IS group erasing history, culture in Syria, Iraq

[Lite Beer]

IS group erasing history, culture in Syria, Iraq
By ZEINA KARAM

BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group's destruction of the ancient city of Nimrud in northern Iraq is part of a systematic campaign to destroy archaeological sites it says promote apostasy.

Some of the world's most precious cultural treasures, including ancient sites in the cradle of civilization, are in areas controlled by the group and at the mercy of extremists bent on wiping out all non-Islamic culture and history.

The rampage, targeting priceless cultural artifacts often spanning thousands of years, has sparked global outrage and accusations of war crimes. The militants are also believed to be selling ancient artifacts on the black market in order to finance their bloody campaign across the region.

Here's a look at some of the major sites destroyed by IS in Iraq and Syria, and others under their control:

IRAQ

The region under IS control in Iraq has nearly 1,800 of Iraq's 12,000 registered archaeological sites. Among the most important sites under the militants' control are four ancient cities — Ninevah, Nimrud, Dur Sharrukin and Ashur — which were at different times the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire.

___

NIMRUD: In the 9th century B.C., Nimrud, also known as Kalhu, became the second capital of Assyria, an ancient kingdom that came to rule much of present-day Iraq and the Levant and became a great regional power. The city, which was destroyed in 612 B.C., is located on the Tigris River just south of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by the IS group in June. The late 1980s discovery of treasures in Nimrud's royal tombs was one of the 20th century's most significant archaeological finds. The government said militants destroyed the site this week using heavy military vehicles, but has not elaborated on the extent of the damage.

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MOSUL MUSEUM: On Feb. 26, a video emerged on militant websites showing Islamic State militants with sledgehammers destroying ancient artifacts at the museum in Mosul which they referred to as idols. They also destroyed Nirgal Gate, one of several gates to Ninevah, the onetime capital of the Assyrian Empire.

___

MOSUL LIBRARIES: In January, Islamic State militants ransacked the Central Library of Mosul, smashing the locks and taking around 2,000 books — leaving only Islamic texts. Days later, militants broke into the University of Mosul's library. They made a bonfire out of hundreds of books on science and culture, destroying them in front of students.

___

SHRINES: Last year, militants destroyed the centuries-old Mosque of the Prophet Younis — believed to be the burial place of the Prophet Jonah — and the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis, two revered ancient shrines in Mosul. They also threatened to destroy Mosul's 850-year old Crooked Minaret, but residents surrounded the structure to protect it.

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HATRA: The militants control the 2,300-year-old city of Hatra, a well preserved complex of temples south of Mosul and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Experts say large statues from Hatra have been destroyed or defaced.

SYRIA

The Islamic State group has overrun most of the east and large parts of the north, putting a string of major archaeological sites in their hands. The militants have pillaged sites, excavated others and have destroyed several relics and Assyrian-era statues as part of their purge of paganism. The destruction they have wreaked adds to the wider, extensive damage done to ancient sites including Palmyra, as well as mosques and churches across the country in the chaos of the civil war.

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DURA EUROPOS: The 2,300-year-old city overlooking the Euphrates River is a remarkably well-preserved cultural crossroads, a city first founded by Alexander the Great's successors and later ruled by the Romans and various Persian empires. It boasts pagan temples, churches and one of the earliest known Jewish synagogues. Satellite imagery taken last year show the site pockmarked with holes from pillaging and illegal digs. It also showed hundreds of people conducting illegal excavations.

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MARI: An ancient city located on the site of Tell Hariri on the western bank of the Euphrates River in Deir el-Zour province. It is believed to have been inhabited since the 5th millennium B.C. and was discovered in the early 1930s. It has also been severely looted by IS.

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TEL AJAJI AND TELL BRAK: Prehistoric settlement mounds in Syria's far eastern Hassakeh province. Experts say both have been looted and destroyed, Artifacts have been removed from both sites, and ancient statues — some dating back to the Assyrian period — have been smashed.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-07

[NeverSure]

This is the tombstone of Jonah the prophet who is said to have written the Book of Jonah in the Old Testament of The Bible. This is Jewish History being destroyed. One of the temples these guys destroyed was named after Jonah.

To all of the world this is an atrocity against history because it contains some of the oldest buildings and relics known. Any religion notwithstanding, this is an assault on all of the world due to antiquity.

Here is a vid of the destruction of the tombstone of Jonah, which is thousands of years old.

Edit. I should have added that Jonah is revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews. Muslims refer to him as “Younis”. Muslims recognize the Old Testament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQTgpmB_v6Q

Edited March 7, 2015 by NeverSure

[Seastallion]

Destroy because it encourages apostasy, but only destroy what they can't sell. ...hypocrites.

The sooner ISIS is destroyed, the better for the whole world.

[ggt]

Leaders of the free world should hang their heads in shame at allowing these insensitive criminals to run amuck throughout the ME killing, raping, and destroying...the blood of 10s of thousands of innocent civilians are upon the heads of state who have stood by...or played golf...while all hell is breaking loose through out that region of the world...

The order of human existence has shifted into death and chaos...women and children are not spared...there is no foreseeable end to their depravity...

Edited March 7, 2015 by ggt

[arjunadawn]

ggt is right; there is hardly a value or leadership position that warrants the remotest respect any longer now that this horror is permitted.

[arjunadawn]

Leaders of the free world should hang their heads in shame at allowing these insensitive criminals to run amuck throughout the ME killing, raping, and destroying...the blood of 10s of thousands of innocent civilians are upon the heads of state who have stood by...or played golf...while all hell is breaking loose through out that region of the world...

The order of human existence has shifted into death and chaos...women and children are not spared...there is no foreseeable end to their depravity...

Forgive me for stealing your post but it hangs on my mind today. There is just so much written above. I fear you are so very correct. I previously referred to what is happening as a numbing, an anesthesia where every increasing horror hardly moves us any longer, but I did not identify it correctly; you have!

The human experience is being changed to the lowest, most barbaric common denominator- kill or be killed. When in that position, for every young girl, young boy pressed into male slavery, or family mutilated, it hardly matters that the attackers are muslim. What matters is they are dying and this is becoming commonplace while the world watches- in the age of instantaneous social media! We watch this stuff and slowly, inexorably, the human condition is changing to near numbing indifference. Sure, life has been like this in the past. However, life has never in the past been what it has looked like in the past few hundred years with regard to living in accordance with higher faculties, so there is a very big difference. All is being lost and the regression, if complete by the sterilizing of the past and loss of the accomplishments of the recent civilized world as islam sterilizes and destroys the past, there will be no recourse to modernity again.

ggt, you really captured my thoughts for the day. Can you see a way out of this? I cannot.

[Srikcir]

Maybe when all symbols of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, including the islamic caliphates,are destroyed, Islam will become less radicalized. It will have no tangible basis for existence.

I wouldn't be surprised if ISIL doesn't attack Turkish Caliphate symbols inside Turkey as blasphemy against its own capiphate creation. Maybe THAT would finally motivate Turkey to put ground troops in Syria to fight ISIL and Asaad.

[fvw53]

...luckily first the Germans and then the British stole enough artifacts during previous century that there is something left for future generations.

I visited the Pergamon Museum in 1981 and it is really spectacular

http://www.smb.museum/en/museums-and-institutions/pergamonmuseum/home.html

[Seastallion]

...luckily first the Germans and then the British stole enough artifacts during previous century that there is something left for future generations.

I visited the Pergamon Museum in 1981 and it is really spectacular

http://www.smb.museum/en/museums-and-institutions/pergamonmuseum/home.html

Yes, but no. Small consolation...but some consolation.

They (ISIS) have robbed the world of heritage, no matter that some of that heritage remains.

[boomerangutang]

Leaders of the free world should hang their heads in shame at allowing these insensitive criminals to run amuck throughout the ME killing, raping, and destroying...the blood of 10s of thousands of innocent civilians are upon the heads of state who have stood by...or played golf...while all hell is breaking loose through out that region of the world...

The order of human existence has shifted into death and chaos...women and children are not spared...there is no foreseeable end to their depravity...

You can't blame the leaders of the free world for the actions of sickos in the dunes. Ok, so the free world leaders take some time for leisure once in awhile, and so they should. What's the alternative, grab a sword, jump on a horse and go galloping to Syria to lop off heads of <deleted>? Anything free world leaders do, in the middle east, is met with protest and disdain. If they send in an areal gunship to kill bad guys, then inevitably some innocents will be killed - or at least that's what the survivors in the ruble will say.

Just recently the American do-good girl was killed by western bombs, while being held captive by ISIS. It's a classic dilemma of 'damned if you do and damned if you don't.' Should we send in American and British young men with guns blazing? It looks great in a Chuck Norris movie, where all the bad guys die, and the good guys survive. But there's not good solution. The best we (the decent people of the world) can do is try to arrange the least bad solution of many awful options.

It's debatable regarding who is worse: N.Koreans of ISIS ? One thing we all have in common, is these complicated screwed-up brains - which wind up causing so much pain and suffering. Destroy priceless relics of human ancient history? What's next, compelling young girls to put on bomb belts and go blow themselves up? ....oh sorry, almost forgot, they're already doing that, in Nigeria and the dune countries.

[arjunadawn]

Maybe when all symbols of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, including the islamic caliphates,are destroyed, Islam will become less radicalized. It will have no tangible basis for existence.

I wouldn't be surprised if ISIL doesn't attack Turkish Caliphate symbols inside Turkey as blasphemy against its own capiphate creation. Maybe THAT would finally motivate Turkey to put ground troops in Syria to fight ISIL and Asaad.

When all symbols of ancient middle eastern civilizations are destroyed by islamists they will return their attention to the truly horrific, rarely reported civilization genocide of the subcontinent and central asia, and asia proper. Innumerable Indian and other arts, treasures, and priceless pieces of the human condition had been destroyed during the Second Great Jihad. There is no stopping this when the middle east is finally sterile as destruction of artifacts is incidental to the tenets of islam, not central.

But you are correct, IMO, DAESH will turn on turkish caliphate symbols inside turkey (and Syria- see previous reporting on Turkish PM creating False Flag operation on Turkish interests inside Syria). Turkey wants to see a caliphate too, but IMO is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, not al Baghdaddi. Turkey's recent reluctance to involve in Kobani was less about IS and more about reducing Kurds.

[Paulc01]

Too bad Jimmy Carter cancelled development of the neutron bomb. This sounds like the perfect place for its use.

[Xircal]

Maybe when all symbols of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, including the islamic caliphates,are destroyed, Islam will become less radicalized. It will have no tangible basis for existence.

I wouldn't be surprised if ISIL doesn't attack Turkish Caliphate symbols inside Turkey as blasphemy against its own capiphate creation. Maybe THAT would finally motivate Turkey to put ground troops in Syria to fight ISIL and Asaad.

Turkey seems to be holding back because its old enemy, the Kurds are fighting ISIL on its own doorstep. They may well feel it's to their advantage not to intervene while the continued fighting serves to weaken the Kurds.

But Turkey also has an extremely long border with both Syria and Iraq which, even with their manpower, would be impossible to police properly.

You could ask why Iran hasn't dived in either since its own population comprises of mainly Shia Muslims which ISIL regards as heretics. It's their history too which is being decimated.

[bendejo]

Shades of 2001. A month before 9/11 the Taliban put a lot of effort into destroying Bamian and Band-i-amir out in the middle of nowhere in Afghanistan.

To these guys this isn't ancient history, they themselves are living in the distant past, even though these places are not pilgrimage sites and are not idols that are worshipped.

[fvw53]

Too bad Jimmy Carter cancelled development of the neutron bomb. This sounds like the perfect place for its use.

Yes what has happened to the neutron bomb : I found it always remarkable that this type of bomb which kills all human and animal life but not buildings and infrastructure was "immoral" while the traditional atomic bomb which destroys everything was more "humane"

[Credo]

I don't know that using the neutron bomb would be justified, but these people really are killing off the history of humanity.

Life did not start with Mohammed. It will not end with ISIS. But a big chuck of how it all began is being destroyed.

[boomerangutang]

Similar to forests and wild beasts, some of our great cultural heritage is being destroyed as we sit and peck away at computer keyboards.

[ggt]

Leaders of the free world should hang their heads in shame at allowing these insensitive criminals to run amuck throughout the ME killing, raping, and destroying...the blood of 10s of thousands of innocent civilians are upon the heads of state who have stood by...or played golf...while all hell is breaking loose through out that region of the world...

The order of human existence has shifted into death and chaos...women and children are not spared...there is no foreseeable end to their depravity...

Forgive me for stealing your post but it hangs on my mind today. There is just so much written above. I fear you are so very correct. I previously referred to what is happening as a numbing, an anesthesia where every increasing horror hardly moves us any longer, but I did not identify it correctly; you have!

The human experience is being changed to the lowest, most barbaric common denominator- kill or be killed. When in that position, for every young girl, young boy pressed into male slavery, or family mutilated, it hardly matters that the attackers are muslim. What matters is they are dying and this is becoming commonplace while the world watches- in the age of instantaneous social media! We watch this stuff and slowly, inexorably, the human condition is changing to near numbing indifference. Sure, life has been like this in the past. However, life has never in the past been what it has looked like in the past few hundred years with regard to living in accordance with higher faculties, so there is a very big difference. All is being lost and the regression, if complete by the sterilizing of the past and loss of the accomplishments of the recent civilized world as islam sterilizes and destroys the past, there will be no recourse to modernity again.

ggt, you really captured my thoughts for the day. Can you see a way out of this? I cannot.

The short answer...NO. There was a time when the free world could have mounted an army to defeat these Islamic terrorists...the best they might do now is try to contain them...their numbers are growing as they consolidate other Islamic terrorists groups under the ISIS banner...it is politically complicated and convoluted...ISIS is well funded, well trained, politically connected, and will die to prove their point...they will be around to harass the entire world for many years to come...

[Xircal]

Too bad Jimmy Carter cancelled development of the neutron bomb. This sounds like the perfect place for its use.

Yes what has happened to the neutron bomb : I found it always remarkable that this type of bomb which kills all human and animal life but not buildings and infrastructure was "immoral" while the traditional atomic bomb which destroys everything was more "humane"

There's no guarantee that that's what would happen. Anyone out in the open would die, but anyone in a concrete building, or below ground might well survive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_bomb#Effects_of_a_neutron_bomb_in_the_open_.26_in_a_city

[ggt]

Leaders of the free world should hang their heads in shame at allowing these insensitive criminals to run amuck throughout the ME killing, raping, and destroying...the blood of 10s of thousands of innocent civilians are upon the heads of state who have stood by...or played golf...while all hell is breaking loose through out that region of the world...

The order of human existence has shifted into death and chaos...women and children are not spared...there is no foreseeable end to their depravity...

You can't blame the leaders of the free world for the actions of sickos in the dunes. Ok, so the free world leaders take some time for leisure once in awhile, and so they should. What's the alternative, grab a sword, jump on a horse and go galloping to Syria to lop off heads of <deleted>? Anything free world leaders do, in the middle east, is met with protest and disdain. If they send in an areal gunship to kill bad guys, then inevitably some innocents will be killed - or at least that's what the survivors in the ruble will say.

Just recently the American do-good girl was killed by western bombs, while being held captive by ISIS. It's a classic dilemma of 'damned if you do and damned if you don't.' Should we send in American and British young men with guns blazing? It looks great in a Chuck Norris movie, where all the bad guys die, and the good guys survive. But there's not good solution. The best we (the decent people of the world) can do is try to arrange the least bad solution of many awful options.

It's debatable regarding who is worse: N.Koreans of ISIS ? One thing we all have in common, is these complicated screwed-up brains - which wind up causing so much pain and suffering. Destroy priceless relics of human ancient history? What's next, compelling young girls to put on bomb belts and go blow themselves up? ....oh sorry, almost forgot, they're already doing that, in Nigeria and the dune countries.

Obama playing golf as if that had something to do with the ISIS advance.

This attitude of facing the treat of ISIS as a mere nuisance has indirectly resulted in the unnecessary deaths of many people...yes, the perception displayed by playing golf while innocent people are being slaughtered is unacceptable and upon his head...where is the Whitehouse outrage?...yes some people in the free world are going to have to die to defeat these less than human thugs...no, I do not want to see this happen...it is either confront them now on the battle fields of the ME...or later in your backyard...

What is happening as we sit on our hands and allow the fly boys to do some target practice is that thousands of people who lived free are now subjugated to a fate worse than death...kneeling at the feet of the terrorists...to find out if they will be decapitated or made to serve as a personal slave to the faithful...

These inhumane animals, if left unchecked, will not be satisfied to stop at the ME borders...and I suspect as we speak they are plotting to begin their campaign of terror and destruction in other free countries...just a matter of time...

[Bwanatickey]

Their brainwashed heads have been told that eventually they are going to be victorious in entering Rome one day.

Of course they will spare the Vatican, and it's artefacts.

They already have a Flotilla of boats heading for Italy on a daily basis, a Muslim Armada landing on Europes beaches.

[boomerangutang]

Leaders of the free world should hang their heads in shame at allowing these insensitive criminals to run amuck throughout the ME killing, raping, and destroying...the blood of 10s of thousands of innocent civilians are upon the heads of state who have stood by...or played golf...while all hell is breaking loose through out that region of the world...

The order of human existence has shifted into death and chaos...women and children are not spared...there is no foreseeable end to their depravity...

You can't blame the leaders of the free world for the actions of sickos in the dunes. Ok, so the free world leaders take some time for leisure once in awhile, and so they should. What's the alternative, grab a sword, jump on a horse and go galloping to Syria to lop off heads of <deleted>? Anything free world leaders do, in the middle east, is met with protest and disdain. If they send in an areal gunship to kill bad guys, then inevitably some innocents will be killed - or at least that's what the survivors in the ruble will say.

Just recently the American do-good girl was killed by western bombs, while being held captive by ISIS. It's a classic dilemma of 'damned if you do and damned if you don't.' Should we send in American and British young men with guns blazing? It looks great in a Chuck Norris movie, where all the bad guys die, and the good guys survive. But there's not good solution. The best we (the decent people of the world) can do is try to arrange the least bad solution of many awful options.

It's debatable regarding who is worse: N.Koreans of ISIS ? One thing we all have in common, is these complicated screwed-up brains - which wind up causing so much pain and suffering. Destroy priceless relics of human ancient history? What's next, compelling young girls to put on bomb belts and go blow themselves up? ....oh sorry, almost forgot, they're already doing that, in Nigeria and the dune countries.

Obama playing golf as if that had something to do with the ISIS advance.

This attitude of facing the treat of ISIS as a mere nuisance has indirectly resulted in the unnecessary deaths of many people...yes, the perception displayed by playing golf while innocent people are being slaughtered is unacceptable and upon his head...where is the Whitehouse outrage?...yes some people in the free world are going to have to die to defeat these less than human thugs...no, I do not want to see this happen...it is either confront them now on the battle fields of the ME...or later in your backyard...

What is happening as we sit on our hands and allow the fly boys to do some target practice is that thousands of people who lived free are now subjugated to a fate worse than death...kneeling at the feet of the terrorists...to find out if they will be decapitated or made to serve as a personal slave to the faithful...

These inhumane animals, if left unchecked, will not be satisfied to stop at the ME borders...and I suspect as we speak they are plotting to begin their campaign of terror and destruction in other free countries...just a matter of time...

yes, unfortunately, there are no good solutions. All we, the decent people of the west, have are choices of bad or very bad options. We could try setting up a perimeter around ISIS-controlled territory: borders of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, - though the border would also bisect Iraq and Syria. ....and then position guns on those borders, so no baddies can pass. Ok, it won't work. But who are the baddies? They don't go around with uniforms identifying themselves. If any one of them got in a tight spot, he would just put on peasant clothes and say he was a regular person, a farmer, merchant, whatever. It's not easy to shoot someone if they're huddled with children. I guess the best we can hope for is containment, and let Muslims further deteriorate/kill/rape other Muslims in their midst.

[Bwanatickey]

The West has lost, may as well give up now.

[Thorgal]

Also the shrine of Prophet Seth has been destroyed. Considered to be the third son of Adam and Eve.

Many mosques are also destroyed. With their original libraries. One can assume that they're also destroying original Islamic scriptures from ancient times...

^^Is not mentioned in the OP.^^

What a loss of ancient culture, history and religion...and a loss to teach our generations to follow...

Edited March 15, 2015 by Thorgal

[Lissos]

All this destruction is probably on their agenda anyway, but it also comes across to me as more and more desperate attempts to drag western armies in. If slaughtering hostages and burning pilots alive won't do it, they'll start using power tools on ancient statues. If that won't work, they'll try something else. It may well be the 'worlds' heritage we're talking about, but more immediately it is regional heritage and regional people must be the first responders (and preferably, the only responders) to halt and end ISIS' march forward. We're seeing some action from regional players, but clearly it won't be enough right now to halt the eradication. Considering some of the sites being targetted are Islamic shrines too, Saudi won't be too bothered about the destruction of those because Saudi itself has destroyed many of the sites connected even with the Prophet's lifetime and of his family within Saudi Arabia. It is all considered idolatorous by Saudi clerics. If they have their way, all that will remain will be the Kaaba. Islam began this momentum with the prophet's destruction of the idols 'within' the Kaaba itself, upon the Muslim conquest of Mecca. Various factors could explain why, given the huge time period, many non islamic sites still remain, but a major one in the past would have been the sheer logistics of it. Nowadays you can erase ancient monuments very quickly with a power tool and explosives.