted
considerable influence on the development of classicist architecture in
Europe.
Before the fighting in Syria in 2015, the city was developed for
tourism, there were good bus connections and several hotels. The ruins
have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.
In the civil
war in Syria since 2011 - including the fighting by the Islamic State
(IS), which destroys cultural property for ideological reasons (see also
iconophobia) - the site is increasingly threatened by looting. UNESCO
has placed it on the Red List of World Heritage in Danger. Palmyrene
grave reliefs are in great demand among collectors and are exported
illegally. By removing the objects from their context, valuable data for
historical analysis is lost, which could help answer the question of the
economic and social conditions of Palmyra's rise.
On the evening
of May 20, 2015, Syrian government troops and militiamen evacuated the
city of Tadmor. This meant that the archaeological site also came into
the hands of IS. The director of the Syrian Antiquities Administration
said that the objects housed in the Palmyra museum had been brought to
safety. On June 21, 2015, reports emerged from Syria that ISIS had
installed landmines and explosive devices around the ancient ruins in
Palmyra. However, it is unclear whether the explosives were planted to
defend Palmyra against Syrian government troops who might be planning an
offensive, or to destroy the temple complex.
Maamun Abdelkarim,
head of the Syrian Antiquities Collections, described the June 27, 2015
destruction of the famous lion sculpture from the Allat Temple,
discovered in 1977 and standing at the entrance to the Palmyra Museum,
as “the worst crime committed by the jihadists against the heritage of
Palmyra”. The destruction is condemned worldwide.
On August 25,
2015, the Temple of Baalshamin was destroyed by the IS militia. On
August 31, 2015, the IS militia reportedly also blew up the Temple of
Baal, causing it to be severely damaged. Shortly afterwards, the United
Nations confirmed the destruction using satellite images. At the
beginning of October, the terrorists blew up the triumphal arch
(Hadrian's Gate) on the city's boulevard.
In March 2016, Syrian
army troops, supported by pro-government militias and in particular the
Russian Air Force, managed to liberate parts of the city from IS. They
had already captured tactically important heights some time before,
including the old citadel of Palmyra, which IS lost with heavy losses.
On March 27, 2016, the Syrian army announced the complete recapture of
Palmyra.
Initially, people were confident that a significant part
of the blown-up buildings in Palmyra could be reconstructed. In May, the
recapture of the city was celebrated with a classical concert in front
of the ruins. However, on December 10, 2016, IS fighters managed to
recapture Palmyra in a surprise offensive. On January 20, 2017, further
destruction by IS in the ancient city became known. This affected the
tetrapylon and the stage of the theater.
On March 1, 2017, Syrian
troops advanced on Palmyra Castle. According to Russian information, on
March 2, 2017 the city was again in the hands of Syrian troops. However,
since the Islamists left behind numerous booby traps, the Syrian army is
only slowly moving back into Palmyra.
In 2017, various faculties
at the University of Konstanz reconstructed the original state of the
ruins in a model and presented this in an exhibition.
The Temple of Bēl, better known as the Temple of Baal, was one of the most important religious structures in the Middle East in the first century AD. According to an inscription, the shrine, the actual sanctuary, was built on April 6, 32 BC. Consecrated in 500 BC, a feast day of Bēl-Marduk. The temple has some structural features that testify to Palmyra's cultural independence, for example the temple has windows. In addition, the entrance is on the broad side (Babylonia), which means that the temple has two cult niches - in contrast to Greek or Roman temples. The Temple of Baal was converted into a citadel in 1132/33. On August 30, 2015, the Islamist militia carried out an explosion that severely damaged the interior of the temple.
North of the thermal baths was the temple of Baalshamin. In addition
to Bēl, who was originally a Mesopotamian god, the Phoenician deity
Baalshamin was also worshiped in Palmyra. This was also a “supreme god”.
He had a similar area of responsibility to Bēl. As with Bēl, he was
often assigned the moon god Aglibol and the sun god Jarchibol. The fact
that there were two “supreme” gods in Palmyra may have been due to the
fact that there were two different population groups. The Phoenicians
who immigrated later brought their own god with them, whom they
worshiped in an independent temple. The exact time when the temple was
built is not known. It is believed to have been built either by Hadrian
in 130 or around 150. There was already a sanctuary on the site of the
temple. In the 4th century the temple was converted into a church.
On August 22, 2015, the terrorist organization Islamic State blew up
the structure.
The boulevard took on its current form around 220 AD. It is about 1 km long. The streets in Palmyra were not paved but were made of compacted clay. The boulevard does not run in a typical Roman straight line, but bends twice: when the colonnaded street was built in several stages in the 2nd century, existing buildings had to be taken into account. The changes in direction were concealed by the construction of the Tetrapylon and the large Hadrian's Gate. Hadrian's Gate was built as the entrance to the boulevard in honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The gate consisted of three archways decorated with reliefs; it was blown up by members of the IS militia in autumn 2015. Almost all of the important buildings are located between Hadrian's Gate and the Tetrapylon. The road was 11 m wide at this point. The street was bordered by approximately 9.5 m high columns and bronze statues of Palmyrian dignitaries. On the columns there are small bases for statues of donors of the colonnade or of distinguished Palmyrenes, now lost. They were identified by bilingual or trilingual inscriptions.
Southwest of the great Arch of Hadrian stands the Temple of Nebo. Nebo was originally a Mesopotamian deity of writing, wisdom and power who was identified with Apollo in Palmyra. The monumental entrance was on its south side and was oriented towards the Hellenistic city, which has hardly been explored until now. Access was through a gate with six columns. The courtyard was designed in a trapezoidal shape - the side of the portal was narrower than the back of the temple - and was made of rammed earth. There was a well with a wide rim for ritual ablutions. The temple itself rose on a podium 2.15 m high and was surrounded by 32 Corinthian columns. The cella was entered via a monumental eleven-step staircase. The lower steps supported a small altar, like the Temple of Baal. Inside the cella was the cult niche, flanked by two stair towers. Like the Temple of Baal, the roof was flat and decorated with turrets and false gables. Today only the floor plan with stumps of columns and parts of the south portal can be seen of the Temple of Nebo.
On the other side of the colonnaded street are the Baths of Diocletian. The floor area was 85 m × 51 m. The thermal baths were built towards the end of the 2nd century. Towards the end of the 3rd century, various renovations were carried out with new installations, which led to the current name. The highlighted entrance protrudes into the columned street in the form of a platform with four columns made of red granite. This was imported from Egypt. Inside the building there was a hot bath room with a hot water basin (caldarium). There was also a room for moderate heat, the tepidarium. There was no water basin in it. There was also a frigidarium, a cold water pool for cooling down. Sports fields, foyers and relaxation rooms were also located in the bathing complex. The water was supplied via an underground pipe. Today only a pool of water can be seen.
To the west of Columned Street is the theater, which dates back to
the 2nd century AD. In the past it probably had many more rows of seats
than today, some of which could have been made of wood. The back wall of
the stage is 48 m long and 10.50 m deep. It dates from the 3rd century.
It represented the entrance to a palace with a central royal gate and
two side doors. In addition to the two arched passageways, the theater
had a central entrance that led under the rows of seats and opened onto
the circular street. The theater was used for plays, but also for animal
and gladiatorial fights.
On July 4, 2015, a video was released
showing a public execution of 25 Syrian soldiers by very young IS
fighters (including apparently teenagers) in front of an audience on the
theater stage; Executions had probably already taken place there before.
In January 2017, the stage building was heavily damaged by IS fighters;
the extent of the destruction is currently unclear.
The agora was a square courtyard surrounded by colonnades. He had eleven entrances. The current complex was built on the site of the old agora in the early 2nd century. The oldest inscription found in this area dates to the late first century. At the southwest corner of the Agora there is a rectangular building (14.20 by 12.10 m), the entrance of which is flanked by two columns. Perhaps it was the Bouleuterion of Palmyra, i.e. the meeting place of the “City Council”, but it may also have been a banquet hall. The courtyard has stone benches, which are probably where sacrifices took place.
The Tetrapylon marked the intersection of Palmyra's two most
important streets. It is considered the most beautiful tetrapylon the
Romans ever built. Sixteen slender columns of pink granite from Aswan
formed four covered niches that once housed statues. However, today's
columns were replicas; only one of the columns was ancient.
Between December 26, 2016 and January 10, 2017, the Tetrapylon was
largely destroyed, according to the Palmyra Monitor, probably by an
intentional explosion by IS. Of the original four pylons, the eastern
and southern pylons have been completely destroyed and only two pillars
of the other two still exist.
In front of the gates outside the city area there are various burial grounds, which are referred to according to their location as the north, south-east, south-west and west necropolis (the so-called “Valley of the Graves”).
The burial towers of the Western Necropolis are unique in the Middle
East. According to the building inscriptions, the grave complexes were
built between 9 BC. Built between 128 BC and 128 AD. The Tomb of Elahbel
is the largest tower tomb. It had up to five floors, which were
connected by narrow spiral staircases. Numerous dead people found their
final resting place in the tower. The grave towers were a family's grave
house. Poorer Palmyrenes were able to rent burial sites in one of the
tombs. The coffins were transported through shafts to the respective
floors. The exterior of the towers was usually plain. However, inside
the towers were richly decorated with architectural decor and sculptural
decoration. The grave towers had a special feature for archeology:
remains of valuable textiles were found. This allows conclusions to be
drawn about the trading connections of the Palmyrenes.
In
September 2015, the terrorist organization Islamic State blew up a total
of six burial towers, including the three best-preserved: the burial
tower of Iamblichus (83 AD), the tower of Elahbel (103 AD) and the tower
of Kithot (44 AD) were destroyed.
In addition to the grave towers, underground graves (hypogees) were
also built. According to the inscriptions, these were created between 81
and 232. So far around 90 of them have been found. Access was via
stairs. The name of the founder and the date of creation were engraved
on the monumental stone doors. The burial chambers were decorated with
rich architectural ornaments or frescoes.
The most famous is the
Hypogeum of the Three Brothers. It was built around the year 160 and was
lavishly decorated with frescoes. Figures from Greek mythology are
depicted that had a connection to the world of the dead. For example,
there are frescoes of Ganymede, who was kidnapped to Mount Olympus by
Zeus, and of Achilles. Grave space could also be rented in this grave.
You can still see the inscriptions with the family names.
The
tomb of Burfa and Burli was built in 128 AD and is now in the National
Museum of Damascus. The founders of the family were buried here with
other family members. The grave consists of a long corridor with grave
niches branching off to the left and right. The grave niches were carved
into the rock, bricked up and decorated with a bust of the deceased. In
addition, large stone sarcophagi were often placed in the hypogea
towards the end of the 2nd century. In the main niche was the statue of
the founder of the tomb, the progenitor of the family. Mummies were also
found in the tombs; However, the burial technique was different than in
Egypt.
What remains of the house graves are mainly unsightly “heaps of rubble”. These originally had elaborately designed facades in the shape of a temple and an inner courtyard surrounded by columns. There were about as many house graves as grave towers. According to the building inscriptions, they were built between 143 and 253 AD. An example of a rebuilt house tomb is the mortuary temple. This is very close to Diocletian's camp at the end of the columned street.
In the 13th century, the Muslims built a fortress about two kilometers from the ruins on a mountain ridge to protect themselves against the Crusaders. However, this castle no longer achieved great importance. The Lebanese Druze prince Fakhr ad-Dīn II (r. 1572–1635) converted it into a castle-like residence in an attempt to expand his domain at the expense of the Ottomans.