Thursday, May 21, 2015
Palmyra faces final ruin by jihadists
The destruction of the UNESCO
World Heritage site of Palmyra would be an “enormous loss to humanity,”
the head of the organization warned Thursday, after Islamic State
fighters seized the ancient Syrian city and archaeological site.
“Palmyra
is an extraordinary World Heritage site in the desert and any
destruction to Palmyra (would be) not just a war crime but … an enormous
loss to humanity,” said Irina Bokova in a video published by the
Paris-based group.
She added that she was “extremely worried”
about recent events there and reiterated an appeal for an immediate
ceasefire and withdrawal of military forces.
“At the end of the day, it’s the birthplace of
human civilization. It belongs to the whole of humanity and I think
everyone today should be worried about what is happening,” added the
UNESCO chief.
Earlier Thursday, Islamic State group
jihadists seized full control of the city, putting the world heritage
site and its priceless artifacts at risk of destruction.
The jihadists, notorious for demolishing
archaeological treasures since declaring a “caliphate” last year
straddling Iraq and Syria, fought their way into Palmyra on foot after
breaking through in the city’s north.
Bokova urged the international community,
including the UN Security Council and religious leaders, to launch an
appeal to stop the violence.
Before Syria’s crisis began in March 2011,
more than 150,000 tourists visited Palmyra every year, admiring its
beautiful statues, over 1,000 columns, and formidable necropolis of over
500 tombs.
Palmyra’s richest residents had constructed
and sumptuously decorated these monuments to the dead, some of which
have been recently looted.
According to the governor of Homs province,
the inner city is home to about 35,000 people, including those displaced
by fighting nearby. Another 35,000 live in the city’s suburbs.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group counts 100,000 people living in Palmyra and its outskirts.
Hundreds of statues and artifacts from
Palmyra’s museum were transferred out of the city before it fell to
Islamic State, according to Syria’s antiquities chief Mamoun Abdulkarim.
But many others — including massive tombs — could not be moved.
Palmyra, which means City of Palms, is
mentioned in the Bible as Tadmor, the name it goes by in Syria and
Israel, and likely a reference to dates.
Its name first appeared on a tablet in the
19th century BCE as a stopping point for caravans traveling on the Silk
Road and between the Gulf and the Mediterranean.
In the Bible, King Solomon is credited with fortifying the city, and it’s later mentioned in other Jewish texts as well.
But it was during the Roman Empire — beginning
in the first century BCE and lasting another 400 years — that Palmyra,
called the “pearl of the desert,” rose to prominence.
Though surrounded by desert dunes, Palmyra
developed into a luxurious metropolis thanks to the trade of spices,
perfumes, silk and ivory from the east, and statues and glasswork from
Phoenicia.
In the year 129 CE, Roman emperor Hadrian
declared Palmyra a “free city” within his empire. During the rest of the
century, its famous temples — including the Agora and the temple
honoring Bel (Baal) — were built.
Before the arrival of Christianity in the
second century, Palmyra worshiped the trinity of the Babylonian god Bel,
as well Yarhibol (the sun) and Aglibol (the moon).
As the Roman Empire faced internal political
instability in the third century, Palmyra took the opportunity to
declare its independence.
Palmyrans beat back the Romans in the west and Persian forces in the east in a revolt led by Zenobia, who then became queen.
By 270, Zenobia had conquered all of Syria and parts of Egypt, and had arrived at Asia Minor’s doorstep.
But when Roman emperor Aurelian retook the
city, the powerful queen was taken back to Rome and Palmyra began to
decline in prominence.
Today, Palmyra bears the scars of Syria’s
ongoing war: clashes between armed rebels and government forces in 2013
left collapsed columns and statues in their wake, a harbinger of what
Islamic State jihadists might do.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment