Syrian city of Palmyra falls under control of Isis
May 20, 2015
The historic city of Palmyra has fallen almost entirely under the control of Islamic State, after forces loyal to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, collapsed under a seven-day siege that has left the magnificent ruins there exposed to near-certain destruction by the terror group.
Activists from the city and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said most of Palmyra fell on Wednesday shortly after the Assad regime evacuated most of its civilians and began withdrawing towards regime strongholds in the west.
The ancient city, once a Silk Road hub and one of the cultural centres of the ancient world that occupies mythological status in Syria, is home to some of the most beautiful and well-preserved ruins of antiquity, including the Temple of Bel, built in the first century.
Isis considers the preservation of such historical ruins a form of idolatry and has destroyed temples and historic artefacts, as well as ancient Assyrian sites in Nineveh in Iraq, after conquering the province in a lightning offensive last year.
The group has profited from looting historic treasures, in addition to scoring propaganda victories by the wanton destruction of archaeological sites, and Palmyra is likely to face a similar fate now.
Isis has often cherished its destruction of cultural artefacts, releasing long, well-produced videos of their destruction of objects in the Mosul Museum and their detonation and bulldozing of much of the ancient fortress city of Hatra in Iraq.
Experts say the group benefits from its destruction of cultural heritage because it shows the militants can act with impunity and exposes the impotence of the international community in the face of the provocations.
Syria’s antiquities chief, Mamoun Abdulkarim, told AFP that hundreds of statues and artefacts from Palmyra’s museum had been transferred out of the city but many others, including massive tombs, could not be moved. Many of the city’s monumental ruins are too heavy to transport or consist of ancient buildings and architecture.
Source
I'll be posting a number images of the Palmyra ruins and historical info about Palmyra in the Interesting Images section once I get the images sorted and edited. Will add a link here once done.
