Palmyra, one of the world’s most complete Roman archaeological sites, not only represents the glory of classical architecture but also symbolises the modernity of cultural pluralism and the value of tolerance.
Dating to the second millennium BC and strategically located deep in the Tadmorean Desert in Syria, the ancient Semitic city was for centuries a bustling trading post and a prosperous semi-independent metropolis within the Roman Empire.
Anyone who has visited the site – which until recently could be admired up close and in total quiet at sunset – will recall that heart-lifting moment of standing, dumbstruck, on the main colonnaded avenue as the sinking sun painted the Roman Temple of Bel orange, then pink.
Palmyra’s pale-gold limestone temples, agora and majestic mile-long main street saw their heyday in the second and third centuries AD, when this fertile city cashed in on its strategic position on the trade routes between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates.
As an important Silk Road halting point for camel caravans travelling between the rival superpowers of the Roman Empire to the west and Parthians to the east, Palmyra’s fortunes flourished due to high taxes levied on goods shipped through the city.
It peacefully accommodated peoples from various cultures and religions, all of whom were allowed to thrive under the Roman Empire.
This is why Palmyra is such an important site – it symbolises the beauty of classical building, but also the beauty of enlightened thought.
This is why, as so-called Islamic State fighters march on the ruins of the “Venice of the sands”, any destruction of its magnificence will signal an assault on the primary values on which peaceful, tolerant, pluralistic societies are built.
London mayor Boris Johnson has argued that the very idea of western civilisation is at stake in the seizing of Palmyra. In the Daily Telegraph, he wrote: "[N] ever in its history has Palmyra faced a threat as brutal as today. Every conquering army, every general that has ever gone there has found something to admire . . . Not today – not these people . . . They are so pathetic, so troubled, so fearful, so small, that they are driven to destroy."
Palmyra is a symbol of the attainable ideals of tolerance and diversity – ideals alien to the so-called Islamic State.
