Who Cares About the Ancient Ruins in Palmyra, Syria?

01

of 09

Architecture is History in Palmyra, Syria

 Qala'at ibn Maan Overlooks the Great Colonnade of Palmyra, Syria. Photo by Tim Gerard Barker/Lonely Planet Images Collection/Getty Images

Have you ever wondered why your home is so symmetrical?  Why were those columns built, making your house look like a Roman temple? America's Greek Revival house style was all the rage in the 18th and 19th centuries. Why the sudden interest in Classical Greek and Roman architecture?

In part, blame it on the ancient ruins of Palmyra, a city called The Bride of the Desert, rediscovered by Westerners in the 17th and 18th centuries. Much like the discovery King Tut influenced art deco designs, the "Caravan City" of Palmyra in central Syria created a worldwide excitement for Classical architecture. The Middle East has affected the West throughout history, yesterday and today.

West Meets East:

Palmyra is the Latin name given by the Romans to the palm-tree rich area they annexed onto their Eastern Empire in the first century AD. Before that, as written in The Holy Bible (2 Chronicles 8:4) and other ancient documents, Tadmor was its name, a desert city built by Solomon (990-31 BC).

The oasis began to flourish under the Roman reign of Tiberius, after about 15 AD until roughly 273 AD. The ruins in Palmyra are from this Roman period—before the 313 AD Edict of Milan, early Christian architecture, and Byzantine engineering. This is a time when Western civilization was influenced by Eastern traditions and methods—the introduction of al jabr (algebra) and, in architecture, the pointed arch, well-known as a feature in Western Gothic architecture but said to have originated in Syria (Hamlin, 1953).

The architecture of Palmyra exemplified the "Eastern" influence on "Western" art and architecture. Like the citadel atop a hill in Aleppo, Palmyra's reconstructed citadel—Qala'at ibn Maan—stood watch over the grand crossroads below. At least it did before the 2011 Syrian civil war began.

East Meets West:

Once a tourist destination, Palmyra is still an area of fascination—and horror.  When the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) overtook the Syrian soldiers in 2015, the militant rebels chose the highest spot, Qala'at ibn Maan, to raise their victory flag of victory. Subsequently, the terrorists have systematically destroyed the iconic architecture considered blasphemous.

Again, the landscape has changed. Palmyra continues to be a story of East meets West. What has been lost? Here's a quick photo tour.

^{Sources: Architecture through the Ages by Talbot Hamlin, Putnam, Revised 1953, p. 273; Site of Palmyra, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, United Nations; Islamic State raises flag over citadel in Syria's Palmyra by Mohamed Azakir, Reuters, May 23, 2015 [accessed March 10, 2016]}

02

of 09

Great Colonnade

 Great Colonnade of Palmyra, Syria. Photo by Graham Crouch/Lonely Planet Images Collection/Getty Images

Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in part for being influential in the Neoclassical designs, including Classical Revival house styles, found in Europe and America in the 18th and 19th century. "Discovery of the ruined city by travellers in the 17th and 18th centuries resulted in its subsequent influence on architectural styles," writes the World Heritage Centre. What did these modern explorers come across?

"A grand, colonnaded street of 1100 metres' length forms the monumental axis of the city, which together with secondary colonnaded cross streets links the major public monuments" are the ruins that Western explorers may have seen. "The grand colonnade constitutes a characteristic example of a type of structure which represents a major artistic development."

^{Source: Site of Palmyra, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, United Nations [accessed March 10, 2016]}

03

of 09

Monumental Arch of the Cardo Maximus

 Monumental Arch of the Cardo Maximus in the ruined city of Palmyra, Syria. hoto by Julian Love/AWL Images Collection/Getty Images

The Cardo Maximus is the name given to the grand boulevards that run north and south in ancient Roman cities. The Monumental Arch would lead the caravan travelers and traders into the city of Palmyra. The ruins of this Syrian city give today's architects and city planners a good idea of past designs.

"The grand monumental colonnaded street, open in the centre with covered side passages, and subsidiary cross streets of similar design together with the major public buildings, form an outstanding illustration of architecture and urban layout at the peak of Rome's expansion in and engagement with the East."—UNESCO World Heritage Centre

In the fall of 2015 many news organizations reported that militant groups had bombed and destroyed the famous arches of Palmyra.

Learn More:

• Isis blows up Arch of Triumph in 2,000-year-old city of Palmyra by Kareem Shaheen, The Guardian, October 5, 2016
• The Ruins, or Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires by Constantin Francois de Volney, 1791
• Why ISIS wants to erase Palmyra's history by Sturt Manning, CNN, September 1, 2015
• Jigsaw Puzzle of Qala at ibn Maan Citadel Castle seen through monumental arch 

^{Source: Site of Palmyra, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, United Nations [accessed March 10, 2016]}

04

of 09

Tetrakionion on the Cardo Maximus

 The Rebuilt Tetrapylon on the Cardo Maximus, Palmyra, Syria. Photo by Nick Laing/AWL Images Collection/Getty Images

The great Neoclassical triumphal arches we see today, like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, can be traced back to a structure typically found at the crossroads of ancient Roman streets. The tetrapylon or quadrifron—tetra- and quad- mean "four" in Greek and Latin—had four pylons or faces within the four corners of the intersection. Symmetry and proportion are Classical design features that we continue to bring to our homes.

The tetrakionion (four-column) recreated in the 1930s in Palmyra is a type of tetrapylon, but of four unattached structures. The original columns were Egyptian granite imported from Aswan. In the Roman era, the tetrakionion would have been used as a great monumental landmark marking an important intersection—before stop signs, traffic lights, and Global Positioning Systems.

^{Source: Roman Imperial Architecture by J. B. Ward-Perkins, Penguin Books, 1981, p. 359.}

05

of 09

Roman Theater of Palmyra

 Restored Stone and Marble Roman Theater in Palmyra, Syria. Photo by Andrea Jemolo/Electa / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images/Hulton Fine Art Collection/Getty Images

Like the Tetrakionion on the Cardo Maximus, the Roman Theatre at Palmyra has been recreated from the Roman ruins to approximate the original structures. Architecturally, Palmyra's theatre is not significant, but amphitheatres are historically successful tourist destinations for their similarities to our own open-air sports stadia.

In 2015, after the militant group ISIS took control of Palmyra, the reconstructed amphitheatre shown here was stage to mass shootings and public beheadings. In religious fundamental thinking, the pagan Roman architecture of Palmyra is neither Syrian nor Islamic, and the people who preserve and protect the ancient Roman ruins are false owners, perpetuating the myth of Western civilization. Who owns the architecture of the past?

Learn More:

• ISIS beheads prominent Syrian archeologist in Palmyra, The Associated Press, CBC News, August 19, 2015

06

of 09

Temple of Baal

 Temple of Baal (Temple of Bel) in the ancient Roman City of Palmyra in syria. Photo by David Forman/Photolibrary Collection/Getty Images (cropped)

Dedicated in 32 AD, the Temple of Baal (or Temple of Bel) was originally the center of a grand courtyard set off by colonnades that were completed at different times. The Temple is a good example of how Classical Roman architecture—the Ionic and Corinthian capitals, Classical cornices and pediments, the rectangular stone structure—was "tweaked" by local designs and building customs. Hidden behind the pediments, the triangular merlons are stepped behind the pediments to create rooftop terraces, said to be a Persian touch.

In 2015, The New York Times and other news agencies reported that the Temple of Baal was purposely destroyed by explosions of barrel bombs set by ISIS or ISIL. Militants of the Islamic State consider such pagan temples blasphemous.

Learn More:

• Palmyra Temple Was Destroyed by ISIS, U.N. Confirms by Anne Barnard and Hwaida Saadaug, The New York Times, August 31, 2015
• ISIS show off their destruction of 2,000-year-old temple at Palmyra by Jenny Stanton, DailyMail.com, September 10, 2015
• Here Are the Ancient Sites ISIS Has Damaged and Destroyed by Andrew Curry, National Geographic, September 1, 2015

^{Source: Roman Imperial Architecture by J. B. Ward-Perkins, Penguin Books, 1981, p. 356}

07

of 09

Temple of Baal Detail Carving

 Carved Detail from the Temple of Bel shows Greek-inspired egg-and-dart Design in the Roman City of Palmyra, Syria. Photo by Russell Mountford/Lonely Planet Images Collection/Getty Images

Before it was destroyed by radical terrorists, the Temple of Baal was the most complete structure of the Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria. The Greek influence of egg-and-dart design was obvious and, perhaps, out of place in the deserts of Syria.

08

of 09

Tower Tomb of Elahbel

Palmyra, Syria was a somewhat typical Roman city, except for the Tower Tombs. The Elahbel Tower from 103 AD is a good example of this locally influenced architecture. The slender design, several stories high, is ornamented inside and out. Constructed of sandstone block, the Elahbel Tower even had a balcony for the spirits of the dead. These tombs were commonly called "houses of eternity" built by and for the wealthy elite, beyond the walls of this caravan stopover.

In 2015 the radical group ISIL destroyed many of these ancient tombs, including Elahbel Tower.

Learn More:

• ISIL blows up ancient tower tombs in Syria's Palmyra—Satellites confirm that at least seven tombs, including three of the best preserved, destroyed in heritage city. Al Jazeera Media Network, September 18, 2015
• Roman Palmyra: Identity, Community, and State Formation by Andrew M. Smith II, Oxford University Press, 2013 

^{Source: Danti, .Michael"Palmyrene Funerary Sculptures at Penn" Expedition Magazine 43.3 (November 2001): pp. 36-39. Expedition Magazine. Penn Museum, November 2001 (PDF) [accessed March 10, 2016]}

09

of 09

The Remains of Roman Civilization

 The Remains of Roman Civilization in Palmyra, Syria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo by De Agostini/C. Sappa/De Agostini Picture Library Collection/Getty Images

Palmyra has been called The Bride of the Desert, as it was the long-desired oasis on the dusty trade route to the Far East. Its history is one of war, pillaging, and rebuildin. Archaeologists and preservationists have warned that earthquakes could topple the Classical architecture. They did not expect the city would be ravaged and looted again, as it had been in the past. Today, what hasn't been destroyed by ISIS is in jeopardy of being unintentionally destroyed by warplanes and drones.

Simply put, the ruins are in ruins.

What have we learned from Palmyra?

• Architecture is iterative and collaborative. Palmyra was built up over hundreds of years by Romans from the West and local laborers and engineers from the East. The joining of two cultures creates new forms and styles over time.
• Architecture is derivative. Today's architectural styles, like Neoclassic or Classical Revival, is often a copy or derivation of past styles. Does your house have columns? So did Palmyra.
• Architecture can be symbolic, and symbols (e.g., a flag or Greek architecture) can stir hatred and disdain while at the same time represent positive values.
• Who owns the ancient ruins in Palmyra? Is architecture owned by whoever is the most powerful? If the Palmyra ruins are Roman, shouldn't Rome clean up the mess?

Learn More:

• Palmyra as a Caravan City by Albert E. Dien, Professor Emeritus of Asian Languages at Stanford University
• Palmyra: Bride of the Desert, DVD
• Russia warplanes bomb IS positions in Palmyra, BBC, November 2, 2015