Ghost Towns
Temple of Bel
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (author and license on the file page)
🏛️ Ancient ruins

Temple of Bel

Ruins · Syria

Abandoned
unknown
Founded
—
Population
—
Coordinates
34.547, 38.274
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Why it was abandoned

🏛️ Ancient ruins

Detected automatically from the text: Храм Баала в Пальмире — храм, посвящённый местному верховному богу Баалу, входил в состав комплекса руин древнего сирийского города Пальмиры, являлся главной святыней города.

History

The Temple of Bel, sometimes also referred to as the "Temple of Baal", was an ancient temple located in Palmyra, Syria. The temple, consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel, worshipped at Palmyra in triad with the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Yarhibol, formed the center of religious life in Palmyra and was dedicated in AD 32. The temple was closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire in a campaign against the temples of the East made by Maternus Cynegius, Praetorian Prefect of Oriens, between 25 May 385 to 19 March 388. Its ruins were considered among the best preserved at Palmyra, until they were further destroyed by the Islamic State in August 2015. The arched main entrance into the temple is still intact, as well as its exterior walls and fortified gate.

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Abandoned places nearby