Palmyra's temple of Baalshamin destroyed by ISIS militants

Palmyra's temple of Baalshamin: Baalshamin was one of the two supreme gods of pre-Islamic Palmyra in ancient Syria

Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants destroyed Palmyra's ancient temple of Baalshamin in Syria.

As per the reports, the militant group placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baalshamin and then blew it up. The explosion caused much damage to the temple.

Syria's head of antiquities was quoted as saying the temple was blown up on 23 August 2015. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that it happened one month ago.

Baalshamin
Baalshamin is a Northwest Semitic god and a title applied to different gods at different places or times in ancient Middle Eastern inscriptions, especially in Canaan/Phoenicia and Syria. The title was most often applied to Hadad, who is also often titled just Ba‘al. Baalshamin was one of the two supreme gods and the sky god of pre-Islamic Palmyra in ancient Syria. His attributes were the eagle and the lightning bolt, and he perhaps formed a triad with the lunar god Aglibol and the sun god Malakbel. Bel was the other supreme god.

ISIS militants on 21 May 2015 seized full control of ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. It is an oasis in the Syrian Desert and is famed for its well-preserved Greco-Roman ruins.

Palmyra, also known as the Pearl of Desert and Tadmur, is located 215 km to the northeast of the Syrian capital Damascus and is a World Heritage Site because of its architecture.

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