Tag Archives: History

Islamic State destroys famous monument in Syria’s Palmyra: antiquities chief

file photo of Roman theatre destroyed by Islamic State

By Kinda Makieh and Tom Perry

DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamic State militants have destroyed one of the most famous monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra, the Tetrapylon, and the facade of its Roman Theatre, Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters on Friday.

The Syrian government lost control of Palmyra to Islamic State in December, the second time the jihadist group had overrun the UNESCO world heritage site in the six-year-long Syrian conflict.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement that the destruction constituted “a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity”.

The Tetrapylon, marking a slight bend along Palmyra’s grand colonnade, comprises a square stone platform with matching structures of four columns positioned at each of its corners.

Satellite imagery sent by Abdulkarim to Reuters showed it largely destroyed, with only four of 16 columns still standing and the stone platform apparently covered in rubble.

The imagery also showed extensive damage at the Roman Theatre, with several towering stone structures destroyed on the stage. Just last May, a famous Russian orchestra performed at the theater after Palmyra was first won back from Islamic State.

Abdulkarim said if Islamic State remained in control of Palmyra “it means more destruction”. He said the destruction took place sometime between Dec. 26 and Jan. 10, according to the satellite imagery of the site.

Islamic State had previously captured Palmyra in 2015. It held the city for 10 months until Syrian government forces backed by allied militia and Russian air power managed to drive them out last March.

During its previous spell in control of Palmyra, Islamic State destroyed other monuments there, including its 1,800-year-old monumental arch. Palmyra, known in Arabic as Tadmur, stood at the crossroads of the ancient world.

Islamic State put 12 people to death in Palmyra earlier this week, some of them execution-style in the Roman Theatre.

Russia marked the capture of Palmyra from Islamic State by sending the Mariinsky Theatre to perform a surprise concert, highlighting the Kremlin’s role in winning back the city.

The concert, held just over a month after Russian air strikes helped push Islamic State militants out of Palmyra, saw Valery Gergiev, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, conduct the Mariinsky orchestra.

Islamic State swept into Palmyra again in December when the Syrian army and its allies were focused on dealing a final blow to rebels in the city of Aleppo. Eastern Aleppo fell to the government later that month.

(Reporting by Kinda Makieh in Damascus and Tom Perry in Beirut; Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Larry King)

New Taiwan president urges China to drop historical baggage

aiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen addresses during an inauguration ceremony in Taipei

By J.R. Wu and Faith Hung

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s new president urged China on Friday to “drop the baggage of history” in an otherwise conciliatory inauguration speech that Beijing’s Communist Party rulers had been watching for any move towards independence.

President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in with Taiwan’s export-driven economy on the ropes and China, which views the self-ruled island as its own, looking across the Taiwan Strait for anti-Beijing sentiment that could further sour economic ties.

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally favored independence, won parliamentary and presidential elections by a landslide in January on a voter backlash against creeping dependence on China. It takes over after eight years under China-friendly Nationalist Ma Ying-jeou.

Tsai, Taiwan’s first woman president, said Taiwan would play a responsible role and be a “staunch guardian of peace” with China.

“Cross-Strait relations have become an integral part of building regional peace and collective security,” she told thousands outside the presidential office.

“The two governing parties across the Strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue for the benefit of the people on both sides.”

China, which has never renounced force to take control of what it considers a renegade province, said this month the new Taiwan government would be to blame for any crisis that might erupt.

Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists in China in 1949. China has pressured the new government to stick to the “one China” principle agreed with the Nationalists. That allows each side to interpret what “one China” means.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Tsai’s remarks were an “incomplete answer”, warning that China saw any push for Taiwan independence as “the biggest menace to peace across the Taiwan Strait”, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about the inauguration, merely praised the record of the “one China” policy.

“Regardless of what internal changes take place within Taiwan, China will uphold the one China principle and oppose Taiwanese independence,” she told a briefing.

“LET’S SET ASIDE DISPUTES”

In a sign of a deteriorating economy, Taiwan’s export orders fell more than expected in April, their 13th straight month of decline, according to data released on Friday, as demand in China and other global markets remained weak.

Taiwan markets reacted calmly to Tsai’s speech. The main stock index reached an intraday high as she spoke, before closing 0.4 percent higher.

Tsai pledged to abide by the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s formal name, and promised to safeguard the island’s sovereignty and territory.

She also mentioned the East China and South China Seas, where an increasingly muscular China has been at odds over territorial claims with its neighbors.

“Regarding problems arising in the East China Sea and South China Sea, we propose setting aside disputes so as to enable joint development,” she said.

The American Institute in Taiwan, which represents U.S. interests in the island in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said it looked forward to working with the new government.

The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 but is also Taiwan’s biggest ally and arms supplier.

China is deeply distrustful of Tsai’s DPP, whose charter includes a clause promoting “a sovereign and independent Republic of Taiwan”.

Voted in by a Taiwanese public equally distrustful of growing economic dependence on China, the DPP also champions Taiwan’s own history. There were massive protests in 2014 that stalled a trade pact with China and were a key element of the DPP’s rise.

(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON and Megha Rajagopalan in BEIJING; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)

Ancient Greek Fortress Found in Jerusalem; Could Solve Archaeological Mystery

Archaeologists told Reuters that they believe they have found the remains of an ancient Greek fortress after a century of searching. The fortress was once a center of power in Jerusalem and a stronghold that held off a Jewish rebellion celebrated in the Book of the Maccabees.

The fortress was built more than 2,000 years ago by Antiochus Epiphanes, king of the Hellenised Seleucid empire. The location of the Acra has been long debated by researchers and archaeologists and has been one of Jerusalem’s greatest archaeological mysteries.

“It has been an open question in the archaeology of Jerusalem,” Excavation Director Doron Ben-Ami told FoxNews.com. “For hundreds of years scholars, archaeologists and historians have been looking for the location of this Acra and many, many different locations have been suggested.”

Many believed it was located behind now Jerusalem’s walled Old City or by the hilltop where two Jewish temples once stood but is now the Al Aqsa mosque compound. However, the Israel Antiquities Authority unearthed the fortress under an old parking lot located outside the walls overlooking a valley to the south. Archaeologists say the area was a place of construction for Jerusalem under King David from the Bible. Ben-Ami told Reuters that the spot was chosen for Acra in order to monitor the Jewish temple and control the city.

One area of the fortress held artifacts like coins and handles for wine jugs that suggest the fortress was present in the period of Antiochus. Bronze arrowheads and lead sling stones were also found at the dig site and were possibly used when Jewish rebels tried to take over the fortress from pro-Greek forces.

“This is a rare example of how rocks, coins and dirt can come together in a single archaeological story that addresses specific historical realities from the city of Jerusalem,” Ben-Ami said.

Earliest Koran May Have Been Written Before Mohammed

A new study believes that the earliest version of the Koran was written before the religion was founded by the Prophet Mohammed.

A parchment found by the University of Birmingham has shown through radiocarbon dating to be between 568 A.D. and 645 A.D.  Most Muslims believe that Muhammad founded the religion in 610 A.D. and that the first Muslim community was formed in what is modern day Saudi Arabia in 622 A.D.

“This gives more ground to what have been peripheral views of the Koran’s genesis, such as that Muhammad and his early followers used a text that was already in existence and shaped it to fit their own political and theological agenda, rather than Muhammad receiving a revelation from heaven,” said Oxford researcher Keith Small.

The manuscript contains parts of chapters 18-20 and was written with ink in an early form of Arabic script.

“It destabilizes, to put it mildly, the idea that we can know anything with certainty about how the Koran emerged – and that in turn has implications for the history of Muhammad and the Companions,” historian Tom Holland told the Times of London.

A senior lecturer of Islamic Studies at the University of London told Fox News that radiocarbon dating is not accurate because of the style of writing used on the parchment.

“[With] the style of the writing – it would be like saying you saw an iPhone in the 1990s,” Mustafa Shah said.

Washington State Wildfires Reach Historic Levels

The Okanogan Complex of fires in Washington State is now the biggest wildfire in the state’s history.

The blaze grew 14,000 more acres on Tuesday bringing the fire to a total of 258,339 acres, or just over 403 square miles.  That is larger than all but 9 cities in the continental U.S.

The flames have killed three firefighters, wounded four others and more than 200 homes have been destroyed since the fire began August 15th. The fire is so intense that firefighters from around the world are being called and even California crews are being called off fires in that state to rush to fight the Okanogan blaze.

“We’ve had the opportunity to be on some large fires in California of this magnitude. We expect much of the same that we’re used to,” said Battalion Chief Mark Brunton, who is leading a crew of 44 firefighters. Brunton told NBC that they are ready to be there for the long haul.

The scene in the fire’s aftermath has been described as being “like a moonscape” with everything in the fire’s path destroyed.

The battle against the fire is being hampered by the fact supplies, equipment and manpower is running low.

“You can imagine how stretched thin everybody is,” said Dan Dallas, deputy incident commander of the Okanogan fire. “We’re all working without the resources that in a normal year — which I don’t think there is such a thing anymore — that we might have.”

National Guard troops are now being called in from neighboring states to help provide some relief to the overburdened fire crews.

Former Auschwitz Guard Describes Camp In Detail

A former SS guard on trial in Germany has provided chilling details about the operations of the camp and the lives of those who were imprisoned there.

Oskar Groening is facing 300,000 counts of accessory to murder in connection with his service at the camp from May to July 1944 when Jews from Hungary were brought to the camp and almost immediately murdered.

Groening testified that during the time so many trains full of Jews were coming to the camp that they sometimes had to wait with doors closed while other trains were emptied and processed into the camp.  He testified about one night where he worked 24 hours straight on the ramp at Birkenau where the Jews were brought into the camp and it was “a busy shift”indicating there was non-stop arrivals of victims.

“The capacity of the gas chambers and the capacity of the crematoria were quite limited. Someone said that 5,000 people were processed in 24 hours but I didn’t verify this. I didn’t know,” he said. “For the sake of order we waited until train 1 was entirely processed and finished.”

A surprising part of the testimony was Groening contracting many survivors claims that the process was chaotic, saying it was “very orderly”.

“The process was the same as Auschwitz I. The only difference was that there were no trucks,” he said during the second day of his trial. “They all walked —some in one direction some, in another direction … to where the crematoria and gas chambers were.”

Survivors and their families said they would be satisfied with any confessions given by Groening.

“I’m going to take whatever confession he gives —it’s better than no confession,” survivor Eva Kor, 81, told reporters. “Maybe this is the best thing he has ever done in his life. Isn’t that sad?”

History Repeats

History goes by in cycles and repeats itself.  In school I didn’t really care so much about history, and now it has become a little obsession of mine.  I am on this path of trying to learn everything about American history I possibly can.  It is my belief that God uses all of these things and the greater amount of history I know, the better I will be able to see what is coming again.  I have never viewed myself as a prophet but I do view myself as a watchman on the wall.  By studying the times and the dates and learning about our past, how it actually was, I am gaining understanding on how it is unfolding again.  Continue reading →

Ancient Tablet Confirms Jewish Exile in Babylon

Over 100 tablets that have been dated back to Nebuchadnezzar’s era in Babylon have provided further support for the Scriptures showing the exile of the Jewish nation.

The tablets, which have just gone in display in Jerusalem, provide a look into the lives of the Jews as they lived in exile.  Among day to day life items, the tablets trace a Judean family over four generations.

The tablets had been discovered in Iraq and rescued from ISIS by a UK-based Israeli collector.  The artifacts are written in ancient akkadian cuneiform script.

“We started reading the tablets and within minutes we were absolutely stunned,” Babylonian expert Filip Vukosavovic told reporters. “It fills in a critical gap in understanding of what was going on in the life of Judeans in Babylonia more than 2,500 years ago.”

“On the one hand it’s boring details, but on the other you learn so much about who these exiled people were and how they lived,” he added.

The tablets will be displayed for one year at the Bible Land Museum in Jerusalem.

Saudi King Abdullah Dead At 90

A man who was seen as a major stabilizing figure in the turbulent Middle East is dead at the age of 90.

Saudi King Abdullah died early Friday after what palace sources called “a short illness.”  Abdullah had ruled Saudi Arabia since 2005 after the death of King Fahd.

Many residents of the nation saw Abdullah as a reformer.  He allowed women the right to vote and to compete in the Olympics.  He maintained close relationships with the United States and Britain, buying most of the nation’s defense equipment from the two nations.

He also made domestic violence against women a crime for the first time in the nation’s history.

He was also a major opponent to Islamic terrorism and called it not only a threat to the region but also to Islam.  He launched education programs that were aimed at stopping Al-Qaeda from gaining a foothold with youth.  He also took actions to keep the most extreme parts of Saudi Arabia’s religious establishment from being able to spread their message in the nation.

King Abdullah was found through diplomatic messages published by Wikileaks to have asked the United States to implant microchips on all terrorists at Guantanamo Bay to allow world governments to track their movements.  He also privately urged the U.S. to attack Iran to destroy their nuclear program.

Former Crown Prince Salman became King.  He appointed officials to new roles within hours of the death of King Abdullah, unusual in the Saudi succession pattern, which usually took months.  Reportedly King Salman wanted to “show strength to Islamic extremists” that “Saudi Arabia is united.”

Turkey Allows First New Church Since 1923

The last time Turkey allowed a new church to be built, Time Magazine was publishing its first issue, Warner Brothers established their movie studio and President Warren Harding was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge.

The Syriac Christian church will be built not far from Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic churches in a suburb of Istanbul.  Until this new construction was approved, the only construction allowed by the government was refurbishing established church buildings.

Only about 100,000 of the 80 million people in Turkey are Christian.

The move is seen as mainly political.  Turkey has been under fire from the European Union after an ancient Byzantine church was converted into a mosque and all traces of Christian history wiped from the building.

The ruling party in Turkey has been working to align themselves with other Muslim-majority nations in the Middle East.