The Islamic State (ISIS), seeking to restore the purity of the early Caliphate, brought iconoclasm to the site of ancient Palmyra. This Roman Empire crossroads between East and West, located in modern Syria, thrived for more than a millennium under Islam, and in modern times became a tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage site. After occupying the ancient city in 2015, ISIS beheaded the city’s retired director of antiquities, 83-year-old Khaled al-Asaad, and destroyed restored monuments until its final expulsion in 2017. This funerary relief (ca. 50–150 C.E.) entered the Met’s collection before nationalist laws barred foreign institutions from acquiring newly unearthed antiquities, which preserved it from iconoclasm or black market looting. Whenever the civil war ends, archaeologists will attempt to put the pieces of ancient Palmyra back together again. ∎

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