Ruins of deals Palmyra by Thomas Stothard c. 1780 (Syria)

Title: Ruins of Palmyra

Artist: Thomas Stothard (Engraved by James Heath) 

Published: London, c. 1780

Size: 20x15cm

Condition: The print is in excellent condition. 

A fantastic view of the ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria, during the late 18th century. The print is in excellent contemporary hand colouring. 

Palmyra is an ancient Semitic city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. The city can be dated back to the Neolithic period and there are documents mentioning it as far back as the Second Millenium BC. The city deals made its mark on history by becoming an early site of economic dominance. The inhabitants of Palmyra were well known traders with an affinity for architecture. It was one of the main stops on the fabled "Silk Road". 

By the First Century AD, the city was in the control of the Romans. This combined ith the vast trade networks running through the city, caused it to become a melting-pot of ideas and culture which combined elements from the Amorites, Arameans and Arabs. This produced very distinctive artwork and architecture which can be seen in magnificent monuments such as the Great Colonnade, the Temple of Bel and the tower tombs.

For the next several hundred years the city changed hands and was destroyed and rebuilt, each time to a lesser extent, until the once fabled city became a minor post for the Byzantines. Finally, in the 15th century, the Timurids destroyed the city; making it nothing more than a small village. It wasn't until 1932 that its inhabitants were moved to a new village (Tadmur) so that the ancient site could be excavated. Even then, the once proud city faced more embarassment as ISIL destroyed large areas of the city in 2015 before it was recaptured in 2017 by the Syrian Army.