ISIS just 'bulldozed' the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

[Jesse]

Source: Business Insider

The Islamic State group began bulldozing the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in Iraq, the government said, in the jihadists' latest attack on the country's historical heritage.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, "assaulted the historic city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy vehicles," the tourism and antiquities ministry said on an official Facebook page.

An Iraqi antiquities official confirmed the news, saying the destruction began after noon prayers on Thursday and that trucks that may have been used to haul away artifacts had also been spotted at the site.

"Until now, we do not know to what extent it was destroyed," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Nimrud, one of the jewels of the Assyrian era, was founded in the 13th century B.C. and lies on the Tigris River about 30 kilometers (18 miles) southeast of Mosul, Iraq's second-biggest city and the main hub of ISIS in the country.

"I'm sorry to say everybody was expecting this. Their plan is to destroy Iraqi heritage, one site at a time," said Abdulamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist from Stony Brook University.

"Hatra of course will be next," he said, referring to a beautifully preserved city in Nineveh province that is more than 2,000 years old and is a Unesco world heritage site.

"I'm really devastated. But it was just a matter of time," he said.

Nimrud is the site of what was described as one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century when a team unearthed a collection of jewels and precious stones in 1988.

The jewels were briefly displayed at the Iraqi national museum before disappearing from public view, but they survived the looting that followed the 2003 US invasion and were eventually found in a Central Bank building.

Most of Nimrud's priceless artifacts have long been moved to museums, in Mosul, Baghdad, Paris, London, and elsewhere, but giant "lamassu" statues — winged bulls with human heads — and reliefs were still on site.

The destruction at Nimrud on Thursday came a week after the jihadist group released a video showing militants armed with sledgehammers and jackhammers smashing priceless ancient artifacts at the Mosul museum.

That attack sparked widespread consternation and alarm, with some archaeologists and heritage experts comparing it with the 2001 demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

In the jihadists' extreme interpretation of Islam, statues, idols, and shrines amount to recognizing other objects of worship than God and must be destroyed.

The video released by ISIS last week showed militants knocking statues off their plinths and rampaging through the Mosul museum's collection.

It also shows jihadists using a jackhammer to deface an imposing granite Assyrian winged bull at the Nergal Gate in Mosul.

"These artifacts behind me are idols for people from ancient times who worshipped them instead of God," a bearded militant said in the video.

"The prophet removed and buried the idols in Mecca with his blessed hands," he said, referring to the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.

Many of the artifacts destroyed in the Mosul museum were from Nimrud and Hatra.

Unesco director general Irina Bokova demanded an emergency meeting of the Security Council and called for the International Criminal Court to look into the Mosul museum destruction.

ISIS spearheaded a sweeping offensive last June that overran Nineveh province, where Mosul and Nimrud are located, and swept through much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland.

The Mosul region was home to a mosaic of minorities, including the Assyrian Christians, who consider themselves to be the region's indigenous people.

ISIS has systematically destroyed heritage sites, including Sunni Muslim shrines that it also considers heretical, in areas it controls, and repeatedly attacked members of religious minorities.

Iraqi security forces and allied fighters are battling to regain ground from the jihadists with backing from an international anti-ISIS coalition as well as neighboring Iran.

But major operations to drive ISIS out of Nineveh are likely months away, leaving the province's irreplaceable historical sites at the mercy of militants who have no regard for Iraq's past.


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Sigh. I hope something is done soon. Before we lose most of these sites.

[Bill the Cat]

But they are the jay vee team...

[Leonhard]

Barbarians, nothing more need be said.

[Manwë Súlimo]

Like a knife-stab to the heart....

[Catholicity]

They just don't care about anything involving history or lineage its all selfishness.

[Catholicity]

I get the feeling Iran hates Isis....

[rogue06]

I get the feeling Iran hates Isis....

Aside from the fact that Iran is Shia whereas ISIS is Sunni^[1], ISIS stands in their way of controlling Iraq and are trying to overthrow Syria which is often regarded as Iran's closest ally.








1. although Iran has shown that they have no problem assisting Sunni terrorists like Hamas when it suits them

[Catholicity]

Aside from the fact that Iran is Shia whereas ISIS is Sunni^[1], ISIS stands in their way of controlling Iraq and are trying to overthrow Syria which is often regarded as Iran's closest ally.








1. although Iran has shown that they have no problem assisting Sunni terrorists like Hamas when it suits them

Well that has been the Persian Empire's history to a certain extent. Be the friend of the person with the most money...

[Darth Executor]

Well that has been the Persian Empire's history to a certain extent. Be the friend of the person with the most money...

[Sparko]

But why are they trying so hard to piss off their own muslim people? It's their heritage too.

[One Bad Pig]

For the sarcastically impaired the following is said in jest

Yeah, bring charges against them before the ICC! That'll show them!

But why are they trying so hard to piss off their own muslim people? It's their heritage too.

Because they don't consider them legitimately "muslim," so they don't care what they think. In the world of Islam, this is nothing new.

[rogue06]

But why are they trying so hard to piss off their own muslim people? It's their heritage too.

That's just it, they don't consider it part of their heritage. Sort of like how the Taliban didn't consider the Buddhas of Bamiyan part of their heritage when they destroyed them. They regard them as pagan symbols only worthy of being obliterated.

Many in the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have announced their intention of leveling the pyramids and destroying the sphinx, the statue of Ramses the Great (carefully moved during the construction of the Aswan High Dam during the '60s), and any other ancient Egyptian site you can think of if ever they get a firm grip of power in that country.

[Sparko]

That's just it, they don't consider it part of their heritage. Sort of like how the Taliban didn't consider the Buddhas of Bamiyan part of their heritage when they destroyed them. They regard them as pagan symbols only worthy of being obliterated.

Many in the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have announced their intention of leveling the pyramids and destroying the sphinx, the statue of Ramses the Great (carefully moved during the construction of the Aswan High Dam during the '60s), and any other ancient Egyptian site you can think of if ever they get a firm grip of power in that country.

Reminds me of the people of Ferguson, who burned and looted their own neighborhood and terrorized their own neighbors in "protest"

[Jesse]

It seems ISIS has just destroyed the 2,700 year old city of Khorsabad. It's the third city they looted and destroyed over the weekend. Glad to see nothing is being done about any of this...

[One Bad Pig]

It seems ISIS has just destroyed the 2,700 year old city of Khorsabad. It's the third city they looted and destroyed over the weekend. Glad to see nothing is being done about any of this...

I'm sure our Commander in Chief is busy picking out the perfect shade for his next red line in the sand.