Syrian Artifacts Showcased At Hermitage Museum In St. Petersburg

[maz]

I am sure that the Syrian relics were a big part of the war. Did Assad just loan them out or did the Russians just take them?

Syrian Artefacts in the Hermitage

Syria is a large historical and cultural region whose boundaries do not entirely coincide with the borders of the modern state. Over the course of millennia, Syria played a very significant role in the formation and development of human civilization.
In the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, the very ancient city states of Ebla (Tell Mardikh) and Mari (Tell Hariri) existed on the territory of present-day Syria, as well as Ugarit (Ras Shamra) on the Syrian coast of the Mediterranean. The cuneiform archives that excavations uncovered at those places provided invaluable material for understanding the history of some of the earliest cultures.

In the 1st millennium BC, Syria was involved in all the major historical processes taking place in the Middle East. Its abundant lands became the object of the imperial ambitions of the Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites and Persians. From the 4th century BC, following the conquest of Alexander the Great, Syria became a part of the Hellenistic world under his successors from the Seleucid dynasty. In the 1st century BC, the territory of Syria was conquered by Rome and later it became a Byzantine province. The Syrian region is of enormous importance in the early history of Christianity. From the 7th century, following the Arab conquest, Syria became a part of the Arabic caliphate, whose capital from 661 to 750 was Damascus. The Aramaic language was gradually supplanted by Arabic and Islam became the

Syria's long history is reflected in the cultural monuments and artefacts that have survived in the country. Syria's museums possess extensive historical and architectural materials. The ancient cities of Palmyra, Baalbek, Bosra and Dura-Europos are open-air museums. Existing alongside one another in the Syrian landscape are Roman and Byzantine buildings, mosques and Crusader castles. The early 8th-century Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the first grand Muslim religious edifices, retains traces of Roman history (fragments of a temple of Jupiter) and the Byzantine past - the famous mosaics on the facade and galleries of the mosque. That multicultural and multi-religious element is a feature of modern Syria as well.

Cultural artefacts that originated in Syria can be found in many museums around the world, including the Hermitage.

[yankeedoodle]

I am sure that the Syrian relics were a big part of the war. Did Assad just loan them out or did the Russians just take them?

Might be a cultural exchange in appreciation for Russia intervening to save Syria, for now. 

Let's hope they're safe in Russia, and that Syria continues to exist, and that the artifacts return to where they belong, when there is peace.

Doesn't always happen, of course.  Greece keeps demanding that the British Museum return the Elgin Marbles.  Good luck with that.      

The Elgin Marbles are a source of controversy between modern Britain and Greece, being a collection of stone pieces rescued/removed from the ruins of the Ancient Greek Parthenon in the nineteenth century, and now in demand to be sent back from their home in the British Museum. In many ways, the Marbles, are emblematic of the development of modern ideas of national heritage and global display, which argues that localized regions have the best claims over items produced there.
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-elgin-marbles-parthenon-sculptures-1221618

[maz]

I am sure that the Syrian relics were a big part of the war. Did Assad just loan them out or did the Russians just take them?

Might be a cultural exchange in appreciation for Russia intervening to save Syria, for now. 

Let's hope they're safe in Russia, and that Syria continues to exist, and that the artifacts return to where they belong, when there is peace.

Doesn't always happen, of course.  Greece keeps demanding that the British Museum return the Elgin Marbles.  Good luck with that.      

It seems as though the artifacts are on a limited run at the museum, but who knows if they will be returned. Hopefully they will.

The Russians seem quite serious about preserving the ancient culture of the Syria, unlike the US who handed over Iraq artifacts to a bunch of filthy Jews who sold them to the highest bidder.

US retailer fined $3 million for Iraqi artifacts smuggled via Israel, UAE

Hobby Lobby agrees to settle civil suit brought by US government and forfeit thousands of relics including those provided by Israeli dealer

The US Department of Justice says thousands of cuneiform tablets and clay bullae, originally from Iraq, were smuggled into the United States via Israel and the United Arab Emirates in packages shipped to the Oklahoma-based company. [/url]