Wikipedia article of the day for December 29, 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for December 29, 2017 is Qatna.
Qatna is an ancient city in Syria whose remains are about 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Homs near the village of al-Mishrifeh. It was an important center circa 2000–500 BC, with one of Bronze Age Syria's largest royal palaces (pictured). An intact royal tomb has provided data on the funerary habits of that period. First inhabited circa 3500 BC, it was repopulated around 2800 BC and continued to grow. Around 2000 BC, it became the capital of a regional kingdom that spread its authority over the central and southern Levant. By the 15th century BC, Qatna had lost its hegemony and was under the authority of Mitanni. It was conquered and sacked by the Hittites 1400 BC and abandoned by 1300 BC. It was re-inhabited in 1000 BC, becoming a center of the kingdoms of Palistin and Hamath until it was destroyed by the Assyrians in 720 BC, eventually disappearing in the 6th century BC. The site has been excavated since the 1920s. As a result of the Syrian Civil War, excavations stopped in 2011.