My previous posts in this Ten Tribes category reported that ISIL, the fanatical and violent Islamic Jihadis running wild in Syria and Iraq, were destroying priceless ancient Parthian statutes and artifacts in Mesopotamia. They are continuing to do so; robbing the world of even more priceless remnants of the Parthian Empire’s architecture, culture and greatness.
My previous post included a discussion of the Israelite origin of the Parthians, the Asian Empire that was formed by the descendants of the exiled ten tribes of Israel and the source of the Wise Men/Magi of Matthew 2. Personally, I think that ISIL’s violence and cruelty is so great that Satan is using them to destroy remnants of Israelite history wherever possible because the Adversary hates the Covenant People of God and wants to wipe out the evidence of their empires and greatness in the post-exilic period. Previous ISIL destruction of Mesopotamian artifacts have shown ISIL vandals destroying and pulling down white-polished statutes. Those statutes that had conical hats and featured their right hands uplifted with the palm of the right hand extended outward in a peace sign are almost surely statutes of Parthian nobility as that was the standard Parthian greeting.
ISIL is now destroying artifacts in the ancient ruins of the once-massive city of Hatra (first link), a very large and important city within the Parthian Empire. It was a major walled city and it twice withstood Roman sieges when the Romans attempted to invade Parthia. Hatra was located close to the western edge of the Parthian Empire. The Roman invasions of Parthia and the Parthian-Roman wars are examined in great detail in my books, The “Lost” Ten Tribes of Israel…Found! and Parthia: The Forgotten Ancient Superpower. No Roman invasion ever got close to the central or eastern parts of the Parthian Empire, which finally fell in the 3rd century AD when the Persians revolted against Parthian rule and the Parthians had to migrate en masse toward Europe via the Caucasus Mountain region (hence their being known afterward as the “Caucasian” races which invaded and conquered the Roman Empire in the 3rd-5th centuries AD).
To gain a glimpse into the size and grandeur of the ancient city of Hatra, please review the second link which has a photo montage of the ruins of Hatra. If you want to remember what Hatra’s ruins looked like, I suggest that you save the link; there is no telling how much will remain after ISIL’s destructive efforts. The third link also offers more information about ancient Hatra. You will find that many historical links often neglect to mention the Parthians. Thankfully, the first link did at least mention them.
- http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/04/04/video-purportedly-shows-isis-destroying-ancient-iraq-city/
- http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-036.html
- http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/277
