Raqqa: A History of the Destruction of Cultural Heritage

In the present paper I will demonstrate the history of Raqqa’s cultural heritage, its floruit and its destruction, from its resettlement in the 19th century until the “Islamic State” period. I will also discuss the recent situation and the challenges to heritage associated with post-war construction in Raqqa. Raqqa was the summer capital of the caliph Harun Al Rashid and the centre of government for the Islamic world for 13 years. After the Mongols’ invasion in 1258 the city was abandoned for six centuries. The Ottoman Empire encouraged people to settle in the city by building the police station in 1863. After that date, many changes occurred to the city’s cultural heritage, but the most destructive challenge was the arrival of a new ideology and new people who targeted both the inhabitants and their heritage. This was the so-called “Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria, which settled in Raqqa, making it the capital de facto of the state; this period is known to the local population as “the dark plague”.