Photographing Iraq By Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin

I have always been obsessed with the concept of immortality. Life is too short; you should know that if you live in a country whose history is flooded with wars while its land has been irrigated with blood since the dawn of humanity. Iraq is the Cradle of Civilizations! Saddam’s propaganda in the 1980s was quite influential to many people, including me. Reviving Babylon and the Assyrian Empire to their zenith was a cornerstone during the Iraq-Iran War, 1980-1988.

My father bought me a camera, a Nikon F-301, in 1986. I liked documenting events, scenes, trips, everyday life activities, and so on, to store and retrieve memories, instantly. But I was eager to leave a thumbprint on history, not just through medicine or neurology. I was never satisfied that my “job” would leave a life-long legacy, easily accessible to people while being unique and outstanding at the same time.

Through the eyes of a photographer, I see that many images of Mesopotamia and its relics are either old (in black and white) or relatively new but “immature” (in terms of technical qualities such as composition). Iraq is not yet a destination for tourists while scholars of history and archaeology continue to encounter many obstacles. Photographs are a way for Iraqis to communicate.

With the birth of social media, particularly after the introduction of smart phones, people started to post on the Internet, and images, new or old scanned ones, of Mesopotamia started to mushroom. But after the US-led invasion of Iraq and the ransacking of the Iraq Museum in April 2003, followed by the insurgency and sectarian violence, Iraqi people also began to feel a new sense of patriotism and nationalism, creating connections for themselves to Mesopotamian history. So I finally figured it out; leaving a legacy and thumbprint can be achieved by documenting inaccessible historical images and videos. See, shoot, and store; full stop. The objective was initially to photograph Iraqi sites and relics that had few or no images on the net, using the state-of-the-art Nikon gear.

For instance, the rock-reliefs of Darband-i Gawr, Patas-Hareer, the Pass of Belula, Merquli, and Rabana are difficult to reach. I also photographed overlooked details of well-known historical cities or artifacts, such as Babylon, Borsippa, and the Sumerian city of Kish (which I visited during the peak of the sectarian violence, an extremely dangerous decision).

Part of the processional way/Ishtar Gate at the ancient city of Babylon, Babel Governorate, Iraq. Reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, 6th century BCE. The reliefs of the dragons and bulls are original.

Remains of the Ziggurat and Nabu Temple at the ancient city of Borsippa, Babel Governorate, Iraq. During the suppression of a revolt against the Achaemenid king Xerxes, both the ziggurat and the temple of Nabu at Borsippa were destroyed in 484 BCE.

The rock-relief at Darband-i Gawr (pass of the pagan), Mt. Qaradagh, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. 2250-2100 BCE. The victorious figure trampling over his defeated enemies (probably Lullubi) is unidentified, as there is no cuneiform inscription on or beside the relief. It is unknown whether this figure represents Naram-Sin of Akkad, an Ur III ruler, or a local ruler; Anubanini is a lesser likelihood.

The rock-relief at Merquli, Mt. Piramerd Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Parthian, 1st century CE. The depicted man is unidentified as there are no cuneiform inscriptions on or beside the relief; probably, he was a local ruler.

Detail of the main scene at façade of the rock-cut tombs at Qiz Qapan (Ashkawt-i Qizqapan; Kurdish which means the Cave of the Ravisher or the Cave of the Raped/Abducted Girl), Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Two men, facing each other, wearing a Median attire, and holding bows before a stepped altar atop by sun or fire. Although the overall depiction is Median, the tombs are probably Achaemenid. 6th-4th century BCE. Note the vandalism and writings on the relief.

Ruins of the Paikuli Tower of the Sassanian king Narseh, built c. 293 CE at the Paikuli Pass, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. The Tower originally was built with stone blocks inscribed with a bilingual text, Parthian and Middle Persian, commemorating Narseh’s victory over his nephew, Wahram III. All of the inscribed blocks are now in the Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq.

Unearthing a 1st millennium BCE, probably neo-Assyrian, grave near the ancient mound of Yasin Tepe, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. A Japanese excavating team from the University of Chubu has been working on the site over the past few years. The content of the grave and its coffin are now in the Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq. The next step was to shoot relatively unknown artifacts in less-known museums, such as the Sulaymaniyah Museum and Erbil Civilization Museum. The former displays many artifacts excavated by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in the 1930s. They were thought to have been looted in 2003 from the Iraq Museum in Baghdad while in fact were on permanent loan to the Sulaymaniyah Museum since 1961! The same Museum displays many new acquisitions, including some masterpieces. The amazing Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh is the best example, which was purchased form looters in the early 2010s for $800. My images and article informed the world about it.

A pair of gold earrings, 24-karrat. The overlying cuneiform inscription mentions the name of the Neo-Sumerian (Ur III) king Shulgi, son of Ur-Nammu. 21st century BCE. On display at the Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq.

Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh at the Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraq. Old-Babylonian period, 2004-1595 BCE. The revised reconstruction of this Tablet V yields text that is nearly twenty lines longer than previously known.

A collection of statuettes of Sumerian worshipers. These were unearthed by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in the 1930s. Some statuettes are part of the so-called “Tell Asmar Hoard” from ancient Eshnunna and some of them came from Khafajah (ancient Tutub), Diyala Valley, Iraq. The largest one only was found in Nippur. Early Dynastic Period, 2600-2350 BCE. On display at the Sumerian Gallery of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

Room X, the Grand Assyrian Gallery at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. The gypsum wall reliefs are part of a long tributary scene; Sargon II receives tribute from Urartu (modern-day Armenia). The reliefs as well as the lamassu and the statue of the god Ea (in the foreground; blurred) came from Khorsabad, Iraq. Circa 710 BCE.

When I visit the West for neurology conferences, I also visit that country’s Museums. When I hear about new exhibitions, and if my visa is still valid, I take a plane and travel there immediately. The result is a bank of millions of images. But how to make these images known while working in a demanding profession?

A lioness devouring a young African male, one of the masterpieces of the so-called “Nimrud Ivories”, 9th-7th century BCE. On display at the British Museum in London. A similar, almost identical piece was looted from the Iraq Museum in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam regime in April 2003 and was never retrieved.

In 2012 started to post some photos on my Facebook account. The impact was robust and people started to friend and follow me. Next, in order to make the work more visible and credible, I began to upload my images to the Ancient History Encyclopedia and then Wikimedia and Wikipedia. Another turning point was in late 2018, when the Sulaymaniyah Museum invited me to participate in a cultural heritage preservation and documentation project, sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum and Whiting Foundation in 2019 and 2020. The Sulaymaniyah Museum published its first book in 2019. I drafted the Arabic and the English texts while the Sulaymaniyah Museum did the Kurdish text.

Things have come a long way since that first Nikon camera. When you Google an artifact and browse Google Images, you will almost certainly come across one of my images. In the Ancient History Encyclopedia (to which I have submitted more than 40 articles) and Wikimedia, you will find thousands of high-quality images about Mesopotamian artifacts, ancient sites, etc. All of them carry a creative commons license of CC-BY-SA 4.0 one. They are free to use but you must credit them. Archaeology websites, history books, journal articles, and documentaries have also been using my images.

Contributing to global awareness of Mesopotamia is an important task. Every now and then I receive an email from a researcher, author, publishing house, museums, or TV producer asking me to send them an image (or a set of images). For example, in 2018 the Louvre in Paris contacted me to send them some images of Hittite artifacts in the Ancient Orient Museum in Turkey for an exhibition. I am also in contact with individual researchers requiring a high quality image. One day, I went to the Sulaymaniyah Museum and shot more than 50 images of Hatra artifacts, specifically for a researcher in Europe for her forthcoming book.

I do this work on a purely voluntary basis and without compensation. But I have made my thumbprint and I will leave heritage for generations; my name has been pinned to history, perhaps just like Gilgamesh’s immortality!

Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin is Associate Professor of Neurology and Consultant Neurologist at the Shorsh Military General Teaching Hospital, as well as Director of the Kurdistan Board of Neurology.