For centuries Palmyra (“city of palm trees”) was an important and wealthy city located along the caravan routes linking Persia with the Mediterranean ports of Roman Syria. Beginning in 212, Palmyra’s trade diminished as the Sassanian occupied the mouth of the Tigris and the Euphrates. The Roman Emperor Diocletian built a wall and expanded the city in order to try and save it from the Sassanian threat. It was later captured by Muslim Arab invaders in 634 AD and declined under Ottoman Rule to the point of virtual abandonment. The historic city was later rediscovered by European travelers in the 17th Century.