The ancient city of Palmyra, also known as Tadmor, was an oasis surrounded by olive trees and date palms in the Syrian desert. While archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period in Tadmor, the ancient city was first mentioned in some of the texts unearthed at the Kültepe archaeological site, also known as Kanesh, in Turkey's central Kayseri province and in texts from the ancient city of Mari in modern-day eastern Syria.

Some biblical texts associate the founding of Palmyra with King Solomon of ancient Israel. Roman writer and statesman Gaius Plinius Secundus, called Pliny the Elder, describes Palmyra as a state having a destiny of its own at the intersection of the mighty empires of Rome and Parthia.

In the following period, Cassas became a professor of drawing in his country. He probably used his drawings as material for teaching and recast his drawings into etchings with his students for publications. He thought that they would be a perfect inspiration for everyone dealing with decorative arts.

First shots of Palmyra

Cassas was not the only one who created a visual record of this ancient site of spellbinding architecture, being mesmerized by the artistry of its civilization. Sea captain and photographer Louis Vignes also photographed the earliest images of Palmyra’s ruins some 75 years after Cassas.

When French nobleman Honore Theodore Paul Joseph d’Albert, the eighth Duke of Luynes, set course for the Dead Sea to explore the region around it, Vignes joined his team. Famous for his navigational skills and knowledge of Eastern Mediterranean ports, Vignes received training from photographer Charles Negre by the order of the duke. After their expedition, he continued to Palmyra via Beirut to aim his camera lens at its historical monuments while the duke returned to Paris. His photos were printed by Negre after the captain’s return. As these rare photos were in the possession of the Luynes family, they remained unknown for years.

However, leading global arts organization Getty brings both Cassas’ drawings and Vignes’ photos together with art and history enthusiasts to reveal the legacy of Palmyra in its newest online exhibition. Inviting visitors to reexplore the rich history of this ancient Syrian city, the exclusive show titled "Return to Palmyra" features Vignes’ photos along with an extraordinary collection of trial prints made after Cassas’ drawings. Therefore, visitors witness the legacy of the ancient city in addition to its contributions to humanity through the stories and works of the two significant figures.

The show includes a detailed history of Palmyra by prominent scholar Joan Aruz, the curator emerita of ancient Near Eastern art at the New York's famed Metropolitan Museum of Art and a moving interview with Waleed Khaled al-As’ad, director emeritus of antiquities and museums at Palmyra.

When you read the essay by Aruz, you will have the chance to learn details about the wondrous site of Palmyra with its sun-drenched antiquities. The scholar mentions the landscapes, history of interaction in the city and its condition during the Roman and Parthian empires in her writing. Her essay also provides satisfactory information about how art of this civilization was shaped and how their caravan trade began, both of which made Palmyra a star.

The touching interview with al-As’ad also offers a different angle from the history of the ancient city. One of the major impacts of the Syrian War, which broke out 10 years ago, has been the destruction of cultural sites. The ancient city of Palmyra was among these sites, and it was heavily damaged especially during in Daesh’s bombing campaigns in 2015 and during the Palmyra offensive by the Bashar Assad regime in 2017. Speaking to art and archaeology historian Ridha Moumni, al-As’ad, who grew up among the ruins of Palmyra, tells of Daesh’s destruction in the city and his personal experiences and memories about the city.

Despite everything, al-As’ad reminds us of the importance of protecting cultural heritage and shares an expression by his father: "As my father, God rest his soul, used to say, ‘A human being without a past is a human being with no present and no future.’"

This special exhibition on the ancient city of Palmyra, which evoked many poetic phrases like "bride of the desert," sends a message of hope to the world: Maybe the people of the ancient city will return and rebuild it ... The digital content of the exhibition, prepared in both English and Arabic, will run for three years.