After Isis destroys the temple of Baal Shamin, head of UN’s cultural agency describes ‘immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity’

The chief of the UN’s cultural agency on Monday described Islamic State’s destruction of a Roman temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra as a “war crime”.

The strong language comes a day after Isis was said to have destroyed the temple of Baal Shamin in Palmyra, which was begun in 17AD and was expanded under the reign of the emperor Hadrian in 130AD.

Irina Bokova, the Unesco chief, said in a statement: “This destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity. Daesh (Isis) is killing people and destroying sites, but cannot silence history and will ultimately fail to erase this great culture from the memory of the world.”

The group last week murdered Khaled al-Asaad, 82, the keeper of the historic city of Palmyra. Its latest destruction raises the question of what will become of the ancient oasis city, one of the best-preserved classical sites, in a region beset by civil wars and conflict.



After sweeping through much of northern Iraq last year, Isis set its sights on the ruins near its stronghold of Mosul, ransacking museums, the ruins of once-mighty cities such as Nimrud and Hatra, and desecrating historic Christian and Shia shrines.

I always say that people without their heritage and history are not a people Amr al-Azm, former head of Syria’s conservation laboratories

A pattern appears to have been established according to which Isis militants destroy ancient artefacts or structures, the condemnations pour in and days later the group releases further videos and imagery of the destruction to highlight the impotence of the international community.

“The question is, are we witnessing the start of a systematic campaign to destroy Palmyra, and if so, what will be next?” said Amr al-Azm, the former head of Syria’s conservation laboratories.

One likely target is the temple of Bel, one of the most significant structures in Palmyra and once the centre of its religious life. A cubic structure surrounded by walls that still has its ancient cella, an inner sanctum to the sun god, it was also used as a fortress during Ottoman times.

Another is the arch of triumph on Palmyra’s ancient colonnades, or the Roman amphitheatre that dates back to the second century AD.

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Azm said of Palmyra: “It’s a very important part of Syria’s cultural heritage and therefore part of the Syrian people’s history and heritage ... and it will never be replaced. It’s a national monument and there aren’t many national symbols left in Syria that Syrians still identify with, given their country has ruptured across every possible cleave you could think of.”

Much of Palmyra is well-preserved – the uniqueness of the city, an oasis on the Silk Road, stems from the fact that so much remains intact from Roman times, including the remains of public buildings, temples and administrative centres.

The destruction of the temple of Baal Shamin, which was confirmed by activists, is the first major incident of destruction in the city since it was seized by Isis after a week-long siege in May. The group took Palmyra after troops loyal to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, suddenly withdrew, smuggling out large numbers of statues from the museum.

The regime’s withdrawal left the city entirely in the militants’ control, though Isis pledged to destroy only what it deemed idolatrous. Isis considers grave markers and statues symbols of paganism that ought to be destroyed, according to their puritanical version of Islam.

The temple of Baal Shamin was built in the first century AD, a house of worship dedicated to the Phoenician god of storms and the sky, who evolved into a major deity worshipped during the time of Queen Zenobia and her husband Septimius Odaenathus, the King of Kings of Palmyra.

Its columns carried Greek and Palmyrian inscriptions, and it once contained statues of the rich and wealthy patrons of Palmyra.

Azm said the temple of Baal Shamin, as well as the rest of Palmyra, were of “tremendous importance”. The city’s sprawling colonnades and Tetrapylon remain , while Isis has repurposed its amphitheatre, using it to stage mass executions of its enemies. For Azm, if ancient Palmyra were destroyed its loss would go far beyond mere rocks and stones.

“What is going to be lost if Palmyra is ultimately destroyed is a very important, very iconic and highly symbolic landmark of Syrian cultural history and heritage, something that Syrians may one day be able to rally around once the conflict ends,” Azm said. “They may have disagreed today about what their future should be, but they still share a common past. We should not underestimate the power of that.”

He said Syrians ought not to feel guilty worrying about the loss of their heritage and focusing on Isis atrocities while the Assad regime continued its attacks every day around the country.

“Here we are talking about rocks and stones and focusing on Isis atrocities and the regime is committing atrocities everyday in Douma and Zabadani and Aleppo,” he said. “But I always say that people without their heritage and history are not a people. Preserving heritage is as much about preserving Syria as preserving its people.

“I hope one day I’ll be able to take my children and even my grandchildren there to be able to see their heritage and history,” he added. “I think it will be a great shame if the only way they can connect with it is through a video or an image made years before they were born.”