THE LEGACY OF
ANCIENT PALMYRA
عربي

Additional Resources & Information

Selected Bibliography

Digitized Primary Resources from Getty Research Institute

Addison, Charles Greenstreet. Damascus and Palmyra: a Journey to the East. With a Sketch of the State and Prospects of Syria, under Ibrahim Pasha. (2 vol.s). London, 1838. Getty Research Institute, 2016-B110

Beaufort Smythe, Emily Anne, Viscountess Strangford. Egyptian sepulchres and Syrian shrines: including some stay in the Lebanon, at Palmyra, and in western Turkey. London, 1862. Getty Research Institute, 3026-718

Bernard, Edward. Inscriptiones Graecae Palmyrenorum : cum scholiis & annotationibus, 1698. Getty Research Institute, 87-B9868

Cassas, Louis-François. Proof plates and archive for Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoénicie, de la Palestine, et de la Basse Egypte (vol. I), 1795–1826. Getty Research Institute, 840011

Cassas, Louis-François. Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoénicie, de la Palestine, et de la Basse Egypte, 1799–1800. University of Heidelberg. View in Getty Research Portal™

Luynes, duc de, Honoré d’Albert. Voyage d’exploration à la mer Morte, à Petra, et sur la rive gauche du Jourdain. Paris, 1874. Getty Research Institute, 2850-401

Seller, Abednego. The Antiquities of Palmyra. London, 1696. Getty Research Institute, 90-B2629

Vignes, Louis. Views and panoramas of Beirut and the ruins of Palmyra, 1864. Getty Research Institute, 2015.R.15

Vignes, Louis. Vues de Phénicie, de Judée, des pays de Moab et de Petra / photographiées par M. Vignes Lieutenant de vaisseau pendant son voyage, en 1864, avec le duc de Luynes de Beyrouth à la mer Rouge et son retour avec M. Lartet de Jérusalem à Damas par la rive gauche du Jourdain, 1864. Getty Research Institute, 2929-130

Volney, Constantin-François. Voyage en Syrie et en Égypte. Paris, 1807. Getty Research Institute, 1377-749

Wood, Robert. The ruins of Palmyra, otherwise Tedmor, in the desart. London, 1753. Getty Research Institute, 85-B25010

Yanoski, Jean. Syrie ancienne et modern. Paris, 1848. Getty Research Institute, 2614-629

Secondary Resources

Mahd Al-adārāt. Quarterly review published by the Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums in Damascus on archaeological, historical, and heritage research and discoveries in Syria. Damascus: Markas al-Bāsil li-al-Bahthnwa al-Tadrīb al-Āthārī, 2006–.

Majallat al-Waqai’ al-Āthāryah fi Sūriyah. Journal of archaeological activities in Syria that includes published reports and the results of archaeological excavations in the country.

‘Abdellatif, Rania, Julia Gonnella, and Kay Kohlmeyer, eds. Syria Matters. Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2018. Catalog for an exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, November 22, 2018 to April 30, 2019.

Aḥmad, ʻAlī Ṣaqr.al-Ilāh al-Ḥāmī fi-al-Nuqūsh al-Tadmurīyah (The protective divinity in inscriptions of Palmyra).” In Majallat Diras Tarikh 95–96 (2006): 37–56.

Aḥmad, ʻAlī Ṣaqr. “al-Mawruth al-Thaqāfī wa-al-Laghawī fi Tadmur al-Qadīmah (The cultural and linguistic heritage of ancient Palmyra).” In Majallat Jama’a al-Ba’ath 39, issue 4, 2017.

Aḥmad, ʻAlī Ṣaqr. al-Nuqūsh al-Tadmurīyah al-Qadīmah (The ancient inscriptions of
Palmyra). Damascus: Wizārat al-Thaqāfah, 2009.

al-As‘ad, Khaled. al-Fann al-Tadmurīal-Manḥutat wa-al-Rūsūm al-Insaniyah fi al-Madāfin al-Tadmurīyah khilal al-’Asr al-Rūmanīyah (The art of Palmyra – Sculptures and human representations in the tombs of Palmyra during the Roman period). Damascus, 2019.

al-As‘ad, Khaled and Franciszek Stepniowski. “The Umayyad Suq in Palmyra,” Damaszener Mitteilungen 4 (1989): 205–23.


al-As‘ad, Khaled and Krystyna Gawlikowska. Ancient Glass of Palmyra Museum. Inowroclaw: Pozkal, 2017.

al-As‘ad, Khaled et al. Inscriptions de Palmyre: Promenades Épigraphiques dans La Ville de Palmyre. Beirut: Institut français d’Archéologie du Proche-Orient, 2001.

al-As‘ad, Khaled et al. Zīnūbiyā Malikat Tadmur wa-al-Sharq (Zenobia Queen of Palmyra and the East), Arabic and English. Damascus, 2005–2006.

al-As‘ad, Waleed. “A‘mal al-biḥthat al-Watānīyah al-Madāfan al-Tadmurīyah (Works of the national mission in Palmyra’s tombs).” In Adiyat aleb 14 (2010): 20–35.

Alcock, Susan E., ed. The Early Roman Empire in the East. Oxford, England: Oxbow Books, ca. 1997. View record

Anderson, Benjamin and Robert G. Ousterhout. Palmyra 1885: The Wolfe Expedition and the Photographs of John Henry Haynes. Hawick: Cornucopia Books, 2016. View record

Andrade, Nathanael J. Syrian Identity in the Greco-Roman World. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2013. View record

Andrade, Nathanael J. Zenobia: Shooting Star of Palmyra. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. 

Aruz, Joan, ed. Palmyra: Mirage in the Desert. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017.  View record

Bunni, ‘Adnān. “al-Tadmuriyūn fi al-Dunia al-Rahibat Khilal al-Qarnāyn al-Thānī wa-al-Thālith al-Mīlādī (The Palmyrene in the wide world during the second and third centuries AD),” Majallat al-Dirāsat al-Tarikhīyat, issue 2, Damascus, (1980): 37–52.

Bunni, ‘Adnān. Nisa’ ‘ala Durub Tadmur (Women on the roads of Palmyra). Damascus: Dar Sumir, 1987.

Bunni, ‘Adnān, ed. “Palmyra and the Silk Road.” International colloquium, Palmyra, April 7–11, 1992. In AAAS: Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes 42, special issue. Damascus: Mudīrīyat al-Āthār wa-al-Matāḥif, 1996.

Bunni, ‘Adnān. “Tadmur.” In al-Mawsū’at al-’Arābīyah (The Arab encyclopedia), vol. 6, first edition: 231.

Bunni, ‘Adnān. Tadmur wat-Tadmuriyūn (Palmyra and its people). Damascus: Wizārat al-Thaqāfah wa-al-Irshād al-Qawmī, 1978.

Bunni, ‘Adnān. al-Fann al-Tadmurī (The art of Palmyra). Damascus: al-Majlis al-Aʻla liRiʻāyat al-Funūn wa-al-Ādāb wa-al-ʻUlūm al-Ijtimāʻīyah, 1962.

Bunni, ‘Adnān et al. Palmyra: Geschichte, Denkmäler, Museum. Damascus, 1990.

Bunni, ‘Adnān et al. Tadmur Āthārīyan, Tārīkhīyan Siyāḥīyan (Palmyra: Archaeology, history, and tourism), fourth edition. Damascus, 2004.

Browning, Iain. Palmyra. London: Chatto & Windus, 1979. View record

Burns, Ross. Origins of the Colonnaded Streets in the Cities of the Roman East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. View record

Clemente-Ruiz, Aurélie and Nala Aloudat. Von Mossul nach Palmyra: Eine virtuelle Reise durch das Weltkulturerbe. Munich: Hirmer, 2019.

Colledge, Malcolm A. R. The Art of Palmyra. Boulder: Westview Press, 1976. View record

Culkin, Kate. Harriet Hosmer: A Cultural Biography. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2010. View record

Di Branco, Marco and Maria Teresa Grassi, eds. Guida di Palmyra. Omaggio a Khaled al-As’ad martire del patrimonio culturale. Rome: Viella, 2019. 

Diehl, Johannes F. and Reinhard G. Lehmann. “HBL: Tadmor Studies in Palmyrene Script and Language.” In KUSATU: Kleine Untersuchungen zur Sprache des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt 23. Kamen: Hartmut Spenner, 2018.

Eliav, Yaron Z., Elise A. Friedland, and Sharon Herbert, eds. The Sculptural Environment of the Roman Near East. Leuven; Dudley, MA: Peeters, 2008. View record

Eristov, Hélène, et al. al-Zakhārif al-Jassīt fi Tadmur (Plaster decoration in Palmyra), Silsilāh wathaq al-Āthār al-Sūriyāh 16. Translated by Ahmad al-Qadhi and Rima Khawam. Damascus: Wizārat al-Thaqāfah, 2009.

Farzat, Muhammad Harb. “Ḥiwār al-Ḥaḍārat ‘ala Tarīq al-Ḥarīr bayna al-Yaman wa-al-Shām (Dialogue of civilizations on the Silk Road between Yemen and the Levant).” In Majallat al-Dirāsat al-Tarikhīyat, Damascus, vol. 39–40 (1991): 96–118.

Fournet, Thibault, Khaled al-As’ad, and Jean-Baptiste Yon. Inscriptions de Palmyre: Promenades épigraphiques dans la ville de Palmyre. Beirut: Institut français du Proche-Orient, 2001.

Gawlikowski, Michał. Le sanctuaire d’Allat à Palmyre. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, Warsaw University Press, 2017, monograph series 6.

Gawlikowski, Michał and Grzegorz Majcherek, eds. “Fifty Years of Polish Excavations in Palmyra 1959­–2009.” International conference, Warsaw, December 6–8, 2010. In Studia Palmyreńskie 12, special issue. Warsaw: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, Warsaw University Press, 2013.

Gilet, Annie and Uwe Westfehling. Louis-François Cassas, 1756–1827: dessinateur, voyageur im Banne der Sphinx: ein französischer Zeichner reist nach Italien und in den Orient. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, 1994. View record

Gregoratti, Leonardo. “Temples and Traders in Palmyra.” In Capital, Investment, and Innovation in the Roman World, edited by Paul Erdkamp et al., 462­–480. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Hammad, Manar. Palmyre: Transformations urbaines: développement d’une ville antique de la marge aride syrienne. Paris: Geuthner, 2010. View record

Hariri, Khalil. Iktishāf Tadmur: al-Tarīkh al-Āthār al-Fānī (Discovering Palmyra: The history, the archaeology, and the arts). Damascus, 2008.

Ḥulw, ‘Adballāh. Sirā’ al-Mamālik fi al-Tārīkh al-Sūrī al-Qadīm ma bayna al-’Asr al Hejri ḥata Sūqūt Mamlakat Tadmur (History of kingdom conflicts in ancient Syria, between the Stone Age and the fall of the kingdom of Palmyra). Damascus: Bisan lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi’ wa-al-I’lam, 1999.

Ḥulw, ‘Adballāh. Sūriya al-Qadīmah (Ancient Syria). Damascus: Alif Bā’ al-Adīd, 2004.

Intagliata, Emanuele E. Palmyra after Zenobia AD 273­–750: An Archaeological and Historical Reappraisal. Philadelphia: Oxbow, 2018.

Janābī, Qays Ḥātem. “al-’Alāqāt al-Siyāsīyah bayna Tadmur wa-al-Rūman ḥata ‘Am 273m (Political relations between Palmyra and the Romans until the year AD 273).” In Majallat Jāmi’at Babil lil-’Ulūm al-Insānīyah, issue 1, vol. 16, special issue, 2008.

Jassim, Ḥanan Issa. “al-Muqawamāt al-Tadmuriyat li-Iḥtilal al-Rūmaniyah (The destructive resistance of the Roman occupation).” In Majallat al-Dirāsat al-Tarikhiyaht wa-al-aariyat, Tikrit University, vol. 10, 35 (2019): 266–284.

Kadhim, Shaker Majid and Shada Ahmad Issa. “Dawr al-Nabalat al-’Arab fi al-Tarīkh al-Qadīm – Dirasat fi Firqat al-Nabalāt al-Tadmiriyah (The role of the Arab nobility in ancient history: Study in the Palmyra noble division).” In Majallat Abḥath al-Basra lil-’Ulūm al-Insanīyah, vol. 31, issue 1, (n.d.): 266–291.

Kaizer, Ted. The Religious Life of Palmyra: A Study of the Social Patterns of Worship in the Roman Period. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002. View record

Ketelsen, Thomas, ed. Palmyra Was bleibt? Louis-François Cassas und seine Reise in den Orient (im Graphischen Kabinett). Köln: Wallraf, das Museum, 2016. View record

Khleif, Bachar. “Muqarābāt Fikriyah Tarikhīyah Liruhīyat wa Khasāyis Ḥadārāt Al-Mashriq Al-’Arabī Al-Qadīm (Intellectual-historical approach to spiritual characteristics of ancient Arab Mashreq civilization).” In Majallat kan al-Tarikhīyat al-Iliktruniyah, Historical Kan Periodical, vol. 2, issue 3 (2009): 42–54.

Khulayyif, Bashshār. iwarāt fi al-aarāt al-Sūriyat (Dialogues in the Syrian civilizations). Damascus: Dar al-Rayy, 2007.

Kling, Hurst. Athār Sūriyah al-Qadīmah (Ruins of ancient Syria). Translated by Qassim Tawir. Damascus: Wizārat al-Thaqāfah, 1985.

Krag, Signe. Funerary Representations of Palmyrene Women: From the First Century BC to the Third Century AD. Turnhout: Brepols, 2018.

Krag, Signe et al. The Collection of Palmyrene Funerary Portraits in the Musei Vaticani. Vatican City: Vaticano Edizioni Musei Vaticani, 2019.

Kropp, Andreas and Rubina Raja, eds. The World of Palmyra. Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, 2016.

Mawla, Lilas. “Return or Change. Syria Post War Urban & Cultural Reconstruction Strategy. The Case of Palmyra.” Master’s thesis, Politecnico di Milano, Scuola di Architettura Urbanistica e Ingegneria delle Costruzioni, 2017. https://www.academia.edu/35835014

Mādūn, Mūhammad ‘Ali. Tafā’ulāt aarīyah ‘ala Tarīq al-arīr (Cultural interactions on the Silk Road). Silsilat al-Dirāsāt al-Tadmurīyah al-Turāthīyah. Damascus, 1995.

Meyer, Jørgen Christian. Palmyrena: Palmyra and the Surrounding Territory from the Roman to the Early Islamic Period. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2017.

Michałowski, Kazimierz. Palmyra. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970. View record

Nielsen, Anne Marie and Rubina Raja, eds. The Road to Palmyra. Copenhagen: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 2019.

Raja, Rubina. Palmyra: Pearl of the Desert. Aarhus: Aarhus University, 2017.

Raja, Rubina, ed. Revisiting the Religious Life of Palmyra. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 2019.

Raja, Rubina. The Palmyra Collection: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Copenhagen: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 2019. 

Raja, Rubina and Anne Marie Nielsen. The Road to Palmyra. Copenhagen: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 2019.

Raja, Rubina and Annette Højen Sørensen. Harald Ingholt and Palmyra. Aarhus: Aarhus University, 2015.

Ramadani, Um Hani, “Imārāt Tadmur wa-al-Rūman 64 Q.m.–273 M” (The kingdom of Tadmur and the Romans, 64 BC–AD 273).” In Al īkmah Journal 4 (1), (2012): 169–86.

Schmidt-Colinet, Andreas. “No Temple in Palmyra! Opposing the Reconstruction of the Temple of Bel." In Syria Studies 11 (2), (2019): 63–84. View article

Schmidt-Colinet, Andreas, Khaled al-As’ad, and Annemarie Stauffer, eds. Die Textilien aus Palmyra: Neue und Alte Funde, Damaszener Forschungen 8. Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, 2000.

Schulz-Dornburg, Ursula. The Land in Between: Photographs from 1980 to 2012. Edited by Martin Engler. London: Mack, 2018. View record

Seland, Eivind Heldaas. Ships of the Desert and Ships of the Sea: Palmyra in the World Trade of the First Three Centuries CE. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2016.

Silver, Minna et al. Reviving Palmyra in Multiple Dimensions: Images, Ruins and Cultural Memory. Caithness: Whittles Publishing, 2018.

Smith, Andrew M. Identity, Community, and State Formation at Roman Palmyra. College Park: University of Maryland, 2013. View record

Smith, Andrew. Roman Palmyra: Identity, Community, and State Formation. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2013.

Starcky, Jean. Tadmur ‘Arūsat as-Saḥra (Palmyra, the desert bride). Translated by Salāh ad-Dīn Munajad. Damascus: Mudīrīyat al-Āthār al-‘Ammah, 1947.

Starcky, Jean and Michał Gawlikowski. Palmyre. Paris: Librarie d’Amérique et d’Orient, 1985. View record

Wood, Robert. Āthār Tadmur (The ruins of Palmyra). Translated by Ibrahim Ass’ad. Homs: Dar al-Ma’aref, 1993.

Archival Resources

Archives and documents of Syrian antiquities, issued by the General-Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, Damascus.

Reports and research from national, foreign, and joint excavations, and from archaeological surveys and restorations, issued by the General-Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, Palmyra.

Online Resources

Websites

Manar al-Athar website, University of Oxford

An extensive archive containing images of historical and archaeological sites found in the Middle East and North Africa that were part of the Roman Empire. Images are available without cost for teaching, research, and publication.

Monuments of Syria

A comprehensive resource for historical sites in Syria, many of this website’s sections, such as the one on Palmyra, juxtapose the author’s photographs with historical sources. It also includes documentation of the damage wrought by the Syrian conflict.

#NewPalmyra

This digital archaeological project dedicated to preserving the memory of the lost cultural heritage of Palmyra features virtual reconstructions and 3-D models of major monuments, created to raise global awareness of these unique historic structures.

Pal.M.A.I.S. Progetto Palmira

A joint Italian and Syrian archaeological project exploring the southwestern quarter of Palmyra with a focus on the chronology of the urban development and transformation of the city.

Palmyra, Freer Sackler

A short introduction to Palmyra accompanied by an exhibition video with engravings published in 1753 by Robert Wood and photographs taken in the 1860s by Felix Bonfils. The museum is currently working on a three-dimensional scan of the 3rd-century funerary bust of Haliphat, a highlight of its Palmyra collection.

Palmyra: Loss and Remembrance

Partnering with the Palmyra Portrait Project (Aarhus University), Getty Villa curated and mounted this exhibition of Palmyrene funerary portrait sculptures, on long-term loan to Getty, from the collections of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen and Stanford University.

Palmyra Portrait Project, Aarhus University

More than 3,000 Palmyrene funerary sculptures and fragments are held in museums around the world. This project aims to compile a definitive corpus of these objects for online research, to publish scholarly texts on Palmyrene art, and to digitize the archive of Danish archaeologist Harald Ingholt.

Palmyre

Mounted by the Ministère de la Culture, this site documents Palmyrene sculpture held in French institutions and provides an overview of Palmyra, noting the work undertaken between 1930 and 1945 by archaeologist Robert Amy.

Photorientalist

A collection of glass lantern slides, albumen prints, stereoviews, silver gelatin prints, postcards, and 35 mm slides collected by Norbert Schiller, who worked as a news photographer in the Middle East and Africa for over 30 years.

Site of Palmyra, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

This site contains state-of-conservation reports, photos, and maps describing the recent devastation of several buildings and damage to artifacts in the Palmyra Museum.

Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums

Official information on Syrian heritage, data on preservation issues related to the destruction of the archaeological sites, and updates about Syrian museums.

Syria Matters

This exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, highlighted Syria’s extraordinary cultural heritage, with a plead to safeguard it. Five periods of Syria’s history were explored through 120 objects on view that illuminated the region’s key role in the artistic and intellectual history of the world.

Syrian Heritage Archive Project

An initiative by German institutions to gather and maintain detailed documentation of Syria’s cultural heritage.

Supporting Technical Works in Palmyra, Iconem

Using a variety of digital tools and imaging techniques, the Iconem team documents and assesses damage to heritage sites. Their work in Palmyra involves acquiring field data to create 3-D models that simulate the dynamics of the explosions that leveled the site’s monuments.

The American Schools of Oriental Research

An international organization that promotes research into the history and cultural heritage of the Near East and wider Mediterranean from the earliest times. This website includes special reports on the Syrian conflict.

The Iris

Read scholarly insights and a behind-the-scenes perspective of The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra on the Getty blog.

Wisconsin Palmyrene Aramaic Inscription Project

Using Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), scholars will re-collate inscriptions from Palmyra and analyze stylistic changes in the scripts to understand how family relations are described.

Zenobia: Empress of the East

A blog by classical scholar Judith Weingarten highlighting the life and times of Palmyra’s famed Queen Zenobia, as well as other “ambitious” female rulers from antiquity.

Articles

“Palmyrene Funerary Sculptures at Penn,” by Michael Danti, University of Pennsylvania Museum

“Breakfast in the Ruins,” by Ingrid D. Rowland, The New York Review of Books

Digitized Images

Proof plates for Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoénicie, de la Palestine, et de la Basse Egypte (Vol. II-III), 1799–1800 (Louis-François Cassas)

Views and panoramas of Beirut and the ruins of Palmyra, 1864 (Louis Vignes)

Exhibition Checklist

Events

Multimedia

Faces of Ancient Palmyra

Palmyrene funerary portraits offer an intimate glimpse into an ancient culture and reveal how its diverse inhabitants wanted to be remembered. In this video, scholars of Palmyra's art and archaeology explain why the need to protect and study these sculptures helps to preserve the legacy of this Syrian city.
Runtime: 7 min.

The Palmyra Portrait Project: Preserving Cultural Heritage in a Time of Conflict

The funerary monuments of Palmyra, Syria, constitute the single largest group of portraits that have survived from an ancient city within the Roman Empire. In this talk, archaeologist Rubina Raja discusses the unique funerary portrait tradition of ancient Palmyra and the recent looting and destruction of its monuments resulting from the Syrian war.
Runtime: 62 min.

Palmyra and Aleppo: Syria's Cultural Heritage in Conflict

Recent political unrest in Syria has progressed into a devastating conflict that has targeted and looted heritage sites, most notably the ancient caravan city of Palmyra. In the battle for Aleppo, a bombing campaign and street-by-street fighting have effectively leveled one of the oldest, continuously populated, and architecturally rich cities in the world. A panel of specialists discusses the unfolding consequences of war on historic sites and monuments throughout the region.
Combined runtime: 163 min.

Designing Getty Research Institute's First Online Exhibition

Co-curator Peter Louis Bonfitto and web designers Masato Nakada and Karen To Nakada discuss the challenges of bringing 18th-century prints and 19th-century photographs into a digital environment as part of Getty Research Institute's first online exhibition. Rare collection materials that inspired the online design are presented.
Runtime: 13 min.

French 18th-Century Artist Travels from Istanbul to Egypt

Co-curator Peter Louis Bonfitto presents the rarely seen images of a three-year diplomatic voyage to the Ottoman court undertaken by artist and architect Louis-François Cassas (French, 1756–1827) beginning in 1784. Cassas created hundreds of detailed drawings of ancient monuments; a rare and significant collection of these proof prints are part of the Research Institute's collections.
Runtime: 15 min.

Lady Strangford's Travel Account of Crossing the Syrian Desert

Co-curator Peter Louis Bonfitto and art historian Jane Friedman look at the 19th-century travel account of Emily Anne Smythe, Viscountess Strangford, who undertook a two-year expedition through the Middle East. Her illustrated description provided a vicarious adventure and sought to assure individuals—particularly women—that travel could be performed with "ease and security" in the region.
Runtime: 15 min.

About This Project

Return to Palmyra

Getty Research Institute presents Return to Palmyra. Featuring an overview of the city from the prehistoric to modern period by art historian Joan Aruz and an interview with Waleed Khaled al-As’ad, former director of antiquities and museums at Palmyra, this project highlights the unique history and character of the Palmyrene people.

To gain an understanding of Palmyra’s far-reaching influence, explore our online exhibition The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra, newly available in Arabic as well.

Return to Palmyra is Getty's first project presented in Arabic. To achieve this, we enlisted the help of regional scholars and consultants who guided the translation and design of the Arabic website, providing a reading and viewing experience that is consistent and engaging in both languages.

Project Team


  • Waleed Khaled al-As’ad, Director Emeritus of Antiquities and Museums, Palmyra, scholarly consultant
  • Joan Aruz, Curator Emerita, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, scholarly consultant
  • Peter Louis Bonfitto, Austin Community College, curatorial consultant
  • Moira Day, Getty Research Institute, curatorial assistant
  • Jane Friedman, Getty Research Institute, project associate
  • Andrew Kersey, Getty Research Institute, editor, content strategist
  • Helen Malko, Columbia Global Centers, Amman, Arabic consultant
  • Liz McDermott, Getty Research Institute, project lead
  • Megan Newcome, Getty Research Institute, content strategist
  • Ridha Moumni, Aga Khan fellow, Harvard University, curatorial and Arabic consultant
  • Uma Nair, Getty Research Institute, project manager, managing editor
  • Stick Creations, media and production agency
  • Frances Terpak, Getty Research Institute, curator

Special thanks to: Majd al-Shihabi, Argos Multilingual, Christa Aube, Natasha Berokoff, Catherine Bonesho, Tristan Bravinder, Debra Canter, Paula Carlson, Jim Cuno, Andra Darlington, Matthew Dunnerstick, Rich Fagan, Noureddine Khiary, Kristine Genevive Khouri, Anne Helmreich, Amy Hood, Kenneth Lapatin, Lisa Lapin, Atoor G. Lawandow, Kirsten Lew, Tima Link, Theresa Luisotti, Maureen McGlynn, Mary Miller, Shanjida Milon, David Newbury, Steve Olsen, Jennifer Park, Andrew Perchuk, Lily Pregill, Yousra Rebbani, Brittany Saake, Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Andreas Schmidt-Colinet, Caitlin Shamberg, Annelisa Stephan, Lela Urquhart, Yasmine Vatere, Maria Velez, Anya Ventura, Sarah Waldorf, Lena Watanabe, and Robert Weisberg.

The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra

Getty Research Institute's first online exhibition, The Legacy of Ancient Palmyra, features the Institute's rare print and photograph collections documenting an important archaeological site that has recently undergone devastating changes amid an ongoing war in Syria. The project was conceived as a means to complement the Institute's exceptional holdings with an innovative design that creates a compelling digital experience. The online presentation of this exhibition aims to reach a global audience.

Project Team

Curators

  • Frances Terpak, Getty Research Institute, curator
  • Peter Louis Bonfitto, Getty Research Institute, research associate

Project Team

  • Betsy Brand, Getty Research Institute, digital engagement
  • Paula Carlson, J. Paul Getty Trust Web Group, web developer and programmer
  • Jane Friedman, Getty Research Institute, project associate
  • Alicia Houtrouw, Getty Research Institute, content strategist
  • Andrew Kersey, Getty Research Institute, content strategist and project editor
  • Ahree Lee, J. Paul Getty Trust Web Group, user experience designer
  • Liz McDermott, Getty Research Institute, project lead
  • Uma Nair, Getty Research Institute, project manager
  • Karen Nakada, The Happening Studio, visual designer
  • Masato Nakada, The Happening Studio, visual designer
  • Kayleigh Perkov, Getty Research Institute, graduate intern

Legal

  • Mikka Gee Conway, J. Paul Getty Trust, assistant general counsel

Administrative

  • Moira Day, Getty Research Institute, curatorial assistant
  • Kristen Decker, Getty Research Institute, administrative assistant

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Thomas W. Gaehtgens, Jack Ludden, Andrew Perchuk, and Marcia Reed for their sustained encouragement in developing this project, and for creating an environment at Getty Research Institute that fosters new endeavors.

Special thanks to the following for their valuable contributions to this project: Fred Albertson, Martha Alfaro, Mantas Andrijauskas, Joan Aruz, Christa Aube, Zainab Bahrani, Nikolas Bakirtizis, Annie Barnes, Jobe Benjamin, Tracy Bonfitto, Claudia Brink, Robert Brown, Shelby Brown, Michelle Brunnick, Giorgio Buccellati, Debra Canter, Henry Colburn, Linda Conze, Tahnee Cracchiola, Ted Dancesu, Owen Doonan, Chris Edwards, Adriana Fernandez, Duncan Forbes, Lisa Forman, Michał Gawlikowski, Corinna Gramatke, Eric Guzman, Ann Harrison, Maira Hernandez-Andrade, Amy Hood, Brooks Huber, Wim Hupperetz, Visa Immonen, Julie Jaskol, Ted Kaizer, Jorrit Kelder, Thomas Ketelsen, Jan Kindberg Jacobsen, Sharon King, Kenneth Lapatin, Sean Leatherbury, Claire Lyons, Louis Marchesano, Theresa Marino, Maureen McGlynn, Matt Moore, David Myers, Christine Nguyen, Nancy Perloff, Melissa Piper, Isotta Poggi, Merritt Price, Rubina Raja, Julie Romain, Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Kim Sellery, Sarah Sherman, Teresa Soleau, Jeffrey Spier, Christopher Sprinkle, Annelisa Stephan, Mark Stone, Jeanne Marie Teutonico, Branko van Oppen, Cristina Velasquez, Maria Velez, Sarah Waldorf, Wes Walker, Amelia Wong, Anna Zagorski, and Dror Zeevi.

Image Rights

© 2017 J. Paul Getty Trust

Except as noted below, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License.

All images listed below, numbered according to their order on the Exhibition Checklist, are reproduced with the permission of the owners and are expressly excluded from the Creative Commons license covering the rest of this online exhibition. These images may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted, or manipulated without consent from the owners, who reserve all rights.

List of Images

78. Getty Research Institute, 84-B25075

83. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, 1992-13. Photo: Gérard Blot. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

86. Musée du Louvre, Paris, AO 1556. Photo: Hervé Lewandowski. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

89. Allard Pierson Museum, University of Amsterdam, 000.049. Courtesy of the University of Amsterdam

93. Photo Credit: National Trust / Art Resource, NY

94. National Trust, Erddig, Wrexham, Wales, 1147092

95. Sir John Soane's Museum, London, MR34. © Sir John Soane's Museum, London

100. Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australian Government Grant 1890, 0.86

101. British Museum, London, 1843, 0513.425. © The Trustees of the British Museum / Art Resource, NY

102. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California. Purchased with the Virginia Steele Scott Acquisition fund for American Art. Photo © Fredrik Nilsen. © Courtesy of the Huntington Art Collections, San Marino, California

104. Photo: T. Versteegh. © Polish Mission to Palmyra / Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology

105. Photo: H. Romanowski. © Polish Mission to Palmyra / Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology

106. Photo: T. Biniewski. © Polish Mission to Palmyra / Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology

107. Photo: T. Versteegh. © Polish Mission to Palmyra / Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology

108. Photo: M. Gawlikowski. © Polish Mission to Palmyra / Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology

109. © Ursula Schulz-Dornburg. Courtesy of Gallery Luisotti