The city grew wealthy from trade caravans; the Palmyrenes became renowned as merchants who established colonies along the Silk Road and operated throughout the Roman Empire. By the third century CE Palmyra had become a prosperous regional center. It reached the apex of its power in the 260s, when the Palmyrene King Odaenathus defeated Persian Emperor Shapur I.

Palmyra's history spans from its early mention in 2nd millennium BCE texts to its modern-day status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city's cultural and architectural heritage is a testament to its role as a nexus of diverse civilizations, including Semitic, Greco-Roman, and Persian influences. Notable for its monumental structures, such as the Temple of Bel, the Monumental Arch, and the Great Colonnade, Palmyra exemplifies a unique blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles. Its inhabitants spoke Palmyrene Aramaic and utilized Koine Greek for commercial and diplomatic purposes, underscoring the city's cosmopolitan nature.

circa 3000 BCE- 1250 CE

Palmyra, originally known as Tadmor, emerged as a settlement in the 3rd millennium BCE, with archaeological evidence indicating continuous habitation from circa 2300 BCE. Its location near the Efqa Spring allowed it to develop as a vital oasis in the Syrian Desert, providing water and shelter to caravans traversing the harsh terrain. The oasis made long-distance trade feasible, linking Mesopotamia, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula, which contributed significantly to the city's early prosperity. Over the centuries, Palmyra evolved from a modest settlement into a wealthy and influential urban center, with its inhabitants constructing monumental tombs and funerary towers during the first millennium BCE that showcased sophisticated masonry techniques and an ability to integrate local Semitic traditions with influences from neighboring civilizations such as the Babylonians and Assyrians. These structures, often elaborately decorated with reliefs and inscriptions in Palmyrene Aramaic, reflected both the city's economic vitality and its distinctive cultural identity.

During the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, Palmyra became increasingly integrated into the Roman world, though it retained a notable degree of political autonomy. The city’s wealth, accumulated from the lucrative trade in silk, spices, incense, and other luxury goods, enabled the construction of impressive public buildings, temples, and civic monuments, blending Roman architectural forms with local artistic traditions. By the 3rd century CE, Palmyra had risen to political prominence under the leadership of Odaenathus, who successfully defended the city against Sasanian incursions, establishing Palmyra as a regional power. His successor, Queen Zenobia, expanded Palmyrene control over much of Syria, Phoenicia, and parts of Asia Minor, creating a brief but remarkable Palmyrene empire. This era was marked by extraordinary cultural and economic flourishing: monumental constructions such as the Temple of Bel, the Great Colonnade, the Tetrapylon, and the agora reflected a cosmopolitan city where Greco-Roman, Persian, and local influences coexisted, highlighting Palmyra’s role as a crossroads of civilizations and a center of both political ambition and artistic innovation.

In modern times, Palmyra suffered extensive damage to its ancient structures during the 2015 CE ISIS occupation, and subsequent efforts since its 2017 recapture have focused on restoration and preservation.

circa 150 BCE

Baalshamin Temple
The Temple of Baalshamin dates to the late 2nd century BCE in its earliest phases; its altar was built in CE 115, and it was substantially rebuilt in CE 131. It consisted of a central cella and two colonnaded courtyards north and south of the central structure. A vestibule consisting of six columns preceded the cella which had its side walls decorated with pilasters in Corinthian order.

circa 32 CE

Temple of Bel
The Temple of Bel was the most prominent religious site in ancient Palmyra, Syria, dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Bel as part of a triad that also included the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Yarhibol. Constructed beginning in 19 CE and dedicated in 32 CE, the temple showcased a unique synthesis of Greco-Roman and ancient Near Eastern architectural traditions. Before its destruction in August 2015 by ISIL, the temple was one of the best-preserved monuments in the city, with its sanctuary standing on a raised podium within a massive, colonnaded courtyard. The central shrine, or cella, featured an unusual side entrance and a richly carved ceiling depicting deities, planets, and zodiac signs. Although its main structure was reduced to rubble, some outer walls and the fortified gate survived.

circa 80 CE

Agora
The Agora of Palmyra is part of a complex that also includes the tariff court and the triclinium, built in the second half of the first century CE. The agora is a massive 71 by 84 metres (233 by 276 ft) structure with 11 entrances. Inside the agora, 200 columnar bases that used to hold statues of prominent citizens were found. The inscriptions on the bases allowed an understanding of the order by which the statues were grouped; the eastern side was reserved for senators, the northern side for Palmyrene officials, the western side for soldiers and the southern side for caravan chiefs.

circa 100 CE

Senate
Palmyra's senate was an example; although Palmyrene texts written in Greek described it as a "boule" (a Greek institution), the senate was a gathering of non-elected tribal elders (a Near-Eastern assembly tradition). The senate building is largely in ruins. It is a small building that consists of a peristyle courtyard and a chamber that has an apse at one end and rows of seats around it.

circa 103 CE

Tower of Elahbel
The Tower of Elahbel (also known as Tower 13, or Kubbet el 'Arus) was one of the most prominent funerary towers in the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria. Constructed of sandstone in 103 CE, the four-story tower was built as a family tomb for the wealthy Palmyrene aristocrat Marcus Ulpius Elahbelus and his brothers. Located in the Valley of the Tombs, the building exemplified Palmyra's distinct architecture, which blended Greco-Roman and Persian styles. Its interior was decorated with Corinthian pilasters, painted coffered ceilings, and individual burial niches called loculi. Each loculus was sealed with a carved and painted relief of the deceased. Tragically, the Tower of Elahbel and other historic tower tombs in Palmyra were destroyed by explosives by the terrorist group ISIL in August 2015. The tower was important in the history of textiles: fragments of very early Chinese silk yarns, dated to the 1st century CE, were discovered in the tombs at the tower.

circa 150 CE

Hypogeum of Three Brothers
The Tomb or Hypogeum of the Three Brothers is a celebrated underground tomb in Palmyra, Syria, renowned for its remarkably preserved interior wall paintings. Constructed around the mid-second century CE for three brothers named Male, Saadi, and Naamain, the tomb is noted for showcasing Palmyra's hybrid cultural identity, which blended local traditions with Hellenistic and Roman artistic styles. Located in the southwestern necropolis near the Efqa Spring, the hypogeum's T-shaped layout contains galleries with multiple burial niches (loculi). Its rich frescoes depict mythological scenes like the abduction of Ganymede by the Eagle of Zeus and the revealing of Achilles on Skyros, alongside images of the deceased being carried by winged victories. While some of the tomb's structural and sculptural elements have been damaged over time, its significant mural paintings survived the destruction inflicted by ISIL on other monuments in Palmyra. The hypogeum was restored in 1947. Above the tomb’s entrance is an inscription that gives us the names of three brothers; Male, Saadi and Naamain. The inscription also states that other families co-owned parts of the hypogeum.

circa 200 CE

Monumental Arch
The Monumental Arch of Palmyra, also known as the Arch of Triumph (قوس النصر), or the Arch of Septimius Severus, was constructed some time in early 3rd century CE, reign of emperor Septimius Severus (193 to 211 CE), as part of the city’s Great Colonnade complex. Serving both as a ceremonial gateway and as an architectural centerpiece, the arch connected the main colonnaded street to the Temple of Bel, symbolically linking civic, commercial, and religious spaces. Its design exemplified the Palmyrene synthesis of architectural traditions: the structure featured Corinthian capitals, elaborately carved reliefs depicting mythological and floral motifs, and a vaulted passageway that emphasized both grandeur and symmetry. Functionally, the arch marked processional routes used for religious festivals and civic celebrations, while aesthetically, it projected the wealth and cosmopolitan character of Palmyra. Prior to its destruction by ISIS in 2015, the arch stood as a testament to the city’s sophisticated urban planning and its capacity to integrate Roman engineering with local artistic sensibilities, making it one of Palmyra’s most iconic monuments.

circa 210 CE

Roman Theatre
The Roman Theatre at Palmyra (مسرح تدمر) is a Roman theatre in ancient Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The unfinished theatre dates back to the second-century CE Severan period. The theatre's remains have since been restored. The second-century CE theatre was built in the center of a semicircular colonnaded piazza which opens up to the South Gate of Palmyra. In the 1950s the theatre was cleared from the sand and subsequently underwent restoration works.

circa 200-300 CE

Great Colonnade
The Great Colonnade at Palmyra, or the decumanus maximus, was the main colonnaded avenue in the ancient city of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The colonnade was built in several stages during the second and third century CE and stretched for more than a kilometer (approximately 75 miles). It linked the Temple of Bel, in the southeastern end of the city, to the West Gate and the Funerary Temple in the northwestern part. The colonnade's early columns, especially in the western stretch, were built using the classical opus emplectum building technique. The columns consisted of six to eight short sections.

circa 250 CE

Funerary Temple
The Funerary Temple no. 86 (also known as the House Tomb) is located at the western end of the Great Colonnade. It was built in the third century CE and has a portico of six columns and vine patterns carvings. Inside the chamber, steps leads down to a vault crypt. The shrine might have been connected to the royal family as it is the only tomb inside the city's walls.

circa 284–305 CE

Tetrapylon
The Tetrapylon was erected during the renovations of Diocletian at the end of the third century. is a square platform and each corner contains a grouping of four columns. Each column group supports a 150 tons cornice and contains a pedestal in its center that originally carried a statue. Out of sixteen columns, only one is original while the rest are from reconstruction work by the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities in 1963, using concrete. The original columns were brought from Egypt and carved out of pink granite.

circa 300 CE

Baths of Diocletian
Much of the Baths of Diocletian are ruined and do not survive above the level of the foundations. The complex's entrance is marked by four massive Egyptian granite columns. Inside, the outline of a bathing pool surrounded by a colonnade of Corinthian columns is still visible in addition to an octagonal room that served as a dressing room containing a drain in its center.

circa 1250 CE

Palmyra Castle
The Palmyra Castle, also known as Fakhr-al-Din al-Ma'ani Castle (قلعة فخر الدين المعني) or the Tadmur Castle, is a hill-top fortress overlooking ancient city of Palmyra in the Homs province, Syria. The castle is thought to have been built by the Mamluks in the thirteenth century CE. It is situated north-west, overlooking the historic site of Palmyra, and is probably named for the Druze emir Fakhr-al-Din II, who extended the Druze domains to the region of Palmyra during the sixteenth century CE.