Palmyra
The City of Palmyra was at its heyday around 270 AD when Queen Zenobia (great name!), wrestled it from the Roman Empire and proceeded to build her own Palmyrian Empire which stretched as far as Egypt. Zenobia claimed desecent from Cleopatra and took the title of Queen of Egypt. The Empire was short lived and she was crushed by Emporer Aurelian at Antioch (where I am sitting here typing funnily enough) and then paraded through the streets of Rome in Chains.More info here
Set right out in the desert on the way to Iraq it was a very atmospheric place, and once again we got the benefit of a slighlty eccentric but very knowledegable local guide to give the full background.
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