Palmyra, before and after Daesh attacks

The ancient city of Palmyra in Syria which was in the control of the terrorist Takfiri group (Daesh), after months of occupation has recently been liberated with the wide advance of Syrian army.

During the capture of this ancient city, in addition to murdering and wounding of hundreds of its residents by Daesh, many of its historical monuments were also destroyed. Palmyra with two thousand year historical glory lost many of its buildings with the domination of Daesh. UNESCO and many international organs, which prior to the fall of Palmyra had kept silent against the massacre of Syrian people, got worried over the collapse of this city and the city’s historical heritage.

The terrorists of Daesh, during occupation of Palmyra used the amphitheater of the ancient city for public execution where they killed the archeologist and former head of the city’s ancient sites Khaled al-As’ad.

They also destroyed the two-thousand-year Temple of Baalshamin and the temple of Bel and blew up the Monumental Arch of the city. In addition, the Takfiris destroyed a number of the tower-like ancient tombs of the city.

Prior to outbreak of war in Syria, tourism was one of the sources of the country’s economy and a considerable part of the country’s manpower was engaged in working in this industry. Prior to the civil war in Syria, every year, over 150,000 tourists merely visited Palmyra. But the bloody war has reduced Syria’s income of tourism to zero and almost no tourist travels to the country.

The facts related to the intensive destruction of Syria’s historical monuments by the terrorists are very bitter. In addition to Palmyra, the historical neighborhoods of Damascus, Aleppo and the environs of north Syria known as dead cities are among the damaged places. The repeated attacks of the Takfiri terrorist groups on the holy shrine of Hazrat Zainab (Peace be upon her) the granddaughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and devastating the places respected by Muslims are among savage activities of terrorist groups in Syria. In this period, Daesh destroyed the dome, minarets and shrine of the holy Prophet’s companions Owais Qarani, Ammar bin Yasser and Obay bin Qais Nakhaie and razed them to the ground.

Prior to this, the so-called Free Army had destroyed the tomb of the prominent personality of the advent of Islam Hojr bin Uday in Damascus.

Shortly after the outbreak of civil war in Syria, the European security officials warned that this country has turned into a tourist site for the terrorists supporting al-Qaeda. They said that terrorist tourism has become the title of an important part of traveling activities among some British citizens and this issue further threatens the security of this region.

Of course these groups declared their incentives to be religious but they have no faith whatsoever and their acts showed their enmity toward Islam and human principles. For instance, one of the ringleaders of Daesh terrorist group in Syria announced two years ago that all churches which have been built after Islam will be destroyed and this shows that they are not only backward and biased but they are seeking to sow religious discord and remove peace among followers of various religions. For; destruction of places of worship of divine religions had never been permitted by the Prophet or his successors.

The Syrian capital Damascus is called The Gate of History and it is said that it has always been the residence of human beings from 8000 to 10000 years ago. For this reason, it’s been known as the first capital of the world. This city has been the capital and center of various governments and empires in different periods of time. After 636 AH, when Damascus became the capital of the Islamic world it turned into one of the most important cities of the Islamic world. Several prophets, historians, scientists, thinkers, poets, astronomers and religious leaders have emerged in this city and worked hard for spreading and propagating various religions.

Palmyra or Tadmore is the name of one of the ancient cities in Syria whose works are located in Homs province. In Hellenistic and Byzantine periods, Syria had been one of the most important centers of civilization and its ancient complexes with wonderful architectural structures are considered part of the historical identity of this country.

The residents of Palmyra consisted of Arameans, Arabs and a minority of Jews. Tadmore is located in the vicinity of the ancient ruins of Palmyra. Tadmore is the Arabic name for Palmyra, a city in eastern Syria which is the place of cultural blending of Parthians, Palmyrians and Greeks. This ancient city which is known as The Bride of the Desert is home to one of the most important historical ruins of the world and is registered in the list of UNESCO‘s World Heritage. The antiquity of the major part of Palmyra ruins dates back to the first and second centuries. Once in the ancient world, Palmyra was one of the most important cultural centers of the world. The city is an embodiment of the art and architecture of the first and second centuries in which Greek and Roman techniques have been blended with local traditions and the influence of ancient Iran. This complex contains over one thousand columns and a huge cemetery which includes over 500 tombs.

Tadmore was built by the Parthians in their vast land which was spread to Shamat desert but very soon due to the Romans’ attack, the city was separated from Iran’s territory and was owned by the Romans. After that the city became the capital of Zenobia queen of Syria. Tadmore was an interesting city with golden columns with poetic atmosphere and it was considered one of the most important trade hubs between Asia and Europe in the first century BC. Finally this beautiful city was destroyed in 274 by the Roman Emperor Aurelian.

Palmyra was seriously under the impact of Greek-Roman cities. Squares with high columns, mineral water mines and Amphitheater were the characteristics of Greek-Roman cities which were found in Palmyra. In other part of this ancient city an amphitheater was built in which eastern plays were held. This place was also used for animal fight or contests of gladiators. Of course during capture of the city, Daesh embarked on mass executions. The Monumental Arch which dated back to about 2000 years was destroyed by Daesh on October 5, 2015.

As Palmyra was captured by Daesh, they destroyed historical monuments and artifacts and killed historians and archeologists as their belief in fighting history, culture and intellectuality. In July 2015, Daesh terrorists in a measure against cultural heritage destroyed 6 ancient statues. Then, the head of Syrian Department of Antiquities Abdul Karim declared that the statue was covered with metal sheet and sandbags to remain immune from the harms resulting from armed clashes but Daesh took it out and destroyed it. Experts termed this act as the worst crime of Daesh against Palmyra Ancient Heritage. Despite all these crimes, the Syrian army liberated Palmyra on March 27, 2016 and after demining the area, they started cleansing the city from Daesh terrorists. But unfortunately the sent photos of the city speak of destruction of most of the monuments and lack of the past glory of the Bride of the Desert.

EA