Palmyra

Palmyra (Hebrew, Tadnwr; Modern Syriac, Tidmir), a ruined city of Asia, situated 150 miles north-enst of Damascus, at one of the rare oases in the Great Syrian Desert. The date of its formation is uncertain. It rose very early to wealth and importance, as the majestic remains of temples, tombs, and dwelling-houses testify. The grandest of these monuments, dedicated to Bel, or the Sun god, still retains GO of its 390 columns. The city reached the height of its prosperity during the wars of Rome witii Parthia and Persia; but it lost some of its independence in spite of the gallant struggles of Zenobia, after whose defeat. (272 A.D.) Aurelian destroyed and depopulated her capital. The Saracens in 740 completed the work of devastation, to which earthquakes have also contributed. It was not until 1678 that the site was discovered by European geographers.