Palmyra

Ancient city and oasis in the desert of Syria, about 240 km/150 mi northeast of Damascus. Palmyra, the biblical Tadmor, was flourishing by about 300 BC. It was destroyed in AD 272 after Queen Zenobia led a revolt against the Romans. Extensive temple ruins exist, and on the site is a modern town called Tadmur.

Palmyra

Borough of Burlington County, western-central New Jersey, USA, 10 km/6 mi northeast of Camden; population (1990) 7,100. An industrial community, it is connected with northeastern Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge (1929).

Palmyra

Town in Wayne County, western-central New York State, USA, on the Erie Canal, 37 km/23 mi southeast of Rochester; population (1990 est) 7,700. An agricultural community, it has fruit orchards and dairy and vegetable farms. Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religious sect lived in Palmyra from the age of 10 to 21, and his divine revelations took place here. The text of the Book of Mormon, dictated by Smith to a Palmyra schoolteacher, was published in 1830.

His vision of the Angel Moroni took place in 1823, and he claimed to have found the golden tablets of the prophet Mormon at Hill Cumorah, a local drumlin. The Smith farm is now open to the public, and a 12-m/40-ft figure of Moroni stands on top of the hill.