Like several others who study history in schools and colleges, my brush with ancient heritage was inevitable. With a keen interest in West Asia, I meandered across the Fertile Crescent through words and illustrations. My eyes lingered voraciously upon the beautiful curves of the cuneiform and marvelled at the striking lamassu—the winged, half-human, half-bull/lion figures from the ancient Assyrian heartland. In these boxed voyages, I had encountered Palmyra—an oasis city that was a vital trade hub on the famous Silk Road, connecting the Roman Empire to the East. Its grand limestone structures were described as Roman Baroque on the UNESCO website, with detailed descriptions of what such an architectural style entailed. At that point, there was no indication of the violent bloodbath and cultural genocide that would befall the World Heritage site only a few years later.