Mosul buying blow

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Mosul buying blow

The ancient city of Palmyra, located in war-torn Syria, flourished as a Roman trading outpost around A. ISIS militants seized it in May, and are destroying some of its historic buildings. Shocking destruction in the Syrian city of Palmyra is part of the militant group's ongoing campaign against archaeology. The so-called Islamic State ISIS released a video that shocked the world last month by showing the fiery destruction of the Temple of Baalshamin, one of the best-preserved ruins at the Syrian site of Palmyra. Last weekend, explosions were reported at another Palmyra temple, dedicated to the ancient god Baal; a United Nation agency says satellite images show that larger temple has largely been destroyed. The destruction is part of a propaganda campaign that includes videos of militants rampaging through Iraq's Mosul Museum with pickaxes and sledgehammers, and the dynamiting of centuries-old Christian and Muslim shrines. There's little to stop its militants from plundering and destroying sites under their control in a region known as the cradle of civilization. The militant group is just one of many factions fighting for control of Syria, where a civil war has left more than , dead and millions more homeless. The group claims the destruction of ancient sites is religiously motivated; Its militants have targeted well-known ancient sites along with more modern graves and shrines belonging to other Muslim sects, citing idol worship to justify their actions. At the same time, ISIS has used looting as a moneymaking venture to finance military operations. A guide to cultural sites that ISIS has damaged or destroyed so far:. Palmyra thrived for centuries in the desert east of Damascus as an oasis and stop for caravans on the Silk Road. Part of the Roman Empire, it was a thriving, wealthy metropolis. The city-state reached its peak in the late 3rd century, when it was ruled by Queen Zenobia and briefly rebelled against Rome. Zenobia failed, and Palmyra was re-conquered and destroyed by Roman armies in A. Those promises were empty: In August, they publicly executed Khaled al-Asaad , a Syrian archaeologist who oversaw excavations at the site for decades, and hung his headless body from a column. The group released photos of the destruction, and satellite images have since confirmed the Roman-era building was wiped out. And the group released photos last month of militants rigging the 1,year-old Temple of Baalshamin with explosives and blowing it up. Now it is nothing but rubble. Dedicated to a 4th-century saint, it was an important pilgrimage site and sheltered hundreds of Syrian Christians. Bulldozers were reportedly used to topple its walls, and ISIS posted pictures of the destruction on Twitter. Satellite imagery shows dozens of pits dug across the site; previously unknown Roman mosaics have reportedly been excavated and removed for sale. ISIS is said to take a cut from sales of ancient artifacts, making tens of millions of dollars to fund their operations. A Greek settlement on the Euphrates not far from Syria's border with Iraq, Dura-Europos later became one of Rome's easternmost outposts. It housed the world's oldest known Christian church, a beautifully decorated synagogue, and many other temples and Roman-era buildings. Satellite imagery shows a cratered landscape inside the city's mud-brick walls, evidence of widespread destruction by looters. Mari flourished in the Bronze Age, between and B. Archaeologists have discovered palaces, temples, and extensive archives written on clay tablets that shed light on the early days of civilization in the region. According to reports from locals and satellite imagery, the site, especially the royal palace, is being looted systematically. The Temple of Baal was one of the main attractions at Palmyra, a Roman-era trading outpost in the desert northeast of Damascus, Syria. Built in the third century B. Its combination of Greek- and Roman-influenced architecture and Eastern features testify to its prominence as a trading center on the Silk Road. Ancient Assyria was one of the first true empires, expanding aggressively across the Middle East and controlling a vast stretch of the ancient world between and B. The Assyrian kings ruled their realm from a series of capitals in what is today northern Iraq. Nineveh was one of them, flourishing under the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib around B. At one point, Nineveh was the largest city in the world. Its location on the outskirts of Mosul—part of the modern city is built over Nineveh's ruins—put it in ISIS's crosshairs when the group took over the city in Many of the site's sculptures were housed in the Mosul Museum see entry below , and some were damaged during the rampage through the museum documented on video. Men were also shown smashing half-human, half-animal guardian statues called lamassus on Nineveh's ancient Nirgal Gate. Reports of looting at Mosul's libraries and universities began to surface almost as soon as ISIS occupied the city last summer. Centuries-old manuscripts were stolen, and thousands of books disappeared into the shadowy international art market. Mosul University's library was burned in December. In late February, the ISIS campaign escalated: Mosul's central public library, a landmark built in , was rigged with explosives and razed, together with thousands of manuscripts and instruments used by Arab scientists. The book burning coincided with the release of the video showing ISIS fighters rampaging through the Mosul Museum, toppling statues and smashing others with hammers. The museum was Iraq's second largest, after the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. Statues included masterpieces from Hatra and Nineveh. Margarete van Ess, head of the German Archaeological Institute's Iraq field office, says that a trained eye can tell that about half of the artifacts destroyed in the video are copies; many of the originals are in the Iraq Museum. Nimrud was the first Assyrian capital, founded 3, years ago. Its rich decoration reflected the empire's power and wealth. The site was excavated beginning in the s by British archaeologists, who sent dozens of its massive stone sculptures to museums around the world, including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum in London. Many originals remained in Iraq. The walls of Nineveh were built around A. In February, ISIS fighters released video of fighters smashing sculptures and gates at the ancient site. The site itself is massive: An earthen wall surrounds acres. Some of the city was never uncovered and remains underground—protected, one hopes. Khorsabad is another ancient Assyrian capital, a few miles from Mosul. The palace there was built between and B. Its reliefs and statues were remarkably well preserved, with traces of the original paint still decorating depictions of Assyrian victories and royal processions. Most of the reliefs and many of the statues were removed during French excavations in the mids and by teams from Chicago's Oriental Institute in the s and '30s, and are now in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad as well as in Chicago and the Louvre in Paris. It's not clear what part of the site ISIS targeted. Established in the 4th century, the monastery was dedicated to an early Christian saint. Mosul's Mosque of the Prophet Yunus was dedicated to the biblical figure Jonah, considered a prophet by many Muslims. Like many of Iraq's sites, the mosque was a layer cake of history, built on top of a Christian church that in turn had been built on one of the two mounds that made up the Assyrian city of Nineveh. The Imam Dur Mausoleum , not far from the city of Samarra, was a magnificent specimen of medieval Islamic architecture and decoration. It was blown up last October. All rights reserved. By Andrew Curry. Photograph by Kyodo, AP. Mari Mari flourished in the Bronze Age, between and B. Photograph by Sandra Auger, Reuters. Mosul Museum and Libraries Reports of looting at Mosul's libraries and universities began to surface almost as soon as ISIS occupied the city last summer. Nimrud Nimrud was the first Assyrian capital, founded 3, years ago. Khorsabad Khorsabad is another ancient Assyrian capital, a few miles from Mosul. Imam Dur Mausoleum The Imam Dur Mausoleum , not far from the city of Samarra, was a magnificent specimen of medieval Islamic architecture and decoration. You May Also Like. United States Change.

A Bigger Problem Than ISIS?

Mosul buying blow

We have spent the morning scouting on behalf of an NGO dedicated to direct cash assistance. The surrounding blocks are destroyed, but several families are trying to move back anyway, clearing the wrecked Ottoman courtyards, stone by stone. They are excellent candidates for support, but Safwan, a soft-spoken year-old engineer, remains frustrated. The surviving hospitals and schools cannot support the population of 1. I wonder what sort of men they will become. In , I walked around this same castle with American soldiers. Before we set off, a lieutenant told me we would be attacked in less than 30 minutes—it happened every time he patrolled there. We checked his watch. Twenty-two minutes later, a grenade bounced up the alley behind us. In the following years, ISIS rose and fell on the backs of such young men. Today there is no fighting in Mosul, but the city remains devastated psychically, as well as physically. A great deal of work is necessary to repair it. Why, though, should Americans help with that work? For some, rebuilding the city is attractive because it decreases the number of Iraqis seeking refuge in Europe, or the U. It appeals to others because it moves resources from wealthy, thriving cities to a poor destroyed one, and so is a form of economic redistribution. Still others like the idea because it could balance competing influences in the region; increase stability; forestall, perhaps prevent, the rise of another ISIS-like terrorist group. There is truth in each of these reasons. Tens of thousands of Moslawi civilians were killed. They make the point with more authority than anyone else can hope to summon. Mosul has joined the ranks of cities destroyed but insisting on rebirth: Raqqa, Aleppo, Hue and further back, Dresden, Hiroshima, Warsaw. The world does not remember our daily arguments, but it will not soon forget these cities, and the innocent people, no different from you or me, who died. Eventually It Will. Mosul, settled more than 4, years ago, has seen many empires fall; we are not a new species of historians. But within the view of our limited horizon, it remains for us to honor the dead of those cities. To remain stubbornly dedicated to decency in the face of violence, just as many Moslawis were, against overwhelming odds. To take up, in daily opinion, the commonsense notion that if we destroy a place, whatever the reason, we should help to rebuild it. To insist that attention to foreign casualties in an unpopular war is not hopeless or naive, but of a piece with the finest traditions of human thought. To be aware that or to know that, were the situation reversed, the people of Iraq would devote some of their own attention to us, and our cities—none of which, by virtue of unpredictable fortune, have ever been comparably razed to earth. But how to proceed? The task is daunting. Fortunately, some inspiring work is being done. Most impressive to me are the programs dedicated to direct, unrestricted cash assistance in Mosul. The selection process is rigorous, but the idea is easy: give people money, no conditions attached. A destroyed city presents a shifting constellation of problems for every resident; agility is key. If there is a lesson to be learned from the last 15 years of war, it is that opinion of Iraqis at the most local level determines the future of their country, as much or more than any foreign power, or central government. Cash aid has been extensively studied, and is gaining traction. It is becoming the benchmark against which programs are measured, across metrics, increasing accountability for the whole sector. And the value of cash to individual Moslawis, right now, is particularly significant. Early dollars get people on their feet. This speaks to its general foreign policy. The dominance of the U. Instead, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of Moslawis—to take seriously what, overwhelmingly, they say they want: a little money, and then for us to get out of the way. Cash is not a cure-all, but it is among the best examples of how to engage with Iraq, and foreign aid generally—modestly, with careful evaluation, according to local will. This was partly the spirit of the Marshall Plan with which we infused post—WW II Europe with money, after we bombed its cities, fighting a different tyranny. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8, people … This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. It required brave, even idealistic, thinking. Such thinking is today supported by rigorously collected evidence, and the lessons of wars, dearly bought. Contact us at letters time. Join Us. Customer Care. Reach Out. Connect with Us. By Nick McDonell. Is Adrenal Fatigue Real? We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors. Home U. All Rights Reserved. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

Mosul buying blow