Photos

Temple ruins at Palmyra in central Syria. Palmyra has a long history extending back at least to the early second millennium B.C. The city changed hands between different empires on a number of occasions before becoming a subject of the Roman Empire in the first century A.D. Palmyra accumulated great wealth as a nexus for trade caravans, which then allowed for the construction of monumental building projects, many of which survive in a ruined state.