By: Massoume Price
info@cultureofiran.com
Culture of Iran: http://www.cultureofiran.com
The National Museum at
Baghdad was one of the most important Antiquity museums in the world, if not the
most important. The Cradle of Civilization as it is often called, Mesopotamia
(meaning between two rivers, present day Iraq) has been the earliest center of
urban civilization, and the museum contained some of the most important items
signifying the genius of mankind. The first tablets with the earliest written
records created by humankind, the magnificent bronze head of Sargon equal to any
work by Michel Angelo, and 3500 years older than Michel Angelo's David, were
looted and lost forever.
 The first human writings, Sumer 3000BC
|
The oldest versions of the earliest literary works,
Gilgamesh and the Biblical Flood, and the oldest recorded poetry composed by
Enheduanna, the high priestess of the temple at Ur, vanished in just a few hours
of chaos, greed and madness. The beautiful 4000-year-old harp from the Biblical
city of Ur once played at the temples to please gods, plus the magnificent
jewelry and head ornaments discovered at the royal cemetery at Ur were savagely
taken.
 Bronze head of Sargon 1800BC |
170,000 pieces detailing human brilliance,
creativity and evolution, right from the beginning when the first Neolithic
Revolution started 7000 years ago were kept and catalogued by the best experts
in the world. People who dug out sites for over a century, cleaned every piece
with love and care, labeled and displayed them, would shiver in their graves if
they knew what happened to their labor of love.
Harp, Royal complex at Ur, 2000BC
These weren't just items that were lost, people
often point out that human life is more valuable than any object. The items at
the museum represented the collective consciousness of many nations from
Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Iranians to the Iraqis for thousands of
years. They represented the spirit of our nations, the brilliance of our
ancestors who built and made us into what we are. Even nations cannot last for
long without a spirit. As painful as it sounds, it is at times like this, that
some of us, we are grateful that many of our national treasures are kept safe in
museums outside our own countries; at least they are safe.
 Jewelry from Royal tombs, Ur, 3000BC
|
Providing no protection to the National Museum at
Baghdad was a criminal act, and against Geneva Convention that clearly states
that the occupying forces are responsible for safety and security of the
occupied nations and their heritage sites and collections. In fact it was a
deliberate criminal act, because Americans were begged to send troops and
protect the museum and they did not. They could not spare a tank with a few
soldiers to protect thousands of years of culture, brilliance continuity and
human creativity. When the Taliban forces were destroying the Buddha's statue in
Afghanistan, the US media repeatedly showed the destructions for days, how many
times have we seen the destruction of the museums in Iraq? Lets hope that the
world community will sue them for their negligence.
|
