For the ancient Assyrian capitals, their wanton destruction was a tragically ironic turn of events, given that their rulers, some 2,700 years ago, had been among the most brutal and destructive the region had known. "It's part of their modern identity," says Danti. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port, A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador, A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk, The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron, Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. This was in fulfillment of the prophet Nahum’s prediction that God would completely destroy the city (Nahum 1). Remnants from the space rock may help explain how often these cosmic explosions occur—and the threat they pose to Earth. As the Iraqi army makes plans to liberate Mosul from the control of the Islamic State, there are unconfirmed reports that other gates and walls in Nineveh are also being plowed under. On January 28, 2015, ISIS rigged large parts of the wall with explosives, ridding the world of one of the most distinctive archaeological monuments in Iraq. Referenced in the Bible, Nineveh dates to the 7th century BC and was once the largest city in the world. The Adad Gate in Nineveh was originally built around 700 B.C. Outside of destroying historical artefacts, Isis had turned on science, transforming laboratories in the University of Mosul into bomb-making factories. The destruction of the Mashqi Gate is the latest in a series of historical artefacts to be destroyed in Isis-held territory by the militant group, who view many relics predating Islam as sacrilegious. The citizens of the surrounding city of Mosul consider themselves descendants of the ancient Assyrians who built Nineveh. The Adad Gate after its destruction by the Islamic State. Gas heat and stoves are warming the climate. 14 O n Friday, the media reported that ISIS, the Islamist group that has established a “caliphate” in parts of Syria and Iraq, had destroyed the centuries-old Tomb of Jonah in Mosul, Iraq. Please be respectful of copyright. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month, Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. In this series we take a closer look at particular sites, finds and objects from the world of Archaeology. A destroyed building on the outskirts of Baghuz, eastern Syria. The Initiative works with the U.S. Department of State to document destruction of cultural and religious sites in Iraq and Syria. Before ISIS’s invasion, the northern Iraq city of Qaraqosh, located about 20 miles southeast of Mosul, was home to Iraq’s largest Christian community and had some 100 poultry farms. To the Greek historians Ctesias and Herodotus (c. 400 BC), Nineveh was a thing of the past; and when Xenophon passed the place in the 4th century BC he described it as abandoned. The shrine is, according to tradition, built on the burial site of Jonah, known as Nabi Yunis in the Koran. Isis has destroyed a 2,000-year-old ancient structure near the Iraqi city of Mosul. The residents of the Christian village of Tesqopa in Nineveh Province are rebuilding their village after it was destroyed by ISIS. Further parts of the walls, including the Mashka and Adad Gate, were blown up in April 2016. A picture taken in November 2016 shows destruction caused by ISIS at the archaeological site of Nimrud in the Nineveh province in northern Iraq, an area known in ancient times as Mesopotamia. Why do whales beach themselves? These “ecological zombies” will eat almost anything and can live almost anywhere. ISIS is encountering a lot of resistance in Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh Province. Answer: Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was destroyed in 612 B.C. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo, A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota, Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. All rights reserved. The Mashqi Gate, also known as the Gate of God, was one of a number of grand gates which guarded the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh. Unconfirmed reports of the destruction of Nineveh's iconic gates began to emerge late last week but have been subsequently confirmed by Michael Danti, professor of archaeology at Boston University and co-director of the  Cultural Heritage Initiative  (CHI) at the American Schools of Oriental Research. “Several Sunni mosques in Nineveh have been destroyed due to purported instances of idolatry,” writes Cascone. In Libya, Sufi shrines near Tripoli were damaged, and historians have expressed fears over the looting of ancient Greek and Roman artwork and antiquities. Sign up for more inspiring photos, stories, and special offers from National Geographic. (Learn why the Mosul Dam may be the greatest threat to the city.). Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. The Nergal Gate in Nineveh was originally built around 700 B.C. "It's reasonable to assume that [ISIS] is destroying other gates [in Nineveh], but we need to get more information before we can make those assertions," Danti adds. This was in fulfillment of the prophet Nahum’s prediction that God would completely destroy the city (Nahum 1). People walk on the rubble of the destroyed Mosque of The Prophet Younis, or Jonah, in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Battle to control America’s ‘most destructive’ species: feral pigs, Starling murmurations are dazzling, ubiquitous, and puzzling. While the gates of Nineveh were rebuilt in the 20th century, they remain prized symbols of the ancient heritage of the residents of modern Mosul. How the first pitch became baseball's Opening Day tradition, How Queen Victoria remade the British monarchy, 1800-year-old chain armor reconstructed using video game tech, After winning the vote, here’s why the suffragist movement took divergent paths, The extraordinary lives of America's 'bravest women', What we know so far about the effort to vaccinate children. Should cities start banning them? Many mammals are contagious yawners—this might be why. A source at the British Institute for the Study of Iraq confirmed to The Independent that the gate had been attacked. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy, Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead, People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad, An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel, Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai, People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California, Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu, A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. The Arab Muslim, Arab Christian and modern Assyrian population of the area all trace their ancestry back to the ancient Assyrians. All rights reserved, Learn why the Mosul Dam may be the greatest threat to the city. It was in Nineveh, incidentally, where the tablets containing the “Epic of Gilgamesh” were discovered. Alleged Isis fighters captured near the frontline Syrian village of Baghuz. National Geographic has received exclusive photographs that appear to confirm the destruction of the Mashki and Adad Gates by the Islamic State (ISIS) at the ancient site of Nineveh in Iraq. In the absence of specific information it is not yet possible to comment on what has been destroyed.”. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. and reconstructed in … The pesticide solution may have dire consequences. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless, Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California, A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho, Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open, Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally, A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. Coalition strikes took out three Islamic State camp sites in Iraq’s Kirkuk province on Friday, while a jet “blasted” an ISIS cave in Nineveh province. The Antiquities Department in Baghdad had not denied the attack, according to the source, who also said there were unconfirmed reports the group was dismantling part of the Walls of Nineveh and selling the stone blocks. Nineveh was already an important urban center more than 4,000 years ago, and at its height around 700 B.C. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st, The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. In the Syrian city of Raqqa, ISIL publicly ordered the bulldozing of a colossal ancient Assyrian gateway lion sculpture from the 8th century BC. A mosque dedicated to the prophet Jonah inside the walls of Nineveh was destroyed by ISIS in July 2014. 8, 2015. Photo courtesy of Vincent Dixon. Photograph by Heritage Images, Getty Images. A set of exclusive images received by National Geographic has allowed researchers to confirm (regrettably) the destruction of the Mashki and Nergal Gates found at the ancient site of Nineveh in modern day Iraq. Group has controlled Mosul since 2014 and destroyed numerous cultural artefacts, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. by a Babylonian alliance. Sennacherib's reign was marked by his siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. Nineveh Ruins Wall shot in 1994 as part of Time Life's Lost Civilizations series. The militants have also destroyed the city's main libraries, which contained centuries-old manuscripts. Can AstraZeneca dispel doubts about its shots? The Adad Gate takes its name from the Mesopotamian god of weather and storms. Breaking Israel News reports that the 2,300-year-old palace was partially destroyed during the Sack of Nineveh in 612 B.C. ", Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright © 2015-2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Roughly 16 kilometers from Telskuf, Alqosh is last major Christian city on the Plain of Nineveh in what once was a valley full of Christian villages since occupied and destroyed by ISIS. Deliberate destruction of monuments by ISIS has been recorded since the Islamic militants first seized Mosul in June 2014. (Why does ISIS hate archaeology?). The Mashki Gate, known as the "Gate of the Watering Places," may have been used to lead livestock to the nearby Tigris River. It is not the first time Mosul’s heritage has suffered under Isis. Accusations have also surfaced that Isis used chlorine gas against Iraqi forces attacking its stronghold in Tikrit. and is recorded in Assyrian sources and in the Bible, which also describes the prophet Jonah's visit to Nineveh. and reconstructed in the 20th century. by the Medes. Big winter snows in the North could be fueled by Arctic sea ice loss. How the pandemic created two wildly different ski seasons in the Alps, Video Story, Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright © 2015-2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC. In an image of the destroyed Adad Gate, an earthmover is clearly visible. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin, Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Shafaq News / What ISIS did to Mosul's antiquities was not surprising compared to its idealism that everything carved is contrary to its law, so it stole, looted, and destroyed statues and sculptures. The destruction of the gates and a large portion of the fortification wall is based on the images obtained by the CHI and corroborated by "trusted sources" in Mosul, the ISIS-occupied city that surrounds Nineveh, as well as by recent satellite imagery. An earthmover is visible in the distance. Where to find warrior queens, fairies, and castles in Scotland, The forgotten fossil hunter who transformed Britain’s Jurassic Coast, How the pandemic created two wildly different ski seasons in the Alps, Buried by Vesuvius, this ancient villa is an overlooked alternative to Pompeii. Johnson & Johnson expands vaccine trials to adolescents age 12 to 17. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia, The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Here are 4 scenarios. Europe’s plastics industry is about to boom. It was the second destruction […] Waste left over from the coffee-making process can jolt destroyed forests back to life. The village, which lies around 40 kilometres north of the city of Mosul, had over 1,400 families before ISIS entered the province and forced them to flee their city. The city of Nineveh itself, named capital of the Assyrian empire by the powerful King Sennacherib, had been built over the ruins of human settlements going back some 8,000 years. We’re partially to blame. U.S. fracking is driving it. In January 2015, ISIL reportedly destroyed large parts of the Nineveh Wall in al-Tahrir neighborhood of Mosul. A chicken coop on the Nineveh Plains destroyed by ISIS. "We naturally deplore all acts of vandalism and destruction of cultural heritage, and continue to monitor the situation to the best of our ability. Isis has also destroyed numerous historical mosques, churches and shrines in and around Mosul, one of the largest cities controlled by the militant group. "I think we should expose what they're doing," says Danti, "and not let it be a mystery. The city featured numerous temples and the sprawling 80-room palace of King Sennacherib, all surrounded by a wall 7.5 miles (12 km) long punctuated by 15 gates. Isis has destroyed a 2,000-year-old ancient structure near the Iraqi city of Mosul. A sign indicates the location of the destroyed Mashki Gate. The complete destruction of Nineveh has traditionally been seen as confirmed by the Hebrew Book of Ezekiel and the Greek Retreat of the Ten Thousand of Xenophon (d. 354 BC). Volcano tourism is booming, but is it too risky? Activists in Mosul told Kurdish news outlet ARA News the Islamist militants had used military equipment to destroy the gate. Note: This article has been updated on May 5 to reflect the fact that new satellite imagery confirms that the Adad Gate, rather than the Nergal Gate, was destroyed, in addition to a large portion of Nineveh's fortification wall. "[ISIS] is essentially sending a signal to the government of Iraq that if they continue with their offensive on Mosul they can expect a scorched earth policy from Islamic State, in both Mosul and the Iraq theater but also in Raqqa in the Syrian theatre," he says. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories, Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland, Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk, AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix, Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio, Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya, Read more New Palmyra photos show devastation of artefacts ruined by Isis, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Mosul Dam could collapse at any minute 'killing one million people', Fall of Mosul to Isis should not have surprised the Iraqi government, Isis using brutal metal instrument to clip women's flesh in Mosul, Isis executes 300 Iraqi army troops and civilian activists in Mosul, Isis destroys gates to ancient city of Nineveh near Mosul, Get at least 20% off selected stays with this Booking.com discount, Debenhams discount code for 15% off selected luxury beauty products, Exclusive Ideal World promo code: 20% saving on fitness, Get £4 when you spend £5 with this AliExpress promo code for new customers, Argos promo: 20% off selected LEGO toys this Easter. According to Danti, the Islamic State's scorched earth policy is psychological warfare intended to give the appearance that they are in control and to make onlookers feel powerless. Present-day Mosul encompasses the site of the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh, where, the Bible teaches, the Prophet Jonah preached. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy, Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq, A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France, A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The campaign of cultural destruction has also wreaked havoc outside Iraq, most notably in Syria, where the ancient city of Palmyra was heavily damaged while under Isis occupation. (UNESCO) On this day, 2,632 years ago, the ancient metropolis of Nineveh fell. " Ancient Nineveh's inhabitants may have led animals through the Mashki Gate to water at the nearby Tigris River. ISIS has also destroyed many mosques and shrines in and around Mosul. Deliberate destruction of monuments by ISIS has been recorded since the Islamic militants first seized Mosul in June 2014. A spokesperson for the British Museum told The Independent: “We continue to follow the latest news reports from Iraq. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. The palace of the Biblical King Sennacherib, long buried underneath the tomb of the prophet Jonah in the Biblical city of Nineveh, has incredibly been discovered by Iraqi archaeologists as a result of efforts by the Islamic State (ISIS) to destroy the site and loot its priceless antiquities. During much of the ISIS occupation of the Nineveh Plain, Nadok was a soldier. In Spain, sanctuaries give forever homes to farmed animals, Elephants return to conflict-ridden national park. We still don’t know the origins of the coronavirus. A locust plague hit East Africa. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The “second” Fall of Nineveh occurred in 2015 with more destruction by ISIS. Courtesy of ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives. The Mishqi Gate seen guarding the ancient city of Nineveh, Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. What if the world’s biggest customer went green? The group’s Operation Return to Nineveh was launched last month to raise funds to rebuild homes and churches in Assyrian communities that were destroyed by ISIS. In February 2015, the group released propaganda footage of militants vandalising Mosul's museum. The act is the latest incident in a campaign of cultural vandalism Isis has undertaken in territory it controls. They are stacking dead bodies like cord-wood. Mar. ISIS killed or displaced the city’s residents and destroyed their farms. Around the same time, Mosul's library was also ransacked by Isis, who burned more than 100,000 old books and manuscripts, some of which were recognised as historical rarities by Unesco. After Syrian government forces drove Isis from the site, they found ancient temples blown up, statues decapitated and the museum badly damaged. Recently taken pictures show how Isis have destroyed two of the great gates in an ancient Assyrian citadel in northern Iraq. Welcome to In Focus. was a capital of the Neo-Assyrian empire and the largest city in the world. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes, A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India, The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC, An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution, A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors, State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya, A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic, A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California, Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Sculptures from the site were damaged during ISIS' rampage through the Mosul museum in February 2015. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. ISIS is responding by killing thousands of innocent citizens among their own countrymen. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The archaeologists also discovered in another part of the tunnel stone sculptures of an Assyrian demi-goddess believed to sprinkle "water of life" to protect humans in her care. An independent investigation by the Iraqi Digital Investigation Team (IDIT) of the Berlin based organisation Media in Cooperation and Transition (MICT) has added evidence to support the claim that ISIS soldiers destroyed the Gate of Nineveh, a major historical site outside the ISIS-occupied city of Mosul, in April this year. Mary Anning and her most important dinosaur finds went unsung, but her legacy now draws travelers to southwest England. The city was sacked in 612 B.C. It showed ancient statues being destroyed, including a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity which dated back to the 7th-century BC.

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