In the mid-13th century, a Mongol invasion cut a wide swath of cultural ruin through the Middle East, including the destruction of the great library of Baghdad. It took the region centuries to recover. Today, many Iraqi and Syrian archaeologists evoke this infamous chapter in medieval history to convey some sense of the devastation wrought by the so-called Islamic State (ISIL), along with the continued brutality of more than four years of civil war in Syria.
While all the key belligerents in the conflict regularly commit cultural property crimes, ISIL stands out as the most brazen and egregious. Its militants expanded the targeting of cultural heritage in 2015 to ratchet up sectarian tensions, fund terrorism and promote their global franchise.
ISIL mainly targets Muslim architecture and monuments for destruction, and it sells looted antiquities and other portable cultural property for funding. Only occasionally do fighters destroy pre- Islamic material for ...
