Indian Council of World Affairs

Abstract: This paper examines the profound impact of the Syrian civil war on the country’s rich cultural legacy, both tangible and intangible. It highlights the ideological and strategic motives behind the destruction carried out by radical organisations’ destruction. It also explores the regional and global efforts to safeguard heritage, alongside the moral and practical difficulties of preserving cultural heritage in times of conflict. The study underscores the vital connection between the urge to preserve cultural heritage and community resilience in the face of war and civil strife.

Introduction

Syria is the birthplace of one of the earliest civilisations and home to a rich array of cultural heritages that spans thousands of years. It served as an anchoring site for a cultural legacy that represented the interethnic and intercultural interactions among Roman, Hellenistic and Byzantine,  Eastern and the Western cultures. These sites reflect Syria’s role as a historical centre for global cultural exchange and amalgamation. However, the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011, led to a humanitarian crisis posing unprecedented dangers to its rich cultural environment over the past decade. This resulted in the loss of cultural heritage due to prolonged violence, looting and neglect. Radical groups often seek to erase existing ethnic identities during conflict imposing their own in their place. Such actions serve as psychological warfare, used to assert dominance and provide radical groups with a manufactured sense of purpose. Communities struggling to maintain their cultural identities suffer negatively as a consequence. Efforts to preserve cultural heritage can include community engagement, digital documentation and international cooperation, both during and after conflict.^[i] An underlying aspect is how crucial their timely and effective implementation is in the Syrian conflict zones.

The Significance of Syrian Cultural Heritage

Syria’s cultural legacy encompasses a diverse range of ancient and historic elements. Physical artefacts and structures like the city of Palmyra, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the Crusader stronghold of Krak des Chevaliers and the Aleppo citadel are reminders of its tangible heritage.[ii] These regions were influenced by the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires, as well as the Mesopotamian civilisation. Since they provide insight into ancient urban design, art and religion, these sites are essential to historians, archaeologists and humanity at large.

In contrast to the tangible heritages, oral traditions, music, crafts, rituals and culinary customs are all part of Syria’s intangible cultural heritage. Syria is home to many ethnic and religious groups including, the Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians and Circassians. These groups find expression in Sufi spiritual music, ancient weaving techniques, such as Damask weave, Kilims, Zili, Sumak and storytelling of Hakawati in Damascus cafes. This living legacy, which nurtures a sense of community and continuity throughout generations, is equally significant.

Impact of Conflict on the Cultural Heritage

Syria’s cultural legacy has been decimated by the civil conflict that started in 2011. Deliberate acts of destruction, bombing and shelling have caused tremendous wreckage to tangible heritage. Citing ideological motives, ISIS demolished the Temple of Bel and other monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[iii] Antiquities have been stolen from various regions and sold at the illicit market to fund armed factions.[iv]

Urban warfare has also inflicted collateral damage on heritage. During the conflict in Aleppo between the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian government, the city’s ancient mosques and souks were demolished.[v] The preservation of cultural landmarks was further jeopardised by the fact that they were frequently used as military strongholds.[vi]

Furthermore, intangible heritage has been eroded. Oral traditions, regional customs and gatherings have been interrupted by community displacement, fatalities and social disintegration.[vii] For instance, traditional Hakawati storytelling and music have declined as cultural practitioners escape or perish, and subsequent generations have been stripped of the opportunity to learn about their roots.[viii] The environment frequently lacks the resources or context necessary for such traditions to persist in host nations and refugee camps.

The Motive behind the Destruction of Century-old Heritage

Destruction of cultural heritage in Syria was primarily motivated by the ideological imposition of radical Salafi-jihadism, which promotes iconoclasm, referring to the belief that any physical representation of people, devotion and gods, which they consider idolatrous and therefore forbidden in Islam. At the same time non-Islamic cultural heritage sites like the Arch of Palmyra or the Tower of Ellabell are considered heretical, as their significance holds no meaning to their ideology. Deliberately destroying monuments and religious relics is seen as an attempt to cleanse the land of apostasy and restore “pure” Islam.

Radical groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have waged psychological warfare through terror and intimidation by destroying significant cultural heritage sites like Palmyra in a symbolic attempt to shock the world and demoralise those who value these symbols. Destroying cultural heritage is also seen as erasing ethnic or national identity to impose its own new identity under its control, a desperate and violent attempt to impose its vision of a Caliphate and ideological legitimacy. Moreover, the illegal trafficking of antique artefacts ensures financial stability for these groups allowing them to maintain their operations.[ix] it is tyranny’s objective to make us forget our lineage and achievements of the past.

International and Local Efforts for Preservation and Restoration

Despite the instability, numerous initiatives — both international and local — have aimed to preserve Syrian cultural heritage.

UNESCO has been instrumental in increasing awareness, recording damage and providing emergency conservation training to Syrian experts. To encourage international action against cultural damage, it has started initiatives like Unite for Heritage.[x] Planning for post-conflict repair and remotely assessing damage have both made use of satellite imagery.

Organisations, such as the Prince Claus Fund, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Syrian Heritage Initiative have assisted in preservation by providing displaced cultural practitioners platforms, monetary aid and technical assistance.[xi],[xii] Additionally, Syria has received assistance from the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) for site protection and immediate maintenance.[xiii]

To protect cultural heritage, determined Syrians have put their lives in danger on the ground. Artefacts were relocated to safe places by museum employees in Damascus and other cities.[xiv] Using cell phones, citizens have recorded endangered cultural assets and provided supporting documentation for potential repair. In host nations like Turkey, Lebanon and Germany, local groups in exile are working to preserve intangible cultural heritage through workshops, cultural centres and language classes.[xv]

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

Heritage preservation in times of conflict presents several moral and practical difficulties. When human lives are in danger, it is difficult can be contentious to put heritage first. Critics contend that humanitarian concerns should receive the majority of funding.[xvi] Many Syrians living in the area and heritage specialists maintain that human dignity and resiliency are inextricably linked to cultural identity. Authenticity and ownership issues are also present. Should artefacts stay in Syria despite the danger, or should they be sent to museums abroad for safety? How can efforts to restore damaged places preserve their authenticity without removing the implications of war? Coordination is also made more difficult by political fragmentation because different factions control different territories; access is challenging and cultural preservation is heavily politicised. Minority groups’ heritage may be denied in some areas, endangering Syria’s multicultural identity.[xvii]

Conclusion

Syria's long-running civil war has destroyed a large portion of its cultural legacy, including monuments and artefacts, but it has also put the citizens’ identity and resilience under threat. Neglect, military occupation and ideological pressure have weakened material and immaterial cultural legacies. Much of the heritage has been preserved and documented in large part by local and international efforts. But there are still issues like political unrest, resource scarcity, logistical difficulties and ethical dilemmas. Preserving Syria’s cultural legacy is beyond keeping the past intact. It is also an important act of resistance, identity preservation and hope for future reconstruction and reconciliation. It is imperative that community-led initiatives, prompt action and ongoing collaboration are implemented to protect this common human legacy during and after conflict. Needless to add, a conducive political environment marked by domestic stability and a peaceful periphery is a necessary prerequisite for such efforts to progress on a sustained basis.

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*Anshika Sati, Research Intern, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.

Endnotes

[i] UNESCO, “Syrian Heritage,” available at: https://en.unesco.org/syrianheritage. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[ii] BBC News, “Palmyra's Temple of Bel destroyed, says UN,” September 1, 2015, available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34111092. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[iii] Harvard University, “Whose Culture?,” available at: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/whoseculture/palmyra. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[iv] Anne Barnard, “Aleppo’s Heritage: A Victim of the Syrian War,” The New York Times, September 3, 2016, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/world/middleeast/syria-aleppo-culture-heritage.html. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[v] UNIDROIT, “UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (1995),” available at: https://www.unidroit.org/instruments/cultural-property/1995-convention/. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[vi] Arab News, “Syria’s ancient treasures face destruction at hands of war, extremists,” January 11, 2019, available at: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1433591/middle-east. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[vii] UNESCO, “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Peacebuilding,” available at: https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/38275-EN.pdf. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[viii] The Getty Conservation Institute, “Getty Conservation Institute,” available at: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[ix] The Guardian, “Syrian army retakes Palmyra from Isis,” March 27, 2016, available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/27/syrian-army-retakes-palmyra-from-isis. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[x] UNESCO, “#Unite4Heritage,” available at: https://en.unesco.org/unite4heritage. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[xi] Aga Khan Development Network, “Aga Khan Trust for Culture,” available at: https://www.akdn.org/our-agencies/aga-khan-trust-culture. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[xii] Prince Claus Fund, “Home,” available at: https://princeclausfund.org. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[xiii] ALIPH Foundation, “Protecting Heritage to Build Peace,” available at: https://www.aliph-foundation.org. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[xiv] Reuters, “Archaeologists restore ancient Palmyra artefacts in Damascus museum,” Arab News, January 10, 2019, available at: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1433591/middle-east. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[xv] The Brookings Institution, “Brookings – Quality. Independence. Impact.,” available at: https://www.brookings.edu. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[xvi] UNESCO, “About Cultural Heritage and Armed Conflicts,” available at: https://www.unesco.org/en/heritage-armed-conflicts/about?hub=180145. Accessed May 23, 2025.

[xvii] UN-Habitat, “Restoration of Cultural Heritage and Urban Identity in Syria,” September 2022, available at: https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/09/heritage_paper.pdf. Accessed May 23, 2025.