Destruction of cultural artifacts and heritage sites in times of war has been a norm throughout history, intentionally or otherwise. Sadly, cultural heritage is still one of the many casualties of war, often leaving a deep, lasting impact on the legacy and identity of communities caught in the crossfire.
10. Royal Opera House, Malta
Throughout the Second World War, and especially on the European front, numerous works of art and other cultural artifacts were threatened by bombing, as cities and cultural centers became targets of warfare. The Royal Opera House of Malta was one such institution, suffering almost-complete destruction at the hands of German and Italian air bombers.
The building was damaged on April 7, 1942. While the bombers had originally intended to target the surrounding area of the capital city of Malta, Valletta, it still caused significant damage to historic buildings and cultural institutions on the island.
Built in the 18th century, the Royal Opera House served as a venue for opera, ballet, and other theater arts. Despite the damage, however, the building was eventually restored and continues to operate to this day.
9. Old Summer Palace, China
The destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, also known as the Yuanming Yuan, was a major event in early modern Chinese history. It happened during the Second Opium War in 1860, fought between the Qing dynasty and a British-French expeditionary force for trading rights in China.
On October 18, 1860, the palace was plundered and burned to the ground by allied forces led by Lord Elgin – the British High Commissioner to China. The palace – a lavish and expansive complex of gardens, lakes, and buildings – was used as a summer retreat by Qing emperors and considered a symbol of the empire’s culture and power. Its destruction was a huge blow to the Qing dynasty, and is still remembered as a major event in the country’s history within China. Even today, tens of thousands of visitors come from all over the country to see the well-preserved ruins, even though there have been several calls to rebuild it by scholars and other experts in the past few years.
8. Buddhas Of Bamiyan, Afghanistan
The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two ancient statues of Buddha carved into the side of a cliff in Hazarajat, Afghanistan. Built in the sixth century, the towering structures – 180 feet and 124 feet tall – stood as examples of Buddhist art from the Gandhara period, until they were destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban.
Having seized power in 1996, they saw all parts of the non-Islamic heritage of Afghanistan as foreign, and announced their intention to destroy the Buddhas on February 26, 2001. Over the next few weeks, explosives and artillery were used against the site, bringing them down by March 14.
The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan was met with widespread international condemnation, as it was seen as a symbolic victory for Taliban’s extremist ideology. Today, only ruins remain of what was once an impressive structure from a golden age of Afghanistan, despite the previous government’s best efforts to restore them to their former shape.
7. Winged Bull Of Nineveh, Iraq
In 2014, ancient cultural and archeological sites across Iraq were captured and targetted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – a radical Islamic group that sought to…well, you know ISIS. They considered many of these artifacts to be blasphemous and seeked to completely destroy them, as they didn’t fit their specific idea of the history of the region.
On February 26, 2015, the Islamic State released a video of the destruction of the Winged Bull of Nineveh and other artifacts in the Mosul Museum, after they had overrun the ancient site of Nineveh in Mosul, Iraq. It showed armed militants using sledgehammers and power tools to destroy the impressive stone structure, which dated back to the Assyrian kingdom in the seventh century BC, also known as one of the cradles of human civilization.
6. Old City Of Sana’a, Yemen
The old district of Sana’a – also called the Old City – is a historic area located in the capital city of Yemen. It’s known for its distinctive architecture and ancient landmarks, including the Great Mosque of Sana’a built in the seventh century. Due to its cultural and historical significance, the Old City was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.
In 2015, Yemen became embroiled in a civil war between the government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition, and the Houthi rebel group. It’s one of the deadliest ongoing conflicts, having claimed the lives of at least 377,000 people by the end of 2021, according to reports. One of its first casualties was the Old City, which was allegedly bombed by the Saudi-led coalition in June, 2015. It destroyed a large part of it, including lasting damage to some of its landmark buildings like the Great Mosque.
5. Benin City, Nigeria
Benin City was once the capital of the Kingdom of Benin – a powerful West African empire that flourished between the 14th and 19th centuries in modern-day Nigeria. It was known for its advanced political and social system, as well as its sophisticated art and architecture. The city was home to many important cultural landmarks, including the Royal Palace and Oba’s Palace. According to one estimate, Benin City’s walls were at least four times longer than the Great Wall of China.
Sadly, the Benin empire found itself in the way of British colonization, and the capital was destroyed by British forces during a punitive expedition in 1897. According to eyewitness accounts, it was looted and burned to the ground, and almost all of its most valuable possessions – including its famed bronze and ivory sculptures – were taken to Europe to be sold in private auctions. While Benin still exists as a modern-day city in Nigeria, it’s nowhere close to what it once used to be.
4. National Museum Of Iraq
The National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad housed a vast collection of artifacts and historical treasures, including ancient tablets and cuneiform texts, sculptures, and jewelry from ancient Mesopotamia. Its collection spanned a period of over 5,000 years, from the Sumerian civilization to the Ottoman Empire. Sadly, it’d also be one of the many casualties of the Iraq War, as most of its prized artifacts were looted within the first few months of the invasion.
It began on April 10, 2003, as the collapse of the Iraqi government left the museum unguarded. While there were reports of American soldiers trying to stop it, the looting still continued for several days, resulting in the loss of many of the museum’s most valuable possessions. While more than 8,000 artifacts were thankfully removed and kept safely by the staff, around 15,000 were stolen within 36 hours, including archaeological material from some of the oldest sites in the Middle East.
3. Mosque of Nabi Yunus/Tomb of Jonah, Iraq
The ancient mosque of Nabi Yunus – also called the Tomb of Jonah – in Mosul, Iraq was built on an archeological site dating back to the eighth century BC. It was a symbol of the region’s history of peaceful coexistence and ethnic diversity, as the site was considered holy by Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
As you can probably guess from the general theme of this list, the tomb was targetted by Islamic State militants following their conquest of vast parts of Iraq in 2014, including the city of Mosul. It was finally destroyed with explosives and artillery on July 24, 2014, along with the ancient artifacts buried underneath it. According to locals, cultural sites near the tomb were extensively looted before the destruction, though we still don’t know the full extent of what all was stolen.
2. Flakturm Friedrichshain, Germany
The Second World War saw the destruction of much of Europe’s cultural heritage, especially in Germany during the latter part of the war. One example was the loss of artwork at Flakturm Friedrichshain – a flak tower located in Berlin, Germany used to store valuable works for safekeeping, including works by artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
It was also a defensive position, as the tower housed anti-aircraft guns and bunkers in case it was attacked. Obviously, as we all know how the war ended, that wasn’t enough, and the tower was heavily bombarded by the Allied forces advancing on Berlin in April, 1945. That resulted in a large fire breaking out in one of its chambers, leading to the complete incineration of more than three floors of paintings, sculptures, and other pieces of art from all over Europe.
1. House Of Wisdom, Iraq
The House of Wisdom, also known as the Bayt al-Hikma, was a significant cultural institution in the Islamic world. Located in Baghdad, Iraq, it was founded in the eighth century during the reign of the Abbasid caliph, Harun al-Rashid. It was a center of learning and scholarship, and home to perhaps the largest collection of manuscripts in the world at the time, which played a key role in the flourishing of science and culture during the Golden Age of Islam.
All that would come to a tragic end in 1258, when the city was ransacked in a Mongol invasion led by Hulagu Khan. According to survivor testimonies, so many books were thrown into the Tigris river that it turned black from the ink. It was a major event in the history of Islam, bringing an abrupt end to the golden age and setting the city back by decades, probably centuries.