The vandals of Isis: Nimrud warns us of a unique barbarism

Nimrud, whose ancient sculptures and temples were destroyed by Islamic State in 2015, has been recaptured. Such violence against art and culture must be consigned to history

Another defeat for Isis, another ancient civilisation rescued from further acts of deliberate destruction. Nimrud, site of one of the great palaces of the Assyrian empire, has been taken by Iraqi forces after a fierce battle with Islamists. The liberation of its ruins follows the Assad regime’s recapture of what’s left of Palmyra earlier this year. Gradually, the vicious war that Isis has waged on antiquity is being rolled back. Damaged and denuded but still there, the ancient sites of the middle east are being reclaimed.

Related: Bull of Nimrud destroyed by Isis to be recreated in Rome

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