Palmyra has been liberated from the Islamic State for some two weeks now. It is fascinating to look at the different versions of what that means. Russia's Sputnik agency is furious that the Western media has downplayed the significance of this development. (Interestingly, this link shows that Sputnik has now been banned in the Islamic Republic of Turkey.)
John Darlington, writing in Apollo magazine, argues that the Islamic State destroyed Greco-Roman and Persian historical treasures for ideological reasons.
Here, on the other hand, is Lindsey Hilsun of the UK's Channel 4, asserting on the ABC's PM programme that the Islamic State's intentions in Palmyra were primarily mercenary rather than ideological - and that most of the damage in Syria is perpetrated by Syrian and Russian airforces.
