{"id":246,"date":"2020-11-02T08:30:23","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T07:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/protectingheritage.com\/?p=246"},"modified":"2023-07-15T17:54:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-15T15:54:06","slug":"cultural-heritage-as-a-victim-of-intolerance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uclm.es\/proyectocultureofpeace\/2020\/11\/02\/cultural-heritage-as-a-victim-of-intolerance\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural heritage as a target of extremism and intolerance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Diapositiva1\"<\/a>Iran, Iraq, Lybia, Syria and other countries of Middle East have an exceptional archaeological heritage, including world-famous sites and treasures of ancient civilizations as the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, or the Persian Empire.<\/p>\n

In recent years these sites are under threat, many of them being destructed or seriously damaged as result of civil wars and armed conflicts. The irruption of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), AL Nushah Front (ANF) and other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qa\u00efda have aggravated the situation enormously. They have intentionally destructed cultural and religious buildings in sites as famous as N\u00ednive and Palmyra. They have also seriously damaged, looted and smuggled cultural heritage items from libraries, archives and museums, as the Mosul Museum, many of them being now the victims of illegal trafficking<\/p>\n

Iraq<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Diapositiva1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Among the archaeological sites of Iraq (some of them included in UNESCO World Heritage List), terrorist attacks have seriously affected Hatra, Samarra, Nimrud and the Ancient City of Nineveh.<\/p>\n

Hatra<\/strong> started as a small Assyrian settlement, which went on to become a fortress and a commercial centre of the famous oriental Silk Road. It was also the capital of possible the first Arab Kingdom in the chain of Arab cities. In April 2015, unvaluable elements of this 2.000 years-old civilization were deliberately destroyed by Daesh.<\/p>\n

\"Diapositiva1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Diapositiva1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Samarra<\/strong> is located 130 kms north of Bagdad and considered one of the largest archaeological sites in the world. It was build in AD 836 by Caliph al -Mutasim, and developed by seven successive rulers until 892, when Baghdad was reinstated as the capital.<\/p>\n

\"Diapositiva1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Diapositiva1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nimrud<\/strong> was founded by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser I (1274-1245 BC) and became soon of the main cities of the Assyrian Empire. With the King Ashurnashirpal II (883-859 BC), Nimrud became the capital of the Empire (at the expenses of Assur) and a cosmopolitan flourishing city which remained the capital of the Empire during 150 years. In February and March 2015, Daesh continued its cultural cleansing by targeting cultural icons and historic monuments  in Nimrud.<\/p>\n