Palmyra, the ancient city, began to develop and become important in the Bronze Age, around the second millennium BC. Palmyra was an important trading center on the caravan route that connected Persia with the Mediterranean coast. The city reached the peak of its development during the Roman period, especially in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
Main monuments of Palmyra (ruins, severely damaged in 2015-2017):
1. Temple of Bel
2. Arc de Triomphe
3. Colonnade (over a kilometer long colonnade was the main artery of the city, it consisted of a series of Corinthian columns that led from the Temple of Bel in the east to the Funeral Temple No. 86 in the western part of the city)
4. Roman Theater
5. Agora (the city's central commercial and administrative square)
6. Temple of Baalshamin
7. Tower Tombs (Valley of Tombs)
8. Diocletian's Camp
9. Tetrapylon (consisted of four groups of four columns)
10. Temple of Al-Lat
The archaeological site of Palmyra covers over 1,640 hectares.
Antiquities from Palmyra are presented in many museums around the world, including:
1. National Museum in Damascus
2. Palmyra Museum (closed since 2015)
3. Louvre
4. British Museum
5. Vatican Museums
6. Pergamonmuseum
7. Metropolitan Museum of Art
8. Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Qatar Museums