How Ancient Palmyra, Now in ISIS's Grip, Grew Rich and Powerful

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Interesting history of Palmyra by the National Geographic


How Ancient Palmyra, Now in ISIS's Grip, Grew Rich and PowerfulA distinctly multicultural trading center grew rich on trade between east and west, until it rebelled against its most powerful customer.

Palmyra grew fabulously wealthy as a middleman for trade between the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, and its citizens donated generously to massive building campaigns.


PHOTOGRAPH BY PAULE SEUX, HEMIS/CORBIS
By Kristin Romey, National Geographic

PUBLISHED WED AUG 26 15:15:00 EDT 2015



In Palmyra, history is literally written on the walls: across temples and above doorways, encircling funerary monuments and snaking up the towering limestone columns that rise above the Syrian desert some 134 miles (215 km) northeast of Damascus.

These inscriptions were often written both in Greek and Palmyrene Aramaic, a bilingual phenomenon unique to Palmyra. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site that has been a focus of international attention since May, when the Islamic State (ISIS) seized the territory around the ancient ruins.

1. The inscriptions provide unique insight into life in a distinctive frontier city where, for centuries, local merchants controlled trade between the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia. (Read about out how Palmyra thrived in an infertile desert.)

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How Ancient Palmyra, Now in ISIS's Grip, Grew Rich and Powerful

 

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Saving the ruins from ISIS ruination...

High-tech plan in place to save ancient sites from ISIS: Report
Aug 29, 2015, A team of digital-age "monuments men" will fightback against the Islamic State's destruction of ancient sites by flooding the Middle East region with cameras and harnessing 3D printing technology to reconstruct the destroyed antiquities, according to a media report.

Archaeologists at Oxford and Harvard will flood the region with 3D cameras in a plan to create a full digital record of every threatened artefact. If the treasures they photograph are destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the academics will harness 3D printing technology to reconstruct them in the same style as the original antiquities, The Times reported. The plan has come to light after the obliteration by ISIS of the 2,000-year-old temple of Baal Shamin in Palmyra in Syria this week, the latest action in the worst spate of archaeological destruction since the Second World War.

In a letter from the Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology, which conceived the 2 million pounds project, the group said it aimed to "flood the Middle East with thousands of low-cost 3D cameras and enlist local partners to photograph as many items of historical significance as possible". The institute, working with the heritage body Unesco, aims to gather five million images of antiquities, from sprawling Mesopotamian palaces to handfuls of coins and pottery, by the end of the year.

In a race against the bulldozers and sledgehammers of ISIS, it plans to compile 20 million pictures of objects before 2017. "Palmyra is rapidly becoming the symbol of ISIS' cultural iconoclasm," Roger Michel, the institute's director, was quoted as saying. "If ISIS is permitted to wipe the slate clean and rewrite the history of a region that defined global aesthetic and political sensibilities, we will collectively suffer a costly and irreversible defeat. But there is hope. By placing the record of our past in the digital realm, it will lie for ever beyond the reach of vandals and terrorists," he said.

Recent attacks on holy sites began in March 2001 when Taliban fighters in Afghanistan destroyed two statues of Buddha carved into the hills of Bamiyan. From the end of next month the Institute for Digital Archaeology will distribute hundreds of internet-enabled 3D cameras through archaeology networks in Iraq. It plans to expand into Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan and Turkey. To provide a complete record, each object will need to be photographed from several angles. The information can then be uploaded to an open-source database online. The plan is reminiscent of the George Clooney film "The Monuments Men" in which a team of experts were sent into Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. However, in the real plan experts will flood parts of the Middle East with 3D cameras.

High-tech plan in place to save ancient sites from ISIS: Report - The Times of India

 

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Not all Palmyra antiquity sites destroyed...

Drone footage reveals some ruins in Palmyra survived Islamic State occupation
March 28, 2016 -- Drone footage released by Russian state television on Monday revealed some of the archaeological ruins in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra survived the destructive Islamic State occupation.

The Islamic State seized control of Palmyra in May and immediately began demolishing ancient ruins considered among the world's most treasured. The iconic Temple of Bel, the Arch of Triumph and the Temple of Baalshamin were among structures destroyed by the Islamist militant group.

Syrian military forces and militias loyal to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad formally recaptured Palmyra on Sunday with the aid of Russian airstrikes.

Palmyra, in the Homs countryside northeast of Damascus, was a caravan oasis with various influences. Its art and architecture are a mix of Greek, Roman and Persian styles, according to UNESCO.

Following the recapture of Palmyra, Syrian Director of Antiquities Maamoun Abdelkarim said the destroyed buildings will be rebuilt using any surviving ruins.

Drone footage reveals some ruins in Palmyra survived Islamic State occupation

See also:

Iraqi offensive on Islamic State-held Mosul stalled by rain
March 28, 2016 -- An Iraqi army offensive to retake the city of Mosul was suspended after five days due to bad weather, a Kurdish commander said Monday.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry announced Thursday the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, which was captured in June 2014 by the Islamic State. Ziryar Vesani, a commander of the Peshmerga, or Iraqi Kurdistan army, said the Iraqi army offensive stopped at Nesir, south of Mosul, and no advance was possible until the rainy weather ended. The Iraqi army and Sunni allied forces are attacking Mosul from three directions, with the Peshmerga in a supporting role.

Last week, Gen. Joe Dunford, U.S. joint chiefs of staff chairman, said in Washington the Department of Defense will soon provide recommendations to send more U.S. troops to Iraq to increase anti-Islamic State operations. Dunford added he and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter believe a larger U.S. presence in Iraq is required and predicted "there will be an increase to the U.S. forces in Iraq in the coming weeks, but that decision hasn't been made." Any decision made by President Barack Obama will be made in the broader context of requirements to maintain momentum against IS, "and what specifically do we need to do to enable operations in Mosul," Dunford added.

The IS occupation of Mosul and the subsequent Iraqi campaign have forced thousands to flee. Many are Christians who once numbered in the tens of thousands in the city, among Christianity's oldest enclaves. Christians fear their own extinction as their numbers have fallen, from about 1.5 million prior to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, to several hundred thousand. Many gathered in Baghdad to celebrate Easter. "We are threatened with extinction. This is a harsh word but every day we are being depleted. Our people are traveling, migrating," said Muyessir al-Mukhalisi, a priest at St. George's Chaldean Church in east Baghdad.

Iraqi offensive on Islamic State-held Mosul stalled by rain