Submitted by Charles Knighton
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has declared war on history. In March its fighters bulldozed one of the world’s richest archaeological sites, the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq, crushing colossal statues and relics that have stood since about 1200 BCE.
Also in March, it released a video showing sledgehammer-wielding extremists smashing ancient Mesopotamian sculptures at Mosul Museum, claiming the artifacts encouraged idolatry. This week, both sections of the local press reported that another world wonder may be on the brink of destruction as ISIS has now captured the ancient oasis city of Palmyra in Syria.
Of course, ISIS has committed far worse crimes. It has beheaded, crucified and burned hostages alive, captured thousands of women to be used as sex slaves and thrown gay men to their deaths from tall buildings. Yet there is still something uniquely shocking about ISIS’s attempts to erase the historical record, because that effort reveals the end point of the group’s totalitarian philosophy.
ISIS takes a “year zero” approach to the territory it controls. It is not enough for the group to purge and slaughter people it considers blasphemers, such as Christians, Yazidis and Shiites. To prove there is only one truth—ISIS’s—the Islamists must also annihilate all signs of the cultures and civilizations that existed before its caliphate. ISIS wants people with no memory, with no history, with no culture, with no past at all.
Perhaps I am guilty of over-thinking, but is it possible the jihadists have another reason for wanting to destroy the relics left by ancient rulers? Might it not be that they are lasting symbols of the temporary nature of power—that kingdoms and religious sects rise and fall, leaving only ruins? ISIS seems to be attempting to erase the writing on the wall.
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