Palmyra (/ˌpælˈmaɪrə/; Aramaic: ܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ‎ Tedmurtā ; Arabic: تدمر‎ Tadmor) is an ancient Semitic city in present Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic, and it was first documented in the early second millennium BC as a caravan stop for travellers crossing the Syrian Desert. The city was noted in the annals of the Assyrian kings, and may have been mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.