An oasis in the Syr­i­an desert, north-east of Dam­as­cus, Palmyra con­tains the mon­u­men­tal ruins of a great city that was one of the most impor­tant cul­tur­al cen­tres of the ancient world. From the 1st to the 2nd cen­tu­ry, the art and archi­tec­ture of Palmyra, stand­ing at the cross­roads of sev­er­al civ­i­liza­tions, mar­ried Grae­­co-Roman tech­niques with local tra­di­tions and Per­sian influ­ences.