Cultural Heritage

#03–2014

Cultural Heritage

Archaeological Heritage Heritage and Tourism Iranian Narratives on Management on the Marxiano Melotti the Mongol Era Rania Plain Anja Pistor-Hatam Tim Skuldbøl, Carlo Colantoni

Cultural Heritage in Governmentalities of Creating Futures for the the Gulf: Blight or Alevi Cultural Heritage Past in Southern Iraq Blessing? Benjamin Weineck Eleanor Robson Djamel Boussaa

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05 Alexa Bartelmus, 41 Tim Skuldbøl, Carlo Colantoni Giulia Francesca Grassi A Damage Assessment of Iraq’s Dealing with the Past in the Past: Archaeological Heritage Present: How and Why? Management on the Rania Plain in Iraqi Kurdistan

ANTI/THESIS 55 Djamel Boussaa Cultural Heritage in the Gulf: 19 Jody Tabitha Neal Blight or Blessing? A Discussion Provenience, Provenance and of the Evidence from Dubai, the UNESCO 1970 Convention: Jeddah and Doha Two Schools of Thought on the Publication of Indeterminate 71 Marxiano Melotti Artifacts Heritage and Tourism. Globalization and Shifting Values in the United Arab Emirates META 92 Benjamin Weineck 30 Markus Hilgert Governmentalities of Alevi Materializing Culture – Cultural Heritage: On Culturizing Material. On the Recognition, Surveillance and Status, Responsibilities and “Domesticated Diversity” in Function of Cultural Artifact Contemporary Turkey Repositories within the Framework of a “Transformative 104 Anja Pistor-Hatam Scholarship” Historical Thinking in Intercultural Perspective: Iranian Narratives on the Mongol Era

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113 Eleanor Robson Creating Futures for the Past in Southern Iraq: Challenges and Opportunities

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125 Giulia Francesca Grassi Nabonidus, King of Babylon

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137 Renate Dieterich More than Movies: Cinema Petra in Amman During the Mandatory Period

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lennium, there is a very strong interest in recent developments in (mostly) the Arab Dealing with the Past in the Present: world. But the past is highly relevant for How and Why? understanding what goes on in the modern Near and Middle East, since it is also relevant for the people who regard it as their legacy. During the past decades there were quite a few rulers in the Near and Middle East that made their countries’ ancient past a topical issue. One might think in this context of, for example, the Shah of Persia’s (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; r. 1941-1979) huge celebration of “2500 years of the Alexa Bartelmus and Giulia Francesca Grassi Persian Empire” in 1971 that celebrated the founding of the “Persian Empire” by Cyrus Keywords: tion of cultural property, while others are the Great (r. 559–530 BC) in the ruins of the Cultural Heritage; Ancient Near East; concerned with matters of its protection, ancient Achaemenid capital Persepolis Past; History; Transmission with its ideological or commercial aspects, (Grigor; Wiesehöfer), to which he invited or with legal issues, to mention only a few visitors from all over the world, including Dealing with the Past in the Present: How examples. So why add another one? many state rulers. Similarly, Saddam Hus- and Why?1 sein (r. 1979-2003) loved to decorate him- Unfortunately, in present days there is a self by counting selected famous rulers of In recent years, there has been an enor- tendency both at universities and in soci- Iraq’s past—the Old Babylonian king Ham- mous amount of publications on “cultural ety as a whole to disregard subjects deal- murabi (r. 1792–1750 BC), the Neo-Babylo- heritage.” Typing only the English term—in ing with pre-modern history as being to- nian king Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605–562 quotation marks—in Google [4 Dec 2014] tally irrelevant to today’s life. The Ancient BC), and the founder of the Ayyubid dy- reveals allegedly 24,600,000 entries (of Near East is rarely known to anyone,2 and nasty and conqueror of Jerusalem (in 1187 which of course not all will prove relevant even disciplines investigating more recent AD), Salah al-Din (“Saladin”; r. 1174–1193 or valid), and there are hundreds of books past periods of Near and Middle Eastern AD)—among his predecessors (Baram 58; and even quite a number of journals that history attract relatively few students. In- al-Gailani Werr 20; Robson 116), a practice, have “(cultural) heritage” in their title. stead, presumably due to the dramatic by the way, that was very common among Some of these lament the loss or destruc- events since the beginning of the new mil- the Ancient Near Eastern rulers them-

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selves (Grassi 128). Hussein annually held and approaches, but also leaves room for again—in combination with the informa- a celebration in Babylon (Baram 48-51; discussion, not only between scholars of tion provided by the object itself—adds to Robson 116) after having restored the ar- different disciplines, but also between ac- the knowledge of lost civilizations, and the chaeological site and even having built his ademics and practitioners, and between respective artifact, which would otherwise own palace there, overlooking the previ- people from “Western” and Near and Mid- remain lost to the world, thus becomes an- ous palace of Nebuchadnezzar. Also the dle Eastern countries. We certainly cannot other puzzle piece in the reconstruction of reconstruction of the past of Israel has answer all the questions posed in our vol- world history. been affected by an ideological use of his- ume, but maybe we can inspire discus- On the other hand, however, publishing tory and archaeology: If in the period of sion. And of this we are convinced: No an artifact with unknown provenance indi- the colonization of Palestine, archaeology matter in which way, the past matters. That rectly fuels the mechanisms that have was practiced by immigrants in search of is why we have prepared this issue. brought it into the antiquities market. This their roots, after the creation of the State is not only morally dubious because the of Israel, archaeology—one of the most A source of continuing discussion is the scholar thus ideologically supports a pro- popular pastimes in the country during question of whether important cultural ar- cess of theft in which the respective coun- the 1950s to 1970s—was also used as a tifacts whose provenance is unknown and tries—at least materially4—lose part of their means of legitimizing territorial rights that are therefore likely to stem from illicit cultural heritage, and increasing demand (Elon). For these people the past clearly excavations should be dealt with and pub- makes looting even more attractive, but it mattered; they used it to bolster their lished by scholars and thereby be made also has even more sinister ramifications: claims of legitimacy by referring to their even more valuable than they already are. Recent studies have discovered that there countries’ resplendent past. Two different perspectives on this ques- is also a strong connection between the tion are presented by Jody Tabitha Neal illegal antiquities trade and other, more Searching—in accordance with META’s in her article “Provenience, Provenance serious crimes, such as corruption, smug- aims of interdisciplinarity and debate-ori- and the UNESCO 1970 Convention: Two gling of drugs and arms, prostitution, and entation—for a topic that could be suitable Schools of Thought on the Publication of perhaps even the funding of terrorism. to bridge the gap between the historical- Indeterminate Artifacts.”3 So, whereas the damage to the historical ly-oriented and the modern disciplines She argues that, on the one hand, the pub- information related to an artifact caused concerned with the Near and Middle East, lication of an artifact with unknown prov- by the loss of its archaeological record and to raise mutual interest because it is enance (or history of ownership, as op- might be counterbalanced—at least in equally relevant for all of them, “cultural posed to “provenience,” the location part—by its publication and scholarly dis- heritage” (understood in its widest sense; where an object was found) and the result- cussion (Neal also points to the fact that see below) thus seemed to be a reasoning scholarly discussion on its nature and archaeology itself is “ultimately destruc- able choice. Fortunately enough, this top- cultural association can be important tools tive”; 22), there are other kinds of damage ic not only allows for multiple perspectives to rectify its archaeological record. This related to the publication of indetermi-

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nate artifacts that cannot easily be com- seemingly sound provenance record is catalyze “processes of transformation in pensated for. not necessarily trustworthy: in recent years society” and thus to become a “trans There are, of course, also “chance finds” there have been some prominent cases formative scholarship” (36): The different that fall into a legal grey zone: The Dead where dealers managed to fake the neces- steps that were necessary to ensure effec- Sea Scrolls, of which the first were discov- sary documents in order to sell illegally- tive cultural property protection (such as, ered and kept by Bedouin shepherds, are acquired objects to museums. It is thus the for example, conservation, documenta- perhaps the most prominent example.5 responsibility of the institutions concerned tion, provenance research, research on the Such artifacts are neither the product of with trading and purchasing cultural arti- creation of suitable legal frameworks, and official excavations nor of looting. facts (like auction houses and museums) the establishment of training programs for As a kind of compromise, Neal suggests to carefully investigate their provenance— all those concerned with cultural artifacts to distinguish between publications that and to impose the necessary conse protection) required the collaboration of are made for the sake of profit (like auction quences if it should turn out to be dubious, both academic and non-academic actors. catalogues) and those whose aim is to even if this contradicts their own interests Because of their “prominent position at “emphasize the loss of the archaeological (some positive examples are given on p. 23). the interface between research, culture, context, and/or to highlight the situation society and politics” (37), and because of of cultural heritage looting at present” and Responsibility, and even a thought-lead- their specific competences that lay “par- that are prepared “for the overall rationale ing role of museums and other academic ticularly in the multi-, inter- and transdisci- to be the return of the piece to where it collections with regard to the protection plinary field of cultural property research” was stolen” (25). of cultural artifacts, as well as to the “me- (32), institutions that curate—and do aca- In theory, there are today clear rules to de- diation and translation of cultural differ- demic research on—substantial collections termine whether an artifact is “legitimate” or ences” and the “improvement of bilateral of cultural artifacts (e.g., archives, libraries, “illegitimate”: All artifacts that were acquired and multilateral relationships” (37) are also museums, and academic collections)7 after the year 1970, when the UNESCO Con- key issues in the article of Markus Hilgert,6 were best-suited to guide such transdisci- vention on the Means of Prohibiting and the current Director of the Vorder plinary research processes and thus had a Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and asiatisches Museum in Berlin, who, how- “special responsibility” (32), not only in the Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Prop- ever, approaches the topic from a very dif- field of cultural assets protection, but also erty was put into force, and that are not ferent, both theoretical and programmatic, with regard to the “multi-perspective me- accompanied by an official export license perspective. diation and translation of objects in trans- cease to be legitimate. However, not all The protection of cultural artifacts consti- cultural spaces of reception” (36). states have subscribed to the UNESCO tutes for him an “ideal example of transdis- As for the latter, Hilgert highlights the convention, and its impact is always ciplinary research” (37), to which he as- “multiperspectivity of objects” and “vari- “bound by the national laws that govern cribes—following Schneidewind and ability of ‘object identities’” (34) and pos- each country” (20). Furthermore, even a Singer-Brodowski (69)—the potential to tulates that those should be taken into

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account, not only in research and docu- ect conducted by the University of Copen- conference held in the headquarters of mentation but also in the presentation of hagen and described in our journal by its UNESCO on 29 September 2014 (Fugan- objects: modern object repositories directors Tim Skuldbøl and Carlo Colan- ti)—in general promotes a policy of de- should provide barrier-free access to their toni (“A Damage Assessment of Iraq’s Past: struction of the archaeological heritage of collections, not only physically, but also Archaeological Heritage Management on Syria and Iraq. On the one hand, the IS linguistically and culturally. the Rania Plain in Iraqi Kurdistan”). tries to cancel the cultural identity and the This could be supported—at least in part— The project’s aims are, on the one hand, to cultural heritage—even the Islamic one—of by a recent technical development, name- investigate the development of the Late the regions under its control, sometimes ly the process of “virtualizing material cul- Chalcolithic (4000-3300 BC) settlement of meeting with opposition from the local ture” by means of digital media like Bab-w-Kur in the Rania Plain (Iraqi Kurdi population;8 on the other hand, jihadists “individualized mobile applications” or stan) and to catalogue and protect its ex- use the illicit trade of antiquities to finance “three-dimensional (3D) digital documen- tant archaeological heritage; on the other war expenses.9 Though Kurdistan escaped tation” (34). The latter especially offered an hand, to understand the cultural land- this pillage, the IS has affected the Kurds’ “enormous potential” (34) for doing re- scape and the history of the human occu- situation by causing an impressive exodus search and conveying history since it al- pation of the Rania Plain, and to evaluate of Iraqis escaping from advancing IS fight- lows for digital—and even (3D-)printed— the damage that occurred to its archaeo- ers. In the province of Dohuk, 900,000 replications of cultural artifacts all over the logical heritage from the 1950s up to now. refugees joined in the past few months a world. Thanks to advances in remote sensing population of 1,000,000 local inhabitants.10 with the use of satellite imagery and aerial In spite of the fact that several archaeolo- Of course, having a representation of some- photography (for example, by using small gists operating in Iraqi Kurdistan were thing is not the same as owning the original radio-controlled helicopters, known as called back by their foreign ministries in object, and digital reproduction will neither ‘drones’), modern archaeology has devel- August, and only a few of them have kept keep smugglers and collectors from selling oped effective means to document—and on working there in recent months,11 the or purchasing looted objects, nor state rep- thus protect—Iraqi heritage. situation seems to be improving, and resentatives from requesting the repatria- The menaces to the archaeological heri- some scholars have already expressed tion of prestigious objects of high ideologi- tage of the Rania Plain are constituted their intention of going back to Kurdi cal value to the countries of their origin. But mainly of the seasonal fluctuations of an stan.12 Before 1991, Iraq hosted the great- at least for scholarly work, 3D-digitalization artificial lake and recent urban expansion. est number of international archaeologi- offers a bulk of new possibilities that are only Differently from other regions in Iraq, cal missions. After the wars, the first in their infancy at present. Kurdistan has not been severely damaged archaeological missions in Iraq in 2009- by the ongoing war and the presence of 2010—Satu Qala (Universities of Leiden, Modern archaeological techniques are ex- the Islamic State (IS), which—as stressed, Leipzig and Erbil/German Archaeological tensively employed in the Rania Plain Proj- among others, by the participants in the Institute); Qasr Shemamoq (Universities

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Lyon 2 and Sorbonne); Bakr Awa (Univer- formed them into slums. However, the im- only around 12% of the old buildings sur- sity of Heidelberg)—were all active in portance of the preservation of historic vive. The revitalization of the historical Kurdi stan, which is today the only Iraqi re- centers—both for the maintenance of cul- area of Shindagha dates back to the mid- gion in which archaeologists can operate. tural identities and for economic reasons— dle of the 1990s and has led to the creation As a result, the number of missions in the is starting to be perceived, and beginning of two heritage villages, which attract region increased in recent years.13 As to produce sustainable development pol- many tourists and, at least according to stressed by Skuldbøl and Colantoni, “in icies. Three cases are taken into consider- Boussaa, are “a blessing to the inhabitants comparison to a rather bleak damage as- ation in the article: Dubai (UAE), Jeddah of Dubai and the UAE” (60). sessment for the cultural heritage of the (Saudi Arabia), and Doha (Qatar). rest of Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan holds the pos- According to the analysis of Boussaa, the A more critical view on the heritage vil- sibility of a highly positive outcome for the case of Doha is the most successful one, lages that were created in the United Arab preservation of a fragile and irreplaceable since the central area of Souq Waqif, after Emirates in recent decades (Abu Dhabi; cultural patrimony” (51). Let us hope that a period of decay, has been properly re- Dubai; Hatta; Sharjah) is expressed by water and urban expansion will not cause stored and promoted, becoming “a major Marxiano Melotti in his article “Heritage the damage that war was fortunately so far hub” for the inhabitants and their activi- and Tourism. Globalization and Shifting unable to cause in this region. ties, as well as a tourist attraction. Values in the United Arab Emirates” that A ray of hope for the historic center of Jed- deals with different aspects of tourism in Urban expansion is a major problem for dah, Al-Balad, seemed to come from the the Emirates. According to him, in the her- cultural heritage, not only in Iraqi Kurdi session of UNESCO in May 2014, where itage villages the past is “frozen in order to stan, but also in the region of the Gulf, Al-Balad was added to the World Heritage create a better and easier product for the which has seen in the last decades of the List. The application was promoted by market” (78). They tend to be physically 20th century an extremely rapid urban Jeddah municipality in order to stop the separated from the cities, thus perpetuat- growth, a phenomenon investigated in deterioration of the area, mainly occupied ing a distinction between Dubai’s present, the article by Djamel Boussaa (“Cultural by private buildings outside the jurisdic- built upon hyper-modernity, globalization Heritage in the Gulf: Blight or Blessing? A tion of the municipality. The dispute be- and a mix of cultures, in which the collec- Discussion of Evidence from Dubai, Jed- tween private parties and the municipality tions of Western museums may help to dah and Doha”). The urban centers of sev- has already caused the loss of the majority create its own heritage, and Dubai’s past: eral cities of the area “were often demol- of the historical buildings, but the inclu- everything dated before the discovery of ished and replaced by alien, imported, sion of Al-Balad in the UNESCO List may the oil. high-rise buildings” (55). When not de- possibly help the municipality in preserv- The heritage involved is of course both molished, the historic centers suffered ing and promoting the area. tangible and intangible: on the one hand, from overcrowding, neglect and a lack of The survival of the historic area of Dubai some historic buildings are restored and city planning, which sometimes trans- was seriously threatened in the 1970s, and preserved, but on the other hand, the ma-

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jor attraction in the villages is given by re- sis) and “contributes to social cohesion, were part of “a form of political conduct, constructed uses and traditions. encouraging a sense of identity and re- which on the one hand” met “the Alevi Even archaeological evidence seems to sponsibility which helps individuals to feel communities’ aspirations for recognition” be used more in its intangible than in its part of one or different communities and (93), but on the other hand kept control tangible implications. On the one hand, to feel part of society at large” (ibid.). Fur- over its interpretation, by downplaying its the evidence of an early trade is used to thermore, “intangible cultural heritage can religious character (Alevism is not official- present modern shopping malls as the re- only be heritage when it is recognized as ly recognized as a religion in Turkey) and sult of an historic process, or rather as a such by the communities, groups or indi- instead presenting it as “a cultural facet of stable constituent aspect of the country; viduals that create, maintain and transmit Turkishness” that “does not principally de- on the other hand, actual archaeological it” (ibid.). The latter claim, however, is viate from Sunni Islam” (98).14 This notion artifacts and sites—particularly pre-Islamic somewhat contradicted by the fact that it was also supported by the naming of the ones—are left unprotected, and the UAE is actually only state parties who can make ritual as “Alevi-Bektaşi,” since this term was has become a hub for the illicit antiquities proposals for inscribing “cultural practices “used mostly by Turkish-speaking Alevis, market. At the same time, the archaeolog- and expressions of intangible heritage” which excludes Kurdish Alevis and with ical interests (and investments) of the (UNESCO, “Lists”) on the Representative that the notion of the politically subversive Emirates seem to be directed toward Eu- List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hu- character of Alevism” (98). In this way, the ropean sites, thus evidencing once again manity. This allows for another kind of assumed purpose of the 2003 UNESCO that the Emirates’ policy towards tangible ‘misuse’ of the concept, namely as a means Convention, namely to empower vernacu- and intangible heritage is indissolubly and to deal with socio-religious problems by lar groups and to undermine “formerly lucidly linked with tourism and marketing, domesticating cultural diversity and thus state-oriented approaches to monumen- and it even “becomes an instrument of in- preventing independent cultural (and es- tal heritage sites” (101; cf. also the literature ternational political and economic nego- pecially religious) identity. quoted on p. 93), would only partly be tiation” (86). reached since—despite the increased visi- An example of this practice is given by bility of these groups and their cultural as- “Museumification” (Weineck 99) and com- Benjamin Weineck in his contribution sets—the recognition of the Alevi-Bektaşi mercial use were certainly not among the “Governmentalities of Alevi Cultural Heri- cultural heritage would fail “to translate main purposes of UNESCO when it enact- tage: On Recognition, Surveillance and into the legal-political realm” (101). ed the Convention for the Safeguarding ‘Domesticated Diversity’ in Contemporary of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003. Turkey.” He argues that the recognition of Leaving the authority of interpretation of Rather, according to UNESCO’s definition, part of an Alevi ritual—the semah dance— their own “cultural heritage” to the people intangible cultural heritage is “traditional, as “intangible cultural heritage” and its in- involved, on the other hand, carries the contemporary, and living at the same scription in the Turkish National Inventory danger of subjectivity and distortion of time” (UNESCO, “Heritage”; our empha- for Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010 facts, which can turn out to be a source of

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inter-cultural conflict, especially when it to do research on its own past, to interpret comparison,” but also “name a number of comes to the interpretation of history. it, and to tell its own story as part of its own aspects by which the variety of differenc- History is not explicitly contained in the of- “cultural heritage.” es” (45-46) could be taken into view. This ficial definition of “intangible cultural her- variety was constituted by the “different itage” by UNESCO (“Heritage”), but it is—at An interesting approach to overcome the circumstances under which historical con- least in our opinion—highly relevant in this cultural differences in historical thinking in sciousness works, the challenges that gen- context. On the one hand, it is mainly their order to make different narratives compa- erate it, and the functions it has to fulfill” interpretation in terms of history15 that rable and thus to allow for global schol- (ibid.). Also, “cultural practices” and “men- gives importance and value to (otherwise arly discourses on history in which “the tal processes” (ibid.) affecting it should be meaningless) material objects that have Others”16 (that is, non-Western cultures; taken into account. Particular attention is remained from the past. On the other Rüsen, “Einleitung” 33) can actively par- attributed in this context to the “criteria of hand, history shares many of the features ticipate has been offered by Jörn Rüsen meaning” that are relevant for the “recon- that characterize “intangible cultural heri- (“Zugänge”), who suggests that a basis for struction of the past as history” and for the tage” according to the UNESCO defini- such a discourse could be reached by “logic of historical interpretation, poetics tion, if it is understood as a legacy that is searching for universals in historical think- and rhetoric of representation, and the received from past generations and as an ing. possibilities to understand the past as important element in constituting a living An important constituent of this process is something relevant and important for the community’s cultural identity. Assmann’s theory of a “cultural memory” cultural orientation of present life praxis” Of course, with regard to the question of (Assmann, Gedächtnis) since there was (45). “how it truly was,” interpretation should “no human culture without the constitutive Finally, one should ask for the “forms, pro- not be left to the agents of history and element of collective memory” (Rüsen, cesses, and factors of change, and the de- their (real or ideological) heirs alone, be- “Zugänge” 44) and “historiography as velopment of historical consciousness” cause every community tends to interpret something culture-specific” would occur (46). history in the way that best fits its ideolog- in the framework of such a theory as a ical purposes and psychological or moral “specification of a universal and funda- In her article “Historical Thinking in Inter- needs—and we, as modern Western schol- mental cultural practice of human life” cultural Perspective: Iranian Narratives on ars, are by far not above doing the same. (ibid.). the Mongol Era,” Anja Pistor-Hatam ap- In fact, there is not one absolute, objective Further, the theoretical frame of an inter- plies this approach to modern Iranian his- truth (one might perhaps recall Hilgert’s cultural comparison should “not only ‘de- toriography (from the 1930s until 2011) on “multiperspectivity of objects”), but rather, fine’ the area of what should be com- the Mongol period. history is always subject to interpretation pared” and to “open a perspective within By further taking into account the concept (Rüsen, “Einleitung” 27). Therefore, every which ‘historiography’ or ‘historical think- of “history of meaning” she investigates community should at least have the right ing’ were taken into view as parameters of how “fictions of coherence” (104; Ass-

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mann, Mind of Egypt) are constructed, the victory of the ‘Iranian element,’ the tri- Of course, with regard to Iran, one might and what meaning is thus “bestowed on umph of the Shia, and the reestablishment be tempted to connect this with the cur- the Mongol era by modern historical nar- of an Iranian nation-state” (108). The inde- rent political situation: the Islamic Repub- ratives written in Iran” (105)—that is, narra- structibility of a “nucleus of ‘Iranianness’” lic, its regime, and the values and ideas it tives that mostly “were written and pub- is often explained in terms of the “mental promotes are often looked upon with dis- lished as textbooks to be taught at schools superiority of ‘Iranianness’ based on cul- trust in the “West”; on the other hand, Ira- and universities”, and thus “continue to tural heritage” (ibid.). Whereas such narra- nian scholars (in Iran) can only act within imprint public historical consciousness” tives “often lack plausibility and do not the limits of their own socio-political con- (105) in Iran. comply with scholarly standards like verifi- text and have to meet certain societal ex- According to her analysis, ability, rationality, and reflection of the in- pectations. Iranian historiography until this day dividual scholar’s own viewpoint” they continues to be strongly determined could be accepted—at least in part—“in the That it is not necessarily ignorance or dif- by the placement of historical con- context of a relativistic history of meaning” fering ideologies that cause differences sciousness in a literary tradition of (ibid.). between the state of research on a coun- myths and legends, as well as the ideo- In her conclusion, Pistor-Hatam once try’s history (and its interpretation) in a logically dominated narratives of vari- more addresses Rüsen’s “principle of mu- country itself and abroad, and that some ous political currents (107) tual recognition of dissimilarities” that Middle Eastern scholars are even “desper- “would imply that scholars in Iran and ate for international collaboration” (121), is Perhaps most influential is the idea “that abroad had been reciprocally aware of stated by Eleanor Robson in her article ‘Iran’ had existed as a cultural entity since each other’s publications” (109). This, “Creating Futures for the Past in Southern Achaemenid times” and was as such “a however, seems not to be the case at Iraq: Challenges and Opportunities,” twenty-five-hundred-year old nation” present—at least not regarding the Mon- which deals, however, with a different (106). This idea was not only promoted by gol era. Whereas the “impact of ‘Western’ country and topic, namely the problem- the creation of an according histori (and Russian) scholarly literature con- atic situation of scholars working on an- ographical project during the Pahlavi era, cerning the Mongol period on the con- cient history in Iraq. but is still accepted—at least in part—in to- struction of meaning by Iranian authors” According to her observations (based on day’s Islamic Republic. Especially in the lat- had been considerable before 1979, Ira- personal experiences) Iraqi scholars were ter, (Shiite) Islam and divine predestina- nian authors writing about the Mongol absolutely not up-to-date regarding re- tion have become further important period would nowadays “not give atten- cent research on the ancient history of elements of historical narratives. Thus, for tion to the state of the art in international their own country. This situation could be example, Ghazan Khan’s (r. 1295-1304) academic research” (110) any more. But explained by the historical developments conversion to Islam was reinterpreted as also, Western scholars seemed hardly to during the last century that she divides “the beginning of a new era, equivalent to take any note of what is being done in Iran. into four distinct phases.

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During World War I and the following Brit- (118). Moreover, those scholars that still de- and push “our publishers to commission ish Mandate, Iraqi ancient history had cided to deal with archaeology or ancient Arabic translations of our books” (121), we been “solely for Europeans” (118)—with the history suffered from the dramatic conse- should scope the academic landscape in result, by the way, that great numbers of quences that the international embargo Iraq by identifying academics and cultural important cultural artifacts of Iraq’s past enforced by the United Nations following heritage organizations interested in col- ended up in European and American mu- Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 had had laboration in Iraq and discussing their seums where they have remained until to- for the Iraqi academic community—espe- needs with them, and we should advocate day. cially the isolation that the embargo had internationally in order to convince others This situation changed significantly after brought about and the resulting loss of “of the safety and value of working in- Iraq’s independence in 1932, when antiq- “knowledge and expertise; of funding and country” and “to get the message across uities laws were changed in Iraq’s favor, prestige; of professionalism and control” that sustained engagement with Iraq’s an- the first Iraqi PhD students were sent (117). To keep up with the latest academic cient history is not merely a western indul- abroad to study archaeology, and discoveries and developments was almost gence” (122), since the people of Iraq had the Iraqis started to carry out their first own impossible for Iraqi scholars, except for a right “to learn about their region’s past, excavations. Still, pre-Islamic history hard- those that had “particularly good knowl- both recent and ancient, should they ly played any role in school education, edge of English, French or German and a choose to do so, to understand who they since the curriculum was strongly under particularly good internet connection” and their communities are, and how they the influence of pan-Arabism and con- (118). But the technological infrastructure came to be” (121). veyed mostly respective “nationalist and and library provision of the archaeological militaristic” (116) narratives. departments were “woeful” (120) and Iraqi Not only modern Iraqi historians face a Under the Baathist regime (1968-2003), students were “simply not trained in the lack of interest in their studies in their so- and especially under Saddam Hussein, an- search and analytical skills needed to lo- ciety, but “many governments worldwide tiquity increasingly became attractive, cate and make sense of what is on the are currently struggling to see the value in since by exploring and promoting Iraq’s web” (ibid.). supporting academic humanities and so- glorious past, its leader could be present- Having composed her article with the ex- cial sciences” (Robson 118). This leads us to ed “as the natural, inevitable successor of plicit aim to “stimulate discussion, re- a final question to pose, that being the millennia of militarised dominance over sponse and action” (113), Robson con- question of “belonging” of culture—in a the region” (ibid.). cludes her study with an appeal to scholars more immaterial way than the one men- Because of its association with Baathist abroad not to leave Iraqi historians alone tioned in the beginning. propaganda, however, “public appetite with their fate, and offers three sugges- While many would possibly agree that An- for ancient history” today was underdevel- tions for what viable support could look cient Near Eastern history and culture oped amongst the older generation and like: We should learn the Arabic language might indeed be of importance for the faced “ignorance amongst the younger” in order to enable face-to-face discussions Iraqis, Iranians, and other Near and Middle

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Alexa Bartelmus Eastern peoples themselves, how many Of course, during the process of transmis- lical story of the fall of Babylon in the Book people are aware of the fact that Ancient sion, adoption, and selection, both the ac- of Daniel—that is to some persons perhaps is a research associate in the Depart- Near Eastern ideas, notions, images and tual appearance and the interpretation of even better known from the famous poem ment of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at knowledge have influenced our own way these ideas have changed, and what we “Belsazar” of Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) or the Center for Near and Middle Eastern of thinking and are deeply manifested in see today is never identical with what it its musical version by Robert Schumann Studies at Marburg University. She has our own cultural tradition? was once. (This is slightly different with (1810-1856)? studied Assyriology, Semitic Studies and More than once in history, important immaterial objects although those are also And who would have assumed that this Ancient History at Munich University pulses for what we regard today as impor- normally subject to transformation pro- king was very much interested in the his- where she obtained her M.A. in 2006, tant elements of modern Western culture cesses.) While some characteristic fea- tory of his own country, and that he used and is currently preparing the publication have actually come from the Near and tures stay, others become hardly recogniz- (quasi-)archaeological methods—that of her dissertation (delivered in 2012) on Middle East. Mathematics, astronomy, our able any more, and in the course of time, were not much different from the methods the transmission, ways of use, and rele- calendar, and even the art of writing have even information on the nature of some- still used in the nineteenth and early twen- vance of Sumerian in the Kassite Period been invented and developed in the An- thing might get blurred or even lost. But tieth century AD—to search for traces and (ca. 1600-1150 BC). Her research interests cient Near East and were transported to there might still remain a nucleus of infor- messages of his ancestors (among which include (among many others) scribal edu- Europe much later, via the Greek and Ro- mation that reveals its true identity. he not only counted members of his own cation, royal ideology, and international man world—that we, influenced by a Euro- An illustrative example is the image of the dynasty, but also—like Saddam Hussein relations in the Ancient Near East. centric way of thinking, indeed regard as Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (556- and other modern Near and Middle East- email: belonging to our own cultural realm.17 539 BC) that was created after his death.19 ern rulers—important kings of other dynas- [email protected] Later on, some important works of Greek His case is treated extensively by Giulia ties of Iraq’s past)? philosophers and medical and technical Francesca Grassi in her article “Naboni- writers have only survived because they dus, king of Babylon.” Past and present are not far away or very were translated into Arabic or Syriac Who would nowadays still recognize char- different from each other. They are just two and/or adopted by Near and Middle East- acteristic features of the last (Neo-)Babylo- sides of the same coin, and the past mat- ern scholars.18 nian king, Nabonidus, behind the well- tered in antiquity as—and for the same pur- On another, even less tangible level, even known series of pictures by William Blake poses as—it matters today: for the con- images that were created in the Ancient (1757-1827), that according to his own destruction of identity, for ideological Near East have entered our “own” literary, scription show “Nebuchadnezzar”—Na- purposes and legitimation, and for power artistic and musical tradition—especially bonidus’ more famous predecessor who and prestige. Only the perspective on via the Biblical tradition that, despite of its was still admired and imitated by Saddam time was different for the people in the Near Eastern origins, has been totally ab- Hussein at the end of the last century? Ancient Near East: in their perception (re- sorbed by the “Western” world—so that Who would even know that it was actually flected by the terminology used) the fu- they live on until the present day. him who was the last Babylonian king, and ture lay behind their back (because it was not Belshazzar, as is suggested by the Bib- still unknown to the people), while the

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Giulia Francesca Grassi past lay clearly visible in front of them (Wilcke). holds an MA in Sciences of Cultural Heri- tage (Archaeology) from the University of Marburg, December 2014 Udine, and a PhD in Sciences of Antiquity from the same university. She is currently Alexa Bartelmus and Giulia Francesca a research assistant in the Department of Grassi Semitic Studies at the University of Mar- burg. Her main research interests include Semitic epigraphy, Aramaic, the interac- Notes 2 This was remarkably discoveries, see Fields, and since the destruction of 6 “Materializing Culture - tions between the Ancient Near East and different about a century ago particularly pages 24-26 for Israel’s independence until Culturizing Material. On (Sommerfeld 139-140). the discovery of Cave 1 by the people of Israel returned the Status, Responsibilities 1 We would like to thank the Greco-Roman world, and anthrop- Bedouin shepherds. For the to their home and regained and Function of Cultural the other members of the onomastics. She is the author of several 3 Because of its provocative discoveries of the scrolls their freedom. This symbolism Artifact Repositories editorial board for their question and two-sided and their vicissitudes, see is heightened by the fact that within the Framework of a articles on these topics, and authored continuous moral and argumentation, this article also the report by their first the first three scrolls were ‘Transformative Scholarship’.” the book Semitic Onomastics from Dura practical support, our issue is presented here in the photographer (1948), the brought to my father for Israel advisor Walter Sommerfeld Europos. The Names in Greek Script and section “Anti/Thesis” that scholar John C. Trever. – The on 29 November 1947, the 7 Those are subsumed by and the anonymous was originally intended to be Dead Sea Scrolls have raised very day the United Nations Hilgert under the neutral from Latin Epigraphs (Padua 2012). reviewers for their very filled by rivaling opinions of enormous interest, not only voted for the re-creation of a terms “object repositories” email: [email protected] detailed and enormously two different authors. in the scholarly community Jewish state in Israel after two or “cultural property helpful comments, and our because of their historical thousand years.” (quoted in repositories”; for a detailed proofreaders and student 4 One could argue again, that and philological value, but Elon 40). On the other side, explanation see p. 30-32. assistants for their excellent by publishing at least they also among people who after the Oslo agreement work. Also, we would like to gain important knowledge recognized the potential between Israel and the PLO, 8 For example, the inhabitants draw attention to the fact that about their own history [note they offered for ideological the PLO demanded the of the city have saved the this issue not only contains by the editors]. purposes. For example, the restitution of the Dead Sea minaret of the Great Mosque articles that deal with the archaeologist Yigael Yadin Scrolls because their authors of Mosul by forming a focus topic “cultural heritage” 5 The accounts of the wrote about the discovery would have been members human chain around it, in but—for the first time in the discovery of the scrolls have of the Dead Sea Scrolls of an “ancient Palestinian set” order to preserve it from history of META—also an been contradictory and there and their purchasing by his (Elon 45-46). the destruction planned by “Off-Topic” section in which are several discrepancies, father, Eleazar Sukenik, for jihadists (Fuganti 6). Renate Dieterich presents a possibly due, at least in the nascent state of Israel: study on “More Than Movies: part, to the desire to pursue “It is as if these manuscripts ––› Cinema Petra in Amman illegal excavations (Fields had been waiting in caves During the Mandatory 23-24). For a detailed and for two thousand years, ever Period.” illustrated account of the

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––› 9 See Fuganti and the 14 However, Weineck neither 18 On the translation 19 Of course, the image that Works cited interview with Daniele wants “to deconstruct movement from Greek into entered the later literary Morandi, director of the Alevi Cultural Heritage as a Arabic in Baghdad during and artistic tradition is Assmann, Jan. Das project “Terra di Ninive” mere strategic tool” nor to the first two centuries of certainly not the one that kulturelle Gedächtnis: (University of Udine), by “deny the emotional value the ʿAbbāsid rule (8th-10th Nabonidus himself would Schrift, Erinnerung und Paolo Beltramin. The USB of ICH and its potential century AD), see Gutas and have wanted to survive: politische Identität in frühen flash drive of a jihadist found for preserving threatened Endress (especially 416- instead he would have Hochkulturen. München: by the Iraqi intelligence in practices and objects for the 31). High Greek literature loved to be remembered Beck, 1992. Print. August contained the report purpose of safeguarding was rarely translated into by future generations of the sums collected through and constructing identities”: Arabic, but the interests of under his true name (for the ---. The Mind of Egypt: the selling of the antiquities “governmentality” would the translators were vast: importance of the survival History and Meaning in the of the city of Nebek: simply make “use of it in a from agriculture, astronomy, of one’s name in Ancient Time of the Pharaohs. New $32,000,000 (Beltramin). creative form” (95). pharmacology and optics Near Eastern thinking, see York: Harvard University to music, military treaties Radner) and for the deeds Press, 2002. Print. 10 See the interview with 15 History is understood and philosophy (see the list he was proud of (rather than Daniele Morandi by Cinzia here in its widest sense, as a provided by Gutas 193-96). As his failures)—a wish that is Baram, Amatzia. Culture, Dal Maso. “universal cultural practice of regards Syriac, the majority of at least partly fulfilled by History, and Ideology in remembering visualization of the Greek scientific texts were modern excavations and the Formation of Ba’thist 11 Cinzia Pappi, current the past that aims to orientate translated in the 9th century the decipherment of his Iraq, 1968-89. New York: St. director of the Satu Qala one’s own life praxis under AD as part of the ʿAbbāsid own inscriptions in which he Martin’s Press, 1991. Print. Project (University of Leipzig), the circumstances of the translation movement (Gutas presents his own version of personal communication. present and to provide it with 22). For the works translated “his-story.” Beltramin, Paolo. “Il predatori a perspective for the future” into Syriac, see Duval 263-87. dell’antica Ninive: ‘I jihadisti 12 Cinzia Pappi, personal (Rüsen, “Einleitung” 22; our rivendono i tesori’.” Corriere communication; interview translation). della Sera, 27 Sept. 2014: 13. with Daniele Morandi by Print. Beltramin. We would like 16 All translations in this to thank Cinzia Pappi and paragraph are our own. Dal Maso, Cinzia. “L’italiano Daniele Morandi for their che scava nel Kurdistan per helpfulness. 17 Unfortunately, history of salvare I tesori dell’antica knowledge is not treated in Assiria.” Il Venerdì di 13 The great surveys are those this issue although it was our Repubblica 7 Nov. 2014: 34- of Erbil (Harvard); Dohuk original intention to include it. 35. Print. (Udine); Zakho (Tübingen); Upper Zab (Poznań); Duval, Rubens. Anciennes Sulaymaniyah (IFPO); littératures chrétiennes, II : Shahrizor (London/München); La littérature syriaque. Paris: see also the list in the article Lecoffre, 1899. Print. by Skuldbøl and Colantoni (note 4); “Mār Šiprim.” ––›

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––› Elon, Amos. “Politics al-Gailani Werr, Lamia. Rüsen, Jörn. “Einleitung: Trever, John C. The Untold Wilcke, Claus. “Zum and Archaeology.” The “Archaeology and Politics in Für eine interkulturelle Story of Qumran. Westwood, Geschichtsbewußtsein im Archaeology of Israel: Iraq.” Critical Approaches to Kommunikation in der N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., Alten Orient.” Archäologie Constructing the Past, Ancient Near Eastern Art. Ed. Geschichte.” Die Vielfalt 1965. Print. und Geschichtsbewußtsein. Interpreting the Present. Brian A. Brown and Marian H. der Kulturen. Erinnerung, Ed. Hermann Müller-Karpe. Ed. Neil Asher Silberman, Feldman. Boston, Berlin: De Geschichte, Identität. Vol. UNESCO. Convention on Kolloquien zur Allgemeinen and David Small. Sheffield: Gruyter, 2014. 15–30. Print. 4. Ed. Jörn Rüsen et al. the Means of Prohibiting und Vergleichenden Sheffield Academy Press, Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 1998. and Preventing the Illicit Archäologie 3. München: 1997. 34-47. Print. Grigor, Talinn. “Preserving the 12-36. Print. Import, Export and Transfer Beck, 1982. 31-52. Print. Antique Modern: Persepolis of Ownership of Cultural Endress, Gerhard. “Die ’71.” Future Anterior 2.1 ---. “Theoretische Zugänge Property. Paris: UNESCO, 14 wissenschaftliche Literatur.” (2005): 22-29. Web. 15 Dec. zum interkulturellen Vergleich Nov. 1970. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. Grundriss der Arabischen 2014. historischen Denkens.” Philologie. Band II: Die Vielfalt der Kulturen. ---. Heritage. What is Literaturwissenschaft. Ed. Gutas, Dimitri. Greek Erinnerung, Geschichte, Intangible Cultural Heritage? Helmut Gätje. Wiesbaden: Thought, Arabic Culture: The Identität. Vol. 4. Ed. Jörn UNESCO. Web. 15 Dec. 2014. Reichert, 1987. 400-506. Print. Graeco-Arabic Translation Rüsen et al. Frankfurt/M.: Movement in Baghdad Suhrkamp, 1998. 37-73. Print. ---. Lists. Lists of Intangible ---. “Die wissenschaftliche and Early ʿAbbāsid Society Cultural Heritage and Literatur.” Grundriss der (2nd-3rd/8th-10th centuries). Schneidewind, Uwe, and Register of Best Safeguarding Arabischen Philologie. London: Routledge, 1998. Mandy Singer-Brodowski. Practices. UNESCO. Web. 15 Band III: Supplement. Print. Transformative Wissenschaft. Dec. 2014. Ed. Wolfdietrich Fischer. Klimawandel im deutschen Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1992. Mār Šiprim. “Mār Šiprim. Wissenschafts- und ---. Text of the Convention 3-152. Print. International Association for Hochschulsystem. 2nd ed. for the Safeguarding of the Assyriology. Archive. In the Marburg: Metropolis, 2014. Intangible Cultural Heritage. Fields, Weston W. The Dead Field.” Mār Šiprim. Web. 5 Print. Paris: UNESCO, 2003. Web. 15 Sea Scrolls. A Full History: Dec. 2014. Dec. 2014. Volume One, 1947-1960. Sommerfeld, Walter. “Die Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2009. Radner, Karen. Die Altorientalistik und die Wiesehöfer, Joseph. “Kyros, Print. Macht des Namens. historische Dimension der der Schah und 2500 Jahre Altorientalische Strategien gegenwartsbezogenen Menschenrechte. Historische Fuganti, Daniela. “Irak. zur Selbsterhaltung. Santag Orientforschung.” Mythenbildung zur Zeit der Terreur en Mésopotamie.” 8. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, Mitteilungen der Deutschen Pahlavi-Dynastie.” Mythen, Archéologia 527 (décembre 2005. Print. Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin Geschichte(n), Identitäten: 2014): 4-6. Print. 142 (2010): 137-54. Print. Der Kampf um die Vergangenheit. Ed. Stephan Conermann. Hamburg: EB- Verlag, 1999. Print. ISSN: 2196-629X URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-31475

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ANTI/THESIS

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The terms provenience and provenance are often used differently and interchange- Anti-Thesis Provenience, ably depending on the context and/or the Provenance and training of the user. Both are derived from the same Latin word, and to one school of the UNESCO academics they mean identically the “location” an item was found. But to another 1970 Conven school of thought, they have different meanings adhering to where an artifact tion: Two Schools came from and who has owned it since. As such, for the purposes of this article, proof Thought on venience refers to the precise location where an artifact or archaeological sample the Publication was recovered archaeologically, and provenance the detailed history of where an of Indeterminate artifact has been since its creation. A com- Artifacts plete provenance will encompass a record of production, ownership, publication, exhibition and restoration.

Both provenience and provenance are important to ascertain when studying an artifact. While the provenience of an item Jody Tabitha Neal can be traced if it is initially lacking (via carbon dating, reference checks of similar This article explores the two opposing consideration as to how these arguments items, archaeological imagery, etc.) the standpoints in regard to the publication are impacted by the UNESCO 1970 Con- provenance of an antique most often indi- of objects/artifacts of unknown prove- vention, and vice versa. cates the legitimacy (or lack thereof) with nance and the ultimate impact this has on which it was acquired. Artifacts without the preservation of heritage. The debate Keywords: UNESCO 1970 Convention; provenance have often been perceived as is set against the roles and objectives of Provenance; Heritage Looting in the Mid- “difficult objects” in the museum world scholars, museums, heritage officials and dle East; Sale of Looted Antiquities due to the lack of discernibility as to auction houses, with an overall greater whether they were procured in a legally

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and ethically sound manner (Tubb). Nev- sions. The impact of the 1970 convention the Egyptian Memorandum of Under- ertheless, this has not deterred many mu- remains bound by the national laws that standing (MoU) requesting the assistance seums and publication institutes. It was govern each country, which highlights of the US government to protect their estimated by the Archaeological Institute how a lack of unified law can mean an looted heritage, that a portion of looted of America in 2013 that 85 to 90 percent of uncertainty in the final result of a traffick- items from Egypt are being purchased by classical artifacts in collections and the art ing case. US scholars. This is the antithesis of the ve- market have an unknown and/or poorly hement opposition that is publically documented provenance (Antique Tribal Despite these hurdles, the 1970 Conven- voiced toward such actions by the major- Art Dealers Association 25). tion is becoming increasingly effective ity of academics via various media chan- across most Western countries, particu- nels. If her accusation is correct, we could On November 14th, 1970, the UNESCO larly in light of the recent, high-coverage surmise that these scholars are acting Convention on the Means of Prohibiting media cases over the last two years con- through covert means in order to protect and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export cerning looting and repatriation. Indeed, the items from otherwise under-educated and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural as a result we could surmise that the adop- owners, who would not know how to care Property was finally voted into force. This tion of the 1970 UNESCO Convention is for them, and—at the core perhaps—to UNESCO convention and its complemen- fast becoming a de facto rule of thumb for study the artifacts for themselves. tary 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen many Western states and institutions. To or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects— the joy of many and detriment of some, In 2000, archaeologists Christopher Chip- often seen as governing the protection of artifacts that fall into the post-1970 acquisi- pindale and David Gill directed an inves- private owners and the “good faith” action category are becoming increasingly tigation into the provenance of seven quirer—are the core frameworks that guide hard to legitimately sell. noteworthy museum acquisitions that institutions and law practitioners around demonstrated considerable uncertainty as the world in addressing the occurrences Thus, as a first consideration, why might it to their legitimacy. Their research was of illegal art and antiquities. The year 1970 be good to publish unprovenanced published in the American Journal of Ar- is now pivotal, in that any items found to works?1 Perhaps the clearest positive result chaeology and was continued in 2001 with have been acquired after this year in the is the availability for scholarly review and an examination by the authors and a team provenance records cease to be legiti- access to otherwise “lost” artifacts. of archaeologists that aimed to focus the mate, unless accompanied by an official degree of the issue of unprovenanced export license. The Egyptologist Dr. Monica Hanna—most materials in museum collections with a notable of late for her heroic actions to quantitative study. However, not all nations subscribe to the single-handedly protect Egyptian artifacts 1970 convention, and those that do may from armed looters—expressed her belief Yet the issue unprovenanced works does not necessarily enforce all of its provi- during the June 2, 2014 council review of not deter some historians and archaeolo-

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gists. John Boardman, a former Oxford quest, but will these actions contribute to The case of the Dead Sea Scrolls, perhaps University Lincoln Professor and renowned the protection of cultural heritage over more than any other, highlights the prob- archaeologist, has frequently expressed time and on a global scale? lems of an unpublished and unprove- his view that all archaeological artifacts are nanced find. Publication of the scrolls has inherently valuable with or without a defi- Philippe de Montebello, the former direc- taken many decades, and delays have nite provenance, and that to believe oth- tor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art been a source of academic controversy. erwise is “pure nonsense” (41): from 1977 to 2008, has gone further in the While it was more politics than a lack of Objects cannot be “tainted” or “illicit,” support of the publication of unprove- provenance that delayed the publication, but only be so described by scholars nanced works and cited his distrust of it exemplifies the impact on world knowl- who do not understand them, or by those who would shy away from an artifact edge such a delay in publication can have. legislators. Objects are testaments of that was lacking such documentation: This case also highlights an important con- antiquity, whether handled by a thief Can one really trust the scholarship of sideration for the motivation of publishing or scholar; their integrity must be re- those who allow politics and ideology unprovenanced work, that being the issue spected and their safety assured. To to trump their intellectual curiosity like of “chance finds”: locals who recover ob- suggest that they should even be de- that? It seems to me that one keeps jects of importance but may have only stroyed rather than kept in a museum one’s opprobrium for the looter or the very limited knowledge of the exact loca- betrays an appalling vacuum of scho- circumstances of the event, but not for tion an item was discovered. As Michael larly integrity and responsibility, even the looted object itself. To turn away Bennett, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s philistinism. (117-18) from it in moral indignation is foolish, first curator of Greek and Roman Art, has and in the end can lead to the suppres- further expressed: It may be argued that the publication of sion of knowledge. (67) It should not come as a shock that the works without provenance is a way to rec- modern world regularly disturbs an tify what was lost: that being the archaeo- The channel of publication for such works cient artifacts unintentionally, as urban logical record. The publication of unprov- without provenance and/or provenience and commercial development contin enanced artifacts opens the floor for must also be scrutinized for suitability. The ues to spread across the globe. Large scholars and enthusiasts alike to trace ori- intent and audience of an auction cata- public works projects funded by tax gin (and thereby an indication of prove- logue varies greatly from that of an aca- revenues, as well as privately financed nience), cultural associations and to endemic journal. In the defense of the pub- construction projects, routinely and in- gage in textual transliteration, where lication of works without provenance, the advertently uncover buried antiquities. possible. Surely, access to this vital infor- ultimate goal of publication should be ad- These are not looted artifacts. (36) mation that benefits and builds upon the dressed: a purely scholastic intention per- knowledge of lost civilizations is vastly im- haps carries a more noble weight than the In the mid-1980s, John Boardman began portant? This question is clear in its moral intent of sale and profit. an investigation for the British Academy

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into excavations financed by public mon- A final question to pose: what is prove- In response, the National Gallery of Aus- ey over a period of five years, ending five nance as a means of verification, anyway, tralia (NGA) has set up a webpage dedi- years before the time of the investigation. and can this even be trusted? If the recent cated to the defense of their involvement His aim was to see what had become of media cases that are surging in the inter- in the Kapoor controversy, stating: the publication of their excavation reports. national news at present are anything to If the allegations regarding Mr Kapoor His research found that a site that had go by, the answer is no. are proven to be true, then our Gallery, been legally excavated, but remained un- along with leading museums around published, was even more of a destroyed In 2011 the New York-based art dealer Sub- the world, will have been the victim of a site than “the Bamiyan Buddhas” (109), hash Kapoor was arrested in Germany most audacious act of fraud. If proven, since no public record whatsoever re- prior to being extradited to his native India this fraud has involved the elaborate mains. He concluded that the results of his in 2012, where he currently awaits trial for falsification of documents by a long- investigation were indeed depressing, overseeing a vast, international antiquities established New York art dealer who and that in the last fifty years, far less than smuggling syndicate. Under the guise of had been dealing with leading inter- 25 percent of the material and subsequent an otherwise reputable Manhattan gallery, national museums for almost 40 years. results of professional archaeological ex- Mr. Kapoor ultimately dealt in looted arti- (“Questions and Answers”) cavations have been properly published, facts to the value of almost US$100 million. while the remaining had never gone be- In an unprecedented move for a national yond preliminary reports, if that. A key component to the success of this il- gallery, the NGA has further stated that legal trade was forged provenance. Mr. they will sue Mr. Kapoor if he is found to In further support of this argument, the Kapoor and his associates knowingly be guilty of the crimes for which he is soon fact that archaeology, as a science, is ulti- faked a series of export licenses and prior to be on trial. mately destructive in its nature needs to ownership records for well over 200 ob- be considered. The procedures and poli- jects that were then directly acquired by The impact of this case—and other succes- cies that have been built around this pro- such world-renown museums as the Na- sive cases of questionable provenance fession in the last few centuries do camou- tional Gallery of Australia, the Los Angeles that have since come to light—has been flage this fact, and certainly advancements County Museum of Art, the Asian Civiliza- staggering. For many museums, the pro- in the preservation of cultural heritage tions Museum in Singapore and the Met- cess of collecting was regarded as the during excavations are advancing in ropolitan Museum of Art, among many most vital activity to secure the continued bounds on an annual basis. However, the others. These museums—and indeed, the survival of a museum, and therefore estab- fact remains that the preservation of the practices of museum acquisition policies lishments were initially hesitant to alter artifacts, the site and thereby the history worldwide—have since come under im- their policies (Leyten). In the last few years would be far better off without any such mense public scrutiny.2 however, this has begun to significantly archaeological intervention. change.

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In 2013, Dr. Neil Brodie, Senior Research etly repatriated to Cambodia in 2013. cies) in the fight against the trade of loot- Fellow in the Scottish Centre for Crime When these statues were first acquired by ed antiquities, and declared in an official and Justice Research at the University of the museum in the 1980s, there was little statement: “Illicit cultural property will find Glasgow and an archaeologist by training, consideration for a provenance check, yet no place in our saleroom.” cited the 2005 indictment of Marion True, the timing certainly follows a pattern: from former curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum the 1970s onwards, Cambodia became In contrast, Sotheby’s was embroiled in an who was prosecuted for illegal acquisi- engulfed in a turbulent civil war, whereby extremely rare legal case last year where- tions, as an example of what he perceives looting became rampant and the country by the U.S. government battled on Cam- to be a “criminogenic museum culture” would hardly be in a position to pursue a bodia’s behalf against the auction house (Brodie and Bowman Proulx 9). Brodie and case of illegal acquisition and export. The for the repatriation of a statue, the fiction- his associates have concluded that this same is now true of the Middle East today. al Hindu warrior, Duryodhana. Despite a criminal culture is the result of the deviant prior refusal to comply, Sotheby’s finally behavior of “avaricious curators” who The reception to a questionable and/or settled the case out of court in December sidestep established conventions in their lacking provenance is likewise beginning 2013 by promising to repatriate the three- aggressive collecting practices. to be seen in the auction world. In May, million-dollar-statue. Timely to the Kapoor case and after two Christie’s halted the London sale of Egyp- prior decades of dispute concerning a tian artifacts put up for auction by a man The reactions and feedback of the muse- claim of illegal acquisition, the Museum who claimed he had inherited them, after um and auction sectors indicate that the of Fine Arts, Boston finally agreed to re- experts from the British Museum conclud- time when an item without provenance patriate the “Weary Herakles” statue to ed that they had been stolen after the 2011 would be accepted for acquisition or sale Turkey in 2011. They admitted that they revolt. The auction house has since offered is waning. However, the depth of the cases had never verified the statue’s prove- to repatriate a selection of Koh Ker statues of illegal looting that surface in these pro- nance. The museum has since ensured that had been placed in their sales and fessions are miniscule in comparison to that a full-time provenance expert re- found to have been illegally acquired the actual, devastating circumstances that mains on staff. “It is necessary for the MFA post-1970. Christie’s states that their acqui- often accompany heritage theft. not to repeat the mistakes of our past,” sition policies and proof of ownership de- stated the curator of provenance, Victoria mands upon potential clients have As previously outlined, works lacking Reed (quoted in Seiff). changed dramatically, particularly in the provenance often correspondingly lack past 18 months. During their inaugural adequate details of provenience, but the At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the participation in the 2013 Kathmandu greatest loss is that of the archaeologi- two “Kneeling Attendants” that had regal- UNESCO 1970 symposium, Christie’s of- cal record. Without the most basic tran- ly flanked the entrance to the Southeast fered their commitment to work in tandem script of where the item(s) was found, as Asian galleries for two decades were qui- with UNESCO (and similar heritage agen- well as how and in what setting, the

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artifact(s) remains entirely without con- archaeological heritage. They include sive fieldwork into the smuggling and sale text or an ability to provide any deep the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bos- of cultural heritage has shown strong links level of understanding. “In a very real ton Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art with antiquities traffickers to a number of sense,” states Neil Brodie, “looted ar- Institute of Chicago. (Safecorner, “Colin serious crimes, including corruption, drug chaeological sites are crime scenes” Renfrew”) smuggling and prostitution. Further, ac- (quoted in Pringle). While the publica- cording to new evidence sourced from tion of an item without provenance may At the moral core, there is a fear that the the US army based in Afghanistan and be made in an attempt to rectify this loss, purchase of works without provenance— Iraq, there is an indication that artifact it also indirectly fuels the circumstances unless caused by inadequate record- smuggling syndicates are often closely under which it was acquired. keeping—ultimately indicates to those op- linked with violent insurgents and per- posing the ideology of unprovenanced haps ultimately the funding of terrorism In 1991, Dr. Colin Renfrew—a former profes- works that an artifact has been stolen from (Pringle). sor and Senior Fellow of the McDonald its country of origin, and very often at a Institute for Archaeological Research at time of civil unrest. Purchasing artifacts In support of these claims, Dr. Zafar Pain- the University of Cambridge—was widely without provenance can stimulate de- an, in his address at the 2013 UNESCO criticized for publishing on a collection of mand that leads to intentional looting for Kathmandu symposium, explained how unprovenanced figurines (Renfrew et al.). profit. The purchase of such artifacts can he had witnessed a clear correlation be- After this incident, however, Dr. Renfrew therefore be correlated to the direct sup- tween drug smuggling and the looting of has become one of the most active advo- port of this illegal action. Furthermore, the cultural heritage in Afghanistan. Further, cates in the battle against the publication unfolding evidence that has begun to sur- Dr. Monica Hanna has stated that antiqui- and acquisition of unprovenanced arti- face indicates a far more sinister involve- ties smuggled out of Egypt often use the facts. In 2000 he authored the highly ac- ment in criminal activity than the illicit-an- same channels as drugs and arms, through claimed publication “Loot, Legitimacy and tiquities purchaser may realize. the Sinai and into Israel. She has also Ownership: The Ethical Crisis in Archaeol- found direct evidence that a recent drug ogy” and in 2009 went on to win the cov- Many buyers of unprovenanced works bust in the country in June also uncovered eted SAFE Beacon Award. He does not hold the idea that the illicit antiquities looted Egyptian statuary (Safecorner, mince words in his admonition of museum trade is relatively harmless, and the items “Public hearing”). practices: would otherwise be lost or forgotten. [The museums] are quite disgraceful However, this perception that the looting The civil wars and political unrest that have and lead the world in purchasing an- of artifacts is a “victimless crime” is false, marred the Middle East, over the last de- tiquities without provenance […] in ef- according to the leading criminologist cade most notably, have led to an oppor- fect, indirectly, they’re supporting and and professor Dr. Simon Mackenzie of the tunity for cultural heritage looting for financing the destruction of the world’s University of Glasgow (Barford). His inten- those unsavory and/or desperate enough.

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Akin to the destruction and theft that be- lacking both provenance and provenience nance has far deeper ramifications than fell the National Museum in Baghdad and from Egypt. merely turning a blind eye to a dubious numerous archaeological sites through- ownership record. The evidence indicates out Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 US The MoU broadly outlines restrictions that that to buy and/or publish an artifact with- invasion, Egypt is now sadly victim to the would allow immigration agents the abil- out provenance fuels the same vast, inter- same crimes. ity to seize Egyptian cultural artifacts en- national crime circles that proliferate drug tering the United States if they lack official trafficking. If there were no demand for Since the Arab Spring revolt of 2011, the documentation, as opposed to their cur- unprovenanced works, the supply would— impact upon cultural heritage in Egypt has rent stance where they have no authority in theory—stop. been devastating. The Egyptian Minister to seize Egyptian items. This same type of of Antiquities, Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, agreement is already in force between the Yet can exceptions be made? Perhaps in has lamented that hundreds, if not thou- USA and sixteen other nations, notably cases where the aim of the publication is sands, of unprovenanced archaeological those which have signed agreements un- to emphasize the loss of the archaeologi- objects, likely stolen by “cultural racke- der a 1983 law, the Convention on Cultur- cal context, and/or to highlight the situa- teers” since 2011, have been appearing for al Property Implementation Act (first rati- tion of cultural heritage looting at present. sale in the United States via art galleries fied under the Ronald Reagan This would allow for some knowledge ex- and internet auctions—to the laudable ex- administration). Iraq is the exception to change on the item but for the overall ra- clusion of eBay, which has denied unprov- this group, and receives distinct consider- tionale to be the return of the piece to enanced sales. ation because of the looting that took where it was stolen. place during the US invasion. A brief survey of the data on the import of Such avenues do currently exist, to an ex- cultural artifacts from Egypt to the USA in The Cultural Property Advisory Committee tent, although more are clearly needed. the years 2013-2014 shows an incredible (CPAC) reviewed the MoU on June 2 of The International Council of Museums increase of 56 percent compared to previ- this year, with the results being largely in publishes an online “Red List” of looted ar- ous years, even excluding Egyptian arti- favor of supporting the movement. There tifacts by country. Likewise, Interpol are in facts being sent to the US via secondary is still a way to go before it can be imple- the process of updating their existing cul- countries (St. Hilaire). In an attempt to mented, however. tural heritage theft database with a new counter this loss, in March of this year the system termed PSYCHE (Protection System Egyptian government submitted a formal In light of the evidence, what could a via- for Cultural Heritage) that will incorporate MoU to the US Obama administration, re- ble solution be to the publication of un- a greater cooperation with EU partners. questing to impose emergency restric- provenanced heritage items? It is clear tions on the import of ancient artifacts that the support—either the purchase or Fundamentally, the obligation for the fu- publication—of antiquities without prove- ture of artifacts without provenance falls

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Jody Tabitha Neal on those countries with the greatest im- of Art, surmised that history, and therefore original context. It is hard to deny that the ports of looted antiquity, namely the West- historical artifacts, are not bound by time majority of plundered artifacts have found is a museum curator of the Middle East ern world, both as the benefactor of ar- or country: their way to museums in Europe and Amer- (Saudi Arabia and Egypt), archaeologist chaeological projects and as the primary Homer sang not for the Greeks alone ica, notably leaving a vacuum of culture in and is currently completing a UNESCO market for the destructive trade in illegal but for all nations, and for all time. their provenience of origin. As the anony- project on the 1970 Convention in South antiquities. Beethoven is the musician not of the mous author of the battered banner hung and South-East Asia. Germans alone but of all cultivated na- outside the Kabul Museum in the wake of While the debate rages on, what can be tions. And Raphael painted not for the the 2002 Taliban expulsion writes: “A nation concluded from this study is that the dis- Italians alone, but for all of whatever stays alive when its culture stays alive.” pute largely boils down to two core ques- land or age, whose hearts are open to tions: who owns history and who has a sympathy with the beautiful in art. (de moral obligation to save it? Montebello 55)

To the former question, George F. Com- Yet those who advocate the moral case re- fort, a 19th-century American scholar and tain the belief that artifacts and works of art the founder of the Metropolitan Museum of such cultural significance belong in their

Notes not go to Asia but instead Works Cited Bennett, Michael. Praxiteles: Bortolotti, Françoise. to so-called “Western” The Cleveland Apollo. Presentation at the 1 Note: this article will locations. As such, this article Antique Tribal Art Dealers Cleveland Masterwork Series “International Symposium on predominantly deal with the excludes the study of Asia. Association. “Archeological 2. London: GILES, 2013. Print. ‘Protecting Asia’s Heritage: instances of looting in the For such an introduction to Institute of America/National Strategies for Fighting Illicit Middle East and subsequent heritage trafficking routes, Parks Service Policy on ‘Site Boardman, John. Traffic of Cultural Property’.” purchases by auction houses see culturalheritagelawyer. Looting’.” Atada News 23/1 “Archaeologists, Collectors, UNESCO. Kathmandu, Nepal. and museums in America, blogspot.com. (2013): 25-27. Web. 12 Dec. and Museums.” Who Owns 16 Dec. 2013. Public speech. Europe and Australia. The 2014. Objects? The Ethics and Politics of Collecting Cultural Brodie, Neil, and Blythe looting of heritage occurs 2 For information regarding Artefacts. Ed. Eleanor Bowman Proulx. “Museum worldwide, with goods also the involvement of museums Barford, Paul. “Plundering Robson, Luke Treadwell, and Malpractice as Corporate being trafficked out of Asia in the Kapoor case, see the Past.” Portable Antiquity Christopher Gosden. Oxford: Crime? The Case of the J. frequently. It is well known, Finchman. Collecting and Heritage however, that the vast Issues. 13 June 2014. Web. 3 Oxbow Books, 2006. 33-46. Paul Getty Museum.” Journal majority of artifacts trafficked Dec. 2014. Print. of Crime and Justice 37.3 from the Middle East do (2014): 399-421. Print.

––›

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––› Brodie, Neil, and Colin Chippindale, Christopher, St. Hilaire, Ricardo A. “The Kuitenbrouwer, Frank. “The Painan, Zafar. Presentation at Renfrew. “Looting and the David Gill, Christian Top Import Suppliers of Darker Side of Museum Art: the “International Symposium World’s Archaeological Hamilton, and Emily Salter. Works of Art, Collectors’ Acquisition and Restitution on ‘Protecting Asia’s Heritage: Heritage: The Inadequate “Collecting the Classical Pieces and Antiques to the of Cultural Objects with Strategies for Fighting Illicit United States.” Cultural a Dubious Provenance.” Traffic of Cultural Property’.” Response.” Annual Review of World: First Steps in a Heritage Lawyer Rick St. European Review 13.4 (2005): UNESCO. Kathmandu, Nepal. Anthropology 34 (2005): 343- Quantitative History.” International Journal of Hilaire. Red Arch Cultural 597-615. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. 16 Dec. 2013. Public speech. 61. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. Cultural Property 10.1 (2001): Heritage Law and Policy 1-31. Print. Research Inc., 14 May 2014. Leyten, Harrie M. “Illicit Pringle, Heather. “New Brodie, Neil, and Kathryn Web. 4 Dec. 2014. Traffic and the Collections Evidence Ties Illegal Walker Tubb, eds. Illicit Christie’s Ltd. Presentation at of Western Museums of Antiquities Trade to Antiquities: The Theft of the “International Symposium ---. “Museum of Fine Arts Ethnography.” Illicit Traffic in Terrorism, Violent Crime.” Culture and the Extinction on ‘Protecting Asia’s Heritage: Curator Offers Due Diligence Cultural Property: Museums National Geographic. of Archaeology. One World Strategies for Fighting Illicit Model, Saying ‘Ignorance Is against Pillage. Ed. Harrie M. National Geographic, 13 June Archaeology 42. London: Traffic of Cultural Property’.” No Excuse’.” Cultural Heritage Leyten. Amsterdam: Royal 2014. Web. 14 Sept. 2014. Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire. Red Tropical Institute, 1995. 14-23. Routledge, 2000. Print. UNESCO. Kathmandu, Nepal. 16 Dec. 2013. Public speech. Arch Cultural Heritage Law Print. Renfrew, Colin. Loot, and Policy Research Inc., 13 Legitimacy and Ownership: Brodie, Neil, Jennifer Doole, Felch, Jason. “Singapore June 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. Mashberg, Tom. “New Arrest The Ethical Crisis in and Peter Watson. Stealing Sling: The Asian Civilizations in Inquiry on Art Looting.” Archaeology. London: History: The Illicit Trade in Museum Paid Kapoor ICOM, International Council New York Times. New York Duckworth, 2000. Print. Cultural Material. Cambridge: More Than $1 Million.” of Museums. “Red List.” The Times, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 4 McDonald Institute for Chasing Aphrodite. Chasing International Council of Dec. 2014. Renfrew, Colin, et al. The Archaeological Research, Aphrodite, 25 May 2014 Museums. n.d. Web. 4 Dec. Cycladic Spirit: Masterpieces 2000. Print. (Update). Web. 4 Dec. 2014. 2014. de Montebello, Philippe. from the Nicholas P. “And What Do You Propose Goulandris Collection. New International Association Should Be Done with Those York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991. Chippindale, Christopher, Felch, Jason, and Ralph Frammolino. Chasing of Dealers in Ancient Art. Objects?” Whose Culture? Print. and David Gill. “Material Aphrodite: The Hunt for “Some Scholars Opinions: The Promise of Museums and Consequences of Looted Antiquities at the A Critical Eye Towards the the Debate over Antiquities. Safecorner. “Colin Renfrew on Contemporary Classical World’s Richest Museum. Cultural Property Discussion.” Ed. James Cuno. Princeton, Unprovenanced Antiquities: Collecting.” American Journal New York: Houghton Mifflin International Association Oxford: Princeton University Challenges, Scandals and of Archaeology 104 (2000): Harcourt, 2011. Print. of Dealers in Ancient Art. Press, 2012. 55-70. Print. Responsibilities.” Saving 463-511. Print. IADAA, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. Antiquities for Everyone. 24 Finchman, Derek. “Federal National Gallery of Australia. June 2011. Web. 3 Dec. 2014. Agents Have Seized $100 “Questions and Answers: Million from Subhash Shiva as Lord of the Dance ––› Kapoor.” Illicit Cultural [Nataraja].” National Gallery Property. Illicit Cultural of Australia. Media Releases. Property Blog, 11 June 2014. 5 Sept. 2014 (Update). Web. 4 Web. 14 Sept. 2014. Dec. 2014.

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––› ---. “Public Hearing on Egypt’s Request for Import Restrictions of Antiquities Into the US.” Saving Antiquities for Everyone. 5 June 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

Seiff, Abby. “How Countries are Successfully Using the Law to Get Looted Cultural Treasures Back.” ABA Journal. 1 July 2014. Web. 12 Dec 2014.

Tubb, Kathryn Walker. “Extreme or Commonplace: The Collecting of Unprovenanced Antiquities.” Extreme Collecting: Challenging Practices for 21st Century Museums. Ed. Graeme Were and Jonathan C. H. King. New York, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2012. 57-74. Print.

Waxman, Sharon. Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World. New York: Times Books, 2008. Print.

ISSN: 2196-629X URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-27201

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m eta

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In this context, the concept of a “transformative scholarship” (“transformative Wis- Materializing Culture – senschaft”) that serves “as a platform for Culturizing Material. On the Status, the oriented integration of knowledge from different knowledge inventories in a Responsibilities and Function of society” and as a “catalyzer for processes of social change” (Schneidewind and Cultural Property Repositories within Singer-Brodowski 69) may be useful. Object repositories with research orienta- the Framework of a “Transformative tion may become the protagonists of such a “transformative scholarship” if they ex- Scholarship” ploit their potential for “transdisciplinary research” (Schneidewind and Singer- Markus Hilgert Brodowski 42 and passim)—for example, in the field of cultural property protection— Keywords: Cultural Property Research; es, the status, responsibilities, as well as better than they have done in the past. Object Repositories; Transformative the function and spheres of activity of The present contribution shall set bench- Scholarship (“Transformative Wissen- these object or cultural property reposito- marks for the theoretical and research-po- schaft”); Archives; Libraries; Museums; ries with research commitment (on the litical repositioning of object or cultural Digitization; Science and Research Poli- term see section 2 below) are currently property repositories with research com- tics undergoing long-lasting change. mitment, as well as for future discussions For the respective institutions, these on this topic.3 1. Introduction1 changes not only result in complex chal- Certain theoretical streams in the cultural lenges regarding contents and structure, 2. Object Repositories – Cultural Property and social sciences that are occasionally but also present extraordinary opportuni- Repositories subsumed under the term “New Material- ties for the fulfillment of their academic, Before such a repositioning can take ism”2 (see Witzgall), as well as recent so- social and political responsibilities. place, the question needs to be addressed cial, political, cultural and media technol- The appropriate handling of these chal- which characteristic features are shared ogy developments require a theoretical lenges and opportunities can substantial- among institutions such as archives, librar- and research-political repositioning of ly contribute to the sharpening of the ies, museums or academic collections academic object repositories. For it is ob- academic and social profile of these insti- whose object inventories fall within the vious that under the influence of these tutions and increase their visibility on scope of cultural and social sciences, and multi-layered, partly interwoven process- both a national and international level. how these features can—irrespective of the

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material, formal, cultural, chronological For according to this approach, succes- time, be the icon of national pride in the and geographical disparity of their ob- sive ‘recontextualisations’ of an object— place of its origin or a powerful cult object jects—be consolidated under a concise especially in the context of contemporary in the eyes of a religious community. and theoretically founded term. academic, museal or digital practices— Thus, in principle, ‘object identities’ are For only by defining shared characteristics may become the subject of object-orient- variable and unstable, as they originate as will the shared role the respective institu- ed research in the same way as the pro- a result of dynamic processes of subjec- tions may have in science, culture, politics duction of this object and its ‘first tive attributions of meaning and, accord- and society become obvious. participation’ in social practices, a partici- ingly, are subject to constant change. The A helpful theoretical perspective is offered pation often privileged in research with- appropriate treatment of human remains by the approach of ‘artifact biography’ out obvious reason. in museums and academic collections, a which stems from archaeologically influ- question that is controversially debated at enced research into material culture (see, A relativistic perspective on objects and present, is only one of many illustrative ex- for example, Blinkhorn and Cumberpatch; their consecutive ‘participations’ in social amples for this fact. Gosden and Marshall; Mytum; Shanks). practices is furthermore offered by the The assumption of entirely constructed This approach successively documents concept of multiperspectivity that, gen- and thus variable ‘identities’ of an object the different socio-practical contextualisa- erally speaking, describes the phenom- entails that inventories of archives, librar- tions of an object, without distinguishing enon of an attribution of varying mean- ies, museums or academic collections can between its ‘original’ (that is ‘primary’) and ings to objects depending on “systems of no longer be classified and described—at ‘hybrid’ (that is ‘secondary’) ‘participations’ collective knowledge (including know- least not for the purpose of their cultural- in social practices and thereby academi- how and motivational knowledge), as theoretical conceptualisation—using, for cally privileging and hierarchically ranking well as subjective attributions of meaning example, material, formal, typological, cul- these various socio-practical ‘scenarios.’ conforming to those” (Reckwitz, Transfor- tural, chronological or geographical crite- According to this interpretation, artifact mation 565). ria. Rather, they have to be understood in biographies are to be understood as Thus, in practical terms, the term “multi- general as theoretically and socio-practi- “praxeographies” (Hilgert, “Text-Anthro- perspectivity” refers to the fact that the cally indeterminate ensembles of objects pologie” 115). meaning and function of an object are al- that only become ‘defined object collec- The theoretical and practical advantage ways multiple and that ‘our view on things’ tions’ by their socio-cultural conceptuali- of this view is that it does not favor any of is not necessarily identical with that of sations (e.g., “archive,” “library,” “museum”) the various socio-practical contextualisa- other people. or the social practices they are exposed to tions of an object, an approach that di- An object showcased in a museum, for ex- (e.g., collecting, arranging, classifying, versifies the object-oriented research ample, that in this particular context ‘only’ preserving, presenting), respectively. theoretically, methodically and with re- represents a certain object category with- If one assumes that the most prominent gard to contents. in a scientific taxonomy can, at the same characteristics of institutions like archives,

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libraries, museums and academic collec- 4.), an area of engagement increasingly According to Reckwitz, “theories on media tions are their inventories of material and becoming more relevant both socially and technologies, artifacts, space and emo- digital objects, overseen and curated, as politically. tion…” open up “new, additional empirical well as the research conducted on them, fields of analysis for recent cultural sci one may describe these indeterminate en- 3. The Academic, Political and Media ences” which, however, all contain a “more sembles of objects in theoretical and so- Technology Setting fundamental claim.” cio-practical terms as research-oriented 3.1. “Materializing Culture,” Culturizing This fundamental claim consists in “point- object repositories. Material, and Virtualizing Material Culture ing to the fact that the socio-cultural world “Repository” thereby designates any an- The academic, political and media tech- has ‘always’ been structured by media thropogenic ‘conglomerate’ or cluster of nology frameworks within which object technologies, by artifact constellations, by objects in a particular arrangement or spa- or cultural artifact repositories can act spatial arrangements, as well as by affec- tial context, whereas the term “object” re- have been changing rapidly in recent tivity and affectation, only thereby receiv- fers likewise to inscribed and uninscribed, years. ing its form” (20). marked and unmarked, material and digi- Status, responsibilities, as well as function More than two decades after Bruno Latour tal artefacts, as well as natural things. and spheres of activity of archives, librar- vehemently argued for the inclusion of the Thereby, the term “object repository” ies, museums and academic collections “hidden” and “despised” masses of things also offers the greatest ‘flexibility’ for its with research mandates in the humanities (“non-humans”) into sociological analysis, epistemological, theoretical and meth- or social sciences are presently influenced objects as material participants in social odological operationalization, such as in by three very dynamic processes that are practices regulated through meaning are the context of object-oriented research, located at the interface between research, increasingly becoming the focus of re- for example. society, politics, culture and technology, search strategies in the humanities and Furthermore, if one applies a political and and that are extraordinarily multi-faceted. social sciences (see also Witzgall). social perspective on object repositories, They can be characterized as “materializ- For cultural studies, the basically interdis- one can say that they are cultural property ing culture” (Reckwitz, “Materialisierung”), ciplinary field of material analysis acts as a repositories. culturizing material and virtualizing mate- bridge to questions and methods in disci- If nothing else, what is made clear by rial culture.4 plines such as sociology, natural science choosing this term is that the compe According to Andreas Reckwitz, “material- and information technology (for example tences of the respective institutions lie izing culture” may be understood as a “fun- Hilgert, “Artefaktanalysen”). particularly in the multi-, inter- and trans- damental reconfiguration of the perspec- The term culturizing material is supposed disciplinary field of cultural property re- tive of cultural theories and cultural studies” to designate a thematic tendency that cur- search and that, therefore, these institu- by those theories that are often simplify- rently may be observed in different social, tions have a special responsibility in ingly subsumed under terms like cultural political and cultural spheres of activity. protecting cultural property (see below turn, practice turn and material turn.

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Culturizing material manifests itself in the under which they could or should re- cal access, but also comprehensive lin- phenomenon that objects increasingly be- main where they currently are. guistic and cultural accessibility. come the subject of practices and dis- In this context, one primarily thinks of cul- Finally, parallel to “materializing culture” courses located outside the fields of sci- tural property of particular national or cul- within academic institutions and “culturiz- ence and research and by now have tural significance, human remains, or ar- ing material” in the spheres of society, pol- attracted remarkable interest, a “new sen- chaeological objects for which no itics and culture, there are the processes sibility” (Coole), within the social, political documentation is available regarding often described as “digital revolution” or and cultural spheres. their circumstances of discovery or acqui- “digital transformation” and the possibili- This involves three overarching complex- sition. ties generated through them for the digi- es of problems that all belong to transdis- It remains unclear at present how the pro- tal documentation, representation and ciplinary cultural property research (see cess of “culturizing material” in society, modelling of objects. They lead to a de- below 4.) and thus are also relevant for fu- politics and culture is related to the ten- materialization of objects. ture measures in the field of cultural prop- dency of “materializing culture” in cultural Very soon, this process of virtualizing ma- erty protection: and social sciences as diagnosed by terial culture will not only cause a para- 1. the provenance and appertinence of Reckwitz. digm shift in object-oriented humanities objects; There are, however, far reaching implica- and cultural studies research, but will also 2. the principal multiperspectivity of tions, as postulated by Diana Coole, who require a strategic repositioning of object objects, depending on the individual assumes “that the new materialism offers repositories committed to research. or collective attributions of meaning a new ontological world of imagination, For only object or cultural property repos- (see above 2.); possibilities for a new sensibility, and prac- itories can—by ways of their all-embracing 3. the ‘translation’ of objects in situations tical guidance for the initiation of a critical object competence— accompany curatori- of variable, transcultural reception. social theory that is adequate for the 21st ally, consolidate scientifically, ground the- millennium” (Coole 46). oretically and guide practically this virtual- Here, the term “provenance” does not Finally, deriving from the multiperspec- ization of material culture. only refer to the problem—currently un- tivity of objects (see above 2.) is the prob- der intense discussion—of cultural prop- lem of ‘translation’ the objective of which 3.2. Institutional Consequences erty unlawfully seized from its original is to achieve this multiperspectivity in the In all likelihood, the three processes de- owners during the Nazi Era, but, more documentation, research and presenta- scribed above will permanently change generally, to the legal, political and cul- tion of objects. the status, responsibilities and function of tural circumstances under which objects Relevant keywords in this context are the object repositories committed to research have arrived at their present location, to central principles of object presentation, in the humanities or social sciences. their legal status, and to the conditions “inclusion” and “accessibility,” the latter of It can already be noted today that the ten- which describes not only unlimited physi- dency to materialize culture has signifi-

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cantly enhanced the epistemological and structures) of the Wissenschaftsrat (Aca- social sciences can thereby develop in re- political status of these institutions: Re- demic Research Council) (2011), or the es- lation to the pertinent institutions’ aspira- search questions and designs in the hu- tablishment of the BMBF’s joint project tion to communicate the multiperspectiv- manities are converging with the charac- “Marbach – Weimar – Wolfenbüttel” (since ity of objects and the variability of “object teristic portfolio of topics and problems of 2014), within which the “Deutsches Liter- identities,” to a broad public in a socially object repositories committed to research. aturarchiv Marbach” (German Literature inclusive and culturally accessible way. The artifacts that are curated by these in- Archive Marbach), the “Klassik Stiftung Virtualizing material culture—that is, the stitutions turn out to be indispensable ev- Weimar” (Weimar Classics Foundation) ‘dematerialization of objects’ by means of idence for research, especially for third- and the “Herzog August Bibliothek representation through digital media—of- party-funded projects that are inquiring Wolfenbüttel” (Herzog August Library fers possibilities and perspectives for such into different material cultures. All of a Wolfenbüttel) want to link their collection- a broadly defined mediation that are only sudden, analytical skills in relation to ob- based research and establish joint rein their infancy at present. jects that have long been dismissed as search infrastructures, especially in the Individualized mobile applications in mu- “ancillary sciences” have become key re- field of Digital Humanities.7 seums that offer subtly nuanced and flex- search competencies. “Culturizing material” above all entails ible representation options, digital arti- Institutions previously regarded as aca- new and extensive social and political re- facts that enable object-oriented research demic service facilities have become high- sponsibilities for archives, libraries and independent of the original, or virtual rely sought-after research partners on equal museums. constructions of lost or destroyed coher- par whose unique features are the object Dealing appropriately with the challenges ent groups of artifacts will significantly in- inventories in their charge. of the provenance, multiperspectivity and crease the visibility and operating range Obvious indications for this development ‘translation’ of objects within the frame- of object repositories as institutions of re- and the political revaluation of research- work of transdisciplinary research on cul- search, culture and education on a nation- ing object repositories in Germany are, for tural property, as well as the resulting ob- al and international level. example, joint third-party-funded interdis- ligations for care and due diligence, open In particular, the three-dimensional (3D) ciplinary projects in the field of material up various new fields of research and ac- digital documentation of cultural property culture research,5 thematically relevant tion for object repositories. offers enormous potential compared to lines of funding by the Bundesministerium They can also render these institutions traditional 2D methods of documentation. für Bildung und Forschung (Federal Min- leaders in the cultural-political discourse Amongst other things, this potential ac- istry of Education and Research; BMBF),6 on the general autonomy and equality as crues from the almost endless availability the “Empfehlungen zu den wissenschaftli- well as the mutual accountability of all in- of the significantly more flexible and de- chen Sammlungen als Forschungsinfra- volved dialogue partners. Internationaliza- tailed 3D models, from their potential in strukturen” (Recommendations for tion and transculturization of object-ori- the areas of cultural property documenta- Academic Collections as Research Infra- ented research in the humanities and in tion, fundamental research, and exhibition

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design, as well as from the option to phys- Among these unique features are: infrastructures. For example, ically reproduce digital models by rapid 1. the object collections curated by ob- - digital and non-digital documenta- prototyping procedures (for example, 3D- ject or cultural property repositories; tion; primary and detailed scholarly printing). 2. the analog and digital data and me- evaluation; publication of objects and Finally, advances in digital 3D and auto- ta-data inventories that refer to these object groups (in analog and digital mation techniques make commercially vi- collections of objects; versions); reconstruction of previously able the serial capture of large numbers 3. the research relating to these object coherent collections of objects; mate- of cultural artifacts. and data collections, as well as the per- rial and conservation science-based However, in all the fields mentioned above tinent theoretical meta-research; analysis and documentation; there remain academic, technological and 4. the mediation or the translation of - analysis of objects and object groups legal challenges to which the object re- the object and data collections as well under research schemes of the huma- positories with research commitment can as of the research results into the aca- nities, social and natural sciences, or contribute sound and demonstrable solu- demic and non-academic sphere; information technology, also including tions, thereby guaranteeing the transfer to 5. the prominent position of many ob- external object collections; other, non-academic fields of 3D object ject or cultural property repositories at - classification and publication of com- digitalization. the interface between research, cul- parable external object collections; ture, society and politics. research projects with regional, chro- 3.3 Consequences for Research Policy nological or socio-cultural reference to “Materializing culture,” culturizing material Under the influence of the processes of own object collections; archaeological and virtualizing material culture all create “materializing culture,” culturizing materi- field research; development of analyti- an important frame of reference for repo- al, as well as virtualizing material culture, cal methods and documentation and sitioning object or cultural property repos- these unique features enhance the forma- representation tools deriving from nat itories in relation to research policies. This tion and development of specific, high ural sciences and information techno- political repositioning must be constituted profile skills that all share a characteristic logy, respectively; by those unique features of object reposi- orientation towards objects. - the generation and provision of 2D tories that are immediately relevant for re- In turn, these specific skills lead to certain and 3D object data for flexible schol search as well as for the transfer of re- social and political responsibilities associ- arly use, for example, in the recon search results in scholarship, society and ated with fields of action for the institu- struction or surface analysis of objects, politics, and that render object reposito- tions in question. These characteristic in museum contexts as well as in the ries significantly different from other insti- competence and action areas are: internet of things and services; tutional actors of the academic system8 1. Fundamental object-oriented re- - meta-research on theoretical condi- (especially universities and non-university search, as well as the development or tions, disciplinary dispositions, meth research institutions). provision of object-oriented research ods, processes, standards and solu-

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tions in the field of inventory-oriented - in the fields of cultural property pro- dations for actions. … Transdisciplinary research as well as digital research of tection as well as the multi-perspective research reacts to the extended role of objects (epistemological analysis); mediation and translation of objects in scholarship in modern times in which it 2. Research-based protection of cul transcultural spaces of reception (see is no longer only a producer of knowl tural property as well as “object poli- below 4.). edge, but has also increasingly become tics”, for example, A primary duty of object or cultural prop- an advocate and broker of knowledge. - historical, institutional and political erty repositories with research commit- Transdisciplinary research catalyzes contextualization of objects (prove- ment must be to consolidate and further processes of transformation in society nance, appertinence); biographical develop these duties and skills by means and thereby becomes a ‘transformative research on objects (“artifact biogra- of innovative, transdisciplinary and trans- scholarship’. (ibid.) phies”); security and so-called dark institutional research. Thereby archives, According to Schneidewind and Singer- field research (illicit excavations of - ar libraries, museums and academic collec- Brodowski, it is also possible to observe a chaeological sites, looting, illegal trade tions can answer to their special responsi- differentiation of forms of knowledge in cultural property); research into legal bilities in shaping current social transfor- that are created within the framework frameworks and (multilateral) proces- mation processes. of a transdisciplinary research. Besides ses of mediation; the classical system knowledge (as - meta-research on disciplinary dispo- 4. Cultural Property Repositories as ‘objective’ knowledge about correla- sitions, methods, processes, standards Agents of a “Transformative Scholarship” tions in and between natural and social and solutions in the field of cultural The aforementioned skills and duties char- systems) there is now also knowledge property research; acteristic of object or cultural property re- about transformations, i.e. about the 3. Mediation and translation of objects, positories are marked by the fact that the practical reconfigurations that are pos- as well as cultural education, for ex- underlying research features a transdisci- sible, dependent on the respective ac- ample, plinary disposition. tors, and knowledge about desirable - inclusive, accessible, multi-perspec- It is an essential feature of “transdisci- (and therefore automatically ranked) tive presentation and mediation of plinary research” that it offers “contribu- futures. (42-43) objects and object groups (physically, tions to the solution of socially relevant Physical and digital object research, cul- digitally) and pertinent meta-research; problems” (Schneidewind and Singer- tural property research and research on research into methods and instruments Brodowski 42). object politics, as well as research on the for the transcultural presentation of ob- Thereby it is necessarily interdisciplin multi-perspective mediation and transla- jects; ary and links different scholarly disci- tion of objects in transcultural spaces are 4. Academic and social transformation by plines. Moreover, it involves relevant, research areas that are not only of high rel- means of transdisciplinary research and non-scholarly actors in its research in evance for society and offer great poten- design of social processes, for example, order to achieve realizable recommen- tial for social transfer, but which also re-

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quire the necessary integration of various needed for their implementation, the pro- in the fields of research on and protection non-academic actors (for example, institu- tection of cultural property is an ideal ex- of cultural property, as well as the theo- tions of education and culture, companies, ample of transdisciplinary research. retical reworking of concepts and terms ministries, public authorities, NGOs) and For transdisciplinary research into cultural (for example, Falser and Juneja). their respective skills and expertise. property ranges from fundamental object- Thus, transdisciplinary cultural property Not least because of their prominent posi- oriented research (conservation, protec- research not only provides a contribution tion at the interface between research, cul- tion and maintenance, documentation, to the protection of cultural property, but ture, society and politics, research-orient- exploitation, publication) and research on also catalyzes current processes of social ed object or cultural property repositories provenance and appertinence to research transformation. are virtually predestined to carry out trans- on the prevention of illicit excavations, In particular, this concerns the social chal- disciplinary research. looting and the illegal trade in cultural lenges of the mediation and translation of For unlike any other group of institutions property, as well as to research into the cultural differences, the improvement of within the academic system, they are able creation of legal frameworks that are opti- bilateral and multilateral relationships on “to integrate the knowledge of different mally adjusted for the protection of cul- an international level, and the achieve- disciplines and their interdisciplinary con- tural property (see for example the report ment of an international consensus on nections with actor’s knowledge regard- of the German federal government on the what “cultural property” and “cultural heri- ing practical social and political chal protection of cultural property in Germa- tage” of global importance are and how lenges.” Thus, they have the capacity to ny; Deutscher Bundestag). they can be preserved in the long term. “create a new balance between disciplin- Moreover, the transdisciplinary cultural The actors whose commitment is neces- ary and interdisciplinary research as well property research should also provide the sary for the accomplishment of these chal- as transdisciplinary integration capacity” scientific basis for training programs and lenges originate from both academic and (Schneidewind and Singer-Brodowski 47). mediation models that are adjusted to the non-academic social realms, ranging from An excellent example of such a challenge needs of all persons that are active in the scholars in universities and non-university with social and cultural relevance to which field of cultural property protection (for institutions, to the staff of ministries and object or cultural property repositories—in example, scholars, museum personnel, law enforcement agencies, and represen- collaboration with other academic and staff of customs and law enforcement tatives of the art trade. non-academic actors—can make a signifi- agencies), as well as decision makers in Because of their unique features as well as cant contribution, is the protection of cul- various executive authorities. their specific skills and responsibilities tural property. Finally, transdisciplinary cultural property (see above, 3.3.), object or cultural prop- Because of the multiplicity and diversity of research also strives towards the clarifica- erty repositories can play a central role in the tasks that result from the protection of tion of epistemological questions, such as transdisciplinary cultural property re- cultural property, as well as the academic the consideration of disciplinary disposi- search. and practical skills and expertise that are tions, methods, processes and standards

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Markus Hilgert Thus, in the course of their theoretical and This would not only significantly sharpen political repositioning, they can become the academic and institutional profile of is the current Director of the Vorderasi- pioneers of a “transformative scholarship” the respective organizations on a national atisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu that serves as a “stage for the oriented in- and international level, but also lead to an Berlin – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. tegration of different knowledge invento- even stronger social integration of cultural From 2007 until early 2014, Hilgert held ries in a society” and supports “transfor- property repositories and the scholarly a chair for Cuneiform Studies at Heidel- mation processes practically, by means of and practical skills maintained by them. berg University. He is the President of the development of solutions as well as But first and foremost, object or cultural the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft and technical and social innovations” (Schnei- property repositories are thus best posi- the founding director of the “Heidelberg dewind and Singer-Brodowski 69). tioned to face the important socio-political Center for Cultural Heritage,” an interdis- challenges that lie ahead. ciplinary expert network for cultural heritage research established at Heidelberg University in 2013. Notes 3 I would like to thank Kristina 6 For example, “Sprache Works Cited Deutscher Bundestag. Bericht email: [email protected] Heizmann for critically read der Objekte” (Language of über die Auswirkungen des ing the present text and for Objects), since 2012. Gesetzes zur Ausführung des 1 A slightly modified Ger- Blinkhorn, Paul, and Christo- numerous helpful comments. UNESCO- Übereinkommens man version of this article pher G. Cumberpatch. Not So 7 A comprehensive compila- vom 14. November 1970 über is published under the Much a Pot, More a Way of 4 On the related terms “New tion of further scientific acti- Maßnahmen zum Verbot und title “Materialisierung des Life: Current Approaches to Materialism” or “Neo-Ma- vities that can be understood zur Verhütung der rechtswid- Kulturellen – Kulturisierung Artifact Analysis in Archaeol- terialism” see in summary as expression of the “mate- rigen Einfuhr, Ausfuhr und des Materiellen. Zu Status, ogy. Oxford: Oxbow Books, Witzgall. rialization of the cultural” is Übereignung von Kulturgut Verantwortlichkeiten und 1997. Print. offered by Witzgall 13 n. 1. (Ausführungsgesetz zum Funktion von Kulturgutre- 5 For example, the SFB (Son- Kulturgutübereinkom- positorien im Rahmen einer Coole, Diana. “Die Ontologie derforschungsbereich = Col- 8 For the definition of the men) und den Schutz von ‘transformativen Wissen- und Politik der Materialisie laborative Research Center) term “scientific system” see Kulturgut vor Abwanderung schaft’” in Material Text rung.” Macht des Materials / 933 “Materiale Textkulturen. Schneidewind and Singer- ins Ausland. (Bericht der Culture Blog 2014.2 . Diaphanes, 2014. 29–46. Print. ten” (Material Text Cultures. Deutscher Bundestag, 29 Materiality and Presence of Apr. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. 2 All translations of German Writing in Non-Typographic . (German Research Founda tion; DFG) at the University of ––› Heidelberg, since 2011.

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––› Falser, Michael, and Monica Latour, Bruno. “Where Are Schneidewind, Uwe, and Juneja. ‘Archaeologizing’ Heri- the Missing Masses? The Mandy Singer-Brodowski. tage? Transcultural Entangle- Sociology of a Few Mundane Transformative Wissenschaft. ments Between Local Social Artifacts.” Shaping Technol- Klimawandel im deutschen Practices and Global Virtual ogy / Building Society: Stud- Wissenschafts- und Hoch- Realities. Berlin, Heidelberg: ies in Sociotechnical Change. schulsystem. 2nd ed. Mar- Springer, 2013. Print. Ed. Wiebe E. Bijker and John burg: Metropolis, 2014. Print. Law. Cambridge Mass.: MIT Gosden, Chris, and Yvonne Press, 1992. 225–58. Print. Shanks, Michael. “The Life of Marshall. “The Cultural an Artifact.” Fennoscandia Biography of Objects.” World Mytum, Harold. “Artifact Archeologica 15 (1998): 15–42. Archaeology 31/2 (1999): Biography as an Approach to Print. 169–78. Print. Material Culture: Irish Grave- stones as a Material Form of Witzgall, Susanne. “Macht Hilgert, Markus. “‘Text-An- Genealogy.” Journal of Irish des Materials / Politik der thropologie’: Die Erforschung Archaeology 12–13 (2003): Materialität – eine Einfüh- von Materialität und Präsenz 111–27. Print. rung.” Macht des Materials des Geschriebenen als / Politik der Materialität. Ed. hermeneutische Strategie.” Reckwitz, Andreas. Die Trans- Susanne Witzgall and Kerstin Altorientalistik im 21. Jahr- formation der Kulturtheorien. Stakemeier. Zürich, Berlin: hundert: Selbstverständnis, Zur Entwicklung eines Theo- Diaphanes, 2014. 13–27. Print. Herausforderungen, Ziele. rieprogramms. Weilerswist: Ed. Markus Hilgert. Mit- Velbrück Wissenschaft, 2006. teilungen der Deutschen Print. Orientgesellschaft 142 (2010): 87–126. Print. ---. “Die Materialisierung der Kultur.” Praxistheorien als ---. “Praxeologisch perspe- Konzepte interdisziplinären ktivierte Artefaktanalysen des Forschens. Ed. Friederike Geschriebenen. Zum heuris Elias, Albrecht Franz, Ulrich tischen Potential der mate- W. Weiser, and Henning rialen Textkulturforschung.” Murmann. Materiale Textkul- Praxistheorien als Konzepte turen 3. Berlin, New York: De interdisziplinären Forschens. Gruyter, 2014. 3–14. Print. Ed. Friederike Elias, Albrecht Franz, Ulrich W. Weiser, and Henning Murmann. Mate- riale Textkulturen 3. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 2014. ISSN: 2196-629X 149–64. Print. urn: urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-24216

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Damage to the cultural heritage of Iraq over the last three decades has been cata- A Damage Assessment of Iraq’s Past: strophic. Military action, rampant looting Archaeological Heritage Management and rapid development have resulted in damage on an unprecedented scale. For- on the Rania Plain in Iraqi Kurdistan tunately, the situation in the Kurdistan Re- gion of the Republic of Iraq is far better than in the rest of the country. A myriad of issues fall under the broad umbrella term of cultural, and in this case archaeological, heritage: academic exchange, cultural identity, development (both infrastructure and economic), management and preservation, and politics and tourism. A brief overview of these issues forms the first part of this paper. The second part dis- cusses the specific challenges, strategies Tim Boaz Bruun Skuldbøl and suggestions for the preservation of Carlo Colantoni ancient cultural heritage noted by the authors during the University of Copenha- This paper advocates an increasing fo- opment, with extensive infrastructure gen Archaeological Project on the Rania cus on damage assessment, monitor- development, rapid expansion of Plain in Iraqi Kurdistan (see fig. 1), which ing and adaptation to the impact of ur- population settlements and a hydro- includes a joint survey project on the Rania ban development on archaeologically electric dam—the waters of which in- Plain with the Netherlands Institute for the rich regions. undate a substantial proportion of the Near East (NINO).1 Both these institutions As a case-study of the wider Middle plain—make the recording of valuable collaborate closely in recording, assessing East, the discussion focuses on ar- cultural heritage an urgent and de- and monitoring the cultural heritage on chaeological strategies for damage manding task. the plain. assessment, monitoring and the management of archaeological cultural re- Keywords: Heritage Management; Ur- The Rania Plain is located in the Sulaimani- sources on the Rania plain in the Kurd- ban Developmental Pressure; Damage yah governorate and possesses a rich ar- istan autonomous region of north-east Assessment; Iraq; Archaeological Strate- chaeological heritage. Today the plain and Iraq. The pressures of modern devel- gies and Methods its many archaeological sites are heavily

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affected by pressure from modern development. We are confronted with a number of major destructive forces: extensive infrastructure development, rapid expansion of population settlements, damaging agricultural practices and a hydro-electric dam. The widespread damage to the archaeological heritage calls for the development of management strategies. We believe that the Rania Plain case study is refl ective of a general phenomenon and certain conditions that the wider Middle East is experiencing. Central to a discussion of the management of cultural heritage in the context of landscape archaeology is the distinct form that it takes on the Rania Plain and of much of the Middle East, that of relic human landscapes: ancient settlements, in the Figure 1: The Rania Plain, Northeastern Iraq. form of earthen mounds and landscape Illustration: Tim Skuldbøl. features such as ancient canals and communication routes. In a fast developing re- remote-sensing techniques); (2) salvage tions) to effectively plan and protect the gion the problems regarding the preser- excavations; (3) the recording and cata- region’s cultural patrimony. vation of recorded and, as yet, unrecorded loguing of archaeological remains; and (4) The encouragement to preserve and con- archaeological sites against threats of de- the construction of databases in order to serve archaeological heritage in situ has struction are great. At the same time the provide the informational resources for grown considerably in recent decades, es- methods to catalogue, monitor and pro- stakeholders in the cultural heritage sec- pecially in Europe (for example the PARIS4 tect these resources are still evolving. The tor (government departments and muse- conference; see Gregory and Matthiesen). mitigation of potential damage and de- ums, politicians, local communities, devel- Despite the cultural and academic impor- struction to archaeological heritage re- opers, archaeologists—international and tance of protecting immovable archaeo- quires as its basis a combined approach local, such as the Kurdistan Archaeology logical features some regions of the Mid- of (1) landscape survey (both on the Syndicate—, cultural management experts, dle East suffer tremendously from ground by fi eld survey and from the air by funding bodies and heritage organisa- the pressures of modern develop-

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ment (not neglecting threats due to armed concern for local and central government (21). These statistics reflect a complex nex- conflict and illegal activities). planning decisions—planning decisions us of organised crime, the illicit antiquities Over the last few years press sources such that require detailed documentation and trade and local economic desperation. as Foreign Policy in Focus (Monroe), The clear evidence of cultural worth. Iraqi Kurdistan is at present a safe, wel- Economist and Hurriyet Daily News are in- coming and stable environment in which creasingly reporting how Iraqi Kurdistan is Political Background to work. With the wealth of cultural patri- a region undergoing rapid economic de- The Iraqi Kurdish Autonomous Region, ad- mony existing in Iraq, the Iraq State Board velopment. The expansion of modern ministered by the Kurdish Regional Gov- of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) and towns and villages, rapid growth of indus- ernment (KRG), consists of four provinces the General Directorate of Antiquities for try and new infrastructure projects (e.g. in the upper north-eastern part of the fed- the KRG face a challenging and complex roads, government facilities, sanitation eral Republic of Iraq. De facto semi-auton- task to record, safeguard and monitor cul- and proposed oil pipelines) accompanied omous since the end of the First Gulf War tural heritage. However, due to the KRG’s by agricultural intensification are buoyed in late 1991, it has an economy based on autonomy there is strong subsidiary au- by newly flowing oil wealth and pressure oil revenue and a stable security situation thority in the management of cultural her- from ongoing population growth. that encourages development projects. itage and antiquities within the federal re- Rapid growth is regarded as being almost In the period following the First Gulf War, public that affects a unified national certainly detrimental to cultural heritage and the implementation of a no-fly zone in programme. and, therefore, its greatest threat (Isakhan late 1991, Rothfield reports that the whole 27). As the economy develops and urban of Iraq suffered looting (“Preserving Iraq’s Heritage in the Middle East populations expand tensions will increase Heritage” 6). After the Coalition invasion General threats to cultural patrimony in between government policy, private prop- of Iraq in 2003, in which there was wide- the Middle East are well documented. erty rights, and the monetisation (often as spread damage and looting of sites as Amongst the most prominent are urban a potential tourism resource) and preser- well as the theft of artefacts from Iraqi mu- encroachment, infrastructure develop- vation of heritage. Ancient relic land- seums, Iraqi Kurdistan remained relatively ment, damage by agricultural expansion scapes, something not quite as tangible as stable and has been spared the massive and intensification, looting of museums a historical monument or ancient city pillaging and destruction that sites in and archaeological sites (cf. Stone), and neighbourhood, tend to be less fortunate southern Iraq have and continue to suffer. ideological or conflict driven damage to in their preservation. These landscapes This situation, in the opinion of Bogdanos, sites and monuments, including World belong very much to the imagination: they is partly due to the difficulty and danger of Heritage sites. Threats to heritage are a lack obvious visible meaning, and thus policing sites in the south (156). Rothfield problem in Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan; lack immediately comprehensible finan- states that as of 2006/07, of the ten thou- endemic in western and southern of Iraq; cial or cultural value. This makes the pres- sand registered sites in Iraq, 10% are esti- and catastrophic in Syria.2 Rapid modern ervation of the relic landscape a special mated to be badly damaged each year urban sprawl is a clearly visible and pro-

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found threat. The archaeologist Jason Ur consisting of ancient man-made land- sions regarding development and exploi- (113) reports how the site of Kilik Mishik is scape features and indistinct settlements tation of the landscape. slowly being swallowed up by the urban in the form of earthen mounds. Surveys play a vital role in recording these sprawl of Erbil, whilst the American Aca- An ancient settlement usually consists of landscapes. They underpin Iraqi heritage demic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII) anonymous landscape features that do management by identifying and record- (2) has published satellite images showing not offer an easy understanding of their ing cultural resources such as sites, monu- the ancient city of Nineveh being en- significance. This type of landscape repre- ments and landscape features: many of croached upon by an expanding Mosul. sents a case of heritage lying between the which are not readily identifiable. In Kurdistan, responsibility for the preser- tangible and intangible; i.e. it is known but vation of cultural heritage lies on the inter- not clearly discernible. There are no easy Heritage, Tourism and Identity in Iraqi national level with UNESCO, on the na- ways of solving the problem of promoting Kurdistan tional level with the SBAH, and regionally these types of sites in the public imagina- The primary focus of heritage preserva- under the General Director of Antiquities tion. Relic landscapes are not clear cut tion in Kurdistan is on monuments, caves for Kurdistan, which in the opinion of Pa- monuments of the type thought to warrant and the built environment. The most lumbo, Agnew and Myers (340) lacks re- UNESCO accreditation (although a de- prominent are the multi-national projects sources following many years of embar- bate is emerging over ‘Cultural land- undertaking salvage and restoration goes and political change. Yet Stuart scapes’; UNESCO 12), but landscapes work—such as the French, German, Greek, Gibson in his report on the Kurdistan mu- holding finite and easily damaged or de- Italian, Polish, UNESCO and Kurdish Re- seum service believes the will for positive stroyed archaeological data. gional Government (KRG) projects—at Er- action is there with determined and com- This form of heritage makes public aware- bil’s citadel, Koya’s Ottoman era citadel, mitted museums (3). Moreover, there is a ness problematic as there are no easily the site of the Neo-Assyrian rock reliefs at growing commitment in Kurdistan to the discernible monuments (except for the an- Khinnis and the internationally famous funding and training of local experts, gov- cient settlement mounds themselves) and Shanidar caves. The Archaeology section ernment and Directorate of Antiquities a culture-historical significance that is ab- of the KRG Tourism website (“Kurdistan. staff. stract. On the Rania Plain, the vast majority Land of Nature and History”) is representa- of the sites are anonymous landscape fea- tive of policy. In contrast to research fo- Distinctions in the Types of Cultural Heri- tures that require a specialised knowledge cused excavations, the Directorate of An- tage to fully appreciate their worth. They fall tiquities in Erbil has undertaken salvage An important distinction to be made at outside the boundaries that clearly demar- excavations at several small sites threat- this point is one between conventional cate heritage space and there is no obvi- ened by the expansion of Erbil. heritage sites—ancient and historical mon- ous way of marketing them via national or Cultural tourism has been considered a uments and buildings, and excavated ar- international tourism. This lack of an im- driving force for the heritage industry chaeological sites—and relic landscapes mediate ‘value’ may hinder policy deci- and in the case of Iraqi Kurdistan there

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have been doubts over the clash of pri- joint projects to investigate Iraq’s cultur- tage. High-resolution satellite imagery is orities between preservation and tourism al heritage. deemed by Brodie and Parcak to be an (Rothfield, “Iraq Cultural Heritage Policy: Previously, surveys were undertaken in economically effective means of undertak- The Kurdish Problem”; Exell and Rico most parts of Iraq with a peak in the 1960s ing this task. Publicly available satellite im- 674). Al-Taie reports how the Iraqi Minis- and 1970s. In later decades the Kurdish re- agery, including open access Google try of Tourism and Antiquities plans a pro- gion of Iraq was largely inaccessible to for- Earth and Bing Maps, have been used to gramme of restoration and improvement eign projects due to wars, embargoes identify sites, and assess and monitor to heritage sites across Iraq, including the against the regime of Saddam Hussein, damage (such as looting) and long-term construction of new tourism facilities and violent clashes and the general political developmental pressures from urban and infrastructure. instability in the region (Ur et al. 89). rural growth (see, for example, Lane; Con- A significant undercurrent in cultural her- At present, there are dozens of archaeo- treras and Brodie; Parcak). itage is the politics of identity, in particu- logical projects being undertaken in the The development of simple damage as- lar identity formation. For the Kurdish Au- Kurdish region.3 These are both interna- sessment strategies and monitoring tech- tonomous Region heritage can play an tional and local government led projects, niques require cost-effective solutions. important role in the (re)construction of a and include a growing number of large The use of satellite imagery allows moni- distinct regional identity—as well as the and small-scale surveys and excavation toring in the medium term. However, re- negotiation of identities of minority projects recording the cultural patrimony cent or high-resolution imagery are not groups within Kurdistan itself—as it seeks in the region (see Altaweel).4 The Rania always available or affordable. Short-term to differentiate itself and accentuate a Plain Survey is itself contextualised by new and fine-focus monitoring can be fulfilled distinct identity. As a means of solidifying archaeological surveys in surrounding by the use of self-procured aerial imagery identity cultural heritage is far less politi- provinces. and field surveys. cally controversial than the issue of full A popular new addition to the tools em- autonomy. The Rise in Remote Sensing ployed for landscape and site investiga- Recent advances in remote sensing with tion and recording are small radio- Archaeological Research in Iraqi Kurdistan the use of aerial photographs and com- controlled micro-helicopters—more com- In recent years the stable security envi- mercially available satellite imagery has monly termed ‘drones’—, often incorporat- ronment in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Iraqi revolutionised archaeology in recent ing GPS units (Hill). Aerial photography Republic’s enthusiasm for archaeologi- years, facilitating the growth in the disci- and kite photography have been utilised cal research has led to a resurgence of pline of satellite image-based landscape for decades, but drones that have a pay- projects in the region. The SBAH in analysis. load sufficient to lift a small digital camera Baghdad and the General Directorate of Remote sensing is utilised in cultural heri- are more flexible platforms and have intro- Antiquities of the KRG, based in Erbil, tage management and documentation duced economic, easily transportable and have welcomed new foreign-led and and is a means of protecting Iraqi heri- deployable remote sensing into the field.

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Dam. The lake, which is located in the central and southern part of the Rania Plain, covers approximately 150 square kilome- tres or about a fourth of the plain. The multi-purpose dam was constructed in the late 1950s to regulate the fl ow of the Less- er Zab river, store water for irrigation and to provide hydro-electric power (see fi g. 2).

The plain possesses a temporally pro- found cultural history with numerous archaeological sites dating from the early Neolithic to pre-modern times densely distributed across the landscape, particularly in association with the Lesser Zab river and natural springs. Between 1956 and 1960, prior to the com- Figure 2: The Dokan Dam. pletion of the Dokan Dam, Iraqi archae- Photo: Henrik Brahe and Tim Skuldbøl 2013. ologists surveyed forty ancient sites on the Rania Plain (al-Soof) and subsequent- They have been used for a range of tasks is a spatially and ecological constrained ly investigated ten selected sites. One of such as site identifi cation, mapping (to environment. The plain is approximately the most extensively excavated was the produce high-resolution and 3D digital 30 by 20 kilometers square or about half now partially submerged Tell Basmusian surface models) and site monitoring in the size of the Shahrizor Plain to the south. (see al-Soof). The most famous site on the many parts of the world (Casana et al.; Within this area are the large urban cen- plain is that of Tell Shemshara. It was ini- Ferná ndez-Hernandez et al.; Parcak). tres of Hajiawa, Chwarqurna and Rania, tially excavated by a Danish team in 1957 and a large number of ever growing vil- (finding early Neolithic and Middle The Rania Plain: Archaeological Back- lages. The Sungasur Gorge gives access to Bronze Age occupation) and is currently ground and Aims of the Project the Rania Plain from the smaller Pishdar being investigated by the University of The Rania Plain lies in an enclosed valley Plain to the east and through which the Reading (directed by R. and W. Mat- in the western foothills of the Central Za- Lesser Zab River enters the plain and fl ows thews)—working in the earliest Neolithic gros Mountains in north-eastern Iraq and into the artifi cial lake created by the Dokan levels—and NINO, who are concentrating

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on Middle Bronze Age occupation (Ei- dem; Eidem and Læssøe). In 2012 a Danish team from the University of Copenhagen began investigating the twin sites of Bab-w-Kur. Located about 5 kilometers south-west of Shemshara, the sites lie deep within the inundation zone of the Dokan Dam (a band about 3-7 kilometers wide along the lake’s northern edge). We recorded extensive surface remains—exposed by water erosion—of a walled and well-organized settlement from the Late Chalcolithic 2-4 period (4000-3300 BC) (Skuldbøl et al.). Figure 3: The project uses a microcopter with a high-resolution camera. As a tool for recording cultural The research goals of the University of Co- heritage they are a rapid, relatively inexpensive resource. Photos: Henrik Brahe and Tim Skuldbøl 2013. penhagen project are: (1) to investigate the development of settlement on the tion Systems (GIS) analysis, geological cor- the potential number of archaeological plain, placing it into a wider analysis of the ing and newly-emerging imagery technol- sites under threat in just this zone alone. development of early urban societies of ogies (see fi g. 3) are being adapted to the The project uses an integrated approach Northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, Syr- specifi c challenges of the Rania Plain. to understand the cultural landscape of ia and Southern Turkey); and (2) to record the Rania Plain. A rich data resource has valuable data to be employed in the cata- In the autumn of 2013, as a test of ancient been created by combining recently ac- loguing and protecting of the extant ar- settlement density of the wider Rania Plain quired survey data, satellite and aerial im- chaeological heritage of the Rania Plain. project area and in collaboration with agery, older data from Corona satellite To this end, we are developing simple and NINO, we conducted a preliminary high- imagery of the 1960s and 1970s, and data cost-effective strategies from established intensity fi eld survey involving the collec- from the salvage-survey carried out by al- practices (many of which are shared by tion of surface materials—primary pot Soof in the 1950s. This has provided in- other projects in the region) to identify, sherds—within a 4 square kilometers sam- sights into: (1) the present state of preser- monitor and mitigate damage and poten- ple area. More than thirty sites were re- vation of the plain’s archaeological tial threats to intact cultural material. Meth- corded, a third of which although small, remains; (2) evidence of damage dating ods such as high-intensity fi eld survey, tar- were previously unknown. Almost all the to before the beginning of this project; (3) geted salvage excavations, satellite sites lie in the lake’s fl ood zone. The high damage and threats due to recent urban imagery analyses, Geographical Informa- site numbers in this sample demonstrates expansion and the intensifi cation of agri-

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culture; and (4) the effects of the seasonal exemplifi ed by the modern Islamic cem- fl uctuations of the lake on sites lying with- eteries, which are often located on ancient in its inundation zone. mounds near modern villages or towns; The combined data of the survey and ex- the spread of industrial works such as the cavations will provide a better under- series of huge concrete works and facto- standing of the nature, chronology and ries in the towns of Chwarqurna and Rania extent of human occupation on the plain (indicators of the construction boom on (see Skuldbøl et al.; Skuldbøl, Hald and the plain); the construction of new roads; Colantoni). and the noted growth in the population corridor on the western side of the plain. The Rania Plain: Impact of Modern Developments and the Destruction of The ancient settlement mound situated in Archaeological Heritage the middle of the town of Boskin is a par- The archaeological heritage of the Rania ticularly good example of a site being de- Plain suffers a number of prominent stroyed by modern urban expansion. In threats. There is urban sprawl and infra- 1956 it was, according to al-Soof, a rela- structure construction in the northern half tively large intact mound. Today the top of the plain, and intensive agricultural ex- and sides of the mound have been lev- ploitation in and adjacent to the fl ood Figure 4: The destruction of intact archaeological elled for a water-pumping station. The re- zone of the Dokan Lake in the southern remains at the site of Lower Waranka. mains of a cemetery cover part of the Photo: Henrik Brahe and Tim Skuldbøl 2013. half. Whilst archaeological sites lying with- mound. On all sides houses encroach in this zone are also subject to seasonal onto the mound together with deep, large damage by the lake’s waters. Looting, ological deposits.5 The depositing of silt pits said to have been dug by the Iraqi however, is rare in the region. by the lake is also concealing low mounds military. The pits are now being expanded With the construction of the Dokan dam and other archaeological features. As a and fi lled with town garbage (see fi g. 6). many of the archaeological sites on the result, archaeological heritage within the Rania Plain were submerged. However, fl ood zone is under tremendous threat Intensive agricultural activities such as the seasonal changes in the water level of (see fi g. 4). deep-ploughing of fi elds, the digging of the reservoir—as it rises in the spring and irrigation channels and earthen agricul- falls in the summer and autumn—expose The towns and villages on the plain are tural water reservoirs (primarily in the many sites previously covered by the wa- rapidly expanding and together with the fl ood zone) are destroying many low ters to waves and erosional processes development of infrastructure threaten ar- mounded archaeological sites (see fi g. 7). that remove large tracts of in situ archae- chaeological sites (see fi g. 5). Threats are

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cess and comprehensive site inventory catalogues that can be used to monitor threats to archaeological sites. These catalogues, containing details such as site location, chronological period and state of preservation, are already under development in some regions of the Middle East. Ideally they should possess the characteristics of being an interactive and easily maintainable GIS-based online database founded upon on contemporary satellite imagery. For the Rania Plain this means contributing documented sites, evidence Figure 5: Corona satellite image from 1968 versus modern Bing Maps image showing changes in roads of damage and potential threats. and the expansion of the town of Rania. Considerable effort and funding has gone Sources: Corona image 1968; DigitalGlobe 2014 and Microsoft Corporation 2014. into developing such a heritage inventory system. Ongoing projects include an Aus- Discussion: Managing Non-Conservable will and must continue, balancing the tralian-led undertaking developing a da- Remains needs for heritage preservation and basic tabase to record the damage to heritage How do you manage irreplaceable ar- infrastructure, building space and farmland in Iraq (Isakhan). In 2011 the Middle East- chaeological cultural material that cannot for the region’s population. ern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA- be easily preserved in situ? We believe in an adaptive approach with Iraq) project was initiated; a collaboration Despite the value of protecting archaeo- an increased focus on developing and im- between the Getty Conservation Institute, logical heritage in situ some regions of the plementing damage assessment and mon- the World Monument Fund and the Iraq Middle East are under tremendous pres- itoring strategies (the linchpins for manag- SBAH. This web-based GIS database sure from modern development. Regions ing endangered archaeological heritage) (founded on Open source software and such as the Rania Plain require advocates if that are both simple and cost-effective. underpinned by Google Earth) is de- their current fate is not to be simply ig- signed to be a national inventory manage- nored. The multitude of separate demands Regional Databases for Site Recording ment system for the recording, monitoring and interests that regional authorities face, and Preservation and mapping of archaeological sites and make the establishment of effective and A fundamental building block for the pres- monuments. According to Palumbo, comprehensive heritage protection a de- ervation of the cultural landscape in Iraqi Agnew and Myers (341), and Kennedy, the manding task. Nevertheless, development Kurdistan is the development of open ac- aim is to constantly update the conditions

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of sites, for example: tracking damage, theft and threats from development with the data available on a restricted basis to the relevant authorities to minimise the chances of sites being easily targeted by unwanted attention.6 Signifi cantly for work in the wider region, the project faced problems due to the state of security in much of the country (Palumbo, Agnew and Myers 348). This initiative has now been superseded by a new heritage inventory and management system, the Figure 6: Damage to the ancient mound of Boskin. Arches Project (a Getty Conservation Insti- A) World View 2 satellite image (Source: DigitalGlobe 2010). B) Photo: Tim B.B. Skuldbøl 2012. tute and World Monument Fund project). the subject of television reports. These government policy of considered devel- Capacity Building and Co-operation events testify to a growing local interest opment, make informed development Capacity building and training pro- and pride in the cultural heritage of the decisions at a local level and to prioritise grammes are under way in Iraqi Kurdistan plain. However, in order to increase the ca- archaeological rescue projects. To re- with a number of multi-national and Insti- pacity for risk assessment and salvage spond to the speed of change research tutional collaborations (Cereti and Giunta). work of the local antiquities directorate needs to be cost-effective, effi cient and Training covers: heritage management; more funding and staff would be required. rapidly disseminated. Tools and strate- the recording, conservation and preserva- gies may include: tion of buildings and archaeological sites; Simple, Cost Effective Methods • Comprehensive records of the and surveying techniques (see the web- In order to protect ancient landscapes region’s heritage resources are nee- sites of the Sulaimaniyah Antiquities Direc- and sites archaeologists need to support ded to update the Atlas of the Archae- torate; the U.S. State Department and the heritage practice by providing a basic ological Sites in Iraq. To assist this, sim- University of Delaware). level of information and observation in a ple site catalogues incorporating visual During the October 2013 fi eld research timely manner. Recording and catalogu- records, chronological and locational season the site of Bab-w-Kur was visited ing of heritage resources are essential data, and status assessments should by students from the University of Raparin for long-term management and protec- be produced that can be easily integ- (Rania)—who later participated in a day of tion strategies. Archaeological impact rated into more complex database sys- excavations—, and the Sulaimaniyah Antiq- assessments and the provision of suffi - tems in development. uities Directorate. Work at the site was also cient data is necessary to formulate a • Use of remote sensing to monitor

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Tim Boaz Bruun Skuldbøl damaged and many will probably go unrecorded and therefore be lost. is the director of the “University of In the case of the Rania Plain, the heritage Copenhagen Archaeological Project landscape is not one of tension between on the Rania Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan” in the state and local community in sharing the Department of Cross-Cultural and cultural and economic benefi ts—as can be Regional Studies at the University of witnessed in other parts of the Middle Copenhagen. His research focuses on East—but is a landscape subject to threats the management of garbage in urban that are more prosaic. Developmental de- societies and on the development of mands, investment opportunities, vested urbanism in marginal regions of Ancient interests, the profi t motive and the lack of Mesopotamia. Figure 7: The impact of intensifi ed agricultural activities (water reservoirs) in a section of the Rania Plain. an obvious tourism dividend, are among email: [email protected] A) Photo: Carlo Colantoni 2013. B) World View 2 satellite image (Source: DigitalGlobe 2010). the factors that intertwine to create a set of competing interests and demands on changes and threats to the heritage tion of their own heritage. The sharing this cultural landscape. It is a historical landscape. Drone photography offers of knowledge concerning sites under relic landscape that still needs to be fully cheap, targeted and up-to-date infor- threat is necessary to effectively target documented and one that requires com- mation compared to satellite imagery salvage excavations or site documen- munities and stakeholders to engage with and can be employed to target areas tation. the slightly abstract values of cultural that are known to be under threat. The worth. These are issues common to many project is in the process of compiling Our aim here is to open a discourse on parts of the Middle East, but in the case of and monitoring threats, which will be how to formulate simple, cost-effective Kurdistan and the Rania Plain, the extent shared with the local antiquities direc- methods of recording and preserving a of survey work presently being undertak- torate. near-invisible heritage against modern en or planned has the potential to pro- • Engagement with stakeholders (e.g. pressures. Databases are in development, vide a comprehensive heritage manage- local communities, governmental bo- but they may take years to get up and run- ment data resource for the Kurdish dies, academic institutions and partici- ning. In the meantime, the prospects for government in the short term. In compar- pants, and schools) to raise awareness archaeological heritage management on ison to a rather bleak damage assessment of the cultural heritage value of the the Rania Plain are in the balance. Rapid for the cultural heritage of the rest of Iraq, landscape and the threats it faces. In- urban development and erosion caused Iraqi Kurdistan holds the possibility of a volving and informing communities al- by the lake are taking a toll on the relic highly positive outcome for the preserva- lows them to engage with government landscape, whilst sites are being heavily tion of a fragile and irreplaceable cultural bodies in the protection and preserva- patrimony.

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Carlo Colantoni Acknowledgements is an Assistant Professor in Near Eastern Sponsors Collaborators Archaeology in the Department of • Danish Agency for Science and Inno- Tim Skuldbøl (University of Copenhagen), Archaeology at Bitlis Eren University, vation – Danish Council for Indepen- Carlo Colantoni (Bitlis Eren University, Tur- Turkey. His research includes analyses of dent Research key), Mette Marie Hald (National Museum settlement patterns and landscape surveys • Department of Cross-Cultural and Regi- of Denmark), Jesper Eidem (NINO, Hol- of Ancient Mesopotamia; architecture onal Studies, University of Copenhagen land), Kamal Rashid Raheem (Sulaimani- and the built environment; and human • The Danish Institute in Damascus yah Directorate of Antiquities and Heri- behavioural responses to environment • Brødrene Hartmanns Fond tage) and societal collapse in complex ancient • Julie von Müllens Fond – The Royal societies. Presently, he is undertaking Danish Academy research in south-western Turkey and northern Iraq. Colantoni is currently 4 Notes There are a number of Archaeological Survey and 6 the Survey Leader for the University Although, at the time of Works Cited landscape surveys presently the Rania Plain Survey. In writing, this project was of Copenhagen’s archaeological 1 The NINO Archaeological being undertaken in Iraqi addition, there are a large reported on the Arches Altaweel, Mark. “Some investigations in Iraqi Kurdistan. Project on the Rania Plain is Kurdistan, these include: the number of archaeological Project website to have Recent and Current Erbil Plain Archaeological excavation projects email: [email protected] directed by Jesper Eidem. stalled due to administrative Excavations in Iraq.” Iraq 75 Survey; the Shahrizor Survey developing across Iraqi changes. (2013): 279-80. Print. 2 The threat to Iraqi and Project; the Sirwan Survey Kurdistan and a gazetteer Syrian heritage due to Project; a provincial survey of archaeological projects “Art Conservation 2014: increasing sectarian violence of the Governatorate of in Iraqi Kurdistan, including Archaeological Site and the struggle over Sulaimaniyah in collaboration excavation projects, is now Preservation.” University of territorial control during the with l’Institut français du being prepared by John Delaware. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. summer of 2014 involving Proche-Orient Iraq that MacGinnis, Kostantinos groups such as IS is yet to be overlaps with the Rania Kopanias and Jason Ur (see Bogdanos, Matthew. “The fully understood. Plain; the MAIKI- Italian also Altaweel). Way Ahead. A Five-Point Plan Archaeological Mission in for Future Action.” Antiquities 5 3 To date, more than forty Iraqi Kurdistan survey of Extensive damaged caused Under Siege. Cultural archaeological teams have the Chamchamal region; by the lake’s waters have Heritage Protection after commenced work in Iraqi the Land of Nineveh been reported by Eidem the Iraq War. Ed. Lawrence Kurdistan (National Science Regional Project; the Upper (9) at the site of Shemshara, Rothfield. Lanham, MD: Centre, Poland; Curry 18-19). Greater Zab Archaeological whilst heavy damage is AltaMira Press, 2008. 153-61. Reconnaissance Project; the clearly visible on the mound Print. Rawanduz Archaeological of Basmusian. Program; Upper Tanjero ––› Project; the Eastern Habur

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––› Brodie, Neil. “Satellite Eidem, Jesper. “Back to Gregory, David, and Henning Kennedy, Randy. “In History- Palumbo, Gaetano, Imagery for the Investigation Rania.” The Netherlands Matthiesen. “The 4th Rich Region, a Very New Neville Agnew, and David of Looted Archaeological Institute for the Near East. International Conference on System Tracks Very Old Myers. “The GCI-WMF Sites.” Trafficking Culture. Annual Report NINO and NIT Preserving Archaeological Things.” New York Times. Iraq Cultural Heritage Researching the Global 2012 (2013): 2-11. Print. Remains In Situ (PARIS4): New York Times, 24 Aug. Conservation Initiative: Traffic for Looted Cultural 23-26 May 2011, the National 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. Building Professional Objects. 20 Aug. 2012. Web. Eidem, Jesper, and Jørgen Museum of Denmark, Capacity for Cultural 29 Mar. 2014. Læssøe. The Shemshara Copenhagen.” Conservation Kurdistan. “Land of Nature Heritage Conservation and Archives 1. The Letters. and Management of and History.” Official Website Management.” Conservation Casana, Jesse, et al. Copenhagen: Kongelige Archaeological Sites of the General Board of and Management of “Archaeological Aerial Danske videnskabernes Special Issue: Preserving Tourism in Kurdistan Region, Archaeological Sites 11.3-4 Thermography: A Case selskab, 2001. Print. Archaeological Sites in Situ Iraq. (2009): 340-50. Print. Study at the Chaco-Era Blue 14.1-4 (2012): 1-6. Print. J Community, New Mexico.” Exell, Karen, and Trinidad Lane, Paul J. “Future Urban Parcak, Sarah. “Satellite Journal of Archaeological Rico. “‘There is No Heritage Hill, Austin March. Growth and Archaeological Remote Sensing for Science 45 (2014): 207-19. in Qatar’: Orientalism, “Archaeology and UAVs: Heritage Management: Monitoring Archaeological Print. Colonialism and Other Legal, Ethical and Safe Use Some Implications for Tells in the Middle East.” Problematic Histories.” World of Drones for Archaeological Research Activity in Journal of Field Archaeology Cereti, Carlo G., and Roberta Archaeology 45.4 (2013): 670- Research.” Anthropology Africa.” Conservation 32.1 (2007): 65-81. Print. Giunta, Ed. Preservation 85. Print. News 54.5 (2013). Web. 9 Apr. and Management of of Cultural Heritage of 2014. Archaeological Sites 13.23 Rothfield, Lawrence. “Iraq the Kurdish Region in Iraq. Fernández-Hernandez, (2011): 134-59. Print. Cultural Heritage Policy: Italian Cooperation Project in Jesús, et al. “Image- “Iraq-Turkey Oil Exports The Kurdish Problem.” The Iraqi Kurdistan (2009-2010). Based Modelling from via Kirkuk Halted for Three Monroe, Derek. “Kurdistan: Punching Bag. Thoughts on Bologna: BraDypUS, 2012. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Weeks.” Hurriyet Daily News. The Next Autocracy?” Foreign Cultural Heritage, Cultural Web. 1 Apr. 2014. (UAV) Photogrammetry: An Hurriyet Daily News, 19 Mar. Policy in Focus. Foreign Policy Economics, and Cultural Effective, Low-Cost Tool for 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. in Focus, 13 June 2013. Web. Politics, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Contreras, Daniel A., and Archaeological Applications.” 4 Apr. 2014. Mar. 2014. Neil Brodie. “The Utility of Archaeometry (8 Jan. 2014). Isakhan, Benjamin. Publicly-Available Satellite Web. 29 Mar. 2014. “Recording Heritage National Science Centre, ---. “Preserving Iraq’s Heritage Imagery for Investigating Destruction in Iraq.” TAARII Poland. “The Settlement from Looting. What Went Looting of Archaeological Gibson, Stuart. “Assessment Newsletter. The American History of Iraqi Kurdistan.” Wrong (within the United Sites in Jordan.” Journal of of Museums in the Kurdish Academic Research Institute The Aqreh-Bardarash Plain. States).” Antiquities Under Field Archaeology 35.1 (2010): Region of Iraq, 24 March-15 in Iraq 7.2 (2012): 24-27. Web. Web. 14 Sept. 2014. Siege. Cultural Heritage 101-14. Print. April 2009.” UNESCO Mission 10 Oct. 2014. Protection after the Iraq Report (2009): 1-55. Print. War. Ed. Lawrence Rothfield. Curry, Andrew. “Kurdistan ---. “TAARII and the Iraqi Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, Offers an Open Window on Cultural Center Co-Host 2008. 5-25. Print. the Ancient Fertile Crescent.” Events.” TAARII Newsletter. Science 344.6179 (2014): 18- The American Academic ––› 19. Print. Research Institute in Iraq 7.2 (2012): 1-3. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.

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––› Skuldbøl, Tim B.B., Mette Sulaimaniyah Antiquities Ur, Jason, et al. “Ancient Marie Hald, and Carlo Directorate. “Sapienza, Cities and Landscapes in the Colantoni. “Danske University of Rome – Italian Kurdistan Region of Iraq: The arkæologer skal redde Iraks Ministry of Foreign Affairs Erbil Plain Archaeological Kulturarv.” Videnskab.dk. 10 Cooperation Project Survey 2012 Season 1.” Iraq 75 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. ‘Safeguard and Enhancement (2013): 89-117. Print. of Cultural Heritage in Skuldbøl, Tim B.B., et al. Iraqi Kurdistan.’ Activities “Arkæologi i vandkanten – in Sulaimaniyah Years redningsundersøgelser langs 2012/2013.” Sulaimaniyah Dokan-søen i det nordøstlige Antiquities Directorate. 9 Irak.” Nationalmuseets June 2013. Web. 28 Mar. Arbejdsmark 2014 (2014): 2014. 144-57. Print. al-Taie, Khalid. “Iraq Unveils al-Soof, Behnam Abu. Restoration Plan for Heritage “Mounds in the Rania Plain Sites.” Assyrian International and Excavations at Tell News Agency, 9 Jan. 2014. Bazmusian (1956).” Sumer 26 Web. 2 Apr. 2014. (1970): 65-104. Print. “Iraq’s Economy.” Economist, Stone, Elizabeth C. 4 Apr. 2007. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. “Archaeological Site Looting: The Destruction of Cultural UNESCO. Managing Cultural Heritage in Southern Iraq.” World Heritage. World Catastrophe! The Looting Heritage Resource Manual. and Destruction of Iraq’s Past. Paris: United Nations Ed. Geoff Emberling and Educational, Scientific and Katharyn Hanson. Chicago: Cultural Organization, 2013. Oriental Institute Museum 1-152. Print. Publications, 2008. 65-80. Print. United States. Dept. of State. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Iraq Cultural Affairs Initiative. Cultural Heritage Center. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

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emerging global cities of today and to- morrow? Cultural Heritage in the Gulf: This paper attempts to highlight the im- Blight or Blessing? portance of dealing with these issues of conservation and development, by rais- A Discussion of Evidence from Dubai, ing and discussing the following question: How can our cultural heritage be a Jeddah and Doha setting for appropriate conservation and development in emerging global environments? In order to discuss this issue, three historic centers in Gulf cities—old Dubai in UAE, old Jeddah in Saudi Ara- bia, and old Doha in Qatar—will form the cases for this research.

Djamel Boussaa Keywords: Cultural Heritage; Urban Con- servation; Sustainability; Tourism In the Gulf and after gaining indepen- Is it “blight” and an obstacle that stif dence in the 1960s and 1970s, many cit- fles our cities from moving forward to Introduction ies witnessed a staggering rapid urban aspire toward a bright and prosperous Historic centers present a rich cultural growth. The urban centers that formed future, or is it a “blessing” as an asset heritage, ranging from neighborhoods, the central parts of these cities under- that can act as a catalyst to promote streets, and plazas that reflect the past. went the continuous pressures of de- our cities while maintaining strong Unlike the modern alien high rise tow- struction and redevelopment. A large roots in their past? Accordingly, what ers, historic buildings and urban ele- number of these centers were often de- should be the future of these surviving ments uncover long chapters of history molished and replaced by alien, import- historic centers? Will they be demol- and events that increase local pride and ed, high-rise buildings. The urban cores ished to pave the way for more ambi- cultural identity. In addition to housing, that escaped complete demolition sur- tious growth, or can they be conserved the most significant buildings found in vived as isolated pockets in the middle and sustained for present and future historic centers include mosques, ma- of hybrid environments. generations? Will the historic city, as drassas, caravanserais, khans, hammams, This dilemma raises the important the heart of urban life and the main forts, and palaces. Unlike museums— question: is this surviving cultural heri- protector of our cities’ identities, sur- where the past is displayed, but not tage a blight or blessing? To elaborate: vive and continue to exist within the touched—historic cities and urban cen-

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ters are places where life is bustling (An- such a degree that these historic centers and their life and identity should be sus- glin 1). have been transformed into “slums” tained through appropriate urban regen- (UNESCO 5-7). The task of restoring eration strategies. During the late 1960s, when most of the these historic areas from blight to bless- Gulf countries gained independence, ing, through conservation and develop- Cultural Heritage in the Gulf the initial goal of many governments ment, needs to be urgently addressed Slum clearance in the name of modernity was to change the image of the Gulf city before they disappear forever. With land and improving the wellbeing of the popu- from that of underdevelopment and values rising, these surviving historic lation is a major cause of the erosion and poverty to that of modernity and pros- patches face multiple pressures from destruction of cultural heritage in the Gulf. perity. In order to accomplish this, they their owners, tenants, and outside devel- Lack of planning in historic areas has given launched large-scale redevelopment opers, to tear them down for massive developers and owners the ability to projects to catch up with the modern and more profitable redevelopment quickly erode this cultural heritage for world. However, numerous historic quar- projects. maximum financial return. This trend has ters and buildings were sacrificed along The viability of a historic center depends been stressed by Fethi: the way. Historic centers, strategically lo- on how its position, function, and values Many historic areas and buildings cated in major cities and capitals, were can be sustained within the rapidly were demolished overnight, or burned seen as “obstacles” in the face of rapid growing and changing urban system, down by their owners for this greedy modernization. Therefore, in many Gulf particularly with respect to modern dis- reason. But, when these market forces cities, complete historic areas were to- tricts. Central cores once bustled with are properly controlled and channeled, tally decimated, including Old Abu Dha- life because they provided a diversity of say for cultural tourism, then these very bi and Al Shindagha in Dubai, and Fareej services within a small area and lay with- destructive forces can become saviors Al Slata and Msheireb in Doha. in easy reach for pedestrians. Today, the of heritage. (55-56) Most historic centers that survived this introduction of vehicular roads has wave of demolition faced issues in caused major disruptions to the old fab- Thusly, the tensions between change and adapting to the needs and aspirations of ric of cities, destroying many significant constancy, and the conflict between the the present. Most of the remaining his- historic districts and buildings. goals of conservation and development, toric centers suffer from over-occupa- The main purpose of this paper is to ex- may be reconciled. tion by low income tenants, lack of main- amine whether it is possible to reconsider In the Gulf during the 1960s and 1970s, tenance, neglect, decay, and lack of both the cultural and economic functions modernization was thought of as synony- concern from the local and central au- of the remaining historic centers and dis- mous to Westernization; this resulted in a thorities. Moreover, a lack of appropriate tricts in the Gulf. Despite their fragmen- rejection of traditional values in architec- city planning and changes in consumer tary survival, these historic areas should ture and urban design. The massive im- tastes have worsened the situation to be seen as a blessing and not a blight, portation of foreign Western building

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styles, planning regulations, and traffi c enhancing and sustaining local identity historic urban center is not an isolated and techniques without any well-thought ad- and pride, while not hindering the ongo- individual project. Rather, this includes a aptation to local conditions caused the ing growth of the cities. series of projects—not only physical, but wholesale clearance of historic and tradi- The main reasons and arguments for con- also social and cultural. They should all be tional areas. Ronald Lewcock, a well- serving urban heritage in the Gulf (see fi g. combined together to respond to the lo- known conservationist with a long experi- 1) can be classifi ed into two categories. cal needs of the community (Orbasli 18). ence in the Arab world, wrote in 1990: First, urban heritage helps forge individu- There is a growing understanding that Contemporary city administrators and al community and national identities, en- most of the historic cities in the Gulf are regional urban planners are loath to abling people to defi ne who they are facing multiple pressures. Competing de- become involved in cultural preserva- (Boussaa, “Search for Identity”). Secondly, mands for land use, introduction of new tion or adaptive reuse of old buildings urban heritage may have economic im- economic activities, and marketing of her- […] The architects and planners be- portance, as people increasingly seek to itage resources place a heavy burden on cause almost all their training is in the reuse historic areas and buildings as re- local heritage players. The latter strive to provision of new buildings, new sub- sources for trade, tourism, and other eco- fi nd appropriate ways to manage these urbs or new towns on virgin sites—they nomic activities. surviving old cores. During recent years, have practically no training in ways of new policy mechanisms have emerged to improving existing buildings […] On a reconcile the confl icting demands of con- practical level, both the politicians and servation and development by applying the planners would generally prefer to sustainable development policies to mini- clear an area in order to begin anew mize any further losses in cultural heritage without all the attendant problems, resources (Strange 229). complexities […] that urban and build- Historic urban centers represent a great ing conservation involve. (34-35) economic, social, and cultural investment that would be unwise for the community Under the impact of high density, many to waste. One reason for conserving urban historic areas and centers deteriorated heritage is its potential rehabilitation, and rapidly. The estimated number of historic Figure 1: Showing the conservation efforts in heritage tourism can be a major catalyst cities or urban cores that survived in the Fareej Al Fahidi in Dubai which started in 1996. and incentive for urban conservation. De- Photo: Djamel Boussaa. Arab world, with varying states of conser- veloping historic areas for tourism and vation, is 200 to 250 (Fethi 49). Despite commerce requires transition of conserva- some level of decay, these historic rem- Urban conservation policies are usually tion from a political, cultural, and social nants are still signifi cant; with appropriate area-based, through the designation of level to that of economic development. policy, they can still become vehicles for conservation areas. The conservation of a

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Trade patterns in historic Gulf cities are Urban conservation carries two main ben- total of 2,248,908 persons as of May 2014 rapidly changing; small workshops and efits with it: identity and utility, which refer (“Population and Vital Statistics”). craft activities are being displaced be- respectively to conservation and develop- cause they are seen as too noisy and un- ment. A sense of identity needs to be en- With the exception of the traditional sanitary to be left in the heart of cities, hanced to withstand the radical effects mountainous Hatta village, Dubai is a which are preparing to welcome tourists. produced by rapid growth and globaliza- semi-desert, with one of the most spec- In many historic cities, local crafts and action. Utility means keeping the heritage tacular harbors in the region. Dubai tivities are being replaced by “souvenirs” resource alive through an appropriate Creek, called locally “Khor Dubai,” is ten and “coffee” shops because these kinds of adaptive reuse program, involving ele- kilometers long and divides the city into shops generate more income—a trend ments such as tourism, trade, administra- two parts. The southern side is called Bur known as gentrification. This trend hap- tion, and other economic activities. Urban Dubai, which comprises three main his- pened in the historic city of Sanaa in Ye- conservation has become an important toric districts: Shindagha, Al Fahidi, and men, where the local craftsmen were dis- issue in the Arab world. Interesting conser- Batsakia. The northern part includes old placed from the inner city to provide vation attempts can be found in cities like Deira, the new central business district, enough space for tourist amenities. Sana’a, Tunis, Baghdad, Fez, and Aleppo. and the international airport. Al Abra, the Urban heritage must be viewed as a In the Gulf, the Sultanate of Oman has suc- traditional dhow crossing over the creek, blessing, as it is a primary actor in main- ceeded in preserving most of its urban is still largely used to commute between taining and regenerating the lost cultural heritage. Other Gulf countries are trying the two banks of the creek, Bur Dubai identities of the Gulf cities. Familiar build- hard to save their cultural heritage as well, and Deira. ings such as mosques, souqs, and ma- as can be seen in Dubai, UAE; Jeddah, Rapid growth in the years following the drassas represent shared cultural values. Saudi Arabia; and Doha, Qatar. formation of the United Arab Emirates in They are more important than unfamiliar 1971 turned Dubai into a vast complex of and alien objects in creating a “sense of The Historic City of Dubai, UAE construction sites. Roads, power lines, place.” New developments in the social Dubai, the second largest city in the UAE, telephone lines, streetlights, and drainage and technological field are only to be re- is the most cosmopolitan and economi- were laid down within decades. While this jected if they destroy the historic environ- cally open city in the Gulf; it is less oil-de- rapid development improved the wellbe- ment. Change requires a strong relation- pendent than UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi. ing of residents, on the way it sacrificed ship with the past in order to integrate Dubai is located at the crossroads of an- many significant chapters of the city’s cul- and harmonize the old and new. There- cient Arabian trade routes midway be- tural heritage. The rapid urbanization that fore, a marriage between conservation tween Europe and the Far East. The emir- followed during the 1970s threatened the and development may be capable of im- ate lies on an area of 3,885 square historic center of Dubai with complete ex- proving the quality of life. kilometers, corresponding to 5% of the tinction. Today, the old core survives as UAE; the present population numbers a disparate small parts in the city; only 371

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historic buildings have survived from an Program Type Proposed Activities original number of 3,000 (Bukhash). Marine Heritage: In Dubai, as elsewhere in the UAE and the Diving village, Gulf, urban conservation has been en- Traditional dhows museum, larged from an initial concern with the pro- Planetarium, tection of individual buildings and monu- Water living species exhibition, ments to the conservation of groups of Abra stops. buildings and areas. During the last de- Heritage Revival Inland Heritage: cade, heritage conservation has been in- Heritage Village, creasingly seen as a valuable policy instru- Exhibition area for popular folklore, ment in helping to regenerate many Exhibition area for traditional methods of historical districts such as Shindagha and building, Bastakia. This trend has become synony- Exhibition of photos and historical documents, mous with urban revival, since conserva- School for traditional crafts. tion of the urban heritage can help fulfill Large Auditorium (2,000 seats), economic objectives as well as respond to Exhibition rooms for contemporary artists, social and cultural needs. Reconstruction Cultural Activities Seminar and video rooms, of Al Shindagha forms an interesting ex- Offices for the heritage associations. ample in revitalizing old Dubai. A hotel built with a traditional style (Khan), Traditional restaurants and cafes, Revitalization of the Shindagha Heritage Traditional market (Souq), Area Tourism Activities Tourist information centers, The original residence of the ruling fam- Health center, ily, Al Maktoum, was in the Shindagha Abra stops for sea cruise and sport. district situated at the mouth of the creek, which was developed into the Administration, Sheikh Saeed’s house, built around 1896 Police, security and emergency units, (al-Rostomani 30). The Shindagha area General Services Mosques, was completely swept away after a deci- Public toilets, sion by the Dubai authorities in 1991 to Parking areas. launch a vast highrise redevelopment Table 1: The Shindagha Revitalization Program. Author: Djamel Boussaa. project along the creek. However, rehabilitation of Beit Sheikh Said from 1984

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to 1986, and accompanying conserva- In addition to these two heritage villages, the festival. This annual event has injected tion awareness that was well-publicized a long pedestrian walk was proposed new life in the once-forgotten Shindagha through media, conferences, and news- along the creek. The path starts from the area. Today, it attracts many tourists and papers, discouraged the higher and lo- Shindagha fort and ends at the creek en- locals to the Shindagha, and Al Fahidi ar- cal authorities from implementing this trance. Many gathering places and activity eas. In short, after long years of neglect project. They fi nally opted to develop areas were established between the two and blight, the area has become a bless- the whole area for heritage tourism, as ends of the walk. With the wise integration ing to the inhabitants of Dubai and the shown in table 1 and in fi gure 6. of appropriate lighting to enhance the tra- UAE (Boussaa, “Historic Centers”). ditional image of the area, the whole surroundings have contributed to creating an important attraction for global and local visitors. The construction work lasted one year, and the two heritage villages were opened to the public in March 1997, thus coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Dubai Shopping Festival. Since then, it has become the main hub of heritage and Figure 2: Showing the Diving Village in Shin- folklore activities that are performed dur- dagha. Photo: Djamel Boussaa. ing the annual Dubai Shopping Festival Figure 3: Showing the Heritage village in Shin- and other occasional celebrations. dagha. Photo: Djamel Boussaa. The revitalization of the historical The Dubai Shopping Festival is one of the Shindagha area goes back to March 1996. world’s largest family festivals. Every year The Historic City of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia The project aimed at retracing the history since its launch in 1996, this event has at- Jeddah, the second-largest city in Saudi of Dubai through the establishment of a tracted millions of people from around the Arabia, is located on the eastern shore of tourist heritage village along the creek. world, a large portion of whom take the the Red Sea, in a valley that ranges in The village is composed of two main opportunity to visit old Dubai. During width from 5 to 12 kilometers. It lies on a zones; the fi rst one, located at the begin- these festivals a number of major venues coastal plain between the Al Sarawat ning of the creek, is a marine heritage are designated, ranging from the Global Mountain range to the east and the Red zone, with the Diving Village as its center Village to other sports and recreational Sea to the west. Jeddah is the last port to point (see fi g. 2). The second part is the venues. The Heritage Village and Beit survive on the Red Sea coast that contin- Heritage Village (see fi g. 3), where the his- Sheikh Saeed in the historic district of ues to host numerous ships arriving from torical ruler’s residence Beit Sheik Said al Shindagha and Fareej Al Fahidi are con- all parts. The city of Mecca is about 90 ki- Maktoum can be found (Bukhash). sidered the main heritage venues during lometers inland from there, and the re-

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gion’s climate is generally hot and humid, seilles in Europe. As a result, the city’s During the decade 1970 to 1980, the num- with minimal rain. The population of Jed- wealth increased dramatically, and Jed- ber of cars multiplied by about twenty dah is around 4,324,982, double the pop- dah’s inhabitants became prosperous and times. This brought vehicular access, ulation of Dubai (“Population”). cosmopolitan. along with parking problems and traffi c Its traditional role of trading coupled with congestion inside the confi nes of Al Balad its proximity to Mecca provided Jeddah (see fi g. 4). Large avenues such as Al Dha- with the opportunity to become an impor- hab Street were superimposed over the tant national center. The main characteris- old. While the new streets facilitated ac- tics of Jeddah can be listed as follows cessibility for cars, many historic buildings (Abdu, Salagoor and al-Harigi 119): in the way were “simply” wiped out. For • A center of sea, air, and land commu- instance, Beit Al Baghdadi—one of the sig- nication; nifi cant palaces, built in 1881—was de- • Commercial and business center; stroyed for widening a narrow street (King • Second diplomatic city of the king- 48). dom; Figure 4: Demolition of houses for vehicular Jeddah doubled in size between 1974 and • Haj and Umrah reception center; access and parking space. Photo: Djamel Boussaa. 1980, with new shopping centers, offi ce • An educational health and cultural buildings, and apartment blocks spring- center. The discovery of oil in 1936, and the being up everywhere. The area of the city ginning of its exportation in 1938, brought grew from 1.5 square kilometers in 1947 to As a major reception center, Jeddah re- about an unprecedented pace of change. about 1,200 square kilometers in 1998—a mained a walled city for nearly 1,000 years. Economic changes resulting from the oil growth of 800 times over fi fty years (Abu- Its vast harbor had for centuries handled boom of 1973 coupled with rapid devel- Ghazzeh 229). In order to meet the in- vessels carrying cargo to different ports opment created new physical environ- creasing need for housing and other ser- worldwide, as well as ships transporting ments in Saudi Arabia in general, and Jed- vices, speedy construction was seen as pilgrims to the holy mosques in Makkah dah in particular. As a cosmopolitan city, essential. There was no time to think of and Medina. When the Suez Canal opened Jeddah witnessed colossal urban growth saving the city’s cultural heritage; historic in 1869, Jeddah became one of the main within a very short timespan. While this buildings were either swept away or left to ports on the trade route between the was benefi cial to the local population as it deteriorate. For instance, Bab Mecca—the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, and improved their living conditions, it was main gate of Jeddah—was only recently the Pacifi c Ocean. Its merchants handled implemented at the expense of many reconstructed after being demolished a regular volume of commerce with other chapters of the city’s cultural heritage. (King 46). Jeddah has now grown far be- Arabian ports, along with ports in India, yond its ancient limits; but Al Balad re- Egypt, Africa; and Liverpool and Mar-

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mains clearly defi ned and still survives as Al Balad: Conservation Attempts patches within modern Jeddah. The massive destruction that occurred With weak planning controls in place, greatly threatened the cultural identity of and the intention of many rich people to the city. In order to stop this, attempts to profi t from the land available in Al Balad, save Al Balad began in the early 1970s. highrise towers replaced the traditional, Conservation of old Jeddah formed one low-rise buildings. These tall steel, con- part of the city’s 1973 master plan, which crete, and glass towers dominated areas was prepared by the RMJM (Robert Mat- of particular historical or cultural value thew and John Marshall Consultants). To and interfered with the traditional skyline, implement the conservation plan, a mer- Figure 5: View of rehabilitated Beit Nassif (1987) affecting the image and distinctiveness of chant’s palace, three town houses, and a and the enhanced outdoor environment. Photo: Djamel Boussaa. the city. The result was a hybrid environ- caravanserai were selected for a demon- ment of confl icting styles of old and new, stration study. A number of rehabilitation highrise and low-rise, traditional and projects have been launched since 1982; Extensive awareness efforts were launched modern building materials. Because of these involved particularly the Jukhdar, to gain the support of the rich families and the uncertainty about the future of Al Nassif, Ba Haroon, and Sharbatly houses. younger members of Jeddah’s commu- Balad, some owners allowed their dwell- The decision of King Faysal to restore nity. Two key aspects were used to in- ings to deteriorate deliberately in antici- Beit Nassif provided an enlightened and crease this awareness: the provision of ef- pation of redevelopment. inspiring model for other forthcoming fi cient services such as piped water inside Al Balad, covering an area of 62.45 hect- restoration projects. After more than a the old buildings, and the creation of a ares, has been radically altered. The sea century of hard use, with as many as hun- series of landscaped areas with plants, which used to directly link with Al Balad dred people occupying the house at one fountains, benches, and pavements. This has been blocked by a number of mush- time, Beit Nassif was still standing. The contributed in enhancing the “image” of rooming highrise towers. Most of the sur- artisans working on the restoration of Beit the historic area. However, limited reviving structures were built during the Nassif and other historic buildings were sources, along with a complex system of nineteenth century. Older buildings are determined to return this house to its multi-ownership, made the results of these rare, while the street pattern goes back to original form (see fi g. 5). Following its res- efforts insuffi cient to achieve holistic reha- the sixteenth century. In addition to hous- toration in 1987, Beit Nassif was fi rst re- bilitation of the whole area (Abu-Ghazzeh es, a number of old souqs, caravanserais, used as a public library with room for 237). and mosques still struggle to survive (ICO- 16,000 books; however, in 1996 it re- MOS 85-86). opened to the public as a museum that Despite the level of dilapidation affecting displayed the main historic artifacts of old many historic buildings, the fascinating Jeddah (“Nasseef House”). and intricate rawashins, or projecting lat-

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ticed windows adorned with intricate From Deterioration to a World Heritage woodworks—though now intermingled Site with newly inserted air conditioning win- While Jeddah is constructing the world’s dow units—imparted a special character to highest tower, efforts to conserve its old- the old center. Most of the dwellings were est Al Balad area are failing. Since most of about seven stories high, similar to the old the remaining historic buildings in Al Yemeni houses of Sanaa and Shibam. This Balad are private, efforts to undertake re- work awakened Jeddah’s inhabitants to pairs and restoration are being undertak- the advantages of conserving Al Balad. en by private parties. On the one hand, the About fi ve hundered traditional houses Jeddah municipality by law cannot inter- Figure 7: Slow restoration work in Al Balad. still survive, and the policy of demolition vene unless it buys these properties. On Photo: Djamel Boussaa. of anything that was old—so vigorously the other hand, the community blames lo- pursued in the early 1970s—has been cal authorities of not giving enough con- houses with new structures. Already a de- abandoned. As a result, Al Balad consti- sideration to the old center. As a result, cade ago, the number of houses was re- tutes a unique attempt toward urban con- nearly a quarter of the houses in Al Balad duced from 600 to 150, translating into a servation for promoting tourism within have disappeared due to neglect and de- loss of ten houses every year (see fi g. 7). one of the fastest-growing cities in the terioration. Most of the houses are world (see fi g. 6). crammed with foreign laborers, beggars, The government has bought and restored and illegal immigrants of Al Balad’s esti- some properties in the area, including a mated 40,000 inhabitants, fewer than 5% thirteenth-century mosque and Beit Nas- are Saudis (ICOMOS 85-86). sif—but it states that purchasing the rest of The severe pressures on Al Balad repre- the remaining buildings would not be sent a serious threat for its revitalization. possible. Instead, it is planning to provide Furthermore, owners are discouraged loans for property purchase, like done from undertaking any maintenance be- previously during the 1980s. In order to cause, once a building has been demol- boost comprehensive restoration work, ished and replaced with a new structure, the Jeddah municipality prepared an ap- this can generate up to 50,000 Riyals, plication to include Jeddah on the world Figure 6: Enhancement of the urban space by compared to 2,400 Riyals at present. Most heritage list. This could stop the cycle of shading areas and paving the external sidewalks. of the owners are aware of the value of the dilapidation and deterioration of Al Balad. Photo: Djamel Boussaa. land they are sitting on, and are waiting for A second step would be to promote Jed- the fi rst opportunity to replace their old dah as a major tourist attraction, in addi-

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tion to its role as a reception center for mil- name Doha came from the Arabic ad- lions of people coming for haj and omra. dawha, which may have been derived Heritage tourism can still emerge as a pri- from dohat—the Arabic word for bay or mary catalyst of development in Al Balad. gulf—referring to the surrounding Doha The fi nancial input that tourism might de- bay. In 1820, Major Colebrook described liver to Al Balad inhabitants could act as an it as follows: incentive for conservation work. However, Guttur—Or Ul Budee [Al-Bidaa] once a strong management is needed to avoid considerable town, is protected by two the expansion of fake and inauthentic square Ghurries near the sea shore; structures, which can further erode the but containing no fresh water they are Figure 8: View of Al Koot Fort near Souq Waqif. character and identity of the historic cen- incapable of defense except against Photo: Djamel Boussaa. ter that visitors are searching for. For ex- sudden incursions of Bedouins, ano- ample, Souq Al Alawi and Al Nada and ther Ghurry is situated two miles in- The Turkish fort Al Koot (see fi g. 8) was other souqs could be promoted for local land and has fresh water with it. This built by the Ottomans in 1880 adjacent trade, crafts, and tourism. Al Balad can be could contain two hundred men. There to Souq Waqif and near the main revived into a sustainable living heritage are remaining at Uk Budee about 250 maqbara (cemetery) to secure Doha. A by reinstating a mixture of residential, men, but the original inhabitants, who small force was garrisoned at Al Koot, commercial, and tourism activities. In its may be expected to return from Bah- but this left with the signing of the pro- 38th Session in Doha, Qatar during May rain, will augment them to 900 or 1,000 tection agreement of 1916 between 2014, UNESCO added Al Balad on the men, and if the Doasir tribe, who fre- Great Britain and Qatar. Subsequently, World Heritage List. quent the place as divers, again settle Al Koot Fort was used as a prison for in it, from 600 to 800 men. (Rahman) some time. Al Koot fort became home The City of Doha: Historical Background1 for the guards who patrolled the souq at Qatar’s capital Doha is also the country’s The city of Doha was bombed three times, night, a service paid for by the traders largest city, with more than 80% of the na- which resulted in the disappearance of who refused to pay taxes in the souq. All tion’s population residing in Doha or sur- numerous historic buildings and areas. this illuminates how Souq Waqif is deep- rounding suburbs. It is also the administra- First, it was bombarded by the British ves- ly rooted in history and was established tive and economic center of the country, sel Vestal in 1821. It was bombed again in well before 1880 when the Ottomans with a population of 2,068,050 at the end 1841, and the village was completely de- built their fort. According to Mr. Moham- of November 2013 (“Population Struc- stroyed in 1847 after a battle against Al med Ali Abdulla, an Art designer from ture”). The city of Doha was founded in Khalifa of Bahrain near Fuweirat. the Private Engineering Bureau in 1825 under the name of Al-Bidaa. The charge of rehabilitating Souq Waqif, the

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latter goes back to the 1850s. (Abdulla, construction. Since then, Doha has wit- Souq Waqif is a maze of alleyways cover- “Interview”). nessed a most extraordinary expansion in ing a wide area, with separate sections real estate, international banking, and selling perfumes and traditional forms of In 1916, the city was made the capital of the sporting and tourism activities. This is evi- Qatari national dress, luggage, tools, gen- British protectorate in Qatar. During the denced by the many modern towers, eral hardware and gardening equipment; early twentieth century, much of Qatar’s malls, hotels, and seats of power scattered tents and camping equipment; kitchen- economy depended on fi shing and pearl- throughout the city, and through huge de- ware, spices, traditional sweets, rice, nuts, ing, and Doha had about 350 pearling velopments like the Pearl—a whole com- and dried fruits. This souq is renowned for boats. However, after introduction of Jap- mercial, residential, tourist, and leisure selling traditional garments, spices, hand- anese cultured pearls in the 1930s, the complex beyond the West Bay area. The icrafts, and souvenirs. It is also home to whole region—including the town of physical development of Doha and the dozens of restaurants serving cuisines Doha—suffered a major depression, and various conurbations of the peninsula from all over the world. Although this mar- Qatar was plunged into poverty. Oil was have been accompanied by extensive pre- ket dates back to the 1850s, it has been discovered in 1939, but its exploitation paratory work, which led on many occa- recently restored to its original character. was stopped between 1942 and 1947 due sions to the destruction of the Gulf’s cul- It is now considered one of the top tourist to World War II and the Bahrain embargo. tural heritage. attractions in Doha and Qatar. Oil exports and payments for offshore rights that began in 1949 marked a turning Souq Waqif: From Survival to Revival point in Qatar. The 1950s saw the cautious Located behind the Corniche off Grand development of government structures Hamad Street, Souq Waqif is a showpiece and public services under British tutelage. of traditional architecture, handicrafts, and folk art, and was once a weekend trading During the 1960s, new administrative cen- area for the Bedouin. The origins of the ters sprang up to manage the vast oil rev- souq date from the time when Doha was a enues. The Government House, which village, and its inhabitants gathered on the opened in 1969, is today considered to be banks of the Mushaireeb wadi (river) to buy one of Qatar’s most prominent landmarks. and sell goods. Waqif means standing; this Figure 9: Restoration Work in Souq Waqif. Following the withdrawal of the British, the refers to how the merchants and inhabi- Photo: Djamel Boussaa. State of Qatar declared its independence tants were obliged to do their businesses on September 3, 1971. Doha as the capital standing because of the water fl ooding on The private engineering bureau of Diwan of the new state became a massive con- both sides from the Wadi Mushaireeb, and Amiri was in charge of turning the souq struction site attracting thousands of for- pouring into Al Khrais area in the from blight to blessing. The rehabilitation eign experts and workers employed in souqbefore reaching the corniche. of the souq started in 2003 (see fi g. 9).

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Since most of the buildings in Souq Waq- Souq Waqif for shopping, entertainment, one of the most bustling and thriving tra- if were privately owned, the government and gazing. Souq Waqif has become a ditional markets in Doha. bought these buildings from their owners major attraction for all tourists and offi cial The revitalization project was based on a for the project. After a detailed survey, it visitors to Qatar. thorough study of the history of the mar- was found that two-thirds of the buildings Recently, Souq Waqif has become a ma- ket and its buildings, and aimed to halt di- were authentic; however, one-third of the jor hub for art galleries and workshops, lapidation of the historic structures and historic buildings had been demolished hosting several art galleries and local remove a number of inappropriate altera- and replaced by modern structures (Ab- concerts during holidays and special cel- dulla, “Suq Waqif”). The strategy adopted ebrations. In addition to shops, cafes, in conserving Souq Waqif consisted of the restaurants, and hotels, the Souq Waqif following measures and actions: Art Center is located in the restaurant • Restoration of the old part of the area. The center combines a selection of souq; small artistic shops with a number of ex- • Replace the foreign new structures hibition rooms laid out around a long, with reconstructions of the old ones; narrow courtyard. • Modernize the infrastructure of the Beginning in 2004, the souq started to be souq; rehabilitated according to traditional Qa- • Remove all the advertisement signs tari architecture techniques, using local Figure 10: Souq Waqif; a Living heritage day and and all that disturbs the authentic building materials. Currently enjoying the night, and a major landmark that reinforces the local city identity. Photo: Djamel Boussaa. image of the heritage area. last phase of rehabilitation, Souq Waqif is a major tourist attraction. There has been tions and additions that reduced its au- In order to achieve authentic rehabilita- a souq on this site for centuries, as this thenticity. The Private Engineering Offi ce tion, local building materials were used, was the spot where the Bedouin would in charge of rehabilitating Souq Waqif at- such as Chandal bamboo on the roofs, bring their sheep, goats and wool to trade tempted to revive the memory of the and glass doors were replaced by tradi- for essentials. It was a scruffy warren of place. In order to achieve this, modern tional wooden doors and windows. After concrete alleyways in recent years, but buildings were demolished, metal sheets seven years of work, the dream of reha- now its tourism potential has been recog- on roofs were replaced with traditional bilitating Souq Waqif has become a real nized and it’s been cleverly redeveloped roofs of danjall and bamboo with a bind- blessing to the local community. It is a liv- to look like a nineteenth-century souq, ing layer of clay and straw, and traditional ing heritage in the middle of a global en- with mud-rendered shop fronts and ex- strategies to insulate the buildings against vironment; this has strengthened its posi- posed timber beams. Despite “densifi ca- extreme heat were reintroduced (see fi g. tion as a major hub for the Qatari people, tion” of the area, the chief business of the 10). and all residents of Doha. People go to souq continues unabated, and it remains

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Some new features were also introduced, cores is a sign of stability and a healthy, tions for their inhabitants; such as a sophisticated lighting system thriving urban environment. For example, • Free market forces must be con that illuminates the market’s streets. In the formation of slums and gentrification trolled inside historic cities; complete contrast to the fake heritage are two phenomena with similar effects, • Urban conservation should be an ex- theme parks that are mushrooming in the and both must be prevented. Functional pression of sustainable development; region, Souq Waqif is a traditional open- diversity has always been a main charac- • Action must be taken to promote air public space that is used by shoppers, teristic of old centers. The historic centers economic development in old areas tourists, merchants, and residents alike, of Dubai, Doha, and Jeddah should not be through heritage tourism. being kept as a living market day and conceived of simply as physical entities, night, thus becoming a blessing to the Qa- functional containers, an accumulation of Urban conservation with environmental taris and expatriates after long years of ne- goods and commodities, or a pattern of concerns is also a key feature of sustain- glect and decay. land uses. They should be primarily a set- able development. This implies that devel- ting for social interaction and cultural ex- opment in the historic cores should be Conclusion pression. Functional variety should be limited, but not to the point of stifling their When opting for heritage tourism in the maintained, through the permitting of economic vitality. Most heritage players Gulf cities, a cautious approach is needed mixed uses. recognize that such places cannot revital- with respect to the local traditions and Setting objectives for sustainable devel- ize themselves without some kind of inter- customs of the host community. Therefore, opment is about establishing a sensitive vention. This means regulating and man- strict management of heritage tourism balance between sociocultural and eco- aging the physical and social fabric upon should be established in order to maintain nomic interests, between conservation which their local identity and economic a balance between social and economic and development. One way to avoid this success are predicated. needs. Overemphasis on the tourist func- is to see conservation as part of a much Urban conservation strategies should dis- tion creates pressures for new services wider development process. Effective ac- courage static preservation, which at- and associated development, sometimes tion to promote the management and re- tempts to “fossilize” the past and turn our to the detriment of the local population, habilitation of cultural heritage in the Gulf historic centers and districts into “blight” and can damage significant cultural as- requires the adoption of a holistic policy as open-air museums. There is a need to sets. It is therefore important for tourism based on the following assumptions: conserve and develop historic areas, to capacity to be carefully managed and con- • The Gulf cultural heritage is an ex- become “blessings” thriving and bustling trolled in a sustainable manner. pression of the lives of people who live with life. To achieve this, sustainable devel- Diversity in both a social and functional and work there; therefore it should be opment policies should be introduced sense helps increase harmony and vitality; inhabited; through housing, tourism, trade, and other therefore, it must be maintained and en- • Historic cities and areas must function economic activities. Heritage tourism in couraged. Social diversity in the three old in such a way as to improve the condi- the Gulf is a way of fostering a major in-

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centive for the survival and regeneration expansion of high-rise developments The financial input that tourism can deliver of regional cultural heritage. around the historic environment, it is a to host communities can act as an incen- In the three old cities examined, total pres- strong statement and a message that a tive for launching more conservation work. ervation should not be the panacea. cultural heritage can survive despite the But overemphasis of the tourist function Where needed, some change of use may rapid emergence of global environments might create pressures for new services be introduced, but that should remain on in the Gulf. and associated development, sometimes a small scale. Since very few old buildings Most of the historic centers in the Gulf to the detriment of the local population, have survived, demolition should be have been fragmented through unwise and can damage significant cultural as- avoided whenever possible, and should redevelopment and slum clearance proj- sets. It is therefore important for tourism typically be chosen as a solution only for ects. However, there is still the possibility capacity to be carefully managed and con- unsound buildings. to develop measures to reconstruct a trolled in a sustainable manner. Further- Urban conservation does not mean mere- unity in the dislocated urban fabric. A more, strong management is required to ly preserving a building, but also reviving combination of rehabilitation, recon- avoid the proliferation of inauthentic its spirit and life. It means being flexible struction, and new infill projects which structures, which can further erode the enough to adapt the objectives of reha- respect the local traditional character character of the historic center. bilitation to the needs of modern living, should be developed. Change is sine qua non for revitalizing the while respecting the local community’s Historic urban cores in the Gulf should be- surviving cities and environments; thus ur- values. Rehabilitation of public areas is im- come “blessings” by forming places in ban conservation should strive to make portant and essential, as they add to the which people live, pursue their work, and our urban heritage “blessing” and not quality of a neighborhood and to the way enjoy their leisure time; they are not mu- “blight” by inserting new beating hearts in in which people interact and identify with seums. They are primarily settings for so- our historic centres. While change should their locality. It is therefore paramount that cial interaction and cultural expressions. be encouraged, it must be gradual, en- rehabilitation includes public areas to Functional variety should be maintained abling assessment of the policy at inter- strengthen people’s sense of belonging through the permitting of mixed uses mediate levels, and thus allowing modifi- and interaction. within individual and group buildings. For cation and adjustment when necessary. Compared to Al Fahidi and Al Balad, reha- example, souqs and bazaars can be pro- Transforming the Gulf cultural heritage bilitation of Souq Waqif presents a more moted for local trade, crafts, and tourism. from blight to blessing is about establish- successful example of sustaining cultural Each declining historic area can be re- ing a sensitive balance between sociocul- heritage in the present global cities in the vived into an attractive living heritage by tural and economic interests, between Gulf (Boussaa, “Rehabilitation”). After long reinstating a mixture of residential, com- conservation and development. Restora- years of dilapidation and neglect, it has mercial, administrative, and tourism activ- tion of individual monuments without become a sustainable living heritage in ities, thus transforming it from “blight” to conserving or rehabilitating their histori- the heart of Doha. Despite threats of the “blessing.” cal contexts and economic forces is

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Djamel Boussaa meaningless. It will eventually deprive the ters should continue to be examined as searching for new active methods to trans- historic city of its “inhabitants,” and will part of the present-day dynamic reality, form historic centers in the Gulf from With a Bachelor of Architecture from end as an open-air and lifeless museum. not as static objects of contemplation and blight to blessing, through an integrated the University of Algiers in 1984, Djamel This should be avoided if we intend to tourist attraction. Urban conservation conservation and development approach. Boussaa obtained his Master of Philoso- sustain a future for what survives of the should aim to create harmony, avoid un- phy in Architecture from the University of Gulf’s cultural heritage. desirable uses, and maintain the existing York, UK, in September 1987. He taught From these three case studies of Dubai, human scale of buildings, as well as their as an assistant professor at the Institute of Jeddah, and Doha, the surviving old cen- functional and cultural values. This means Architecture, University of Blida, Algeria for eight years. He joined UAE University Notes Works Cited Abu-Ghazzeh, Tawfiq. ---. “Historic Centers in the Fethi, Ihsan. “Arab Experience in September 1996 and worked for ten “The Future of Jeddah-Al Maghreb: Pleading for an in Urban Conservation; The years before moving to the University 1 This part of the article is Abdu, Mohammed Sani, Qademah: Conservation Integrated Revitalization Mismanagement of Heritage of Bahrain for three years. He finished a reworked and updated Jamaluddin Yousef Salagoor, or Redevelopment- Strategy.” World Congress as a Cultural Resource- Some Saudi Arabia.” Journal of for Middle Eastern Studies, Critical Lessons.” The First his PhD in Urban Conservation in North version of Boussaa, and Fahad An-Nwisseral- “Rehabilitation.” Harigi. “Jeddah Urban Architectural and Planning Barcelona. RehabiMed Panel International Conference: Africa and the Gulf from the University of Growth and Development Research 15.3 (1998): 225-42. 06. 19-24 July 2010. Speech. Heritage, Globalization Liverpool, UK, in December 2007. From Process: The Underlying Print. and the Built Environment, September 2009 to the present, he is an Factors.” Scientific Journal ---. “Rehabilitation as a Manama, Kingdom of Anglin, Lori. “Conserving Catalyst of Sustaining a Living Bahrain. 6-8 December 2004. assistant professor at Qatar University, of King Faysal University 3.1 (2002): 112-35. Print. Historic Centers: More Heritage. The Case of Souk Speech. Department of Architecture and Urban than Meets the Eye.” The Waqif in Doha, Qatar.” Art Planning. Abdulla, Mohammed Ali. Getty Conservation Institute and Design Review 2 (2014): ICOMOS. “2011 Evaluations email: [email protected]; Personal Interview. 6 Nov. Newsletter 12.1 (1997). Web. 62-71. Web. 31 Oct. 2014. of Nominations of Cultural 2010. 21 Sep. 2014. and Mixed Properties to [email protected] Bukhash, Rashad the World Heritage List.” ---. “Sūq Wāqif, siḥr al-turāth Boussaa, Djamel. “Dubai: The Mohammed. Interview ICOMOS Report for the wa-aṣālatihi.” Symposium on Search for Identity.” People, Program on Sharjah World Heritage Committee, Folklore in the State of Qatar, Places, and Sustainability. Ed. Television on the UAE 35th Ordinary Session. Paris: Doha. 12-14 February 2008. Gabriel Moser, et al. Kirkland, Heritage. Sharjah, UAE: ICOMOS, 2011. Web. 31 Oct. Speech. Toronto, Bern, Göttingen: Sharjah Television, 1999. 2014. Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, 2003. 51-60. Print. Dubai. “Population and Vital King, Geoffrey. The Statistics.” Government of Traditional Architecture Dubai. Government of Dubai, of Saudi Arabia. London n.d. Web 20. Oct. 2014. and New York: I.B. Tauris . Publishers, 1998. Print.

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––› Lewcock, Ronald B. al-Rostomani, A. H. Dubai “Conservation in Practice.” and It’s Architectural Architectural and Urban Heritage. UAE: Al-Safeer Conservation in the Publishing and Advertising Islamic World. Ed. Abu H. Establishment, 1991. Print. Imamuddin and Karen R. Longeteig. Geneva: The Abu Strange, Ian. “Planning for Khan Trust for Culture, 1990. Change, Conserving the 34-46. Print. Past: Towards Sustainable Development Policy in “Nasseef House.” Wikipedia, Historic Cities.” Cities 14.4 the Free Encyclopedia. (1997): 227-33. Print. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. UNESCO. Our Creative Diversity, Report of the World Orbasli, Aylin. Tourists Commission on Culture and in Historic Towns: Urban Development. Paris: Egoprim, Conservation and Heritage 1995. Print. Management. London, New York: E&FN Spon, 2000. Print.

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ISSN: 2196-629X urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-21764

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Sand, Skyscrapers and Heritage “It is strange to imagine that 20 years ago Heritage and Tourism. Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai’s main thor- Globalization and Shifting Values in oughfare, was mostly sand” (“Dubai Expo”). These words, from the official the United Arab Emirates website of Dubai Expo 2020, are a proud celebration of the extraordinary and rapid transformation of one of the two main cities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Features from sand to incredible and styl- ish skyscrapers designed by the most- courted star architects in the world, the site continues, show how Dubai has become “one of the world’s most modern urban landscapes.” At the same time, beyond the obvious and understandably Marxiano Melotti self-celebrative tone, we may notice an interesting concept of the past. The new Cultural heritage was a major factor in the mote recreational and tourist activities. amazing Dubai appears to be built on formation of politics and identity for na- Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two significant sand—i.e., in the traditional Western view, tion-states. Yet in Europe, a gradual over- cases. Their intangible heritage helps to on nothing. What was there before sky- coming of old nationalism has paved the build local identity and to attract tour- scrapers? Only sand. The site, of course, way for its postmodern iteration, where it ism, together with the cities’ luxurious avoids emphasizing this Westernizing im- is interwoven with tourism, the market, hotels and their ultra-modern shopping age and immediately presents a particular leisure, and entertainment. As such, mon- malls. Moreover, city administrations idea of heritage which, by mixing past uments, museums, and archaeological have even invited some major Western and present, gives a strong idea of a win- sites have become important elements to museums to open local branches, to in- ning continuity. “From the Persian Royal thematize tourism and consumption. crease tourism and confirm their new Road to the Han Dynasty’s Silk Road, from Over the past decades, some rich Middle status as global cities. the trading posts of the 19th century to East countries—including the United the hypermodernity of today’s UAE, peo- Arab Emirates—have adopted a similar Keywords: Heritage; Museums; National ple have always converged here” (“Dubai use of heritage: it has been used to build Identity; Postmodern Society; Tourism; Expo”). The strength of the local heritage or reinvent national identity, and to pro- Middle East; United Arab Emirates is related to its immateriality: the abstract

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idea of “crossroads” becomes a conceptual basis allowing us to interconnect tradition and change, history and contempo- raneous life. In such a perspective, hypermodernity—deprived of any possibly controversial meaning—appears to be a necessarily historical destiny of this region and a sort of intangible heritage, which presents itself through the materiality of huge and futuristic buildings. The reference to the Silk Road is quite interesting. Under its harmless historical aspect, it evokes a traditional image of the East, built through centuries of literary and more or less mythical representation, dating back to Marco Polo and arriving directly to colonial and postcolonial Oriental- ism, including some current sophisticated narratives marked by contemporary “po- Figure 1: Between tradition and modernity. Abu Dhabi skyline. litical correctness” (such as, for instance, Source: Abu Dhabi Tourism Culture Authority. the Silk Road Project and ensemble of the tradition has become a celebration of a Not all countries have the spatial opportu- acclaimed French-American cellist Yo-Yo new modernity—one that includes Euro- nity of the Maldives, which has built a suc- Ma). But the Emirates’ Silk Road is some- pean and North-American citizens as mere cessful tourist industry by gating interna- thing different, as the “Heritage” section of tourists and consumers. tional tourism in resort islands, which the same website explains: “A new Silk maintain quite an effective separation be- Road that connects rapidly growing eco- Yet, this relationship with the past is not tween inhabitants and tourists, local val- nomics, such as India, China, Brazil and the uncontroversial. Any urban transformation ues and tourist practices, and “traditional” African continent. Safe, inclusive and cos- so deep and rapid refl ects social change, heritage and the new, themed heritage of mopolitan, Dubai is now one of the world’s which necessarily entails cultural change. the resorts (Melotti, “Cultural Heritage”). top ten urban tourist destinations” (“Heri- This “road”—directly open to hyper-mo- Dubai and Abu Dhabi are built upon hy- tage”). (In 2013 it attracted more than ten dernity, global business, and international per-modernity, and this mix of worlds and million visitors, the population of a mega- tourism—may create problems in a society cultures has a constitutive character. The city.) Thus, an image dear to the Western with Islamic values respectful of tradition. site “Dubai for Tourism” exalts this nature,

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which apparently makes Dubai “a unique ization and thematization of local heritage. Of course, the mall is not only a sign of the destination that is both a dynamic busi- Everything is a potential tourist attraction, new local identity; it is also a meaningful ness centre and a tourist paradise, offering and may be sold as a tourist highlight: institution of modern and contemporary more attractions, shopping, fine dining “from rugged mountains and awe-inspir- Western society, where a large part of the and quality hotels” (“Dubai Tourism”). ing sand dunes to sandy beaches and lush history of globalization has been written. If the Maldives, in the tourist imagery, are green parks, from dusty villages to luxuri- Shopping malls, as spaces of hyper-con- a “tropical paradise” where you can live in ous residential districts and from ancient sumption where “we the people” may your luxurious resort as a “new Robinson houses with wind towers to ultra-modern form and affirm our identity as global con- Crusoe” with your personal Mr. Friday, the shopping malls” (“Dubai Tourism”). sumers, are monuments to Western and Emirates present themselves as a “shop- global society. Yet malls have also played per’s paradise.” a fundamental role in the development of Here, according to the mainstream of Malls and Museums UAE tourism. These huge and amazing contemporary consumer society, and to Heritage and business appear indissolu- spaces for consumption have been part of the trends of postmodern experiential bly linked in a typical postmodern rela- a policy aiming at promoting tourism and tourism, it is the shopping (at least in the tionship, which is presented as a histori- increasing the number of its destinations expectation of the local Department of cal connection. The section devoted to by creating and advertising a modern sys- Tourism and Commerce Marketing) that “Heritage” in the Dubai Expo website, tem of amenities and attractions (Hender- defines the core of the tourism experi- after a quick reference to the local history son). In fact, the Dubai Mall—the “mother ence in Dubai, and hence the tourist im- that “dates back to 5,500 BC,” explains of all malls,” as was ironically but aptly de- age and identity of the country. “From the how “archaeological evidence suggests fined by a well-known tourist guidebook timeless tranquillity of the desert to the those earliest inhabitants engaged in (Walker et al. 294)—forms a brick in the lively bustle of the souk, Dubai offers a ka- trade with their neighbors—a trait that re- new UAE global heritage, bridging the leidoscope of attractions for visitors” mains vital to the country’s identity today” gap between worlds as the ancient Silk (“Dubai Tourism”). With this image shed- (“Heritage”). Road once did. ding some light on the local idea of heri- In other words, the ultra-modern shop- The other huge shopping center in Dubai, tage, wilderness is interestingly defined ping malls would be the endpoint in a the Mall of Emirates, hosts Ski Dubai, “the as “timeless”: the past seems to disap- long historical process. It is a sophisticat- city’s most incongruous attraction” (Walker pear—or rather, to become something ed kind of theming: one has not even to et al. 298). With its five ski runs and ice continuous, which helps to tie together use architectural elements to suggest, un- sculptures, the facility satisfies other as- tradition and today’s reality. derline, or reinvent a tie with the past, as pects of tourists’ and consumers’ multi- But, of course, hypermodernity has al- happens elsewhere; one may simply experiential demand. The insertion into a ready arrived: the “lively bustle of the present a modern building as a piece of global system of habits of leisure and con- souk” shows precisely a process of folklor- history. sumption deeply affects the whole envi-

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nations, which were able to collect, conquer, or buy relics from any part of the world and any culture. The presence of alien pieces in the museums was proof of control exerted over other countries and other cultures. In postmodern society, which has to some degree attempted to overcome colonial and national scenes, spaces of identity and political negotiation have shifted elsewhere. Malls are some of these new spaces, deserving of mobility and tourist gaze, which as temples of leisure and consumption display through merchandise a system of values for contemporary society. But this expression has probably already been surpassed. Over the last years, despite the global fi nancial crisis that partial- Figure 2: Snow in the desert. Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates, Dubai. ly affected even these rich countries, the Source: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons. Emirates have placed a higher bid. ronment and creates a new heritage: in ological remains and masterworks of art this interconnected world, sand can mag- have for centuries been regarded and Abu Dhabi and Dubai have decided to re- ically become ice. But it would be a mis- used as tools for social and political iden- shape themselves not as typical great in- take to ascribe the existence of this space tity, able to display the power of the local ternational cities, but rather as “global cit- to only the madness of the leisure indus- bourgeoisie or even of the nation: private ies” (Sassen). Therefore, they have entered try, or to a will to demonstrate fi nancial and public collections were factors of into competition with some of the most power and technical skill. class and national identity. National muse- complex urban systems such as London ums, such as the British Museum or the or New York. The snow conserved and displayed in the Louvre, were the real temples of moder- This process entails an effort of urban mall of this desert country comprises a lo- nity, where citizens were educated on their planning, beautifi cation, and marketing cal treasure, as do the alien Elgin Marbles collective (often imperial and colonial) his- (Spirou), based on the model of other big jealously preserved in the British Museum. tory, through the collective worshipping of cities. Of course, in a general process of In Europe and in the United States, archae- the past and celebration of their powerful globalization where many centers and

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many peripheries are mutually interconnected in a dynamic and transcultural way, many elements of the framework are, at the same time, models and imita- tions. Although the Emirates created their own model, they also absorbed some traditional Western ideas—such as the leading role of museums in urban planning policies, which implies a specifi c concept of heritage. However, since the mid 1980s, the governments of the Emirates—and particularly the government of Dubai—have shown not only an awareness of the leading role of tourism in this process, but also a strong capacity to leading this, especially as concerns the relationships between urban beautifi cation and tourism development (Henderson 91, 96). In only two decades, this has made of Dubai and Abu Dhabi a Figure 3: Building a global city. The new cultural district of Saadiyat Island. sort of “double global city” and a major Source: Tourism Development & Investment Company, Abu Dhabi. international tourism destination. tractive cityscapes too similar to global toric thematization. According to Khalaf, Heritage and culture play a large role in models, and instead supported forms of this heritage revival—though part of the urban renovation; yet, this process may heritage revival (“ihya’ al-turath”) and ur- process of globalization—remained a na- cause problems for conservation of heri- ban renovation and beautifi cation that tional and ideological enterprise with tage. In the Emirates, the encounter of united contemporary design and tradi- symbolic meaning (“Globalization and global and Western models with local and tional style (Henderson). But this process, Heritage Revival”). In any case, Abu Dhabi Arabian traditions has aroused identity is- far from being a form of resistance to and Dubai, thanks to their financial sues (Boussaa; Szuchman; Khalaf, “Global- globalization, is exactly its usual result. Pre- strength, have been able to create a truly ization and Heritage Revival”) and has giv- served and restored heritage, embedded stunning system of new buildings and at- en birth to a conservation lobby. in newly shaped urban spaces, becomes tractions that not only compete with the Government bodies were aware of the a sophisticated form of urban decoration main international models, but have even danger, even for tourism, of shaping unat- and a tourist attraction, as a form of his- become new models.

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In this effort to implement the double- success as the great old European insti- global-city system, Abu Dhabi has as- tutions and even to transform the image sumed the role of cultural district. As and destiny of towns facing the post- buildings that contain history, museums industrial crisis. This is the case of the play a specifi c role, assuring a strong ma- Bilbao branch of Guggenheim, inaugu- terial and conceptual continuity between rated in 1997. This museum was thought tradition and innovation, heritage and not as mere cultural infrastructure, but modernization, local patterns and global as a symbol of a city open to creativity, models. In this specifi c context, they seem luxury, leisure, and fashion, and as a to be able meet both the needs of new powerful actor in urban regeneration urban spaces and calls for stronger atten- (Esteban). Figure 4: Heritage and starchitects. Rendering of tion to the past. Both the Louvre—with its colonial, ency- Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi. Source: Tourism Development and Investment Abu Dhabi has built a cultural district on clopedic, “universal” collections of ob- Company, Abu Dhabi. Saadiyat Island to host local branches of jects from all ages and countries—and the Louvre and the Guggenheim—two of the Guggenheim, with its collections at- years, to exhibit some of its masterpiec- the most prestigious museums in the tuned to the urban gaze of the new es. The construction of the new museum world, the former in the old Europe and bourgeoisie, are huge, impressive insti- will cost an additional $654 million. the latter in the New World. tutions, impossible to imitate in this day The franchising of great museums is a The Louvre is the prototype of national and age. clear sign of post-modernity. In a society museums which, during the modern age, The Declaration on the Importance and where culture itself is a mere commodity have helped to create and strengthen na- Value of Universal Museums (Abungu; to be consumed, museums can easily be- tional images and to affi rm an idea of mu- Opoku; Melotti “Archaeological Tour- come nothing more than brands. Even seums as tools of “civilization.” Nowadays, ism”), as signifi cantly signed by both more postmodern, if possible, is the idea it is a magnet for new global cultural mo- these museums in 2002, confi rms that in that the container is more important than bility, able to attract many millions of visi- a post-colonial world it is no longer pos- the content: the design of a museum and tors every year, and proof of the power of sible to build similar collections, be- the name of its designer seem to over- the big museums in defending the inter- cause nearly all states now defend their shadow its collections. national position of a country. heritage. But, as Abu Dhabi shows, there Thus, French starchitect Jean Nouvel de- The Guggenheim, which developed far is a device to avoid this diffi culty: mon- signed the Louvre Abu Dhabi and a Cana- away from the royal, revolutionary, and ey. Abu Dhabi in 2007 made an agree- dian starchitect, Franck Gehry—who had Napoleonic allure of the Louvre, repre- ment with France to pay $1.3 billion to already conceived the aforementioned sents the glory of modern private entre- use the Louvre brand for thirty years, Bilbao Guggenheim—designed the Abu preneurship, able to obtain the same and the expertise of its curators for ten Dhabi Guggenheim. That which through a

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long cultural process Western culture has not “models,” but immaterial sources of tionalism. The island, which hosts these defi ned as heritage and art worthy of be- “inspiration.” Thus local identity is para- museums, is thought to be a “world-class ing collected and included in museums doxically enhanced thanks to the process leisure, residential, business and tourist thus arrives in the Emirates and helps to of globalization. centre of global proportions” (“Guggen- create its new heritage. heim Saadiyat”). Culture, business and leisure (namely: museums, beaches, nat- The new branch of Louvre in Abu Dhabi is ural reserves, hotels, residences, architec- expected to play a delicate role in the tural icons, waterfront, and sport facilities) crossroads of worlds and cultures, local are only different aspects of the same and global, Arabian and Western. This has well-coordinated policy of urban plan- been captured by the offi cial website of ning and tourist marketing. the Louvre, which presents the new institu- The Emirates lucidly use both modern and tion as a “universal museum in the Arab postmodern Western ideas of heritage as world” with a “global vision of the history effective tools of marketing—addressed to of the art” (“Louvre Abu Dhabi”). Now the Western imagery and consumers’ behav- design represents the core aspect of the Figure 5: Culture in franchising. Rendering ior—to promote local interests. museum, which is supposed to be an icon- of Franck Gehry’s Guggenheim branch in Abu Dhabi. ic building able to generate tourism by The Heritage Village: Living History Be- Source: Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. itself and thereby confi rm the position of fore and After the Oil Era Abu Dhabi among the global cities. Its de- The national and local issues connected In such a context, what about EAU heri- sign combines “modern architecture and with the ideas of heritage in Europe and tage? Surprisingly, the approach is quite inspiration drawn from the region’s tradi- North America seem to have been com- traditional, though consistent with the tion” (“Louvre Abu Dhabi”). The museum, pletely overcome. The Abu Dhabi Gug- tourist framework. In Abu Dhabi there are which uses elegant effects of light and genheim will devote a section to Middle- several historical monuments and an inter- shadow, “is covered by a white dome 180 Eastern contemporary art, as an obvious esting archaeological museum. Yet, the metres in diameter, which is an emblem- tribute to local interests and values—but tourist highlight is the Heritage Village, an atic feature of Arabian architecture, evok- its American brand suggests its focus. open-air museum with replicas of old ing the mosque, the mausoleum and the The project, as the offi cial Guggenheim buildings and living-history activities, madrasa” (“Louvre Nouvel”). Local heri- website openly confi rms, is “the creation which “gives us an insight of the lifestyle tage and traditions reappear and thema- of a vibrant cultural destination for visi- and traditions of Bedouin and other cul- tize the building in a sophisticated way. tors from around the world” (“Guggen- tures” (“Heritage Village”). We have to Arabian and Islamic traditions, according heim Abu Dhabi”). Tourism, at least for mention that in Western imagery (espe- to a typically post-modern approach, are the moment, has replaced any kind of na- cially if related to Grand Tour and Oriental-

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ism) Bedouins are the object of a romantic ing the “real” traditions from tourist impact create a better and easier product for the gaze which, together with the local pro- by creating special spaces and special market. Furthermore, there are no issues cesses of social marginalization, helped to events reserved for tourists. related to local traditional identity, or at construct “Bedouinness” and a World Her- least they are not signifi cant. The Village itage narrative, in a time when “Bedouin- reenacts for tourists a Bedouin heritage ness in much of the Arab World had been that is perceived as archaeological re- or was being elevated to a marketable mains, since the modern Bedouin culture heritage” (Peutz, “Bedouin Abjection” 338; is seen to be among the skyscrapers and Saidel). On the other hand, this staged not in the tents. In the Village, there is no Bedouinness has sanitized some historical local Bedouin community to be exploited problems. Even the old “insecurity outside by the tourist market. The villagers stage a towns, on account of Bedouin raids” nostalgic image of the country corre- (Abdullah) has been transformed into vi- sponding to the typical Western view of brant weapons-dance exhibitions. heritage, affected by a global, de-intellec- In the Village, of course, we are in the fi eld Figure 6: Shopping in the Heritage Village. tualized attitude toward history and local of staged authenticity: traditions are crys- Source: Abu Dhabi Tourism Culture Authority. traditions (a crucial point). tallized in an otherworldly tourist space Western (and also Asiatic) tourists, as for- where, according to many websites, real In this context we can single out some par- eigners, usually do not know local history life becomes “living exhibition” and the ticular local dynamics. The futurist Emir- and generally lack the intellectual tools to past blends with the present of non-urban ates have, to use Bauman’s term, a “liquid” decode local cultures. Coming from a inhabitants. relationship with their past: they proudly post-political (and often post-nationalist) Heritage villages, as expressions of ethnic enhance their history and invest in heri- society, they are ever less educated on his- tourism, are often criticized by scholars for tage (mainly at the level of higher educa- tory and usually possess very little knowl- their lack of authenticity—tourism-orient- tion), but lack a nationalist approach and edge on even their own national history. In ed, politically corrected, sanitized, and fro- are not less (or even more) proud of their such a context, edutainment and living his- zen in time—and for the kinds of relation- present and future. Heritage, in a coherent tory—together with simple experiences of ships among natives, tourists, and local postmodern way, is approached as a re- culture and leisure in heritage villages— authorities that they usually entail (al-Oun source worthy of being used in tourism, may be effective means of spreading his- and al-Homoud; Bos-Seldenthuis; Timo- marketing, and urban policies. There is not torical knowledge (Melotti, “Il ruolo emer- thy; Khalaf “Globalization and Heritage the romantic and nostalgic look at heri- gente”). Revival”). In some cases, as happens in tage as something to be preserved, as Bali, they are even part of a strategy of typically happens in Europe. In the present There is no longer a problem of “staged” heritage management aiming at protect- case, the past is rather frozen in order to authenticity, because under the new aver-

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age level of knowledge about heritage In this ahistorical context, heritage may be The presence of falconry, a traditional ac- and history, an almost general accep- easily rewritten. Even the recent past may tivity which since some years was much tance of new, hybrid forms of authenticity become archaeology, according to a local advertised by the local tourist authorities, and a general preference for edutainment narrative where the division between pre- is particularly interesting (Khalaf, “Perspec- have actually changed the relationship history and history coincides with the dis- tive on Falconry”). UNESCO, in parallel with the past. covery of oil. In the Heritage Village you with new attention to immateriality being A similar discourse may relate to new Chi- may see, as explained in many websites, paid also by tourists and consumers, has nese tourists (so cherished by the website “how people used to live before the oil recognized falconry as a “living human Dubai 2020 and its “Silk Road” narrative). era.” According to Picton, this division of heritage” and has inserted it in the Intan- The Chinese attitude toward heritage and history and culture “before” and “after” the gible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (“Fal- authenticity is different from the Western oil era would reveal a “misleading, elitist conry”). Together with camels and coffee attitude and is, if possible, even more “liq- and immobile” attitude that opposes pots, falconry has become an icon in tour- uid.” Reconstruction is a basic tool in Chi- “past” to “present” and “local” to “global” ist heritage commodifi cation and new nese heritage management, and it is in a nostalgic way. On the contrary, it is a consumerist culture (Szuchman 38). deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition. strong narrative where oil, as a metonymy Furthermore, as coming from quite a sci- for modernity, plays a central role and ev- ence-oriented and China-centered cul- erything becomes heritage in a hyper- ture, the Chinese rarely have strong knowl- compressed view of history. At the same edge of alien cultural systems. Thus, their time this division overcomes the tradition- relationship with tourist-staged or themed al distinction between Islamic and pre-Is- activities tends to be friendly. lamic culture, and imparts historical depth In such a context, why should the Emirates to a rather recent past. create a specifi c heritage narrative for the Any heritage activity is carefully listed: tourist market? And why should they risk “visitors can view” some mud-brick hous- creating domestic and international dis- es, a traditional mosque, a demonstration putes by providing a more “solid” histori- of falconry, they can take a camel ride Figure 7: Between heritage and tourist gaze. cal profi le to their heritage? The global and, of course, they can go “shopping in Falconry in Abu Dhabi. Source: Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. language of edutainment and themed a traditional market,” “sample a typical activities, together with the more tradi- Bedouin meal” and “buy original items” tional language of heritage villages, are (“Heritage Village”). Material and immate- In the context of the Village, with its reen- enough. They are also, above all, apt for rial heritage are mixed, in a folkloric con- acted traditional working activities, every- any kind of visitor, regardless of religion text, with shopping and the new experi- one and everything—from humans to ani- or culture. ential culture. mals—appear entrapped in the cage of

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living heritage. This presents an obvious French-Italian style, is a sign of this new the National Day. But it would be a mistake danger. Moreover, the crystallized reality global, atemporal, a-spaced, and cross- to consider these as old-style nationalist of the Heritage Village defines a precise cultural heritage. manifestations. The post-modern, global- system of relationships among heritage, This confirms the strength of the local ap- ized, and consumption-oriented context tourism and urban policies. History and proach to heritage, based on a substantial in which the village is embedded helps traditions are part of a complex system of convergence of tradition and modernity, limit this use of heritage, as also occurs consumption—which, exactly as the two where each element contributes to create elsewhere (Melotti, “Turismo culturale”; world-class museums in Saadiyat Island a solid (but “liquid,” in Bauman’s sense) ur- “Power of Senses”). Indeed, the village is do, concurs in defining cultural and lei- ban system. more a tourist attraction than a political sure aspects. device, as appears in its celebration of the Not by chance, the Heritage Village is built A similar situation may be found in the Dubai Shopping Festival. At least accord- on an artificial island, as are the huge ho- Heritage Village that was founded 1996 in ing to its website, this festival, organized tels of Dubai (Palm Island) and the luxury Dubai. Its physical separation from the city by the Dubai government since 1996, has and museum district of Abu Dhabi (Saadi- seems to perpetuate a clear distinction become “world famous […] as a shopper’s yat Island). From an anthropological point between Dubai’s past and present (Shus- paradise” (“Dubai Shopping”). of view, the “island” is an extremely mean- terman). However, a scholar who studied Another website presents the activities ingful reality in itself: it is a functional space it some years ago testified its quick trans- carried out as follows: that gives visual and experiential consis- formation: from “a modest exhibit of ar- Throughout Dubai Shopping Festival, tency to the “liminality” and “otherness” of chaeological and ethnological relics and the Heritage Village hosts a fascinating the tourist and museum experiences— silent replicas of traditional life,” it soon schedule of exhibitions, such as traditi- which, exactly as in ancient passage rites, became a more interesting and interactive onal cookery, shipbuilding and desert must be symbolically isolated from normal museum with re-enactors and living his- living skills showing you how Dubai’s everyday life. tory (Khalaf, “Globalization and Heritage residents lived, while a variety of stall- As many blogs explain, the Village offers Revival” 39). According to him, this village holders offer you the chance to take “a gorgeous view of the skyline—mixing is now a “cultural complex of invented tra- home a souvenir of your visit. (“Dubai traditional Arabian architecture and pure dition” (20) and a “monument of national Heritage Village”) modernity—that lines the Riviera-style Cor- nostalgia” (28), designed “to provide a niche” (“Journey”). Through urban plan- sense of identity for the imagined national In this age of global consumption, such a ning, the past and present are attentively community” (20) of the Federation estab- use of heritage is not the same as it was in juxtaposed in a mix where heritage, inven- lished only in 1971. The village performs the old European emperors’ time. tion and theming appear strongly blend- educational activities aimed at strengthened. The elegant waterfront of the town iting the national feeling and at glorifying self, which many sites stress as being in the political leadership in the occasion of

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and culture of Sharjah as a source of pride and inspiration to Emiratis and to visitors” (“Sharjah Museum”). This clear declaration illustrates a conservative approach: man- nequins replace living history, but tourists can be gratifi ed by the quality of the collection and the elegant setting. But the most interesting point is Sharjah’s urban policy, where heritage plays a pivotal role. A Heritage Area has been established in the interior of the Heart of Shar- jah, the largest historical preservation and restoration project in the region. This project, “planned over a fi fteen year period, to be completed by 2025, seeks to revitalize the heritage district as a vibrant cultural destination by unravelling a glorious past: restoring historical buildings, constructing Figure 8: Frozen culture. A mannequin in the Hatta Heritage Village. new structures following traditional Shar- Source: Geordie Armani. jah architecture and transforming them This experiential mix is also present in Village protected their neighborhood into hotels, restaurants, cafes, art galleries other regions of the Emirates. On the Haj- and learn about the daily dealings of the and markets, where the current genera- jar mountains, Hatta, an old village in a Hatta Village people” (“Hatta Heritage Vil- tions and the future generations can expe- “picturesque setting” (“Hatta Heritage Vil- lage”). This approach is quite traditional: rience Sharjah’s cultural and social fabric” lage”), was converted into a heritage vil- a restored village and fort transformed (“Heart of Sharjah”). The contemporary, lage that, according to local websites, into a monumental area, where the beau- liquid, post-national approach to heritage “provides a fi ne example of traditional ty of the surroundings contributes to the is quite evident. Heritage and market pro- style village architecture” (“Hatta”) with its tourist experience. ceed together. The idea is to transform a mosque, watchtowers, and houses made central part of the town into a cultural and of stone, mud, reeds, and palm tree Particularly interesting is the case of the tourist district through restoration, recon- trunks. “Touring this site, visitors are able Emirate of Sharjah. The town hosts a beau- struction and new construction. to see how the structures of the past were tiful Heritage Museum, which “conserves Oliver J. Picton, who carried out an inter- created, how the people of Hatta Heritage and displays the rich traditional customs esting research in the Sharjah heritage

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area in 2004, during the first phase of the ity of contemporary society and the dif- by themed hotels and resorts: history has project, remarks the complex level of in- ferent speeds in globalization processes. become a mere experiential and emotion- terchange between heritage valorization, Yet, such a reading does imply an “Orien- al setting for tourist and leisure activities, reinvention of tradition, educational pur- talist” view. inside a global process of convergence posing, and tourist commodification. Ac- The Souq al-Arsah (Courtyard Souq) is between archaeological sites, historic cording to him, the Sharjah heritage part of this experience. Lonely Planet pres- monuments, museums, theme parks, edu- area—like other similar spaces in the Emir- ents this in an interestingly ironic way: cational areas, hotels, and other leisure ates—crystallizes local culture and helps to “one of the oldest souks in the UAE (which places (Melotti, “Archaeological Tourism”). create a national feeling (Picton). However, in this case means about 50 years). […] De- In this context, the inscription of Sharjah whereas in the Dubai Heritage Village spite a thorough facelift, it’s still an atmo- heritage district on UNESCO tentative list (managed by the Department of Tourism, spheric place, even though vendors now appears appropriate. Commerce, and Marketing) history and lo- vie for tourist dirham […] in air-condi- cal culture are increasingly commodified, tioned comfort” (Walker et al. 312). A bal- Heritage Dynamics the Sharjah heritage area (managed by ance between tourism, heritage, and Another point deserves attention: the the Department of Culture and Informa- shopping is not easy to reach. Moreover, heritage proposed to tourists is usually tion) hosts activities less addressed to- despite that souq’s claim of promoting lo- Islamic. Arabian and Islamic elements ward international tourism and more char- cal heritage, most items on sale as well as are even used to thematize tourism, acterized by “educational, political, most vendors there came from outside the though this could be regarded as offen- nostalgic and carnivalesque discourses” Emirates, at least at the time Picton carried sive and in potential conflict with reli- (Picton 72). These activities, which to West- out his research. gion. Some Islamic monuments are in- ern visitors might seem “superficial and In that area is also the humble Sharjah Her- cluded and advertised in tourist inauthentic,” would appear “very real and itage Hostel, housed in a restored historic activities, such as the Jumeirah Mosque objective” to the local people and could courtyard building. This is a real relic of in Dubai or Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque effectively contribute to keeping their tra- “normal” tourism in a country whose tour- in Abu Dhabi, which are amazing monu- ditions alive (Picton 79). ist reputation pays dues to expensive ho- ments that attest to the global urban In this view there would be a coexistence tels and where Arabian “authenticity” is completion of the two cities, together of a sophisticated “postmodern” gaze of sold at high prices (as for instance at the with the Yas Marina F1 Circuit, the Fer- the Western tourists, annoyed by the om- One&Only Royal Mirage, with its Arabian rari World Theme Park, and the above- nipresent staged authenticity, with a court and Moorish-style palace). mentioned world-class museums. “modern” (or rather, a pre-postmodern) The Hearth of Sharjah project entails a In contrast, the rich pre-Islamic culture gaze of the local visitors, still interested in process of crystallization and commodifi- of the country is more or less invisible. the staged authenticity. Of course, this is cation of heritage, which can be read to- Despite the tempered character of local not strange, owing to the lively complex- gether with a similar process carried out Islam, here we may find a trace of con-

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flict in relation to some aspects of the rani; Fales; Melotti, “Archaeological Tour- to excite in the local elites an interest in past. ism”). In general, however, the relation- archaeology, regarded as proof of mod- In the Middle East, the relationship be- ship with pre-Islamic archaeology remains ern, sophisticated behavior. Urban devel- tween archaeology and national policies conflicting and—in a turbulent framework opment was respectful of this heritage, has often been conflicted. For a long time of wars, revolutions, and crises—heritage also because halting building activities at archaeology had been read as a Western appears to be deeply embedded in po- the archaeological sites and defending practice, strongly connected with colo- litical debate and turmoil. From Afghani- the archaeological remains despite per- nialism and imperialism: Western archae- stan to the Maldives, from Iraq to Egypt, sonal economic interest was considered a ologists, educated in the cult of the an- this periodically leads to attacks against manifestation of sensitivity that assured cient great civilizations, tended to believe museums, monuments, and archaeologi- prestige (Potts 193). that nothing original would come out of cal sites (Stabile and Dal Maso; Arango; On the other hand, involvement of the oil the Islamic world and reserved their atten- Melotti, “Cultural Heritage”). companies in the local scholarly dynam- tion mainly for the roots of Western civili- The Gulf area, once under the influence of ics in the Gulf region and Saudi Arabia zation (Goode). This caused suspicion the Ottoman Empire, differs in its archaeo- contributed to defining a mainly oil-ori- against archaeology and deepened the logical tradition from other neighboring ented knowledge, which eventually con- gap between the Western idea of heri- states that were more affected by Euro- centrated on investigating tribal politics, tage and local political (and religious) pean colonialism. Therefore, archaeology Islamic politics, and leadership. Wahhabi agendas. does not share this negative image and is Islam “became an object of study only to Post-colonial nationalism renewed inter- not necessarily in opposition to local and provide background about those who est in the past and led to a diffusion of national values. ruled in its name and were ready to be local schools of archaeology. Controver- The birth of scientific archaeology is tied patronized by superpowers” (al-Rasheed, sial but charismatic figures, such as Sad- to the discovery of oil (1938 in Saudi Ara- “Time of Oil”). Archaeology remained a dam Hussein, succeeded in using the bia, 1958 in Abu Dhabi, and 1966 in Dubai), sophisticated elite interest, depending Western image of the ancient great civili- which entailed the arrival of skilled foreign on local dynamics of pride, while ethnog- zations, yet from a regional repertoire, in workers in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf raphy provided comprehension of local order to strengthen their power and im- countries. Abu Dhabi saw its first excava- equilibria. age. Adopting a well-known European tions in 1959, led by a representative of the The historic and political context of the model, Saddam became the new Ham- British Petroleum, at the site of Umm an- EAU is different from that of the other Mid- murabi, just as Mussolini presented him- Nar Island, which dates back to the third dle East countries. Created in 1971, the fed- self as a new Augustus. At the same time, millennium BC. National and multinational eration is quite young and its member thanks to archaeology, he succeeded in companies contributed to the archaeo- states are rich countries, to which oil has balancing Islamic nationalism founded on logical excavations, in order to better their insured economic independence and in- other historic and cultural models (Bah- image (Potts 193). These activities helped ternational respect. Moreover, the govern-

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ing elites appear solid and stable. Nation- of studies and activities connected with moment, heritage does not appear to alism is not a primary element of this history and archaeology. represent an enticing narrative for the nation-state; thus heritage, though con- Pakistani workers who are building the tributing to national identity (Saeid, Arifin The processes of modernization and ur- new Emirates. and Hasim 2888), is not used in an overt ban renovation, based on wealth, have Szuchman (32) stresses the role played in nationalist way. raised identity issues—which, far from call- these identity processes by the reinven- Oil and heritage are closely tied together: ing into question the socioeconomic sys- tion and continuous display of Bedouin the wealth generated by oil has assured tem, helped increase attention to heritage culture: Emirati citizens, characterized by the strength of the power elite, which has conservation (Boussaa). As a matter of fact, “multiple identities” (Arab, Muslim, tribal, implemented policies oriented toward heritage is used to balance the speed of and national), would be invited to imagine preserving political assets. In this frame- modernization and, at least in the last two an idealized and ahistorical past due to al- work, the defense of tradition and its rein- decades, to enhance tourism and urban leged cultural isolation; and foreign work- vention—along with, more recently, the beautification. ers and resident expatriates (who repre- policies of heritage conservation—effec- sent the 82% of the entire population) tively take on the function of ideological The general attitude toward ancient his- would be reminded of their presence as tools (Picton; Khalaf, “Globalization and tory in the region seems positive. The dis- mere guests in the country. Heritage Revival”). According to Saeid, covery in 1992 of a Nestorian monastery In short, the Emirates—strongly embed- Arifin and Hasim (2888), “preservation of (which proved an ancient Christian pres- ded in a post-national world—have shown cultural heritage inheritance […] repre- ence in the area) was well accepted by a lucid postmodern use of heritage, con- sents a fundamental pillar of the modern Sheikh Zayed. Also archaeological received as an effective marketing tool in State of the United Arab Emirates.” This mains testifying to ancient relationships their relationships with Western socie view is authoritatively confirmed by one of with the Persian kingdom and Iranian cul- ties. This does not mean that the Emir- the most quoted phrases uttered by tures have not provoked problems. The ates do not pay attention to heritage or Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, the only potential cause of conflicts related to are not proud of their ancient history. On founder and first President of the federa- heritage, according to Potts, was the dis- the contrary, archaeology and heritage tion: “History is a continuous chain of covery on the Oman peninsula of some studies are quite present in their univer- events. The present is only an extension of remains tied to Harappa, an ancient civi- sities, and heritage has become an im- the past” (“Sheikh Zayed in quotes”). In lization born in the area of modern Paki- portant instrument for international net- other words, there are no contradictions stan: Indian and Pakistani workers, which working. The Abu Dhabi branch of New between history and development, and in the Gulf area live in difficult conditions, York University (NYU), for instance, offers the present appears solidly built on the could have claimed to be the real found- an important program on museum and past. A subtle view, which in the Emirates ers of the civilization of their exploiters cultural heritage studies, based on “the has favored the spread (and acceptance) (Potts 196). But most likely, at least at the notion of an internationally and cross-

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culturally ‘shared heritage’ of material It would be a mistake to assume that the Many heritage sites in the UAE celebrate culture” (“NYU Abu Dhabi”). Its courses Emirates have completely surrendered to World Heritage Day with educational and deal with issues such as “How do those Western imagery and heritage. The Arab tourism activities. This confirms the inclu- who live in ‘the Middle East’ relate to countries of the area have deeply under- sion of the Emirates in the new globalized their past(s), and what discourses do stood the political (and touristic) value of world, which is increasingly dominated by they draw on to represent and authorize their own heritage, and are utterly atten- supranational agencies, and also shows its it today? How is ’the past’ recovered, tive to heritage policies. Not by chance, in interest in being recognized as a modern commemorated, embodied, erased, 2010 neighboring Bahrain, under the aus- refined country, able to understand the marketed and consumed in the modern pices of UNESCO, established the Arab significance of the UNESCO World Heri- Middle East?” Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC- tage List. Thus, beside the traditional po- Precisely in this higher education milieu, WH), an autonomous and independent litical celebrations such as National Day often characterized by a presence of for- regional institution aiming at defending and new tourist events such as the Camel eign (mainly Western) scholars, we find a and promoting Arabian and Islamic heri- Race Festival (Khalaf, “Poetics and Poli- new anthropological and sociological in- tage. Similarly, Saudi Arabia has actively tics”) or the Dubai Shopping Festival, the terest in heritage dynamics. The main promoted its archaeological and historical country celebrates World Heritage Day idea, according to Peutz, is to overcome sites, pre-Islamic ones included, and has with a mixed political and touristic ap- a “secondary orientalism,” which “con- obtained the insertion of many of them in proach, consistent with a contemporary siders the majority of the Arabian Penin- UNESCO World Heritage List. notion of heritage and the “liquid” culture sula without ‘culture’ and without ‘histo- Of course, the Emirates are also interested of the country. ry’ in comparison to the Arab States of in UNESCO’s activities, and actively try to On the Dubai Customs website we may North Africa and the Eastern Mediterra- obtain the inclusion of some sites in the trace the traditional approach: nean” (“Perspectives from the Margins”). World Heritage List (the “cultural sites” of The [2014] WHD celebration sustains Moreover, there is a tendency to revamp Al Ain were included in 2011, and other Dubai Customs’ efforts to implant and anthropological research to overcome a seven sites and monuments were entered promote national identity, being con- prejudicial approach opposing “kaleido- onto the tentative list between 2012 and scious that nations derive their identity scopic” Yemen, a supposed primitive 2014). This acknowledgement usually con- from the heritage that runs deep in the and colorful space good for ethnograph- tributes to the tourist success of a destina- veins of their citizens and the culture ic research, to the “monochrome” Gulf tion and, even more importantly, helps to that is profoundly rooted in history. area, regarded as a space good only for define its international image and the in- (“Dubai Customs”) business (Carapico; Peutz, “Perspectives ternational role of its State. In other words, from the Margins”), or only due to inter- efforts at international recognition repre- Yet according to the list of planned events, est in the sociocultural dynamics relating sent a tool for forming postmodern na- we may find the usual tourist “festival” ap- to exploited foreign workers. tional identity. proach, as also Picton remarked.

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Nevertheless, according to Szuchman, ar- tion of exhibitions of Italian archaeo- chaeology seems to be in a “precarious logical heritage in Saudi Arabia. situation” (42): the new museum culture In this complex strategy, heritage effec- “sequesters the pre-Islamic past, while cel- tively becomes an instrument of interna- ebrating more recent and familiar notions tional political and economic negotia- of history and heritage” (45): the impor- tion: a sort of common language on tant archaeological area Umm al-Nar, lo- which to build other relationships (even cated on an island together with an oil rein a Europe impoverished by the current fi nery and a military installation, is off-limits; crisis, heritage remains an important most of the seven Emirates have no laws point on political agendas). Among oth- on traffi cking and commerce in antiqui- er things, heritage means tourism and ties, and UAE has become a hub for the the tourist market. This is accompanied international illicit market in antiquities; by a strong business policy, such as the many citizens are unfamiliar with the an- 2014 purchase by Etihad, the national cient history of the country and, even at a airline of Abu Dhabi, of Alitalia, the main higher-education level, seem to have poor Italian airline. knowledge of local archaeology (42-44). This approach to heritage, with its abil- Also worth mentioning is the attention ity to mix market and culture, business paid by other Arab countries in the re- and archaeology, in a more lucid and ef- gion to European cultural heritage in fective way than many European coun- Europe (versus that “exported” abroad). tries, marked as they are by more con- In 2014, the Kuwaiti Sheikh Ali Khaled servative ideas of the past, also provides al-Sabah announced planned invest- a frame for the new Islamic marketing. Figure 9: New heritage and tradition. Sheikh ments to assist in preservation of Euro- The Global Islamic Economic Summit, Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi. Source: Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. pean archaeological sites and monu- which took place in Dubai in 2013, un- ments such as Pompeii and the dertook to intercept the economic Another famous phrase by Sheikh Zayed Colosseum; Sultan bin Salman bin growth of Islamic countries and their confi rms the role of heritage in the Emir- Abdul aziz, board president of the Saudi middle class formed by consumers re- ates: “A nation without a past is a nation Commission for Tourism and Antiqui- spectful of Islamic culture. According to without a present or a future. Thanks to ties, has signed an agreement with the Jonathan Wilson, editor of the Journal of God, our nation has a fl ourishing civilisa- Municipality of Rome for the restoration Islamic Marketing, the immaterial heri- tion, deep-rooted in this land for many of museums and archaeological monu- tage of halal culture is becoming a glob- centuries. These roots will always fl ourish ments in the city and for the organiza- al brand (Zecchinelli). and bloom in the glorious present of our

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nation and in its anticipated future” ated an Islamic monument” (“Sheikh (“Sheikh Zayed in quotes”). Beside a genu- Zayed”). ine pride for history, here we may trace a Even his aphorisms have become part of “modern” use of history and heritage: the the country’s heritage. For some years vis- founder of new state appears to build a itors at the Abu Dhabi international airport common history for his new political unit. were welcomed by the two previously The reference to God ensures a transcul- mentioned phrases by the late Sheikh, tural tie between different experiences (in which reveal a new “postmodern” and liq- time and space) and contributes to build- uid approach mixing national identity, in- ing a common heritage. But the construc- frastructure, and tourism. Heritage had tion of a national identity, in a context of already reached a different phase: no lon- quite homogenous cultural and social ger a tool of national identity, rather an in- bases and general acceptance of this new ternational business card for the country asset, do not entail a nationalist approach. and something to be exposed to the foreign tourist gaze. Upon his death in 2004, Zayed himself immediately became a part of heritage: Building a New Global Heritage as a founding father, he was buried be- This complex and dynamic process also Figure 10: The new heritage. Arabian Court at side the stunning Grand Mosque in Abu involves hotels and resorts. We have al- One&Only Royal Mirage Hotel, Dubai. Source: One&Only Royal Mirage, Dubai. Dhabi, which had been erected by him ready mentioned the sophisticated Ara- and named after him. This huge mosque, bian style of One&Only Royal Mirage in (“Royal Mirage”). The real local community considered a “visual pleasure” (Saeid, Dubai. Its website is assertive: “This is disappears, substituted by an abstract, Arifi n and Hasim 2891), was built be- Dubai. Here on the shores of the Gulf, a timeless image built through centuries of tween 1996 and 2007 to become, ac- wonderful place of intricate arches, domes travel reports and novels. But this local cording to Zayed’s will, a new monu- and towers, infused with rich green court- heritage must be “hospitable” to be ac- ment and a central piece of his heritage yards and vibrantly colourful gardens” cepted by the paternalist gaze of interna- vision, mixing the past and present. (“Royal Mirage”). Nature and themed ar- tional tourism. This is a global internation- Nowadays, it is the main religious center chitecture contribute to creating the Ori- al process, which also plays out elsewhere, and one of the tourist highlights of the ental and Grand Tour atmosphere that for instance in the Maldives or the Baha- country. As explains the website of tourists appreciate. Cultural heritage plays mas. Hotels themselves belong to interna- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center a fundamental role in this process: “Bed- tional groups that use the same marketing “the father of the UAE,” who “aimed to ouin lore tells of a magical place of su- techniques everywhere. Tourists, too, establish a historical Mosque,” “has cre- preme hospitality rising out of the sand” move from one resort to another, search-

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ing for supposed local authenticity, which is accepted only if it conforms to a global model of tourist “otherness” (Melotti, “Ar- chaeological Tourism”; “Cultural Heri- tage”). “This is a wondrous place, composed of three distinctive environments—each fl owing into the next to ignite the senses” (“Royal Mirage”). The center of the tourist experience is constituted by emotions: this sensorial tourism seeks the authenticity of emotions, which assures the authenticity of the experience and, indirectly, contributes to giving authenticity to the themed environments. This is the Figure 11: A postmodern archaeological site. The Lost Chambers at Atlantis Hotel The Palm, Dubai. new heritage. Source: Atlantis Hotel The Palm Dubai.

We face a process of heritage-making, An interesting case of this is the Atlantis vered, thought to have been buried for where models and languages are glob- Palm Hotel, opened in Dubai in 2008 thousands of years by the waters of the al and globally interconnected. This (Melotti, “Underwater Tourism”). It is the Arabian Gulf. Upon further investiga- process appears particularly rapid in “Arabian” version of a hotel previously tion, an ancient street system was Dubai and Abu Dhabi, accompanying built in the Bahamas by the same multina- discovered and the theory came into the rapid growth of these two global tional company, with the same Atlantis being that these were in fact remains cities. It is not a mere surrender to alien theme and the same aquatic attractions. of the Lost City of Atlantis. models. It is, rather, proof of deep and The core of the hotel is the Lost Chambers, creative involvement in a global pro- a huge themed aquarium, where you can Archaeology returns to the Emirates cess. Heritage is a tool for culture-based “live out your own Atlantean adventure” through the front door. If pre-Islamic heri- marketing and, at the same time, a live- and explore the “mysterious ruins of Atlan- tage related to historical great civilizations ly element able to transform and pen- tis, lost for thousands of years deep be- of the past may raise controversies, the etrate the dynamics of the new society. neath the sea” (“Atlantis”). myth of Atlantis—conceived of as the basis The crystallization is only apparent: her- for all world civilizations—does not. The itage is living and transforming, togeth- The website, in a playful way, asserts that idea of Atlantean remains under the artifi - er with society and the urban land- during the construction of the resort, a cial Palm Island inserts the Gulf in the scape. complex series of passages were unco- mainstream of the Western imagery and

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Marxiano Melotti places it at the same “archaeological” level. The whole world, from the Bahamas to studies the relationships between the Emirates, appears to be based on the heritage and tourism in postmodern same civilization, which would have paved culture, with special reference to the the way to a contemporary lively and vi- rediscovery and valorization of the past brant globalization. in contemporary societies. He is the secretary general of the foundation for the Italian Institute of Human Sciences Works Cited Bahrani, Zainab. “Conjuring ---. “Conscious Receivers: A Carapico, Sheila. “Arabia Dubai Expo 2020. “The (SUM), and has taught tourism and Mesopotamia: Imaginative Discussion of Museums and Incognita: An Invitation to UAE.” The Official Website archaeology in the University of Milan Abdullah, M. Morsy. Geography and a World the Construction of National Arabian Peninsula Studies.” of Dubai Expo 2020. Web. 9 Bicocca, and ancient Mediterranean “Changes in the Economy Past.” Archaeology under Identity in the United Arab Counter-Narratives: History, June 2014. Fire: Nationalism, Politics Emirates.” Archaeology of Contemporary Society and civilizations in the Nettuno University and Political Attitudes, and the Development of Culture and Heritage in the the United Arab Emirates. Politics in Saudi Arabia ---. “Heritage.” The UAE. The Consortium. Among his published works on the Coast of Oman Eastern Mediterranean Ed. Daniel T. Potts, Hasan al- and Yemen. Ed. Madawi Official Website of Dubai are the books The Plastic Venuses. between 1900 and 1940.” and Middle East. Ed. Lynn Naboodah and Peter Hellyer. al-Rasheed and Robert Expo 2020. Web. 9 June 2014. Archaeological Tourism in Post-Modern Arabian Studies 2 (1975): 167- Meskell. London, New York: London: Trident Press, 2003. Vitalis. New York: Palgrave 78. Print. Routledge, 1998. 159-74. Print. 24-30. Print. Macmillan, 2004. 11-33. Print. “Dubai Heritage Village.” A Society (Cambridge Scholars, Newcastle, Fascinating Insight into the 2011) and Turismo archeologico (Bruno Abungu, George. “The Bauman, Zygmunt. Liquid Bos-Seldenthuis, Jolanda. Dubai. Government of Dubai. Dubai of Old. Mydsf. Dubai Mondadori, Milano 2008). Declaration: A Contested Modernity. Cambridge: Polity, “Life and Tradition of “Dubai Customs Observes Shopping Festival 2014. Web. email: [email protected] Issue.” Universal Museums. 2000. Print. the Ababda Nomads in World Heritage Day.” Dubai 24 Aug. 2014. ICOM News 1 (2004): 5. Web. the Egyptian Desert, the Customs. Dubai, 18 Apr. 2014. 9 June 2014. Blau, Soren. “Observing Junction between Intangible Web. 25 Aug. 2014. Dubai Shopping Festival. “A the Present – Reflecting and Tangible Heritage Shoppers Paradise.” Dubai Arango, Tim. “Tears, and the Past: Attitudes towards Management.” International ---. Department of Tourism Shopping Festival 2014. Web. Anger, as Militants Destroy Archaeology in the United Journal of Intangible and Commerce Marketing. 25 Aug. 2014. Iraq City’s Relics.” New York Arab Emirates.” Arabia Heritage 2 (2007): 31-43. “Dubai for Tourism.” Times. New York Times, 30 Archaeology and Epigraphy 6 Print. Definitely Dubai. The Official Esteban, Iñaki. El efecto July 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. (1995): 116-28. Print. Tourism Portal. Dubai, n.d. Guggenheim: del espacio Boussaa, Djamel. “Dubai: The Web. 9 June 2014. basura al ornamento. “The Architecture of Jean Search for Identity.” People, Barcelona: Anagrama, 2007. Nouvel.” Louvre Abu Dhabi. Places and Sustainability. ---. Department of Tourism Print. Web. 9 June 2014. Ed. Gabriel Moser, et al. and Commerce Marketing. Göttingen: Hogrefe and “Hatta Heritage Village.” ––› Huber, 2003. 51-60. Print. Definitely Dubai. Dubai, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014.

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––› Fales, Frederick M. “Heritage Village.” Abu Dhabi “Louvre Abu Dhabi, a Unique ---. “Cultural Heritage and Opoku, Kwame. “Declaration Saccheggio in Mesopotamia: Information. OH Travels and and Universal Museum.” 2014. Tourism. Maldives and on the Importance and il Museo di Baghdad dalla Tourism, Dubai. Web. 9 June Louvre Abu Dhabi, 2014. the Challenge of Future.” Value of Universal Museums: nascita dell’Iraq a oggi. 2014. Web. 9 June 2014. Tourism and the Shifting Singular Failure of an Udine: Forum, 2006. Print. Values of Cultural Heritage: Arrogant Imperialist Project.” “A Journey around Abu “The Lost Chambers Visiting Pasts, Developing Modern Ghana. Modern Goode, James F. Negotiating Dhabi.” UAE Pics. 2009. Web. Aquarium in Dubai.” Atlantis Futures. Proceedings of the Ghana, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 for the Past: Archaeology, June 2014. The Palm Dubai. Web. 9 June International Conference June 2014. Nationalism and Diplomacy 2014. Taipei, Taiwan: 5-9 Apr. 2013 in the Middle East, 1919-1941. Khalaf, Sulayman. “Poetics on CD Rom. Ironbridge al-Oun, Salem, and Majd Austin: University of Texas and Politics of Newly Melotti, Marxiano. The Plastic International Institute al-Homoud. “The Potential Press, 2007. Print. Invented Traditions in the Venuses: Archaeological for Cultural Heritage. for Developing Community- Gulf: Camel Racing in the Tourism in Post-Modern Birmingham: University of Based Tourism among the Guggenheim. “Abu Dhabi.” United Arab Emirates.” Society. Newcastle: Birmingham, 2014. Bedouins in the Badia of Abu Dhabi: Guggenheim Ethnology 39.3 (2000): 243- Cambridge Scholars, 2011. Jordan.” Journal of Heritage Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 June 61. Print. Print. ---. “In Search of Atlantis: Tourism 3.1 (2008): 36-54. 2014. Underwater Tourism between Print. ---. “Globalization and ---. “Il ruolo emergente Myth and Archaeology.” ---. “Saadiyat Island.” Abu Heritage Revival in the Gulf: dell’edutainment nella AP. Online Journal in Public Peutz, Nathalie. “Bedouin Dhabi: Guggenheim An Anthropological Look fruizione del patrimonio Archaeology (2014): 95-116. ‘Abjection’: World Heritage, Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 June at Dubai Heritage Village.” culturale.” Formazione & Web. Worldliness and Worthiness 2014. Journal of Social Affairs 19.75 Insegnamento – European at the Margins of Arabia.” (2002): 277-306. Print. Journal of Research on ---. “The Power of Senses: American Ethnologist 38.2 “Hatta Heritage Village.” Education and Teaching 12 New Trends on Heritage (2011): 338-60. Print. Hotels in Dubai. Web. 9 June ---. “Perspective on Falconry (2013): 129-43. Print. Tourism.” Englishes 52 (2014). 2014. as a World Intangible Print. ---. “Theorizing the Arabian Heritage and UAE’s Efforts ---. “Turismo culturale e Peninsula Roundtable: “Welcome to the Heart of to Enhance International festival di rievocazione “Museum and Cultural Perspectives from the Sharjah.” Heart of Sharjah. Cooperation for Promoting storica: il re-enactment come Heritage Studies.” NYU Abu Margins of Arabia.” Jadaliyya. Heart of Sharjah, 2014. Web. Falconry.” Beyond Borders: strategia identitaria e di Dhabi. Web. 9 June 2014. Jadaliyya, 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 9 June 2014. Plurality and Universality marketing urbano.” Contesti 9 June 2014. of Common Intangible mediterranei in transizione: “One&Only Royal Mirage, Henderson, Joan C. “Tourism Cultural Heritage in East mobilità turistica tra crisi Where Magical Moments Picton, Oliver J. “Usage in Dubai: Overcoming Asia. Proceedings of the e mutamento. Ed. Romina and All the Mythic Charms of the Concept of Culture Barriers to Destination International Forum on Deriu. Milano: Franco Angeli, of Old Arabic Come Alive.” and Heritage in the United Development.” International Intangible Cultural Heritage 2013. 144-54. Print. One&Only Royal Mirage. Arab Emirates: An Analysis Journal of Tourism Research in East Asia, 2009. 308-18. Web. 9 June 2014. of Sharjah Heritage Area.” 8.2 (2006): 87-99. Print. Print. Journal of Heritage Tourism 5.1 (2010): 69-84. Print.

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––› Potts, Daniel T. “The Gulf Sassen, Saskia. The Global Spirou, Costas. Urban Zecchinelli, Cecilia. “Alla Arab States and their City. Princeton, N.J.: Tourism and Urban Change: fiera del ‘lifestyle’ islamico.” Archaeology.” Archaeology Princeton University Press, Cities in a Global Economy. Corriere della Sera, 28 Nov. under Fire: Nationalism, 1991. Print. New York: Routledge, 2011. 2013: 19. Print. Politics and Heritage in Print. the Mediterranean and Sharjah. Sharjah Commerce Middle East. Ed. Lynn and Tourism Development Stabile, Alberto, and Cinzia Meskell. London, New York: Authority. “Sharjah Heritage Dal Maso. “Primavera araba, Routledge, 1998. 189-99. Print. Museum.” Sharjah Tourism. inverno dei monumenti.” Il Government of Sharjah, n.d. Venerdì di Repubblica 9 May al-Rasheed, Madawi. Web. 9 June 2014. 2014: 22-29. Print. “Theorizing the Arabian Peninsula: Knowledge in Sharpley, Richard. “The Szuchman, Jeffrey. the Time of Oil.” Jadaliyya. Challenges of Economic “Archaeology, Identity, and Jadaliyya, 22 Apr. 2013. Web. Diversification through Demographic Imbalance in 9 June 2014. Tourism: The Case of Abu the United Arab Emirates.” Dhabi.” International Journal Heritage & Society 5.1 (2012): Saeid, Ali Gh., Zamri Arifin, of Tourism Research 4 (2002): 35-52. Print. and Mohd Safar Hasim. “The 221-35. Print. Cultural Tourism in Abu Timothy, David J. Cultural Dhabi.” Journal of Applied Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque Heritage and Tourism: An Sciences Research 8.6 (2012): Center. “Sheikh Zayed and Introduction. Bristol: Channel 2888-96. Print. the Grand Mosque.” Sheikh View Publications, 2011. Print. Zayed Grand Mosque Center. Saidel, Benjamin A. Web. 24 Aug. 2014. Turner, Bryan. Orientalism, “The Bedouin Tent: An Postmodernism and Ethno-Archaological “Sheikh Zayed in quotes.” UAE Globalism. London: Portal to Antiquity or a interact, 2 Nov. 2005. Web. 13 Routledge, 1994. Print. Modern Construct?” The Nov. 2014. Archaeological of Mobility. UNESCO. “Falconry, a Living Old World and New World Shusterman, Hillary. Human Heritage.” Unesco. Nomadism. Ed. Hans Barnard Commodifying Heritage: Culture. Intangible Cultural and Willeke Wendrich. Los The Case of Dubai Heritage Heritage. UNESCO, 2012. Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Village. Norton, Ma.: Web. 9 June 2014. Archaeology UCLA, 2008. Wheaton College, 2013. Web. 465-86. Print. 16 Aug. 2014. Walker, Jenny, et al. Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula. London: Lonely Planet, 2013. Print. ISSN: 2196-629X urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-21819

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Introduction: Governmentalities of Heritage UNESCO has taken up a number of new Governmentalities of Alevi measures since the beginning of the mil- Cultural Heritage: On Recognition, lennium in its endeavor to safeguard the Cultural Heritage of humanity. While for- Surveillance, and “Domesticated mer UNESCO activities on Cultural Heri- tage were exclusively directed at “tangi- Diversity” in Contemporary Turkey ble” cultural and “natural” sites, the more recent steps were taken in order to enhance an awareness of Intangible Cultural Heritage (or ICH), such as oral traditions, rituals, or traditional crafts. A former focus on monumental heritage and natural sites Benjamin Weineck was criticized by scholars and practitioners as paying too little attention to diverse and Although the term Cultural Heritage comes to terms with the tension be- multiple forms of human creativity, which carries a rather positive connotation— tween this formal recognition, ongoing are expressed in a variety of practices and bringing together notions such as safe- political surveillance, and the very spe- traditions (Coombe 375). Accordingly, the guarding and human creativity—critical cific notions of diversity that have been shift to ICH is: investigations have underlined the vari- put into play. With reference to Fou- recognizing that communities, in partic ous strategic, economic and political ra- cault’s (as well as Rose’s) analysis of con- ular indigenous communities, groups tionalities inscribed in this term. temporary government as “govern and, in some cases, individuals, play an In 2010 UNESCO categorized the Alevi mentality,” Cultural Heritage can be important role in the production, safe- ritual sequence, semah, as Intangible grasped in its ambivalent (but not nec- guarding, maintenance and re-creation Cultural Heritage and as such it was in- essarily conflicting) form of govern of the intangible cultural heritage, thus scribed in the Turkish National Inventory mental liberation and control. The paper helping to enrich cultural diversity and for Intangible Cultural Heritage, al- thus enlarges the analytical scale of think- human creativity. (UNESCO Conven though Alevis are oftentimes marginal- ing about Cultural Heritage in its correlation) ized by the Turkish state due to its Sunni- tion with identity-formation, as well as the Turkist conception of belonging. The politics of recognition and governance. The UNESCO Convention for the Safe- celebration of an Alevi ritual as enrich- guarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage ing Turkey’s “cultural diversity” thus ne- Keywords: Alevis; Turkey; Diversity; Heri- places the bearers of the particular tradi- cessitated an analytical approach that tage; Governmentality; Ritual tions in the center of any safeguarding ac-

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tivity—which, according to Merkel, “can be In order to grasp both the aspect of safe- lar groups” in ICH discourse on the one understood as a sincere attempt to con- guarding and empowerment, as well as hand, and Alevism as a socio-religious tribute to their empowerment and to cor- the particular (and most likely nationalist) problem of (nationalist/Islamist/neoliber- rect earlier elitist approaches” (68). Other notion of cultural difference that heritage al) government on the other requires a scholars underline the importance of ICH policies enact, I consider it useful to draw way of thinking that must come to terms for the formation and assurance of group upon an idea of government that captures with the ostensible tension between and identities (Wulf 86) or its capacity for en- some ratio of the liberating and limiting alleged binary equations of liberation and abling “vernacular” groups to figure in an modes of political intervention vis-à-vis control, inclusion and exclusion, empow- “agentive way to act upon one’s own the population. The late Michel Foucault erment and containment. world” (Brosius and Polit 2). and his successors, particularly Nikolas This paper seeks to analyze the emer- In 2010, the Alevi semah-dance—a se- Rose, have characterized contemporary gence of—or, better put, the construction quence from the cem-ritual1—was declared government less in terms of ruling by law of—an Alevi heritage in Turkey as such a to be ICH and as such inscribed in the or discipline. Dissociating the exercise of form of political conduct, which on the Turkish National Inventory for Intangible political power from domination, they em- one hand meets the Alevi communities’ Cultural Heritage as “fostering and enrich- phasize how (neo)liberal forms of conduct aspirations for recognition. Yet the charac- ing traditional music culture of Turkey” rather shape, guide, direct, or govern pop- ter of the strategies and technologies ap- (UNESCO Nomination file 6). Alevis make ulations by recognizing and enhancing plied, in concert with UNESCO as power- up about 15 to 30% of Turkey’s population, the individual’s capacity for acting upon ful actor in the assemblage of government, yet are not legally recognized as a reli- him- or herself (Foucault, Biopolitik 97). render very specific political understand- gious community in their own, as Sunni- Since liberalism requires individual free- ings and mentalities of cultural difference Turkist notions of belonging were—and dom of the subject, the government’s re- to be legible, firm, and true. This way of still are—salient in many aspects of Turkish sponsibility is not to suppress, but rather thinking about government—in terms of polities and politics. The recognition of an to promote certain forms of subjectivity: the relation of specific political knowledge Alevi ritual as Cultural Heritage, enriching Accordingly, laissez faire and freedom are embodied in any political action or strat- Turkey’s “cultural diversity,” thus begs an perceived of as a specific way of political egy—is called “governmentality.” It is my analytical approach capable of encom- economy or political intervention rather argument that references to Cultural Heri- passing Alevi aspirations for recognition, than the “antithesis of government” (Rose tage may indeed forge coherence within underlying governmental understandings 69). The way in which Foucault and Rose the groups concerned—which would be of nationhood and diversity, and their mu- consider freedom to be a form of political desirable under liberal notions of citizen- tual interrelations. conduct can inform an analysis of the pol- ship and minority issues. Yet the language Therefore, this paper analyzes Cultural itics on Cultural Heritage and its liberal no- of UNESCO and the specific understand- Heritage as a tool for the assemblage of tions of empowerment in several ways: ing of diversity it enacts prescribe to the governance and “diversity management.” The focus on empowerment of “vernacu- communities a knowledge about them-

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selves as being commodified and of “do- and takes for granted the inventive char- blage” (Coombe 379) of multiple, mesticated diversity” (Göner 127), which acter of language and any conceptual decentralized practices of conduct, which severely limits their capacities for both po- practice for reality—a reality that is of makes it possible to grasp intersecting na- litical participation and resistance. course always a specific political reality, tional and transnational governmental which makes things and objects govern- forces (Turkey – UNESCO), as well as the Methodological Considerations able or that constitutes them as a problem subjects that act in this field of discursive Many scholars have emphasized how her- to be acted upon. possibilities and constraints. An analysis of itage regimes, with their complex array of This analysis of the governmentalities of governmentality also considers the cre- actors—heritage promoters of civil “indig- an Alevi heritage in Turkey thus investi- ative ways in which subjects take up initia- enous” groups, national politicians and gates the notions and governmental un- tives and behave toward these political bureaucrats, intergovernmental regimes— derstandings of religious and cultural dif- strategies. Governing, in this sense, is the bring to bear new forms of political conference and belonging that produce the art of combining techniques of domina- duct and subjectivity (Harrison 7; Tau political practice. Neither does it ask, for tion and freedom and an ability to set pro- schek 20). Hall highlights the evaluating example, if an empowering element of cesses into motion “through which the self character of Cultural Heritage policies as heritage policies succeeded or not, nor is is constructed or modified by himself” inherently classifying and arranging: Her- it a hermeneutical investigation of the (Foucault, “Hermeneutics” 204). itage thus represents not only the desire “real objectives behind a certain strategy” Intangible Cultural Heritage, which explic- and practice of preserving certain aspects (Rose 56). Rather, such an analysis at- itly addresses the bearers of objects and of the past, but constitutes “the symbolic tempts to grasp the practices’ own ac- practices that are to be turned into heri- power to order knowledge, to rank, clas- counts of reality by scrutinizing the forms tage, not only acknowledges “the impor- sify and arrange, and thus to give mean- of political order and subjectivity that are tance of communities, in particular indig- ing to objects and things through inter- enacted by this governmental knowl- enous communities” in the creation and pretative schemas” (88). These particular edge and by the political strategies it in- reproduction of the heritage of humanity formations of knowledge and mentalities forms. As policies on Cultural Heritage (UNESCO Convention), but also considers of government are embodied in the in- rely on classification and arrangement, it ICH to be inherently “community based”: struments, strategies, and politics ap- is asked what kinds of operations are un- intangible cultural heritage can only be plied. The approach of a governmentality dertaken to render an Alevi ritual practice heritage when it is recognized as such of heritage tries to grasp this interrelation into Cultural Heritage of a polity that con- by the communities, groups or indivi- of knowledge and power, and the spe- tinuously reproduces Sunni-Turkist ideas duals that create, maintain and transmit cific governmental understandings that of nationhood. it—without their recognition, nobody are inscribed in political strategies, prac- An important and analytically powerful as- else can decide for them that a given tices, and programs (Rose 2). Therefore, pect of governmentality analysis is its un- expression or practice is their heritage. this approach relies on discourse analysis derstanding of government as an “assem- (UNESCO Heritage)2

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This form of governance thus also relies wise, the specific form of political conduct be represented as a religious group in its on the activity of these “communities, called governmentality does not deny a own, these activities subscribe to the he- groups or individuals” to decide on their possibly emotional value of heritage, but gemonic framework of religion which re- own terms about their Cultural Heritage, rather makes use of it in a creative form quires, for example, a single written sa- which contributes to the notion of heri- and takes into account the will and capac- cred text. The aspect of consent to a tage as empowering these communities ity for its subjects to safeguard their heri- hegemonic knowledge about oneself is vis-à-vis state actors (Merkel; Wulf; Brosius tage. As will be shown, this does not turn central to this Gramscian approach to and Polit). An analysis of the governmen- out to be a mere functionalist approach to power and doubtlessly useful in coming talities of heritage investigates the ways in government, which may turn its subjects to terms with the politics of representation which government shapes its subjects’ as- toward any desirable direction without on Alevis in Turkey. Although these pirations of recognition and harnesses fearing resistance or problems of “translat- thoughts on hegemony and an ostensibly their capacity for self-directed conduct to ing” programs into action. On the con- voluntary consent to it (as its central char- meet certain political ends. The question trary: There are certainly spaces and pos- acteristic feature) also constitute to the at stake here is how, for example, forms of sibilities of resisting governmental will and backdrop for this paper’s analytical frame- knowledge and “interpretive schemas” conduct, and parts of the Alevi movement work, the approach followed here differs (Hall 88) on Cultural Heritage are adopted in Turkey do have the capacity to continu- from a focus on hegemony in that it ana- by these groups and individuals taking up ously challenge the nationalist, Sunni- lyzes liberal government’s conduct as the the UNESCO language of heritage and its Turkist dominance. Yet there is reason to practice of being made up of “citizens ca- underlying notion of empowerment to doubt whether the UNESCO language of pable of bearing a kind of regulated free- foster construction of their identities. Cultural Heritage is able to empower and dom” (Rose; Miller 174). This understand- What kind of subjectivity, what kind of po- represent the marginalized. This problem ing comes to terms with the UNESCO’s litical order and what concepts of the na- is also raised by Göner (129), who employs perception of empowerment of “commu- tion are portrayed in these aspirations for a Gramscian reading of the Alevi associa- nities,” their intelligibility, and their repre- identity, and struggles for recognition and tions’ activities in their quest for recogni- sentation. Since Butler so powerfully un- belonging? tion: She refers to the activities of some derlined an inescapable alliance of I certainly do not deny the emotional value Alevi organizations, like the Karacaahmet representation and coercion in Gender of ICH and its potential for preserving Foundation in her example, as codifying Trouble, critical investigations must be threatened practices and objects for the the diverse Alevi belief system(s). The no- careful to attend to such narratives of rep- purpose of safeguarding and constructing tions of order and codification embedded resentation and empowerment. Also in identities. The analysis taken up here also in these endeavors, according to Göner, the context of Heritage Studies, many does not aim to deconstruct Alevi Cultural appropriate the very normative percep- scholars have emphasized the inherently Heritage as a mere strategic tool made up tions of religion held by the members of political and bureaucratic character of her- by bureaucrats to meet certain ends. Like- the majority, i.e. Sunni Muslims. In order to itage regimes and their capacity for iden-

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tity politics and nationalist aspirations for the actors, groups, or communities con- mosques and imams, for example, are identifying and inscribing belonging cerned should extensively participate in able to obtain public finance, Alevi cem (Smith “Archaeological Theory”; Ash- the application process (UNESCO Crite- evis are defined as “culture houses” and as worth). Analyzing and criticizing the con- ria). This very aspect should raise a flag re- such are not publicly fundable.4 In fact, this struction of a particular Turkish Alevi- garding the institutional requirements aspect of aspired-for equal citizenship Bektaşi heritage and the paternalistic shaping heritage construction: As state (eşit yurttaşlık) is one of the main issues in discourse involved may also empower fur- actors are the ones in charge of applying the struggle for recognition of Alevi com- ther critical reflections on ongoing subtle to the UNESCO (in collaboration with “civ- munities in Turkey, as well as in the dias- forms of surveillance and less subtle forms il” actors), it is their specific concepts of pora (Sökefeld 229). Additionally, Alevi of physical violence in the field of identity Cultural Heritage that may be accepted by children are required to participate in Sun- politics and national engineering. UNESCO. Heritage thus most likely be- na-conform religious education at school comes an instrument of a nationalist agen- (din ve ahlak dersleri),5 and mosques are Alevi -Bektaşi Cultural Heritage: Issues da: In her work Uses of Heritage, Laura- built in Alevi villages (Göner 118). On the and Actors jane Smith underlined how political other side of these assimilationist policies Every year, a committee consisting of discourse on heritage has the potential to toward Alevism are a bevy of Alevi-Bektaşi members elected by the UNESCO Gen- underpin certain communities’—spe cultural organizations which, in accor- eral Assembly judges state parties’ pro- cifically, those in political power—concepts dance with the UNESCO Criteria, were posals for inscribing elements onto the of history, nationhood, and belonging (11). also included in the application processes “Representative List of Intangible Cultural This functional and strategic notion that for their Cultural Heritage (UNESCO, Heritage” (UNESCO Convention). In 2010 heritage is “created as needed” (Ashworth Nomination file 14).6 And yet tolerating the it granted the semah-dance, a sequence 26) is analytically useful in coming to terms work of these Alevi-Bektaşi NGOs does of the Alevi-Bektaşi cem-ritual, the status with an Alevi-Bektaşi Cultural Heritage. not render the communities recognized as of ICH.3 There are five criteria that must be Alevi communities in Turkey are in an am- religiously different subjects on a level that met in order to be granted inscription, bivalent position: A Kemalist interpreta- is institutionally equal to Sunni Islam. among which is that the element “will con- tion of the nation links Turkishness to Sun- This ambivalence is also connected to the tribute to ensuring visibility and aware- ni Islam, which excludes both Alevis as question of whether Alevism is considered ness of the significance of the Intangible non-Sunni Muslims, as well as Kurdish- “culture” or “religion.” Recently, Massicard Cultural Heritage and to encouraging dia- speaking Alevis. As such, the Law on Der- (107) has emphasized how Turkish polities logue” and that it will be included in the vish Lodges (Tekke ve Zaviye Kanunu) of like the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Di- National Inventory for Intangible Cultural 1925 forbade all forms of religious orders yanet) or the Ministry of Education con- Heritage (UNESCO Criteria). Although and associated ritual practices, clothing, tinuously avoid referring to Alevism as a state parties are those that must apply for and titles. This has also had wide implica- “religious minority.” In textbooks for the nomination, one of the criteria is also that tions for Alevi ritual practice: Whereas aforementioned compulsory religious ed-

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ucation in school for example, Alevism is clusion that 99.2% of the Turkish popula- ments of Alevi-Bektaşi ritual practice. Din- rendered merely a mystical “interpretation tion is Muslim (XXX). Inner-Islamic differ- çer stresses how rural urban migrations in Islamic belief” (107) and is not consid- ence is acknowledged along the lines of and the geographical diffusion of Alevi ered as a school of belief in its own right schools of thought, i.e. Maliki, Hanafi, communities have had an immense im- (mezhep). The differences between Sunni Shafiʿi, Hanbali, and, additionally, the Shi- pact on the communities’ ritual practice Islamic and Alevi religious practices are, in ite Caferi (XXX). since about the 1950s (35). Her fieldwork line with the argumentation of the Presi- Both of these measures—culturalization revealed that in urban cem-rituals (in Izmir dency of Religious Affairs, explained as and annihilation—are examples of a type and Istanbul), in which Alevis from various cultural specificities due to geographical of political conduct toward Alevis that ar- regions with different mother tongues and spread and the Alevis’ inhabiting rural ranges and classifies a certain under- varying concepts of ethnic belonging par- landscapes far from urban centers (104). standing of cultural difference and reli- ticipate, the semah as one of the “twelve As another aspect of this policy of cultur- gious deviation. Although they allow for services” of the cem-ritual played a pre- alization, the Diyanet positioned itself as a and promote some form of Alevi cultural dominant role in relation to the other ritu- promoter of Alevi cultural history and expression, other, less-subtle forms of al sequences (37). Motika and Langer also knowledge when it published texts like control continue to exist: The Ministry of emphasize that in the public performance the hagiographies of the saint Hacı Bektaş the Interior regularly directs private televi- of rituals, some sequences are either omit- in the series of Alevi-Bektaşi Klasikleri sion stations on how to cover, for exam- ted or reduced to mere symbolic acts (99). (Massicard 104). Likewise, since 1990 the ple, cultural events like the Hacı Bektaş Since the various forms of Alevism do not Ministry of Culture and Tourism took over Festivalı or the Newroz celebrations, in- possess a canonizing religious apparatus, management of the annual Hacı Bektaş cluding what kind of vocabulary to em- the religious character of the ritual is of- Festival that takes place at the Bektaşi ploy (Massicard 92). tentimes downplayed when participants tekke near Nevşehir (139). The rituals per- The Alevi-Bektaşi semah-dance, which of different geographical, ethnic or lin- formed there are also broadcast live on TV, was rendered UNESCO ICH in 2010, also guistic backgrounds gather for a ritual but are promoted as part of Turkish heri- corresponds to this notion of a cultural (Massicard 130). Likewise, when turned tage, cultural diversity, and folklore, de- rather than religious characterization of into a common Alevi-Bektaşi Cultural Her- linked to any notion of religious or theo- the Alevi-Bektaşi belief system: Although itage, the various forms of the ritual are logical deviance from Sunni Islam. the ritual sequence depicts the Alevi- interpreted as an “evident sign of the rich- Furthermore, the word “Alevi” does not Bektaşi understandings of God’s relation- ness in semah culture” (UNESCO Nomina- appear at all in the 250-page volume on ship to human beings, this religious aspect tion file 4) and not, for example, as an evi- Religious Life in Turkey, issued by the Di- has come to be ever more “de-sacralized” dent sign of the richness of diverse yanet in the beginning of 2014.7 The men- (Massicard 131). The semah-dance, as one theological reflections other than those of tioned study assimilates Alevism within part of the Alevi cem-ritual, has gained Sunni Islam. the realm of Islam, and thus draws the con- considerable importance over other ele-

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Additionally, it is Intangible Cultural Heri- There is yet another aspect of heritage ter of Alevism (25). Although Alevis and tage that is sought in the recent UNESCO policies that may provide insight into Bektaşis share many ritual practices and conventions. Thus, the institutional chan- forms of political knowledge about Ale- belief systems, and as such may be con- nels to articulate the demands of heritage vism as Turkish folklore, concerning the ceived of as a single community, the term and identity require a focus on rituals, as naming as “Alevi-Bektaşi” of the Cultural Alevi-Bektaşi also makes opaque the insti- opposed to tangible artifacts of the past. Heritage. Strikingly, only four of the eigh- tutional, social, and geographic differenc- This stress on semah as Alevi-Bektaşi heri- teen NGOs involved in the heritage con- es of both of these groups. A strong em- tage is an example of how socio-religious struction operate under the heading phasis on an Alevi-Bektaşi synthesis may developments within the Alevi communi- “Alevi,” while others use names referring thus be read, according to Dressler, as a ties are underpinned by the UNESCO dis- to the Saint Hacı Bektaş or to tribal asso- means of strengthening a certain Turkish- course on Cultural Heritage: In this re- ciations such as tahtacı (UNESCO Nomina- Alevi agency in the Turkish public sphere spect, Massicard quite aptly speaks of tion file 13). These denominations again by weakening the notion of social and cul- “external- and self-folklorization” (130) be- bear witness of the ambivalent standing of tural differences between Turkish and cause “culture,” on the one hand, serves as Alevis in Turkey, and to the specific char- Kurdish speaking Alevis in striving for the the “most consensual way of Alevi organi- acter of a certain form of understanding of nationalist quest of unity (25). zations to foster belonging” (134). As Turk- cultural difference: In the 1990s when most ish political discourse denies Alevism be- of these organizations were founded, it Heritage and Determining Diversity ing thought of as a religious group of was generally not allowed to draw on The support for an Alevi-Bektaşi Cultural considerable size, some of the Alevi- names that could suggest a possible sep- Heritage is in accordance with a discourse Bektaşi organizations explicitly promote aration of the Turkish nation along reli- that renders Alevism a cultural facet of cultural common denominators—such as gious, social, or ethnic lines (Sökefeld 231). Turkishness which, in turn, does not prin- the saz, poetry, or the semah—to amalgam- Yet it was and is tolerated that these orga- cipally deviate from Sunni Islam. This spe- ate various Alevi communities with differ- nizations may represent Alevi interests. cific understanding of Alevism as folklore, ing notions of religious and ethnic coher- The tight bond between “Alevi” and “enriching” Turkey’s cultural diversity, is af- ence (130). On the other hand, this cultural “Bektaşi” in many of these denominations firmed and put into play by the very mech- understanding of Alevism as Turkish folk- and, in fact, in the naming of the ritual in anisms of Cultural Heritage management lore corresponds to the patterns and un- question as “Alevi-Bektaşi” heritage, also that include the element in question in the derstandings of the Diyanet about Ale- denotes a certain form of state-controlled, “National Inventory of Cultural Heritage.” vism, accommodating the very discourse domesticated difference: As Dressler has The inscription signifies specific under- that denies Alevis in Turkey their own reli- pointed out, the term Alevi-Bektaşi is used standings of difference, but does not clash gious education at public schools or state- mostly by Turkish-speaking Alevis, which with the preserving and empowering na- funded locales for religious devotion (cem excludes Kurdish Alevis and with that the ture of heritage. On the contrary: It valo- evis) analogue to mosques. notion of the politically subversive charac- rizes this understanding of difference,

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commodifies it, and renders it true by in- CEM Vakfı, as only two examples, are list- agency “to act upon one’s own world” scription. The policies of Cultural Heritage ed among the “Concerned Communities (Brosius and Polit 2). UNESCO’s discourse thus bear the limiting notion that though organization(s)” in the UNESCO Nomina- on Cultural Heritage provides language, it recognizes and celebrates Turkey’s and tion file (13), although both of them differ frames of reference, and infrastructure for the world’s cultural diversity on the one in their understanding of Alevism. The for- identity demands and recognition. Yet this hand, this does not translate into de facto mer has a rather state-critical, leftist out- very notion of the “self” must be called practice on the other. Recognition is thus look, while the latter represents a form of into question if we are to criticize the pa- only granted under the rubric of belong- Alevism within Islam and accords to cur- ternalistic political practices of represen- ing to a cultural minority that enriches Tur- rent Turkish polities (Massicard 49). In or- tation in the context of an Alevi-Bektaşi key’s cultural diversity, but that is—as heri- der to bring such different actors together, Cultural Heritage. At this point, it is useful tage—detached from serious political the common Alevi heritage semah is also to recall a central element to the kind of questions such as, for example, religious defined and appropriated to the different political conduct that was analyzed here politics. Ashworth called this aspect of needs: Distinguishing between içeri and as governmentality: Rose argues in his heritage policies “museumification” and dışarı semah, the nomination file concep- Powers of Freedom that it is impossible to “vernacularization”: Transforming, for ex- tualizes two ways of reading the ritual se- “counterpose subjectivity to power” (55). ample, the dervish lodge in the city of Hacı quence: one more secular than the other. Linking practice and the conduct of sub- Bektaş into a museum makes it into folk- It is stated that içeri semah should be held jects and government in a web of power lore, detaches its subjects and their beliefs in small circles only with faithful people at- relations may also serve to help come to from the present, and renders them insig- tending, whereas the dışarı semah under- terms with the both empowering and lim- nificant in current struggles of political lines the cultural/folkloristic character of iting aspects of Cultural Heritage de- participation and resistance. Heritage as the dance (UNESCO Nomination file 5). scribed above. The promotion of a certain such has the power to signify as unimport- The process called “museumification” is kind of cultural diversity, as “domesticated ant ideas and practices that “could poten- thus accompanied by an appropriation diversity” (Göner 127), accords to this spe- tially challenge or distract a dominant ide- which renders the semah as representa- cific form of political conduct: Policies on ology” (Ashworth 33) or challenge tive both for the Alevi-Bektaşi associations Alevi-Bektaşi Cultural Heritage do not hegemonic demarcations of belonging. and for the Turkish state, to which it be- work as a kind of political power that Strikingly, although the various sharehold- longs as Cultural Heritage. would forbid, deny, or punish a certain er Alevi associations in the making of the This perspective challenges the liberal, form of Alevism by law or coercion. It rath- ICH vary considerably in their political, re- activating, and empowering notions that er exercises its power via an assemblage ligious, and cultural outlook, they never- Intangible Cultural Heritage brings to of strategies that enhance and activate theless unite under a common Alevi Cul- bear. Of course it seems that policies of self-conduct, encouraged by the preserv- tural Heritage. Even such different actors ICH provide “indigenous communities,” to ing, safeguarding, and self-directed no- as the Pir Sultan Abdal Association and the use the UNESCO language, with the tion of heritage, along with UNESCO’s lan-

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guage of empowerment. Massicard the perspective on minority politics of di- to serve in a way she characterized as the points to this very “external and self-folk- versity management in the Republic of “creative but not repressive nature of the lorization” (130) in the practice of Alevi- Turkey. Göner has characterized these di- new hegemonic discourse” (130), which is Bektaşi identity politics. Indeed, it corre- verse stages and forms of minority politics a form of political conduct that relies on a sponds with a form of political conduct in on Alevis in Turkey as “difference repres- variety of actors and draws on the seman- which the technologies of government sive” and “difference blind.” In her argu- tics of enhancement and empowerment meet the technologies of the self—a form ment, the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) consti- rather than repression. In the same way that refers to the “empowering” element tutes the beginning of these modes of that the EU demands of recognizing Ale- of ICH discourse, as it places responsibil- thinking about minorities, since the treaty vism as a cultural/religious minority inter- ity on the side of the individual, or the “in- only grants non-Muslim religious groups sected with national policies and pro- digenous communities.” such as Jews and Christians the status of duced a discursive frame of reference, the Yet the “vernacular” actors involved in the minorities (112). Turkey’s polities, such as UNESCO’s endeavors to promote Cultur- process are not merely physical bodies the Diyanet, thus embody forms of repres- al Heritage also possess a certain capac- that may be imbued with a certain desir- sion in that they represent a Sunni-Turkist ity to enhance citizens and civil groups in able form of conduct, identity, or self- idea of the nation. She further argues that efforts to preserve their cultural practices awareness. The selection of semah as her- European Union (EU) demands of recog- and artifacts. Yet bureaucratic and institu- itage and its naming as Alevi-Bektaşi nizing Alevis as a religious or cultural mi- tional limits as well as specific govern- heritage underpin political and socio-eco- nority during the negotiations about Tur- mentalities heavily shape this process, nomic developments “within” the Alevi keys EU membership8 opened up a new and limit the liberating and empowering movement, and which are far older than space to articulate and promote Alevism nature of such politics. The “creative but heritage policies, which additionally were in Turkey, as it invoked a new notion of cul- not repressive nature of the new hege- not set in motion by these political pro- tural diversity and minority rights. Al- monic discourse” quite aptly encompass- grams alone. Yet these interrelated pro- though this undermined the former “dif- es the practice of Alevi-Bektaşi Cultural cesses of governmental strategies ad- ference blind” and “difference repressive” Heritage in Turkey, as their heritage sub- dressing and meeting the technologies of nature, Göner also underlines how state scribes to a notion of alterity promoted by the self are what characterize governmen- policies supported only a certain notion of state-loyal institutions. tality as a form of political power. Alevism—i.e. Alevi-Bektashism, freed of a Analyzing governmentalities of heritage potentially Kurdish character and the po- Concluding Remarks thus allows going beyond an understand- tential of political subversion. This new ap- The politics of Alevi-Bektaşi Cultural Heri- ing of politics in binaries such as domina- proach includes “difference but at the tage in Turkey benefit from intergovern- tion and freedom, and also characterizes price of domesticating” it (127). mental endeavors to promote and to safe- political power as dispersed among many Göner’s article was published in 2005, guard humankind’s creativity and diversity. different agents (Rose 2). It thus enlarges long before the politics of heritage came UNESCO provides a discursive frame to

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Benjamin Weineck which individual citizens and (“indigenous”) An analysis of the governmentality of her- “communities” themselves may act. From groups may refer in order to protect ob- itage reveals the particular political men- this perspective, the assemblage of gov- is a researcher at the Universities of jects and practices perceived to be in dan- talities and understandings of cultural di- ernment produces the very subjects and Bayreuth and Heidelberg. He studied ger of extinction. The policies of Intangible versity which are embodied in the very specific understanding of difference that Middle Eastern Studies in Mainz, Ankara Cultural Heritage explicitly address civil policies that promote these values. A form it comes to represent. The capacity “to act and Heidelberg where he obtained and not state actors for their purposes, of government that includes these domi- upon one’s own world”—as formulated by his MA in Ottoman History in 2013. His which various scholars see as a step toward nant readings of reality harnesses the self- empowering notions of ICH—may thus be current research is focused on both empowering those groups, and undermin- conduct of its population within these dis- grasped as consent to a prefigured con- historical and contemporary issues of ing formerly state-oriented approaches to cursively drawn lines of possibility. A cept of belonging rather than agency. As Alevism and the Alevis’ relationship to monumental heritage sites. pursuit of consent to this very order is at- a result, the recognition of an Alevi-Bektaşi the Ottoman and the Turkish state. Undoubtedly, such intergovernmental bod- tained through liberal empowering no- Cultural Heritage fails to translate into the email: benjamin.weineck@ ies and their politics of Intangible Cultural tions of agency and of safeguarding a legal-political realm, and turning semah ori.uni-heidelberg.de Heritage may help to promote some form heritage perceived to be in danger. Like- into Cultural Heritage maintains its un- of visibility for vernacular groups, or for oth- wise, this form of conduct also heavily equal status vis-à-vis Sunni Muslim forms er actors and their cultural assets. Though, shapes ideas of what may be thought and of worship. Attempts to reach an equality as this analysis has shown, it is doubtful that said about Alevi-Bektaşi communities in of partners in the context of Sunni-Alevi these instruments help to raise awareness Turkey: As Turkey’s Cultural Heritage, they relations, or in any “vernacular politics,” on the social and political problems faced are perceived of as a folkloric rather than thus have to rely on other, less predeter- by these very groups: The recognition of an a religious group that may subvert estab- mined vocabulary than the liberal empow- Alevi-Bektaşi Cultural Heritage in Turkey lished ideologies. “Recognizing” this heri- ering notions of intergovernmental actors. neither translates into legal recognition of tage is accompanied by forms of appro- A focus on government through enhance- Alevism as a group that religiously differs priation that make this Alevi-Bektaşi ritual ment of certain desirable forms of con- from Sunni Islam, nor does it challenge the representable and recognizable in the first duct taken up here thus uncovers the pow- homogenizing nationalist discourse with its place. The meaning and consequences of er relations between government and stress on Sunni-Turkist ideas of nationhood. this recognition are powerfully prefigured subjects, and the inseparable tie between The specific institutional settings in heritage by the very language of UNESCO and by recognition and surveillance. regimes, in which states remain the most the dominant understanding of pluralism important actors in the carving out of heri- salient in Turkish nationalist discourse. ––› tage, diversity articulated through Cultural Thus, equipping the nation-state with a Heritage in Turkey remains “domesticated” central role in the definition of its “vernac- in that it is accommodated to the polity and ular” heritage provides an opportunity to to the requirements of hegemonic sets of strongly shape and codify the understand- knowledge on diversity. ings of this vernacular, upon which the

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––› Notes 4 See, for example, the clear 6 These are: Alevi-Bektaşi 8 In fact the EU has shifted its comment of Prime Minister Federasyonu, Hacı Bektaş demands and its language Erdoğan on this issue: Veli Anadolu Kültür Vakfı on demarcating difference 1 The cem-ritual is a “Whichever Alevi I meet Genel Merkezi, Hacı Bektaş over the course of time: As congregational ritual in Alevi says, we were Muslims. The Veli Kültürve Tanıtma Dressler has shown, the EU ritual practice. It consists of prayer place for Muslims is Dernekleri Genel Merkezi, Pir since 2007 has refrained various sequences, of which the mosque. Alevism is not Sultan Abdal Kültür Derneği from defining Alevism as the dance sequence semah is a religion [din]. Therefore Genel Merkezi, Pir Sultan a religious minority, as the but one part. For an overview one cannot compare [Islam Abdal 2 Temmuz Kültürve questions of Alevism being on Alevi rituals, see Langer and Alevism]. If we made Eğitim Vakfı, Karacaahmet a religion or a culture, or “Alevitische Rituale”; for an this distinction, why should Sultan Eğitimve Kültür Vakfı, being a religious tradition ideal-typical description of we divide Turkey? One is a Cem Vakfı Genel Merkezi, within Islam or outside of the ritual, see Karolewski. house for prayer; the other is Dünya Ehl-I Beyt Vakfı, Ankara it, continue to be intensely a culture house. Cem houses Cem Kültür Evlerini Yaptırma discussed by Alevis 2 The idea about fostering cannot receive the same Derneği, Hüseyin Gazi themselves (13). communities for the sake of [financial] assistance that the Derneği, Hubyar Sultan Alevi governing is aptly termed mosques receive. If there Kültür Derneği, Hacı Bektaş ––› by Rose in his Powers of is somebody who wants to Derneği, İstanbul Alevi Kültür Freedom as “government support cem houses this Derneği, Tahtacı Kültür Eğitim through community” (167). cannot be hindered” (quoted Kalkınmave Yardımlaşma in Sökefeld 245, highlights Derneği, Turhal Kültürve 3 The term “Alevi-Bektaşi” and additions there). Dayanışma Derneği, Gazi is not mine, but used by Üniversitesi Türk Kültürüve various organizations from 5 After a European Court Hacı Bektaş Veli Araştırma this spectrum in heritage of Human Rights decision, Merkezi, Alevilik Araştırma discourse. See UNESCO pupils may be exempt from Dokümantasyonve Uygulama nomination file No. 00384. the lessons. Yet every pupil Enstitüsü (UNESCO requires for this a court Nomination file13). order in his or her own right, which makes such an 7 Türkiye’de Dinî Hayat exemption both expensive Araştırması. Diyanet İşleri and institutionally lavish. Bakanlığı, Ankara, 2014. I thank the anonymous reviewer for this hint.

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––› Works Cited Dressler, Markus. “Was Karolewski, Janina. “‘Ayin-i Motika, Raoul, and Robert Türkiye’de Dinî Hayat ist das Alevitentum? Die Cem’. Das alevitische Langer. “Alevitische Araştırması. Ankara: Diyanet Ashworth, Gregory J. “Heritage aktuelle Diskussion und Kongregationsritual: Kongregationsrituale: İşleri Bakanlığı, 2014. Print. in Ritual and Identity.” Brosius historische Traditionslinien.” Idealtypische Beschreibung Transfer und Re-Invention and Polit 19-38. Ocak und Dedelik: des ‘İbadet ve Öğreti Cemi’.” im transnationalen Kontext.” UNESCO. Text of the Institutionen religiösen Langer, Motika, and Ursinus Langer, Motika, and Ursinus Convention for the Brosius, Christiane, and Karin Spezialistentums bei den 109-131. 73-107. Safeguarding of Intangible Polit, ed. Ritual, Heritage Aleviten. Ed. Robert Langer, Cultural Heritage. Paris: and Identity: The Politics of Hüseyin Ağuiçenoğlu, Raoul Langer, Robert. Rose, Nikolas. Powers of UNESCO, 2003. Web. 29 Culture and Performance in Motika, Janina Karolewski. “Alevitische Rituale.” Freedom: Reframing Political April 2014. a Globalized World. London: Frankfurt/M.: Lang, 2013. 13- Aleviten in Deutschland. Thought. Cambridge: Routledge, 2011. Print. 35. Print. Identitätsprozesse einer University Press, 1999. Print. ---. Criteria. Criteria and Religionsgemeinschaft in Timetable of Inscription on ---. “Ritual, Heritage and Foucault, Michel. Die Geburt der Diaspora. Ed. Martin Rose, Nikolas, and the Representative List of the Identity in a Globalized der Biopolitik: Geschichte Sökefeld. Bielefeld: Peter Miller. “Political Intangible Cultural Heritage World.” Brosius and Polit 1-18. der Gouvernementalität II. Transcript, 2008. 65-108. Print. Power Beyond the of Humanity. Web. 29 April Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, State: Problematics of 2014. Butler, Judith. Gender 2007. Print. Langer, Robert, Raoul Government.” The British Trouble: Feminism and the Motika, and Michael Journal of Sociology 43.2 ---. Heritage. What is Subversion of Identity. New ---. “About the Beginning of Ursinus, ed. Migration und (1992): 173-205. Print. Intangible Heritage? Web. 29 York: Routledge, 1990. Print. the Hermeneutics of the Self.” Ritualtransfer. Religiöse Praxis April 2014. Political Theory 21.2 (1993): der Aleviten, Yesiden und Smith, Laurajane. Coombe, Rosemary 198-227. Print. Nusairier zwischen Vorderem Archaeological Theory ---. Nomination file No. J. “Managing Cultural Orient und Westeuropa. and the Politics of Cultural 00384. Semah, Alevi-Bektaşi Heritage as Neoliberal Göner, Özlem. “The Frankfurt/M.: Lang, 2005. Heritage. London: Routledge, Ritual. Web. 29 April 2014. Governmentality.” Heritage Transformation of the Alevi Print. 2004. Print. Regimes and the State. Ed. Collective Identity.” Cultural Wulf, Christoph. Regina F Bendix, Aditya Dynamics 17.2 (2005): 107- Massicard, Elise. The Alevis in ---. Uses of Heritage. London: “Performativity and Dynamics Eggert, and Arnika Peselmann. 134. Print. Turkey and Europe: Identity Routledge, 2007. Print. of Intangible Cultural Göttingen: Universitätsverlag, and Managing Territorial Heritage.” Brosius and Polit 2012. 375-87. Print. Hall, Stuart. “Whose Diversity. London: Routledge, Sökefeld, Martin. Struggling 76-94. Heritage? Un-Settling the 2013. Print. for Recognition: The Alevi Dinçer, Fahriye. “Alevi ‘Heritage’, Re-Imagining Movement in Germany and Semahs in Historical the Post-Nation.”Cultural Merkel, Christine M. “Useable in Transnational Space. New Perspective.” Dans Müzik, Heritage. Ed. Laurajane Pasts—Creative Futures: York and Oxford: Berhahn Kültür, Folklora Doğru. Smith. London: Routledge, How Normative Recognition Books, 2008. Print. International Council for 2007. 87-100. Print. Opens New Horizons for Traditional Music. 20th Publicly Committed Scholars.” Tauschek, Markus. Kulturerbe: Symposium Proceedings. Harrison, Rodney. Heritage: Brosius and Polit 55-75. Eine Einführung. Berlin: ISSN: 2196-629X Istanbul: Boğazici University Critical Approaches. London: Reimer, 2013. Print. urn: nbn:de:hebis: Press, 2000. 32-42. Print. Routledge, 2013. Print. 04-ep0003-2014-45-21646

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may however search for universals in historical thinking shared by societies in var- Historical Thinking in Intercultural ious parts of the world that possess differ- Perspective: Iranian Narratives on the ent concepts of time and meaning. In order to be able to compare these various Mongol Era1 types of historical thinking, one has to accept their dissimilarities. Yet, at the same time, one also has to relieve them from the dichotomy of “self” and “other,” and from related positive and negative attributions (Rüsen 16).2

German historian Jörn Rüsen proposes a theoretical approach that relates to an “intercultural comparison of historical think- Anja Pistor-Hatam ing.” According to Rüsen, there is no exclusive and universally accepted historical This paper will apply Jörn Rüsen’s „inter- Keywords: Historical Thinking; Fictions interpretation of historical facts, because cultural comparison of historical think- of Coherence; Historical Narratives; these same facts are located in different ing“ to modern Iranian historiography Mongol Era; Iran perspectives. Consequently, a perspec- on the Mongol period (C13th-14th). In tive-based character of historical narrative order to appreciate the differences in “Intercultural Comparison of Historical and a diversity of historical thinking must the historical narratives under examina- Thinking” be accepted as given (27, 32). To make tion, Jan Assmann’s „history of mean- Regarding historiography in an interna- room for different perspectives on histor- ing“ with its „fictions of coherence“ shall tional perspective, how can we compare ical circumstances, a “universal category be referred to. As the analysis of modern various national historiographies without of equality” would have to be a prerequi- Iranian historiography on the Mongol falling into the trap of Eurocentrism? Ac- site. This “universal category of equality” era demonstrates, it is only under the as- cording to Chakrabarty, “Europe works as includes the assumption of “equality in sumption that these historical narratives a silent referent in historical knowledge” the use of reason to establish the plausi- are to be understood in the context of a (2). Its dominance “as the subject of all his- bility of histories” accompanied by the relativistic history of meaning that it is at tories” is still part of the “theoretical con- “principle of the reciprocal appreciation all possible to accept large parts of their dition under which historical knowledge of differences” (29). content as plausible. is produced” (2). Bearing this in mind, we

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In this paper, I will use the case study of conquered territories in his name. About sulted as important sources on the Mon- modern Iranian historiography on the thirty years later, his grandson Hülegü un- gol era in Iran. Mongol period to apply Rüsen’s “intercul- dertook another campaign to defeat the tural comparison of historical thinking.” remaining enemies of the Mongols on the Modern Iranian historical thinking as well These historical narratives were published Iranian plateau and in Mesopotamia. In as its historiography were deeply influ- in Iran from the 1930s until 2011. Mostly, this campaign, the Ismaʿilis were crushed, enced by European concepts since about they were written and published as text- Baghdad was conquered, and the Abbas the middle of the 19th century. As Ansari books to be taught at schools and univer- id caliph killed. Although the first Mongol has pointed out in his recently published sities, where they continue to imprint pub- invasion had already been disastrous for book on Iranian nationalism, Iranian mem- lic historical consciousness. In order to the affected regions, erasure of the Ab- ories and historical narratives were in that appreciate differences in the historical basid caliphate by “unbelievers” was per- era replaced by a European metanarra- narratives under examination, I will refer to ceived as a disaster by many Muslim con- tive. Histories provided by Iranians “were Jan Assman’s “history of meaning” temporaries and later commentators. relegated to the realm of literature, re- (“Sinngeschichte”): What is the meaning Hülegü and his successors established deemed only by their artistic and aesthet- bestowed on the Mongol era by modern themselves in Iran (roughly the region ic qualities.” They had to be substituted by historical narratives written in Iran? How from Herat to the Euphrates) as the Ilkhan “facts” (17). However, only a few intellectu- are fictions of coherence constructed to ids (1258-1335). They not only rebuilt their als were able to implement these new shape meaning in the historical events of ruined territories, but also integrated standards, which led to a “simplification of the epoch? As the analysis of modern Ira- them into the vast Mongolian empire, the intellectual corpus into digestible nian historiography on the Mongol era with its strong focus on long-distance morsels which often bore little relation to demonstrates, it is only under the assump- trade. The Ilkhanid government was the the complex realities of intellectual life in tion that these historical narratives are to first to be closely associated with the Ira- the West” (29). be understood in the context of a relativ- nian plateau since the time of the Sassa- istic history of meaning that it is at all pos- nians (224-651). And although historiog- During the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi sible to accept large parts of their content raphy had already been written in the (1925-41), historiography became a part of as plausible. Persian language during the rule of the nation-building. Although traces of proto- Buyids (945-1055), it was only at that point nationalist historiography could already The Emergence of Modern Iranian Histo- that Persian historiography truly flour- be detected in the late 19th century (Am- riography ished (Melville, “Historiography”). Rashid anat, “Legend” 292-93), it was only in the The first Mongol invasion into Muslim al-Din Fazlollah (ca. 1247-1318) and ʿAta 1930s that an official historiographical lands took place between 1219 and 1224. Malek Jovayni (1226-83) rank among the project was begun. By means of a state- When Genghis Khan went back to Mon- most influential historians of their time. sponsored official historiography, “nation- golia, he left governors behind to rule the Their historiographical works are still con- al history” from the Achaemenids (558-

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330 BC) to the Pahlavis (1925-79) came professional historians or not, they were translated into Persian (Azimi 424). In into being (Amanat, “Historiography”). As all under the influence of the official na- this way, even those writers of historical part of the ideological framework, “the tionalist discourse, and convinced that narratives who had no knowledge of Eu- idea that the Iranian ‘nation’ in its com- “Iran” had existed as a cultural entity since ropean languages were able to acquire bined geographical and political sense Achaemenid times. insight into European or American schol- emerged during the Achaemenid period” arship on Iran. Until this day, well-known was adopted (Ashraf). Alessandro Bausani Even before the Iranian government de- authors of the early 20th century to the referred to this concept in establishing cided that a national history had to be late 1970s are quoted by those writing what he called “Aryan and Neo-Achaeme- written, three of the founders of modern about the history of the Mongol era in nid nationalism” (ibid.). Iranian historiography–literary historian Iran. Their interpretation of this historical During most of the Pahlavi era, a lack of ʿAbbas Eqbal (1897-1956), political think- epoch still influences Iranian historiogra- political freedom and the impossibility to er and politician Hasan Pirniya (1872- phy. However, it appears that this at- write critical or even balanced historical 1935), and journalist, publicist and politi- tempt at providing a Persian-speaking or political treatises resulted in the re- cian Sayyed Hasan Taqizadeh public with international, state-of-the-art serve of historians. Additionally, the use of (1878-1970)–met in Paris in order to plan historical writing has been considerably history for politically motivated contor- for such an endeavour. Eqbal and Pirniya reduced since 1979. At least as regards tions and embellishments entailed frus- later counted among the illustrious au- historiography of the Mongol era, hardly tration on the part of historians as well as thors who contributed to this multi-vol- any publications that have appeared the public (Azimi 428). Analytical and in- ume national history. Whereas Pirniya was outside Iran after the revolution are dependent critical thinking was not en- responsible for ancient Iran, Eqbal dealt quoted in Persian historical narratives couraged in the humanities. Instead, a with the period from the Mongols to the under review. quasi-textual positivism, in “learning by Qajars (1779-1925) (Andisheh 139; Vejda- rote and unquestioning deference to el- ni 310-11, 330-32). Even though ʿAbbas Returning to the Pahlavi era, it is impor- ders” were cultivated (429). Eqbal was not a trained historian, he was tant to note that apart from the official na- the first scholar to concern himself with tionalist discourse that influenced the Although some professional historians fa- the Mongol era as part of an Iranian na- writing of national history, a number of miliar with European concepts of histori- tional history. In doing this, he laid an im- counter-discourses also existed. Nearly ography got to work in Reza Shah’s time, portant cornerstone of modern historiog- all Iranian intellectuals who participated they were not successful in completely or raphy in Iran. in these various nationalist discourses, be in some cases even mainly replacing spe- they laypersons or clerics, had one thing cialists for literary studies and other en- Furthermore, beginning in 1924, a large in common: They all believed in “the thusiasts in providing textbooks for number of European–including Russian– primordialist nature of Iran as a twenty- schools and universities to this day. Yet, publications on Iranian history were five-hundred-year old nation” (Aghaie,

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“Nationalist Historiography” 25). Yet, they this period are still consulted. Overall, we subjects in his life and work, Eqbal had disagreed on questions of Iran’s “relation- can conclude that Iranian historiography managed to keep his distance and not be- ship to the West, the nature of its govern- until this day continues to be strongly de- come part of the socio-political elite of his ment and leadership,” and, of course, termined by the placement of historical time (Azimi 381-83). In the same way as “the role of religion vs. secularism in consciousness in a literary tradition of Eqbal, the literary historian Abd al-Hoseyn shaping Iran’s national identity” (ibid.). myths and legends, as well as the ideo- Zarrinkub (1923-99) argued the cause of logically dominated narratives of various nationalism, and supported the official na- Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, con- political currents. tionalist discourse under Mohammad cern with historical matters has apparently Reza Shah. increased. Yet, historiography is still dom- Iranian National Historiography and the In the Islamic Republic, essential compo- inated by enthusiasts who are mainly inter- Mongols nents of these nationalist ideas have been ested in reviewing documents instead of In undertaking an “intercultural compari- preserved. Therefore, those authors who critical study and contemporary research son of historical thinking,” we have to fo- argue for these ideas do not necessarily (Amanat, “Study of History” 6). Even cus on cultural as well as socio-political oppose the current regime. On the con- though we may interpret mere publication contexts of historiography. Regarding our trary, as in the case with the historian Shirin of documents as a strategy to avoid po- case study, this includes, inter alia, how Ira- Bayani (b. 1938), her reasoning aligns very litical controversy (Aghaie, “Islamist Histo- nian historians are situated in respective well with the present official ideology that riography” 235, 259-62), the fact remains systems of government and rule. As re- emphasizes the correlation between Shi- that methodologically and analytically sat- gards the situation of these authors, ite Islam and Iranian nationalism. Accord- isfying studies are scarce. Typical of what ʿAbbas Eqbal may be considered to have ingly, the ruling elite of the Islamic Repub- Aghaie calls “Islamist Historiography” is its been a part of the system. He was, after all, lic is legitimized insofar as the narrative of condemnation of 19th- and early 20th-cen- asked by the Reza Shah government to Iran’s ultimate liberation from any kind of tury orientalism. Additionally, Islamist his- write part of the envisioned Iranian nation- foreign rule, as well as the final victory of toriography characteristically accentuates al history. With this survey work, which was Shiite Islam, are approved to have been the importance of Islam in Iranian history, supposed to reconstruct Iranian history procured by the revolution of 1979. divine predestination, and the central role “from the beginnings to the present,” a Shiite scholars (ʿolamaʾ) allegedly played distinct “Iran-time”–that is, the creation of Turning back to Rüsen’s “intercultural in political incidents (234). Simultaneously, a unique time frame connecting “glorious” comparison of historical thinking,” it is historians of different convictions and appre-Islamic Iran with an awakened present important to note his assumption that proaches also write historical narratives. In and a rejuvenated future (Tavakoli-Targhi there exists “consistency in the use of addition, those scholars who were active 97)–was established that served to legiti- reason.” According to Rüsen, this consis- during the Pahlavi era are either still work- mize the rule of the Pahlavi shah. Although tency is essential for the plausibility of ing, or at the least, their publications from nationalism was one of the most important historical narratives, and has to involve

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the “principle of mutual recognition of cannot be suppressed by a monophonic ning of a new era, equivalent to the victory dissimilarities” (Rüsen, “Einleitung” 29). narrative. of the “Iranian element,” the triumph of the As regards modern Iranian historical nar- Shia, and the reestablishment of an Iranian ratives about the Mongol period, these Now, what exactly are these fictions of co- nation-state. are largely affected by reinterpretations herence that can be found in historical According to a primordial nationalist as- and fictions of coherence. These reinter- narratives on the Mongol era? And, in sumption, a nucleus of “Iranianness” is ul- pretations and fictions of coherence which way has this era’s history been rein- timately simply indestructible. have for their part to be ascribed to so- terpreted? A few examples follow, which cio-political conditions and associated will be subsequently analyzed: With the purpose of transforming defeat nationalist and religious ideologies, re- In order to transform defeat into victory, into victory, it is essential to confront the spectively. Consequently, on closer ex- the narrative of the Iranian phoenix persis- brutality of the Mongol conquests with a amination they often lack plausibility and tently rising from the ashes is used to rein- spiritual and moral elevation on the part of do not comply with scholarly standards terpret history: helped by their superior the defeated Iranians. In light of the oft- like verifiability, rationality, and reflection (Islamic-) Iranian culture and civilization, described decadence and symptoms of of the individual scholar’s own viewpoint. Iranians overcame the Mongols and decline in Iranian society on the eve of the It is only under the assumption that these tamed the Mongolian dragon. first Mongol invasion, this becomes a dif- historical narratives are to be understood According to a frequently repeated narra- ficult task. Nonetheless, most authors try in the context of a relativistic history of tive, the Mongol conquest of Baghdad to emphasize the mental superiority of meaning that it is at all possible to accept and the fall of the Abbasid caliph are “Iranianness” based on cultural heritage.3 large parts of their content as plausible. transformed from an irritation brought As maintained by these modern writers: Instead of deconstructing perceived fic- about by a historic breach or rupture for At the end of the day, the people who are tions of coherence, a relativistic history of contemporary Iranians and Shiites into a culturally more powerful will prevail. Iran, meaning simply recognizes them as long-desired and hailed affair, comprising which is said to have been Islamized by plausible. We also have to consider that the liberation from the Abbasid-Arab-Sun- the pen rather than the sword, had always history itself is the produce of a culture nite yoke. fought a war of the pen and emerged vic- or society within its own semantic para- By reinterpreting history in relation to torious (Eqbal 81-82; Hajj Sayyed Javadi digms (Assmann vii, 13). A relativist ap- Ghazan Khan’s (gov 1295-1304) conversion 395-97; Alborz 84-87; Dadfar 81-82; proach to the history of meaning may be to Islam, the Mongol enemy is seen as for- Qadyani 11-12; Kasayi 986-88; Bayani, Vol. compensated for insofar as the historical ever subdued; conquered and conquer- 2 383). narratives point to a diversity of historical ors exchange places, the Islamic-Iranian thinking in inter- as well as in intra-cultur- element prevails, and Shiite Islam be- More than anybody else, Shirin Bayani has al perspectives. In this way, the polypho- comes the predominant religion in Iran. provided a reinterpretation of the Mongol ny and contingency of historical actions This fiction of coherence marks the begin- era. Her fiction of coherence integrates

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well into the political landscape of the Is- martyrdom as a means to reach their aim humiliation and initiated a new era in Ira- lamic Republic: That is to say, Bayani at- (Vol. 2 571). Again, Iranians–this time as nian history) is supported by contempo- tributes a fundamental significance to Shi- Shiites–are described as sufferers, as vic- rary narrative sources like Rashid al-Din’s ite Islam as a substantial element of Iranian tims of arbitrariness and oppression, who famous universal history “Collector of identity, and to the Shiites as champions can only fall back upon the war of the pen, Chronicles” (Jameʾ al-tavarikh) (Melville, of Iran’s independence. Since she cannot their secret struggle, and their willingness “History and Myth” 140). According to prove the alleged Shiite resistance to the to give their lives for the common cause. Melville, some verse-chronicles describe Mongols, Bayani not very convincingly ar- In this ongoing “clash of cultures” evoked the rule of the Ilkhanids in the style of the gues that their prevalence is due to dis- by Bayani in one of her books, Iranians Shahnameh, yet “another cycle of Iranian simulation (taqiyyeh) and to the fact that used religion and administration to fight kingship, brought to a peak with the reign the majority of 13th- and 14th-century his- the Mongols. Islam, mainly Shiite Islam, of the philosopher king and just ruler, torians had been Sunnites (Bayani, Vol. 1 was brought into play against the Mongol Ghazan Khan” (142). There obviously is a 304-05; Vol. 2 571). She places Nasir al-Din code of law (yasa), and the “Iranian ele- great similarity of myth and history con- Tusi (d. 1274) in the center of this fiction of ment” in the end succeeded in destroying tained in these narratives. In the context coherence on the Shiite battle for Iranian and absorbing the “foreign elements” of the construction of meaning, this new independence. Bayani is convinced of this (367-69). For Bayani, like for other au- era becomes equivalent with the victory famous scholar’s religious as well as po- thors, the final point of assimilation was of the “Iranian element,” the triumph of litical obligation to help overthrow the Ab- reached when Ghazan Khan converted to Shia, and the reestablishment of an Irani- basids when the time had come (Vol. 1 Islam. Through his conversion, the enemy an nation-state. 305-09). Bayani is joined in her appraisal was forever subdued; conquered and of Nasir al-Din Tusi by other authors who conquerors traded places, the Islamic-Ira- Conclusion also see in him a personification of the Ira- nian principle prevailed, and Shiite Islam As part of my conclusion, Rüsen’s already nians’ political presence and their national became the predominant religion in Iran, mentioned “principle of mutual recogni- consciousness (Kasayi 988; Jaʿfariyan 52). thus initializing its religious indepen- tion of dissimilarities” should be read- dence (435-36). Ghazan Khan, it is said, dressed. This principle would imply that Shiite Islam relies on the martyrdom of was one of the greatest rulers of the Ori- scholars in Iran and abroad had been re- prophet Muhammad’s grandson al- ent and Iran; apart from being Muslim, he ciprocally aware of each other’s publica- Hoseyn, who was killed in the battle of was also an Iranian ruler, thus transform- tions. However, in the case of the historical Karbala in 680, according to its origin ing the Ilkhanid into an Iranian reign (466, narratives discussed here, this does not myth. Referring to the significance of mar- 471; Mortazavi 89, 173; Montazer al-Qaʿem seem to be the case. As already stated, tyrdom, Bayani emphasizes the crucial 1, 255). This fiction of coherence on the hardly any publications on the Mongol era commitment of Shiites who fought against Islamization and Iranization of the Ilkhanid printed in European languages after 1979 the Abbasids and the Mongols, using ruler (who additionally ended a period of were included in the texts analyzed here.

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Anja Pistor-Hatam More precisely, Iranian authors writing of coherence are consolidated by modern temporary historians. But the Iranian au- about this period do not give attention to historical narratives on the Mongol era in thors cited here have not joined in with is Professor of Islamic Studies at Kiel the state of the art in international aca- Iran and maintain significant bearing on these new paradigms. Therefore, this University. Her main research interests demic research. It is difficult to determine political thinking and action in the country. “principle of mutual recognition” has only focus on intellectual history, Twelver to what extent scholars working on the Modern Iranian authors studying Mongol rarely been applied in the past thirty years. Shiite Islam and its holy sites, and Mongol period abroad, for their part, are history in Iran are assigned the task of giv- As a result, Iranian historical narratives modernisation discourses in Iran and the observing how that is being done in Iran. ing meaning to this history. They must in- may represent alternative interpretations Ottoman Empire (C19th). Professor Pistor- For the present, it can only be stated that tegrate this particular era into the “linear of history, which decode the same facts Hatam has recently published a book concerning the relevant references stud- time of the nation“ (Özkirimli 209) and from various perspectives. However, these on Iranian historiography regarding the ied, one hardly comes across any allusion comply with requirements of society re- narratives can for the most part only be Mongol Era. She is currently working on to related Persian publications. Regard- garding the construction of meaning. In accepted as plausible if one reads them as the question of “religious minorities” in less, the pre-1979 impact of “Western” this regard, their outlook on Mongol his- contributions toward a history of meaning the Islamic Republic of Iran. (and Russian) scholarly literature concern- tory in many respects clashes with today’s that leaves room for fictions of coherence, email: [email protected] ing the Mongol period on the construc- international academic standards. which in this context must be recognized tion of meaning by Iranian authors re- as legitimate. mains considerable. The extent to which outcome of these historical narratives is accepted as plausible ––› As stated above, the fictions of coherence depends not least on the respective aca- included in the historical narratives ana- demic paradigms. Until the 1970s, the en- lyzed in this study serve as constructions tanglements of historical narratives written of identity and self-assurance. Therefore, in Iran and abroad were relatively firm. Af- they cannot be defined simply as “fabrica- terwards, however, a more sophisticated tions.” On the contrary, they have to be approach–tightly linked to the standards recognized as constructions that give of historical science in general–eventually meaning to often contingent historical became widely accepted among interna- events. Questions of governmental legiti- tional historians of the Mongol period. macy become involved in this context, as This approach additionally changed the do standards of truth that are conveyed by way these historians perceived their sourc- historical narratives. Closely linked to self- es. Historians then began to make allow- awareness is the established collective ances for their narrative character. Histori- memory that not least builds on fictions of ans of the Mongol period also became coherence like the permanent victimiza- aware of the fact that they themselves de- tion of Iran. If nothing else, these fictions pended on observation theories of con-

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––› Notes Works Cited ---. “Legend, Legitimacy and Assmann, Jan. The Mind of Dadfar, Sajjad. Hamleh-ye Making a National Narrative Egypt: History and Meaning moghul be Iran. Tehran: in the Historiography of Qajar in the Time of the Pharaohs. Entesharat-e madraseh-ye 1 This article is based Aghaie, Kamran S. “Islam and Iran (1785-1925).” Persian New York: Harvard University borhan, 2011. Print. on a paper given at the Nationalist Historiography: Historiography. A History of Press, 2002. Print. conference “Persia and Competing Historical Persian Literature. Vol. X. Ed. Eqbal, Abbas. Tarikh-e Rum” in November 2013 Narratives of the Iranian ʿ Charles Melville. London, Azimi, Fakhreddin. moghul va avvayel-e ayyam-e at the British School in Nation in the Pahlavi Period.” New York: I.B. Tauris, 2012. “Historiography in the Pahlavi teymuri. 2 vols. Tehran: Rome. For a more extensive Studies in Contemporary 292-366. Print. Era.” Persian Historiography. Khorshid, 1997. Print. study of modern Iranian Islam 2 (2000): 21-47. Print. A History of Persian historiography regarding ---. “The Study of History Literature. Vol. X. Ed. Charles Ja farayan, Rasul. Az the Mongol era see my ---. “Islamist Historiography ʿ in Post-Revolutionary Melville. London, New York: yoresh-e moghulan ta zaval-e Geschichtsschreibung und in Post-Revolutionary Iran.” Iran: Nostalgia, Illusion, I.B. Tauris, 2012. 367-435. torkmanan (qarn-e haftom Sinngeschichte in Iran: Iran in the 20th Century: or Historical Awareness?” Print. ta nohom-e hejri). Tehran: Historische Erzählungen von Historiography and Political Iranian Studies 22 (1989): Vezarat-e farhang va ershad-e mongolischer Eroberung Culture. Ed. Touraj Atabaki. 3–18. Print. Bayani, Shirin. Din va dowlat eslami, 2008. Print. und Herrschaft, 1933-2011 London: I.B. Tauris, 2009. dar Iran-e ʿahd-e moghul. (“Historiography and the 233-63. Print. Andisheh, Lida. ʿAbbas 3 vols. Tehran: Markaz-e Hajj Sayyed Javadi, Hasan. History of Meaning in Iran: Iqbal Ashtiyani (1897-1956): nashr-e daneshgahi, 1988- “Molahezat-e tatbiqi Historical Narratives on Alborz, Parviz. “Seyri A Study in Modern Iranian 1996 (2002). Print. dar adabiyat-e moghul.” Mongol Invasions and Rule, dar sheʿr-e ejtemaʿi va Intellectual History. Diss. Majmuʿeh-ye maqalat-e 1933-2011”). The book also enteqadi-ye ʿasr-e moghul.” University of Utah, Salt Lake Boroujerdi, Mehrzad. avvalin seminar-e tarikhi: includes an English summary. Majmuʿeh-ye maqalat-e City, 1982. Print. “Contesting Nationalist Hojum-e moghul beh Iran avvalin seminar-e tarikhi: Constructions of Iranian va peyamad-ha-ye an. Vol. 2. 2 All translations from Hojum-e moghul beh Iran Ansari, Ali. The Politics of Identity.” Critique: Critical Tehran: Daneshgah-e Shahid German are my own. va peyamad-ha-ye an. Vol. 1. Nationalism in Modern Middle Eastern Studies 7.12 Beheshti, 2000. 395-409. Tehran: Daneshgah-e Shahid Iran. New York: Cambridge (1998): 43-55. Print. Print. 3 Boroujerdi accuses Iranian Beheshti, 2000. 83-115. Print. University Press, 2013. Print. historians who reduce Chakrabarty, Dipesh. Kasayi, Nurollah. historiography to the study Amanat, Abbas. Ashraf, Ahmad. “Iranian “Postcoloniality and the “Sargozasht-e of Iranian cultural heritage of “Historiography ix: Pahlavi Identity iv: 19th-20th Artifice of History: Who daneshmandan va marakez-e “fetishization of the past.” He Period (1 [1925-1941]).” Centuries.” Encyclopaedia Speaks for ‘Indian’ Pasts?” danesh dar hamleh-ye calls this approach “heritage- Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Iranica, Online Edition. New Representations 37. Special moghul.” Majmuʿeh-ye ism” (45-46). Edition. New York, 2012. Web. York, 2006. Web. 20 Oct. Issue: Imperial Fantasies and maqalat-e avvalin seminar-e 26 Oct. 2014. 2014. Postcolonial Histories (1992): tarikhi: Hojum-e moghul beh 1-26. Print. Iran va peyamad-ha-ye an. Vol. 2. Tehran: Daneshgah-e Shahid Beheshti, 2000. 955- 65. Print.

––›

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Montazer al-Qaʿem, Asghar. Rüsen, Jörn. “Einleitung: “Sheʿar-e shiʿeh dar katibeh- Für eine interkulturelle ha-ye asar-e meʿmari- Kommunikation in der ye dowreh-ye ilkhani.” Geschichte.” Die Vielfalt Majmuʿeh-ye maqalat-e der Kulturen. Erinnerung, avvalin seminar-e tarikhi: Geschichte, Identität. Vol. Hojum-e moghul beh Iran 4. Ed. Jörn Rüsen et al. va peyamad-ha-ye an. Vol. 2. Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, Tehran: Daneshgah-e Shahid 1998. 12-36. Print. Beheshti, 2000. 1237-55. Print. Tavakoli-Targhi, Mohamad. Mortazavi, Manuchehr. Refashioning Iran: Masaʿel-e ʿasr-e ilkhanan. Orientalism, Occidentalism Tehran: Ketabkhaneh-ye and Historiography. New melli, 2006. Print. York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. Print. Özkirimli, Umut. Theories of Nationalism: A Critical Vejdani, Farzin. Purveyors Introduction. Basingstoke, of the Past: Iranian New York: Palgrave Historians and Nationalist Macmillan, 2010. Print. Historiography, 1900-1941. Diss. Yale University, 2009. Ann Arbor: UMI Dissertation Publishing, 2011. Print. ISSN: 2196-629X URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-20302

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Let us begin with a thought experiment.1 Try to imagine that the biggest, best Creating Futures for the Past in funded research centres on ancient Brit- ish monuments such as Stonehenge and Southern Iraq: Challenges and Avebury are all in East Asia. Some British universities carry out some basic archae- Opportunities ological exploration of smaller prehistor- ic earthworks, such as the Rollright Stones, but publish little of their work. The British public has a basic understanding of the cultural importance of stone circles—they vaguely remember studying them at primary school—and like to visit them for family picnics and school trips. In order to keep up with the latest discoveries and theoretical developments, however, one needs to read the academic lit- Eleanor Robson erature in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. All online resources, as well as most pop- Iraqi archaeologists and Assyriologists a matter of concern; and what, if any- ular histories, television programmes, are desperate for communication and thing, we as western academic histor etc., are in these languages too, and their collaboration and intellectual chal- ians, should try to do to about it. In the authors show little interest in getting lenge. Almost every colleague I meet in latter sections of the paper in particular, them translated into English—which, by Iraq is keen to set up research partner- I do not try to be comprehensive but and large they do not speak very well. In- ships and training programmes. Yet they draw upon my own experiences and ob- deed, most of the best researchers hard- are working in a vacuum, mostly isolat- servations, in relation to the UK context ly ever set foot in the United Kingdom ed and unheard in their own country in which I work. My aim is not simply to (UK) and rely instead on decades-old and beyond. There is little public dis- describe but to stimulate discussion, re- archaeological surveys, satellite imagery course on local history and archaeology, sponse and action. and large collections of artefacts, whether and little Iraqi government understand- excavated or purchased, now housed in ing of the value of these matters in civic Keywords: Iraq; Cultural Heritage; their own countries. and cultural life. In this paper I explore Archaeology; Assyriology; Politics; Col- This scenario may seem very far-fetched. how this situation came to be; why it is laboration But it approximates the current state of an-

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cient Babylonian history and archaeology tual content too. Then, when people asked who had taught her most about the his- in southern Iraq. In October 2012 I gave me for further reading, I could give them tory of her own country. two lectures on Old Babylonian math one recent article of mine that has been Likewise, Iraqi archaeologists and Assyri- ematics, literature and scribal schooling in translated into Arabic but almost every- ologists are desperate for communication the ancient city of Nippur in southern Iraq. thing else required a good grasp of aca- and collaboration and intellectual chal- This was nothing unusual in itself, for these demic English, French or German, a high- lenge. Almost every colleague I met in Iraq are subjects I have researched, on and off, speed internet connection, and/or the was keen to set up research partnerships over many years. What marked the occa- means to buy or borrow expensive, low- and training programmes. Yet, despite sion was not so much the content of my print-run books. With some notable ex- multiple international initiatives to engage lectures but the context. For the first time ceptions—for instance the journal Sumer, significantly and intensively with Iraqi cul- since the 2003 Iraq War I was back in and the work of University of Baghdad tural heritage professionals (Stone and southern Iraq itself, around 20 miles from archaeologist Abdulillah Fadhil and his Bajjaly), many feel they are working in a the site of Nippur, which I had first visited students—there is little local academic vacuum, mostly isolated and unheard in just a day or two earlier. Initially, I was publication of ancient Iraqi history and their own country and beyond. There is struck only by the oddity of the fact that I archaeology, whether for researchers, stu- little public discourse on local history and had become expert on the place (or at dents or the interested general public. The archaeology, and little Iraqi government least some aspects of it) over a decade be- more I thought about the situation, the understanding of the value of these mat- fore actually setting foot in it. But as my more ethically problematic it seemed. ters in civic and cultural life. In this paper I visit wore on I became increasingly aware It is not that there is no local interest in an- explore how this situation came to be; why of, and uncomfortable about, how little my cient history. My invitation to Diwaniyah it is a matter of concern; and what, if any- audiences knew about what was, in effect, had come from Dr Ahmed Zainy, a Berlin- thing, we as western academic historians, local history. Here I was, giving lectures in trained mathematician at the Women’s should try to do to about it. In the latter English to Iraqi academics (mostly math- College of the University of Baghdad, who sections of the paper in particular, I do not ematicians) and university students (most- had been using my work in his undergradu try to be comprehensive but draw upon ly archaeologists) about their own cultural ate teaching. Some of the most acute and my own experiences and observations, in and intellectual heritage. And in order to appreciative reactions to my most recent relation to the UK context in which I work. do so, I had to dramatically simplify the book have come from within the Iraqi My aim is not simply to describe but to story that I was telling, even compared to mathematical community. And my talks stimulate discussion, response and action. when I talk to school children or amateur generated a lot of animated discussion history groups in the UK. It was not just a amongst my Iraqi friends and colleagues. Building a Country, Constructing a Past matter of language—my words were being French-educated Basra mathematician Dr To understand the state of ancient history translated into Arabic sentence by sen- Hanna Ali Munther, for instance, intro- and archaeology in Iraq today we need to tence by a kind colleague—but of concep- duced me to a colleague as the person go back at least a hundred years. For con-

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venience I shall divide the past century mation, whose citizens for the most part bourers and support staff were of course into four distinct phases. were not, in any case, supposed to be local men. But no effort was made, any- educated or intelligent enough to appre- where by anyone, to train promising 1. Wartime and Mandate Iraq ciate its value. Baghdad had had a col- young Iraqis in how to uncover the ancient The ancient history and archaeology of lege of law since 1908, and engineering past of their country. Indeed there was no Mandate Iraq were initially constructed as and teacher training colleges were set up real means to identify recruits and instruct a purely British enterprise, while its Islam- in 1923, but as late as 1935 the American- them in academic work. ic heritage was deliberately underplayed. led Monroe Commission reported that Likewise, the nascent Iraq Museum was The tone had already been set during the Iraq was not ready for the introduction of not initially conceived as an institution British occupation of Mesopotamia dur- university education, as a surplus of high- made for or by Iraqis. It had no ambitions ing World War I (Bernhardsson 57-92). ly educated young men with no suitable to bolster the current political messages Many archaeologists were recruited into jobs to go to would undoubtedly lead to of pan-Arab unity and no resources to do the Arab Bureau, due to their expert local political unrest (Lukitz 115–17). Iraq did not so, being furnished exclusively with finds knowledge: most famously Leonard establish a state higher education system from European and North American expe- Woolley and T.E. Lawrence, who were until the mid-1950s. ditions, which had no interest in the great then excavating together at Carchemish, British archaeology benefited greatly from Islamic empires of the past. Nor did it aim, and of course Gertrude Bell. Antiquity the Mandate (Bernhardsson 130-64; as many western museums did, to display thus gained an unexpected prominence Goode, Negotiating 185–202). Gertrude imperial trophies or chart a progressivist in Britain’s conduct of the war. Both the Bell, as Honorary Director of Antiquities, narrative of mankind’s ascent from primi- British Museum and the Victoria and Al- set up a legislative and administrative tive savagery. It was simply a collection of bert Museum lobbied to impound the framework almost single-handedly, in the stuff from excavations, curated haphazard- finds from pre-war German excavations as face of fierce opposition from more inde- ly by Bell and increasingly reflecting her war booty. The British Museum even se pendence-minded Iraqi politicians. Two withdrawal from current political life. conded two Assyriologists to Mesopota- large-scale British-American expeditions mian forces in order to carry out excava- ran at Ur and Kish until shortly after 1932, 2. Independent Iraq tions at ancient Sumerian cities in the when the occupation officially ended. Oth- When Britain formally withdrew in 1932 occupied southern marshes. er American, German and French teams the former Education Minister Sati‘ al-Hus- When the new Kingdom of Iraq was cre- were allowed to work in the country too. ri became the first Iraqi Director General ated under British Mandate in 1920 it was Almost all of the sites they explored were of Antiquities (Bernhardsson 164–210; conceptualised as an essentially Arab en- southern cities of the third and early sec- Goode, Negotiating 203–28). He revised tity, and a Sunni Arab one at that (Sluglett; ond millennia BC, namely from the first Bell’s antiquities laws in Iraq’s favour, which Dodge). In this view, pre-Islamic, pre- half of ancient Babylonian history. Iraqi in- had the effect of discouraging foreign ex- Arab antiquity was irrelevant to state for- volvement was notably absent. The la- peditions as it was now harder to bring

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finds back home to display to sponsors Ministry of Information produced glossy no constituency or community could claim and publics. Meanwhile, the first Iraqi PhD English-language publications with titles privileged access. students were sent to study archaeology such as Mesopotamia Yesterday, Iraq To- At the same time, Iraqi modernism en- in Chicago. Taha Baqir and Fuad Safar day. The state exerted centralised control couraged other countries to set up re- would go on to become leading figures in over the past in various ways: through search institutions in Baghdad, especial- the field. The first Iraqi-led excavations school history curricula, through the State ly those that focused on the regime’s were carried out at the classical Islamic Board of Antiquities and Heritage, and preferred aspects of ancient and pre- sites of Samarra and Wasit, and Abbasid through public images of the regime, of modern history. The oil boom of the monuments were restored. Planning be- Saddam in particular. Collectively they 1970s and 1980s brought huge budget gan for a much larger and more accessible presented Iraq and its leader as the nat increases to the State Boarch of Antiqui- Iraq Museum. ural, inevitable successor of millennia of ties and Heritage and a renewed empha- In schools, meanwhile, history teaching militarised dominance over the region, sis on pre-Islamic sites with complex in- had already been centred on pan-Arabism headed by powerful men such as Hammu- ternational archaeological rescue since the early 1920s (Simon). Post-inde- rabi, Nebuchadnezzar and Salah al-Din projects prior to major damming works. pendence, the curriculum became ever (Goode, “Archaeology”; al-Gailani Werr). Archaeological excavation continued more explicitly nationalist and militaristic, The Mongol, Ottoman, and Mandate peri- throughout the Iran-Iraq War of the focusing on thirty to forty Arab, mostly ods of ‘foreign occupation’ were deliber- 1980s, while nationalist rhetoric increas- Sunni Muslim, ‘heroes’ of the past as mor- ately downplayed. ingly focused on the ancient past in oral role models for Iraqi youth. There was The new Iraq Museum was opened in der to downplay commonalities with little room in this version of history for the 1966, telling a unified narrative of the Iraq’s Shia neighbours. Very much in that ancient, pre-Arabic past of the region, let country’s past, from neolithic hunter-gath- vein, late in the decade the heavily re- alone for global perspectives. erers in the north to the glories of Abbasid stored archaeological site of Babylon be- Baghdad. Regional museums were sent gan to host an annual international festi- 3. Back to Antiquity in Baathist Iraq highly uniform mini-collections of arte- val of Iraqi arts and culture (Tracy). Given that Baathism was an explicitly pan- facts to display so that the same story Arabist political movement, one might could be told from Dohuk in the moun- 4. Sanctions and Beyond have expected the trends of the post- tainous north to Basra in the Gulf marshes. Foreign missions withdrew from Iraq in the Mandate years to continue and intensify. In this way local histories, regional identi- run-up to the invasion of Kuwait on 2 Au- However, over the period 1968-2003 Iraq ties, and other challenges to the authority gust 1990, as the state started to take ‘hu- increasingly presented itself as a modern- and unity of the state were minimised: the man shields’ as hostages. Just four days ist—and, in the early decades, secular— diversity of Iraq’s long past was hom later the United Nations enforced an inter- state built on a deep antiquity (Baram; Da- ogenised into a single, unifying story national embargo on financial and trade vis, Memories; “The Museum”). The which all could identify with but to which relations with Iraq. That month, in retro-

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spect, marked the beginning of long de- edge and expertise; of funding and pres- ward locally successful, honest and popu- cades of isolation for the Iraqi academic tige; of professionalism and control. As we lar politicians whatever their political community. Many provincial museums shall see, it has been hard to regain these stripe (Haddad). Similarly, on the face of it, were looted in the post-war Shia uprisings vital but often intangible assets now that Iraq has never been in better economic of spring 1991 and then stayed perman circumstances are different. shape, according to recent reports from ently shut. The Babylon Festival somehow the World Bank and the International staggered on but the Iraq Museum too The Current State Context Monetary Fund. There is potentially plenty closed to public, re-opening only briefly These, then, are the complex roots of of state money available to support re- for special occasions such as Saddam’s Iraq’s often unhappy relationship with its search and education into the country’s birthday in 2000. Large-scale looting of ancient past. For a century already, some past, assuming that there is the political archaeological sites was impossible to have seen its pre-Arab, pre-Islamic an willingness and institutional infrastructure control, as the State Board’s budget was tiquity as irrelevant to its present and fu- to do so. now dramatically reduced. Illicitly excavat- ture, while for others—particularly However, the think-tank Chatham House ed artefacts, especially cuneiform tablets, Baathists—modernity can only be con- (Iraq Ten Years On) and the charity War flooded international antiquities markets. structed out of antiquity, thereby deeply Child (“Mission Unaccomplished”) last Museum and university staff suffered like tainting that antiquity for the rest. What year drew attention to Iraq’s major under- the rest of the population with the drastic hope, then, for Sumer, Babylonia, and As- lying structural problems. It is the young- impact that international sanctions had on syria in the twenty-first century? Does Iraq est sector of the population who are feel- everyday life. University teachers could currently have the capacity to engage with ing the worst effects of the post-war not live on their salaries alone; students, if its ancient precursors? What is gained by period. In a country with a population of they could afford to study, chose more po- doing so and what is otherwise lost? 33 million, 18.5 million—56%—are under tentially lucrative subjects. Heritage pro- As I finish writing this piece, votes are be- twenty-five, 12.2 million—37%—under fif- fessionals came under increasing surveil- ing counted after the national elections of teen. Less than half of 12-17 year-olds are lance and increasing pressure to support 30 April 2014. It is currently impossible to in school and drop-out rates in both pri- the party line. Contact with the outside predict what the immediate future holds mary and secondary school are nearly 10% world became virtually impossible, except after a year of increasing political corrup- a year. Although 9% of the country’s bud- on tightly controlled state visits to confer- tion and violence, exacerbated by pres- get goes on education, 90% of that goes ences or, latterly, monitored and censored sures from war-torn Syria and UN-sanc- on salary costs, leaving very little for infra- emails. New publications, data, method- tioned Iran. It is not all political doom and structure. As a result over 40% of schools ologies, and technologies—and these gloom, however. Provincial elections are are in need of repair or reconstruction, were substantial in the 1990s—all passed widely acknowledged as successful, with and a further five thousand schools need them by. This loss of contact, in other a sophisticated combination of party lists to be built—and teachers trained for them— words, led to many other losses: of knowl- and personal votes allowing people to re- if Iraq is to meet the educational needs of

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its fast-growing youth population. The na- website UNESCO Iraq states that “safe- cation initiatives are narrowly utilitarian tional literacy rate stands at just 78% com- guarding cultural heritage and rehabilitat- and have not yet grasped the potential of pared to a world average of 85%, the ing cultural institutions are essential ele- humanities subjects in general, let alone same as Tunisia and Tanzania and signifi- ments for national reconciliation and ancient history in particular, in developing cantly better than India or Egypt at 72%, socio-economic development”. But that a strong civil society. but worse than Iran, (pre-war) Syria, and imperative does not seem to extend to Many governments worldwide are cur- South Africa. equipping civil society with the means to rently struggling to see the value in sup- The school system and state curriculum appreciate and take advantage of such ini- porting academic humanities and social have remained largely unaltered since the tiatives—only making provision for tourists. sciences, however, not just those like Iraq war, except for a thorough de-Baathifica- My worry is that UNESCO is unwittingly with more immediately pressing con- tion of its contents. According to a 2011 replicating the cultural conditions of Man- cerns. The British Academy has recently UNESCO report (UNESCO, “World Data”), date Iraq, when ancient history was solely advocated for “prospering wisely” children study history for just two 40- or for Europeans. through, in Lord Stern’s words, “concep- 45-minute periods a week, in years 5-6 of The public appetite for ancient history is tual clarity and impartial, evidence-based primary school (ages 10–11) and years 1–3 underdeveloped because of its associa- research and analysis, together with of secondary school (ages 12–14). Thereaf- tion with Baathist grand narratives open-mindedness and creativity in ex- ter secondary schooling splits into two amongst the older generation, and ignor ploring new ideas” which “can guide—and streams, ‘literary’ and ‘scientific’, for ages ance amongst the younger. There are few promote—reasoned political and public 15-17. The history quotient goes up to opportunities to learn about current re- discourse, by bringing fresh knowledge three periods a week for ‘literary’ students search on Iraq’s ancient past, unless one and ideas to the fore” (British Academy but disappears entirely for ‘scientific’ ones. has particularly good knowledge of Eng- 2). It is not just about the obvious eco- Ancient history is taught only at primary lish, French or German and a particularly nomic benefits to the creative, cultural school. The schools themselves are good internet connection. Books in Arabic and tourism industries. A particularly drastically under-resourced and the teach- are still in circulation of course, but those powerful section argues that “local his- ers under-trained. UNESCO’s education from the 1960s and later are tainted by tory (…) makes us who we are. (…) Iden- programme in Iraq focuses on improving their political overtones, and those from tity and well-being are inexorably linked” mathematics, science and technology pro- the 1950s and earlier are woefully out of (13). Perhaps even more pertinent to pres- vision, and the promotion of civic values. date. Museums are not yet set up to offer ent-day Iraq, “by explaining how narra- The word ‘history’ does not feature at all public education, for adults or children, tives of the past created present differ- on the Education Areas of Action section assuming that they are open at all. Print ences, historians (…) can help us of UNESCO Iraq’s website, despite the fact and broadcast news media are highly celebrate diversity and not merely toler- that another high-profile theme of its in- fragmented and focus primarily on mat- ate the different” (22). As Diarmaid Mac- country work is Culture. On that part of its ters of political interest. Government edu- Culloch puts it, “particularly in a democ-

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racy, telling the story right is really very Iraqis themselves, both individually and governmental and non-governmental, important, because so many people are institutionally. should continue to come to its aid. This involved in making decisions, even if it is The Iraq Museum and its parent organisa- attitude is in stark contrast to the energy just a vote at an election” (22). Or as Saad tion the State Board of Antiquities and and entrepreneurialism of other cultural Eskander, Director of the Iraq National Li- Heritage have both suffered major losses heritage organisations across Iraq. brary and Archives, said to me in 2013: “If of senior staff through de-Baathification, The Iraq Museum, as home of the State we do not know ourselves, who are we death, and emigration. Current managers Board of Antiquities and Heritage, is still reconstructing this country for? If we can- and the ministerial staff that oversee them nominally in control of cultural heritage in not look back, we have no memory, we are clearly under-trained and out of their the country’s eighteen provinces, includ- have no identity and we cannot move for- depth. These factors all have repercus- ing the three that make up Iraqi Kurdistan. ward.” In this light, it is difficult to sustain sions that are detrimental to the Museum In practice, however, its inertia means that the argument that history has no place in itself but—paradoxically—generally benefi- for the most part local officials are relative- any country’s future. cial to the provincial structures it nominally autonomous and free to innovate where ly regulates. With rare exceptions the Mu- they have the energy to do so; they almost Ancient Iraqi History Now seum is still closed to the public and to always have the money. As I am focusing Let us turn to the production of ancient researchers, over a decade since the war here on ancient history, I will mention only Babylonian history in Iraq at the present (Arraf). There is an education officer with in passing the extremely impressive efforts time, starting with its most visible symbol, good English who can give tours, howev- driven by the Shia shrines authorities in the Iraq Museum. er. The galleries have been refitted and the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala to In retrospect, it is now clear that at least repopulated with objects, some of them docu ment the material culture of historical some of the looting at the Iraq Museum in several times, but the end result is much Islam; and by the avowedly secular and 2003, in particular the ransacking of staff as it was pre-war: large numbers of arte- non-sectarian Iraqi National Library and offices, was motivated by its close identi- facts grouped by type or material into rel- Archives in Baghdad to digitise and get fication with the previous regime (Polk atively small cases which often seem too online all official documentation of the and Schuster; Stone and Bajjaly). There small for the very large galleries, and very twentieth century Iraqi state, torture re- was of course also professional as well as little explanatory text or none at all. The cords and all. However, both are indicative opportunistic theft of artefacts, but this is staff have by and large relied on outside of a new and exciting move to the creation not the place to dwell on that particular agencies for gallery refurbishments, espe- of local historical narratives. In Basra, for episode. Indeed, I would argue that inter- cially UNESCO, and there is little domestic instance, the dilapidated old museum has national concern, even obsession, over curatorial activity. There is still a palpable been replaced with a new one in one of the fate of particular archaeological ob- victim culture—that the museum is still suf- Saddam Hussein’s former palaces on the jects stands in stark and shameful contrast fering from the war ten years ago, with an Shatt al-Arab river. The museum is to be with the general indifference to the fate of explicit expectation that foreign agencies, funded and managed jointly by the State

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Board and—for the first time—by Basra Pro- suffered badly from sanctions-era and Technological infrastructure in the much vincial Council, through its Tourism and post-war academic emigration, lack of in- better-funded Kufa University is signifi- Antiquities Committee. UK charity Friends frastructural investment, and training, etc., cantly better. Library provision at both in- of the Basrah Museum and the British In- and a top-down bureaucracy (Jawad and stitutions, however, is woeful: budgets are stitute for the Study of Iraq also provide al-Assaf). The top 15% of school-leavers tiny, and the students’ language skills do assistance (“Friends of Basrah Museum”). are channelled into studying engineering, not extend to reading European text- The final phases of work are now under- medicine, and pharmacy. Even my math- books. Even having good skills in conver- way, and it is hoped that the building will ematician friends complain that they do sational Business English does not equip open to the public some time in 2015. not get the brightest students. The histor one to read highly technical excavation A formal operating plan spells out the mu- ians and archaeologists certainly do not. reports, or the rebarbative musings of an seum’s aims, stressing local stories as Since 2009 there has been a large-scale erudite Assyriologist. And Iraqi students much as national history. Objects for the graduate scholarship scheme, funded by are simply not trained in the search and museum will be sent from Baghdad, but the Ministry of Higher Education, which analytical skills needed to locate and make unusually the choice will be negotiated has supported over 22,000 students to sense of what is on the web. Well-meaning with the local museum director, Qahtan date. There is also plethora of similar Eu- projects to mass-scan archaeological re- Alabeed, and supplemented with locally ropean and US schemes for Iraqi graduate ports to PDF and to negotiate free access sourced artefacts. The majority of gallery students—in March 2013 ICEF estimated to JSTOR for Iraqi universities are there- space is given to Sumerian and Babylo- that they amount to about $200 million— fore largely ineffective. However, all staff nian (ancient southern Iraqi) history, along but the majority of those understandably and students have phones or tablets—all with that of Basra itself, from ancient times go to students in science, technology, en- graduands from the University of Kufa are to the present day. Assyrian (ancient north- gineering and medicine. Most (but not all) presented with smartphones by the pro- ern Iraqi) history gets just a single small of the state universities have archaeology, vincial governor—and everyone is on so- gallery of its own. It has not yet been de- ancient history and/or cultural heritage cial media of some sort or another. cided whether the museum will charge an departments, but I know of no systematic The University of Kufa runs training exca- entrance fee—a prohibitive $1 for Iraqis has survey of them. vations at the early Islamic city there, while been mentioned, $10 for foreigners—or I have personally visited the archaeology their counterparts at Qadissiyah have had will open its doors for free. departments of Qadissiyah University in digs in recent years at the Old Babylonian Where, in this setup, do new historians, ar- Diwaniyah and Kufa University in Najaf. At cities of Marad and Pi-Kasi (known locally chaeologists, and cultural heritage experts Qadissiyah, the archaeology department as Abu Antik because of the wealth of an- come from? And how do they get trained? is not connected to the internet. The head cient artefacts found there). Qadissiyah There are thirty-three state universities in of department has a laptop and there are Assyriologist Saad Salman Sinaa is editing Iraq, thirteen of them in Kurdistan, and a at least two classrooms with digital project cuneiform tablets found at the latter site. further twenty-two private ones. All have ors but only one of them is functional. Up at the University of Mosul (which I have

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not myself visited) the archaeology de- not least because current stasis in central audiences—professional or public—and partment has been working with a team government is allowing local identities to enable them to engage and respond. We from Boston University, headed by Profes- flourish as never before since the 1950s. do not expect our undergraduates, let sor Michael Danti, to reform its curricu- The worry is that, at worst, the old central- alone our public audiences, to know any lum, in a project funded by the US Em- ised Baathist historical narrative will be re- foreign languages, so why should that be bassy in Iraq. placed by competing sectarian accounts, a prerequisite in Iraq? Of course it is ne Since 2013 young Iraqi archaeologists are which are just as limiting, biased and off- cessary at graduate level but certainly not also being trained at the British-Iraqi exca- putting as the one they replace. before. That might mean in the first in- vations at Tell Khaiber in Dhi Qar province. Where do outside experts fit in? Do we stance pushing our publishers to commis- Dhi Qar University has no archaeology de- have any role in changing the current pic- sion Arabic translations of our books. But partment; the trainees, all university grad- ture, given that our collective efforts over it also means being able to speak face-to- uates, come from the provincial office of the past decade have largely failed to be face with colleagues, students, and school the State Board of Antiquities and Heri- transformative? Westerners certainly groups in their own language. Over the tage, along with senior archaeologist Ali should not be dictating terms to our Iraqi past few months the Open Richly Anno- Khadem whose primary responsibility is colleagues but equally we should not con- tated Cuneiform Corpus collective (Oracc) the enormous site of Ur. It is hoped to ex- tinue to ignore them. Equally, business as has been developing mobile-friendly de- tend the training programme significantly usual will not be good enough. Digitising sign for its educational sites such as Knowl- in future seasons, funding permitting. materials is pointless without finding aids edge and Power in the Neo-Assyrian Em- and further support. Out-of-country train- pire, Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Conclusions: Possible Futures, Enabling ing for limited numbers of people is like- Goddesses, and Cuneiform Revealed. The Change wise often suboptimal: once they are back next step, funding permitting, will be The nation state of Iraq is extraordinarily in their home institution, experience Arab ic translation, cultural adaptation, and resilient, despite its obvious major flaws— shows that they struggle to implement focused training for Arabophone users or even because of them, as Fanar Had- what they have learned without the re- and content creators. dad has recently argued. Whatever Iraq’s sources, infrastructure and managerial fate as a political entity, there are thirty- support that we take for granted. I see 2. Scoping the Landscape in Iraq three million-odd people living there. three basic prerequisites for the collabora- There is no shortage of energetic, intelli- They, like everyone, deserve the right to tive development of a viable professional gent, frustrated academics in Iraqi univer- learn about their region’s past, both recent infrastructure. sities and cultural heritage organisations and ancient, should they choose to do so, who are desperate for international col- to understand who they and their commu- 1. Arabic Language laboration, and the innovation and inspira- nities are, and how they came to be. There We need to learn to speak it, and write it, tion that collaboration brings. Identifying is great potential to enable that to happen, in such a way as will make sense to Iraqi them and discussing their needs seems a

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Eleanor Robson key first step, while ensuring that our own cast media, commercial and industrial in-country, with the right partners and un- academic needs and principles are met. sports: all are potential allies. der the right conditions. In particular, it is is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern The partners we work with need not just important to get the message across that History at University College London and be academics and university students. In- 3. Advocating Internationally sustained engagement with Iraq’s ancient the British Institute for the Study of Iraq’s country NGOs can help develop public Many of us need to commit to this future. history is not merely a western indulgence. voluntary Chair of Council. education programmes. UNESCO Iraq A handful of individuals, or even a handful Iraq’s past matters deeply to many Iraqis, email: [email protected] needs to be encouraged to connect its of organisations, cannot work with every for whom it is a powerful and effective education and culture strategies more co- prospective Iraqi partner. Equally, a huge means of asserting collective identity, and herently. Government ministries—whether public relations exercise will be necessary, celebrating cultural diversity, in these Education, Higher Education, Culture, to persuade colleagues, managers and most destructive and divisive of times. Tourism and Antiquities—print and broad- funders of the safety and value of working

Notes especially since ISIS’ invasion Works Cited British Academy. Prospering ---. “The Museum and of the Mosul region in June Wisely: How the Humanities the Politics of Social 1 This paper is a revised 2014, as updates become Arraf, Jane. “Overcoming and Social Sciences Enrich Control in Modern Iraq.” version of a talk given to the outdated almost as soon Looting and Years of War, our Lives. London: British Commemorations: The Institute for Classical Studies’ as they are written at the Iraq Museum Moves to Academy, 2014. Web. 28 Apr. Politics of National Identity. Ancient History Seminar in moment. Reopen.” Christian Science 2014. Ed. John R. Gillis. Princeton: London in May 2013, at the Monitor. Christian Science Princeton UP, 1994. 90–104. kind invitation of Amélie Monitor, 12 Apr. 2014. Web. British Institute for the Study Print. Kuhrt, under the title “Publics, 28 Apr. 2014. of Iraq. “The British Institute Practitioners, and Politics: for the Study of Iraq.” BISI, Dodge, Toby. Inventing Talking Babylonian History Baram, Amatzia. Culture, n.p. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Iraq: The Failure of Nation in Southern Iraq.” I wrote it in History, and Ideology in the Building and a History the context of formulating the Formation of Ba’thist Iraq. Chatham House. Iraq Ten Denied. New York: Columbia next five-year plan and case London: Palgrave Macmillan, Years On. Ed. Clare Spencer, UP, 2005. Print. for support for the British 1991. Print. Jane Kinnimont, and Omar Institute for the Study of Iraq, Sirri. London: Chatham Eskander, Saad. Personal whose governing council of Bernhardsson, Magnus. House, May 2013. Web. 28 Interview. April 2013. trustees I currently chair, and Reclaiming a Plundered Past: Apr. 2014. submitted it for review in the Archaeology and Nation “Friends of Basrah Museum.” spring of 2014. In revisions Building in Modern Iraq. Davis, Eric. Memories of Friends of Basrah Museum. (autumn 2014) I have not Austin: University of Texas State: Politics, History, Friends of Basrah Museum, attempted to take account of Press, 2005. Print. and Collective Identity in 2010. Web. 2 May 2014. the ever-changing political Modern Iraq. Berkeley and and military situation in Iraq, Los Angeles: University of ––› California Press, 2005. Print.

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––› al-Gailani Werr, Lamia. International Monetary Robson, Eleanor. “The British UNESCO Iraq. “Areas of “Archaeology and Politics in Fund. “Statement by the IMF Institute for the Study of Iraq Action: Culture.” UNESCO Iraq.” Critical Approaches to Mission at the Conclusion (Gertrude Bell Memorial).” Office for Iraq. UNESCO. Ancient Near Eastern Art. Ed. of a Staff Visit for Iraq: Blog entries for October 2012 Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Brian A. Brown and Marian H. Press Release No. 13/124.” and April 2013. Web. 2 May Feldman. Boston and Berlin: International Monetary Fund. 2014. ---. “UNESCO National De Gruyter, 2014. 15–30. Print. IMF, 25 March 2014. Web. 28 Educational Support Strategy. Apr. 2014. Simon, Reeva S. “The Republic of Iraq 2010–14.” Goode, James F. Teaching of History in Iraq UNESCO Office for Iraq. “Archaeology and Politics Iraq. Ministry of Information. before the Rashid Ali Coup of UNESCO, 2010. Web. 28 Apr. in Iraq: From the British Mesopotamia Yesterday, Iraq 1941.” Middle Eastern Studies 2014. Mandate to Saddam Today. Baghdad: Ministry of 22 (1986): 37-51. Print. Hussein.” Assyrian Reliefs in Information, 1977. Print. War Child. “Mission the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II: Sluglett, Peter. Britain in Iraq Unaccomplished. Iraq A Cultural Biography. Ed. Ada Jawad, Saad N., and Sawsan 1914-1932. London: Ithaca Statement Report. 10 Years Cohen and Steven E. Kangas. I. al-Assaf. “The Higher Press, 1976. Print. On.” London: War Child, 1 Hanover, NH: Hood Museum Education System in Iraq May 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. of Art, 2010. 107-23. Print. and Its Future.” International Stone, Peter G., and Journal for Contemporary Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly, World Bank. “Iraq—Country ---. Negotiating for the Past: Iraqi Studies 8 (2014): 55-72. ed. The Destruction of Brief.” World Bank. World Archaeology, Nationalism and Print. Cultural Heritage in Iraq. Bank, March 2014. Web. 2 Diplomacy in the Middle East, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, May 2014. 1919–1941. Austin: University Lukitz, Liora. Iraq: The Search 2008. Print. of Texas Press, 2007. Print. for National Identity. London: Cass, 1995. Print. Tracy, William. “Babylon. Haddad, Fanar. “Iraq’s A Rebirth.” Saudi Aramco Elections: Marred by Oracc. “The Open Richly World. Saudi Aramco World, Corruption?” Aljazeera. Annotated Cuneiform May/June 1989. Web. 24 Oct. Aljazeera, 26 Apr. 2014. Web. Corpus.” Oracc. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. 28 Apr. 2014. 2014. Tripp, Charles. A History of ICEF. “$200 Million in Polk, Milbry, and Angela M.H. Iraq. 2nd ed. Cambridge: International Scholarships Schuster, ed. The Looting of Cambridge UP, 2006. Print. Makes Iraq a Viable Emerging the Iraq Museum, Baghdad: Market.” ICEF Monitor. ICEF The Lost Legacy of Ancient UNESCO. “World Data on Monitor, 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Mesopotamia. London: Education, VII ed. 2010/11”: Apr. 2014. Abrams, 2005. Print. “Iraq”. UNESCO, International Bureau of Education, 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. ISSN: 2196-629X urn: 2175 urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-21751

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Nabonidus, King of Babylon

Giulia Francesca Grassi William Blake (1757-1827), Nebuchadnezzar (Tate impression), ca 1795-1805. Color print, ink and watercolor on paper (543 x 725 mm; frame: 661 x 829 x 50 mm). © Tate Gallery, London 2014 (Reference N05059).

It may seem anomalous to devote this col- Austen Henry Layard,5 Robert Koldewey,6 the past for ideological purposes is unde- umn, which should contain the portrait of and Ernest Renan7 are just some of the niable; as object, he—or rather his acts, at- someone who contributed to the issue’s many possible illustrious candidates. titudes, and dispositions—were reinter- main topic, to the last Neo-Babylonian There is basically one reason for the choice preted and transmitted to modern times king, having at disposal a considerable of Nabonidus: he is one of the very few through different literary testimonies. number of renowned scholars, explorers, characters involved with cultural heritage philologists, and archaeologists who could as both agent and object. As agent, he has Keywords: Nabonidus; Neo-Babylonian well have deserved this attention: Pietro been considered the first archaeologist Dynasty; Biblical and Parabiblical Litera- Della Valle,1 Carsten Niebuhr,2 Georg ever, and—even if his description as “ar- ture; Greek Historians; Archaeology; An- Friedrich Grotefend,3 Paul-Émile Botta,4 chaeologist” may be extreme—his use of cient Near East in Modern Culture

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Nabonidus and the Neo-Babylonian Dy- Upon the latter’s death, in 556 BC, his very detriment of Marduk, the main deity of nasty young and weak son Lābāši-Marduk be- Babylon, and for his extended stay in the Before turning to these testimonies, a came the victim of a conspiracy after just Arabian oasis of Tayma11 following a mili- short history of his reign and that of his a few months of rule. One of the conspira- tary campaign to Lebanon, Transjordan, predecessors is necessary. It must be kept tors, Nabonidus (Akkad. Nabû-naʾid), as- and Arabia. in mind that this brief historical introduc- cended to the throne, apparently with no The reasons for his voluntary “exile”—stration does not aim to evaluate the historical claim to legitimacy. Despite a number of tegic, religious, economic, or possibly a character of Nabonidus, nor to shed new arguments to the contrary (see e.g. mixture of all these explanations—have light on the evidence we already have.8 Dougherty 51-63; Mayer), Nabonidus’ kin- been long debated, but ultimately remain There are many open questions about his ship with the Babylonian royal line re- unclear. reign and his personality which will not be mains far from proven and does not in fact Somewhat clearer are the consequences discussed here, because they are beyond seem to be likely (see Beaulieu, The Reign that such a prolonged absence from the the scope of this paper. 67-86). Nabonidus’ father was a certain Babylonian capital entailed. In the first Nabû-balāṭsu-iqbi, otherwise unknown to place, Nabonidus aroused the hostility of The Neo-Babylonian Empire is conven- historical sources (68);9 his mother, who the priests of Marduk and the Babylonian tionally understood to begin with King Na- was far more relevant for Nabonidus’ ca- intellectual milieu, who kept repeating bopolassar (Akkad. Nabû-apla-uṣur), who reer, was Adda-guppi, probably an Ara- sharp criticisms of his absence, his malfea- in 612 BC was able to take Nineveh, thus maean priestess from Harran, and specifi- sance, and his “impiety” (in reference to inheriting a considerable part of the Neo- cally a devotee of the moon god Sin. the loss of centrality of the Babylonian Assyrian Empire. His son Nebuchadnezzar Adda-guppi claimed, in her well-known god Marduk) in a remaining literary docu- (or Nebuchadrezzar; Akkad. Nabû- “autobiographical” inscription that was ment concerning his reign known as Verse kudurrī-uṣur) expanded the reign and af- actually promoted by her son after her Account.12 Secondly, he was forced to ap- firmed his control over the Levant in its death,10 to have introduced her son to the point a substitute in Babylon; his choice entirety: in Jewish tradition, this monarch court (no mention is made of her hus- fell upon his son Belshazzar (Akkad. Bēl- became famous for the siege and capture band). If she had, as claimed, been born šarra-uṣur), who became governor of Bab- of Jerusalem in 587 BC, and for the ensu- under the last major Assyrian King Ashur- ylon and co-regent at the same time (the ing deportation of the city’s ruling class banipal, she was ninety-five years of age Belshazzar of the Book of Daniel). (see e.g. Sack 53-59). when her son became ruler, and it is On October 12th, 539 BC, Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his therefore likely that Nabonidus himself conquered by Persian troops, apparently son Evil-Merodach (Akkad. Amēl- or Awīl- was rather advanced in years at the time without any resistance. Cyrus entered the Marduk), who was murdered after only of his accession to the throne. city seventeen days later, putting an end two years of reign by his brother-in-law Nabonidus is famous for his attempts to to the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and to Na- Neriglissar (Akkad. Nergal-šarra-uṣur). bolster the cult of the moon god Sin to the bonidus’ reign. Belshazzar was possibly

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killed,13 while Nabonidus, no more in Tay- tesque picture of the king was immortal- motivation;17 but they were also related to ma, apparently escaped death.14 ized in a movie which is a milestone of the a desire to legitimate his rule, and to build silent era, David Griffith’s Intolerance his authority upon the past, as suggested The Archaeologist/Antiquarian (1916). The main character during the fall by many scholars (cp. e.g. Beaulieu, The As stressed by Beaulieu (The Reign 139- of Babylon is Belshazzar, while Nabonidus Reign 138-43; Roaf; Garrison 46, with fur- 43), Nabonidus is the only Neo-Babylo- is shown announcing the discovery of the ther literature). nian monarch who makes references in his foundation stone of King Narām-Sîn (third Moreover, historical interest is not absent inscriptions to both Assyrian and Babylo- millennium BC). Griffith (1875-1948), who from Nabonidus’ reports, as admitted also nian monarchs, tracing an ideal royal line depicted Belshazzar in an unusually posi- by Goossens. In this context, it may be use- in which some kings are overlooked. This tive way, as the champion of tolerance, ful to have a look at some of Nabonidus’ practice testifies to his willingness to inter- had studied the most recent discoveries reports on his excavations, which could pret the past through a historical perspec- about Babylonian civilization before mak- have been taken, mutatis mutandis, from a tive, and to use it for political purposes. His ing this episode of his movie, and this was nineteenth century archaeological report. interest in the past is also manifested by evidently the picture of Nabonidus he got The episode of Narām-Sîn quoted in Intol- the excavations he undertook in several from his readings.15 erance is taken from an inscription of Na- cities, from Ur to Larsa, and to Sippar and This image of Nabonidus as Romantic an- bonidus, possibly known by Griffith Harran, in order to restore/rebuild tem- tiquarian was corrected by Goossens in through the summary of Morris Jastrow ples. It is true that other kings before him 1948. Goossens rightly pointed out that (Drew 43; Jastrow 295; for the text, see reported identifying previous building the finding of the oldest foundations was now Schaudig, Die Inschriften 422, 438). phases in temples, and mentioned the necessary in order to properly rebuild the In this text, Nabonidus tries to date the kings involved in them—but his descrip- temples, and that Nabonidus was more foundations of the temple of the sun god tions are far more accurate and complete, engaged than his predecessors because in Sippar, which were laid by king Narām- and in some cases he even tries to date he was very religious. However, pietas Sîn who he thought reigned 3,200 years the monarchs who reigned before him alone is hardly responsible for the accu- before him. That timespan is overestimat- and whose buildings and artefacts he un- rateness and the interest in the past ed, since Narām-Sîn ruled in the twenty- earthed in his excavations. shown by the king, and for his archaeo- third century BC (according to the middle In nineteenth century literature, Naboni- logical activity, which were considered al- chronology), and he was not the son of dus’ interest for archaeology was overes- most maniacal in the nineteenth century16 Sargon of Akkad, as stated by Nabonidus, timated: depicted as completely ab- and are still described as “bordered on but rather his grandson. However, this ef- sorbed in his diggings and antiquarian the obsessive” (Oates 131). Nabonidus’ fort of dating a predecessor is uncommon studies, he with this attitude was nearly concerns about the past, his predeces- for his time, and it does not seem to be accused of facilitating the conquest of sors, and the restoration of temples and connected with a religious explanation. Babylon by Cyrus (Hommel 779). This gro- cultic traditions certainly had religious

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In another report, Nabonidus narrates that ed the head of this statuette, and res- terested in his discoveries, and tried to he assembled many workers (the compe- tored its face. (Royal Chronicle III-IV20: create a bridge with the past.21 tence of his craftsmanship is stressed in Schaudig, Die Inschriften 592, 594; One may argue, of course, that his excava- several passages) in order to locate the translation by Schaudig, “The Restora- tions were not archaeological (Schaudig, foundations of the E’ulmaš Temple in Ak- tion” 158) “The Restoration” 155-61; “Nabonid”). kad. The efforts of his predecessor were However, a purely academic interest in ar- apparently unfruitful,18 as were his own ef- Besides the fact that the “respect to king- chaeology is a recent phenomenon, and it forts, at least for three years—but then (Na- ship” seems to be, once again, associated is even questionable if archaeology may bonidus speaks in first person): with a political interest in the past, this sec- be free from political and religious motiva- (The craftsmen) spoke to me: “We ond text is among the most ancient ones tions.22 Also the idea that his relation with have been looking for the foundation, that relate the restoration of an archaeo- history is not historical23 is rather problem- but we have not found it. But there logical artifact by specialized craftsmen atic because we are not dealing with a has been a downpour of rain and we (Podany 13). modern scholar. The idea that past peo- have seen (that) it has made a hole.” I Nabonidus had no successors, and he did ples had different cultures, and were not spoke to them as follows: “Dig in this not establish any archaeological school, “just like us” ultimately goes back to the hole until you have found the founda- but his methods were not significantly dif- Renaissance. Before the Renaissance, no tion there!” They dug in this hole and ferent from the ones used in archaeology break was perceived between the ancient they certainly found the foundation of for centuries to come and until some de- world and the modern one.24 Nabonidus the E’ulmaš (laid) by Narām-Sîn […] cades ago. Moreover, the two examples could see no break between Sargon, Ne- and they reported it to me. My heart quoted above seem to denote a certain buchadnezzar, and himself—quite the con- rejoiced and my face shone […]. (2.14 degree of personal involvement. Of trary, he considered himself their heir. If it II: Schaudig, Die Inschriften 456 (Ak- course, we are far from Fabrizio Del Don- is true that the modern study of the past kadian text), 464 (German translation); go’s rapture for the discovery of a bust of begins with the Renaissance, and modern translation by Schaudig, “The Restora- Emperor Tiberius in Miseno (Stendhal, La archaeology much later, it would be unfair tion” 160-61) Chartreuse de Parme, chapitre 7), and also to deny that the last Neo-Babylonian king far from the absent-minded antiquarian of did have a historical perspective, as well Another famous episode relates that he Romantic origin. However, Nabonidus’ as some perception of the importance found a statue of Sargon19 during the res- dramatic report about the discovery of the that cultural traditions may have for the toration of the Ebabbar temple in Sippar. foundation of Narām-Sîn is hardly the reconstruction of a political identity—and for The head was broken, but sult of mere religious concern, which legitimating someone’s own power, an In order to revere the gods and to show could have been expressed in a shorter idea by no means out of fashion. respect to kinship, he (scil. Nabonidus) and less theatrical way. The king seems to Nabonidus likely deserves the place Paul summoned skilled craftsmen, renovat have been genuinely concerned and in- Bahn (1-2) and Alain Schnapp (13-18) gave

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him, at the very beginning of The Cam- ropaedia by Xenophon (fifth-fourth cen- tails, see Grassi 197-98). In his Jewish An- bridge History of Archaeology, and in the tury BC) the kings who sat on the Babylo- tiquities, on the other hand, he affirms that first pages of La conquête du passé, re- nian throne before its fall are anonymous, after Lābāši-Marduk, Belshazzar “who was spectively. Actually, his name is nowadays they are two and were said to be father called Naboandelos26 by the Babylonians” known, apart from a restricted group of and son.25 (X, 1) took the throne and was defeated Assyriologists, mainly for his antiquarian In Mesopotamia itself, king Nabonidus after seventeen years of reign (the number and archaeological interests. However, his was definitely still remembered: after the of years of Nabonidus’ kingship). The dif- most significant legacy in modern culture death of Cambyses (522 BC), two usurpers ferences between the two versions of Jo- is somewhat hidden under a name that is took the programmatical name of Nebu- sephus need explanation. not his own, but rather the name of his il- chadnezzar (III and IV), both pretending to Josephus evidently had Berossus before lustrious predecessor: Nebuchadnezzar, be Nabonidus’ sons. Even in Hellenistic him; but he must have had the Bible as whom he apparently admired. Some an- Mesopotamia the memory of the king well, particularly the Book of Daniel. It is cient writers maintained memory of the lived on: on the one hand, exponents of actually the Bible—and a set of biblical and king, even if they did not always record his the clerical milieu of Babylon were still parabiblical motifs emanating from the name. However, at a certain point some writing against him at the end of the fourth Jewish communities—that conditioned lat- narratives and motifs with Nabonidus as century BC (Dynastic Prophecy: see Gray- er traditions and perceptions about the the main character started circulating with son, Historical-Literary Texts 24-37); on fall of Babylon, as well as our own percep- Nebuchadnezzar as protagonist. This is the other hand, the historian Berossos— tion. If asked who was the king of Babylon likely due to the fact that these stories whose account is preserved in works of during the fall of the city, our memory were transmitted by Jewish communities, Eusebius (third to fourth century AD) and would probably recall the scene of and if Nebuchadnezzar was well known to Josephus (first century AD)—and who was Belshazzar’s feast, perhaps through Rem- the Jews as the destroyer of Jerusalem active in Babylonia between the fourth brandt’s brush. This happens because in and the source of Jewish exile in Babylon, and the third century BC, provides the cor- the Bible, no mention is made of Naboni- Nabonidus was not, since he was irrele- rect order of all the monarchs in the Neo- dus, and the last king of Babylon here is vant for the history of Judah. Babylonian dynasty. Belshazzar, who was historically never a The testimony of Josephus is quite inter- king, but just a crown prince. However, the Ailing Kings and Misplaced Names esting, because it reflects the problems situation of co-regency of Nabonidus and Greek historians seem to have had at least that this Jewish historian of the Flavian era his son may well have created ambiguity partial memory of the king, even if they do had to face in describing the fall of Baby- about the name(s) of the king(s) reigning not mention him by name. He and his son lon. In his Contra Apionem (I, 20), he over Babylon immediately before its fall, are possibly hidden behind the name quotes Berossus, and states that after the both among the Greek historians and in Labynetos in Herodotus’ Histories (I, 74, murder of Lābāši-Marduk, the kingship the Bible.27 77, 188; fifth century BC), and while in Cy- was conferred to Nabonidus (for more de-

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Giulia Francesca Grassi Josephus did his best to reconcile the two least, in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, driv- cerning the latter in the Bible (2 and 4 testimonies, and considered Belshazzar en out of human society and dwelling Dan.). In fact, it is known that Nabonidus holds an MA in Sciences of Cultural the alias of Nabonidus. The name Belshaz- with the wild beasts), both of them are fostered a great consideration for dreams Heritage (Archaeology) from the zar was the first of Nabonidus’ literary aided by a Jew, and both of them are al- and that he is “the only Neo-Babylonian University of Udine, and a PhD in aliases: once the historical memory of the lowed to recover their health by abandon- ruler who reports dreams in his inscrip- Sciences of Antiquity from the same Neo-Babylonian Dynasty was completely ing impious behaviour and praying to the tions and who claims to have made impor- university. She is currently a research lost, the aliases became several: in the lists “true” God.28 Another parallel is the termi- tant decisions based on their ominous assistant in the Department of Semitic provided by the Byzantine chronographer nology used for the idols described in 5 content” (Beaulieu, The Reign 218). In in- Studies at the University of Marburg. George Syncellus/Syncellos, the aliases of Dan., during Belshazzar’s feast, and in the scription 13 he pretends to have left Tayma Her main research interests include Nabonidus became three, and none of Prayer of Nabonidus (for more details, see after a nightmare; in inscription 1, after de- Semitic epigraphy, Aramaic, the them is related to the Neo-Babylonian dy- Grassi 190-91). claring himself “the strong delegate of interactions between the Ancient Near nasty, but rather to the Median and Ach- Almost all scholars agree that Nebuchad- Nebuchadnezzar and Neriglissar, my royal East and the Greco-Roman world, and aemenid ruling houses (see Grassi 199). nezzar’s madness is the reinterpretation of predecessors,” he reports an interesting anthroponomastics. She is the author Not explicitly being mentioned in the Bi- Nabonidus’ disease;29 which was not, dream in which he declares to have seen of several articles on these topics, and ble, Nabonidus—differently from his son however, insanity. Even the critical Verse his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar, whom authored the book Semitic Onomastics Belshazzar—does not occur in later Jewish Account does not state that Nabonidus he asked to relate favorable signs for his from Dura Europos. The Names in Greek traditions. But he was not entirely can- was mad, albeit his strange behavior is of- accession to the throne (see Beaulieu, The Script and from Latin Epigraphs (Padua celled out by the biblical author of Daniel, ten stressed. Possibly some aspects of the Reign 152, 110-12). 2012). who just provided him with another kind nature of the king, perceived as odd, and Curiously enough, the usurper Naboni- email: [email protected] of alias: Nabonidus lies behind the king his erratic life (the stay in the desert at Tay- dus, who considers himself the true politi- who in the Bible is said to be the father of ma) produced this legend of madness/ cal successor of Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar. disease and retirement from the civil world seeks in this dream “a posthumous confir- The tale of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness in (cp. Beaulieu, “Nabonidus the Mad King” mation of his rule by his prestigious pre- 4 Dan. is very close to the tale of Naboni- 137-38), a retirement that in the case of the decessor” (Beaulieu, The Reign 112),31 is dus’ disease, as found in some Aramaic Bible is represented by a king eating transmitted to later cultural traditions fragments from Qumran Cave 4 pub- “grass as oxen” (4 Dan., 25 and 33; and mostly with the name Nebuchadnezzar. lished in 1956 by Milik, the so-called “4Q Nebuchadnezzar is actually disguised as It is Nabonidus who ultimately lurks be- Prière de Nabonide,” a fragmentary and an oxen in the short story Le taureau blanc hind the lonely, troubled king errant in the difficult Jewish narrative text. The similari- by Voltaire30). Another example of the in- desert, well-known from the Bible, and ties with the madness of Nebuchadnezzar fluence of the memory of Nabonidus in later on from the color prints by William in the Book of Daniel are striking: both the portrait of Nebuchadnezzar resides in Blake (see Seymour, “The Artistic Legacy”), kings are afflicted by a disease for seven the importance accorded to the interpre- and from the third opera—and first master- years, both of them are in the desert (or at tation of dreams in the two episodes con- piece—of young Verdi.32

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Notes 3 Carsten Niebuhr in 1778 part in a famous experiment 5 Botta’s “heir” and a friend, 7 The great French writer produced accurate copies promoted by the Royal the English archaeologist and Orientalist Ernest Renan 1 Pietro Della Valle (1586-1652) of the trilingual (Old Persian, Asiatic Society, at the and politician Austen Henry (1823-92) has been sharply traveled for twelve years in Elamite, Akkadian) texts suggestion of Fox Talbot: Layard (1817-1894), excavated criticized for his ethnical (and Asia (Turkey, Palestine, Persia, of Persepolis, which were They were given a copy Nimrud and Nineveh where political) theories. However, India, Oman) during the used in 1802 by the classical of an Akkadian inscription he found the palace of his work made an important 17th century. He provided scholar and philologist Georg and asked to provide Sennacherib and the famous contribution to Oriental important descriptions and Friedrich Grotefend (1755- a translation. The four library of Assurbanipal. For studies, and particularly reports of the places he 1853) to lay the foundation translations were essentially Layard, see Fales and Hickey; to Semitic epigraphy: In visited, which may be found of the decipherment of similar (the versions of Larsen. 1867, he presented to the in his book Viaggi di Pietro cuneiform: by supposing Rawlinson and Hincks were Académie des inscriptions et Della Valle il Pellegrino (cp. that the inscriptions probably the closest), and Akkadian 6 The German architect belles-lettres, of which he was Della Valle, with introduction contained some royal names cuneiform was considered and archaeologist Robert a member, his project aimed and commentary), published of the Achaemenid dynasty, deciphered. See e.g. Bahn Koldewey (1855-1925) at publication of the Corpus with enormous success he was able to identify the 108-09; Larsen, esp. 468-69; excavated Babylon, and inscriptionum semiticarum mostly after his death. For a names of Darius and Xerxes Schmitt 722-23. developed modern (CIS). On this project of short biography, see Micocci. in the Old Persian texts, as archaeological methods (in Renan, apparently his favorite well as some royal titles, and 4 The French-Italian particular, a new method in one (“De tout ce que j’ai fait, 2 Carsten Niebuhr (1733- to establish the phonetic archaeologist Paul-Émile excavating mud bricks). For c’est le Corpus que j’aime le 1815) was a German traveler, values of some signs. In Botta (born Paolo Emiliano Koldewey’s excavations, see mieux”), see Dupont-Sommer versed in both languages 1835 and again in 1844, the Botta; 1802-1870), son of Seymour, “Robert Koldewey.” (the quotation is taken from and sciences (mathematics, British Orientalist (and army the historian Carlo Botta, page 539); on Renan, see astronomy, geography), and officer) Henry Creswicke was French consul in Mosul. recently van Deth. known for his participation Rawlinson (1810-1895) During his mandate he did as cartographer and copied a long trilingual text, excavations in Nineveh 8 The bibliography on geographer to the Danish inconveniently positioned (Kuyunjik) and later, with Nabonidus is endless and expedition to Arabia of 1761, on a cliff hanging 122 meters greater success, in Dur cannot be fully cited in this of which he was the only from the ground in Behistun Sharrukin (Khorsabad), where paper. For the history of survivor. For the life and (Iran), and was thus able to Botta located the palace of Nabonidus and his reign, travels of Carsten Niebuhr, provide a translation of the Sargon II—the first Assyrian the most important study see, e.g., Wiesehöfer and Persian text. Later on, in 1857, palace to be unearthed. The is Beaulieu, The Reign. For Conermann, and particularly Rawlinson himself—together great majority of his finds a shorter study, see e.g. Lohmeier in that volume. with the Irish reverend and were sent to Paris where they Beaulieu, “King Nabonidus”; Assyriologist Edward Hincks were displayed for the first Dandamayev. Still very useful (1792-1866), the German- time in 1847: the Louvre was is Dougherty. French Assyriologist Jules the first museum in Europe (or Julius) Oppert (1825- that displayed Assyrian ––› 1905), and William Henry monuments (see Parrot). For Fox Talbot (1800-1877) who Botta, see Parrot; Larsen, esp. was far better known as a 28-53. photography pioneer—took

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––› 9 Nabonidus has been 12 The product of the 14 Berossos tells us that the 16 According to Hommel, 20 Of the four literary texts considered the chief intellectual and the religious king, after surrendering in the Nabonidus’ archaeological dealing with Nabonidus’ of an Aramaean tribe milieu, it was written after the siege of Borsippa, was sent interest conducted him “zu reign (Nabonidus Chronicle; (Dandamayev), or even a fall of Babylon. A real piece into exile in Carmania (cp. einer wahren Manie” (778). Verse Account; Dynastic brother or half-brother of of propaganda, it describes Verbrugge and Wickersham, prophecy; Royal Chronicle), Nabopolassar (Mayer)— the reign of Nabonidus in F10b, 61), while the Chronicle 17 He also installed his the Royal Chronicle is the although there is absolutely negative terms, magnifying of Nabonidus or Nabonidus daughter En-nigaldi-nanna only one which provides no evidence for this. Cyrus’ merits (for the Verse Chronicle (a chronographic as high priestess of the moon chronological information Account, see Schaudig, Die text, preserved on one god in Ur, a practice well- about the building activities 10 For this text and its literary Inschriften 563-78). For the tablet, which describes the documented before him, but of the king. For this text, see genre, see Longman 97-103. new theology of Nabonidus events of Nabonidus’ reign no more current in his time Schaudig, Die Inschriften Adda-Guppi is considered and his difficult relationship from his accession to the (Beaulieu, The Reign 122-23). 590-95. by Mayer an Assyrian with the intellectuals, see period following the fall of princess, but, as in the case of Beaulieu, “Nabonidus the Babylon; for the text, see 18 He goes so far as to quote 21 As observed by Schnapp Nabonidus’ father, there is no Mad King.” Grayson, Chronicles 104-11) unlikely—and presumably about the restoration of the proof of a royal origin. states that he was captured invented—inscriptions (cp. Ebabbar of Larsa, “Le roi 13 According to the Bible (5 in Babylon. The so-called Schaudig, “Nabonid” 475-78; (scil. Nabonide) ne désire 11 For the archival and literary Dan.), Belshazzar was killed in Dynastic Prophecy (II, 20-22) “The Restoration” 155) of his pas seulement faire effectuer sources about Nabonidus’ circumstances which mix up confirms Berossus’ statement predecessors confessing des recherches pour sojourn in Tayma, see historical events and folktales that Nabonidus was sent into their failure. However, he was identifier un lieu hautement Beaulieu, The Reign 149-85. (see Grassi); we lack any exile (Grayson, Historical- apparently also interested in chargé de symbolisme, un For the recent excavations Akkadian source concerning Literary Texts 25). actual ancient inscriptions: monument qui atteste de in Tayma, see e.g. Hausleiter. the end of Belshazzar. quite a few of those were la continuité du pouvoir. For the North-Arabian 15 On Griffith’s interest in copied during his reign Il cherche explicitement à inscriptions of Nabonidus, the last discoveries from as can be shown by their s’installer dans la longue see Hayajneh; Müller Babylonia, his readings, and respective colophons. See durée et l’expression and al-Said, “Nabonid in the image of Nabonidus recently Bartelmus and Taylor. du temps ici revêt une taymanischen Inschriften”; (portrayed by actor Carl dimension matérielle. La “Nabonid in thamudischen Stockdale, 1874-1953) and 19 At least, a statue that he fouille est nécessaire non Inschriften.” Belshazzar (portrayed by thought was that of Sargon: seulement pour découvrir actor Alfred Paget, 1879- Schaudig denies the le lieu de mémoire, mais 1925) in the movie, see Drew possibility that it was a statue aussi et surtout pour le faire 43-45. The movie, which of Sargon, and he takes this fonctionner.” (18). in its author’s aim was a deposit of Sippar as a pia manifest against intolerance, fraus, arranged by the priests ––› is formed by four episodes: or the intellectuals of the city a contemporary story; Jesus’ (“The Restoration” 158). mission; Bartholomew Day; and the fall of Babylon. For this movie, see Drew.

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22 25 29 ––› “[…] archaeology is always As regards the elder king, Literature on the Prayer 32 Nabucodonosor (later Works Cited political. I argue that scholars the first remarkable detail is of Nabonidus, as well as Nabucco), opera in four parts, should not try to deny this that he is said to have led a that concerning the relation was composed by Verdi Adler, William, and Paul fact or obscure it behind successful war against Syria between the two texts, is to a libretto by Temistocle Tuffin. The Chronography of a veil of false objectivity.” and Arabia (Cyropaedia I, 5, endless: see e.g. Beaulieu, Solera (after Nabucodonosor, George Syncellus. Oxford: (McGuire XI). The recent book 2), information that well fits “Nabonidus the Mad King”; play by Auguste Anicet- Oxford University Press, 2002. by McGuire offers further with the well-known fact that Collins, Daniel 217-18; “4Q Bourgeois and Francis Print. literature and stimulating Nabonidus actually left for Prayer”; Eshel 887-88; Flint; Cornue), and first performed examples. a military campaign in 553 Kratz; Lemaire 126-28. in Milan at La Scala on Bahn, Paul G. Cambridge BC to Lebanon, Transjordan, 9 March 1842. The first Illustrated History of 23 30 E.g. Schaudig, “Nabonid” and finally Northern Arabia, “Conte philosophique,” Le Nabucco was baritone Archaeology. Cambridge: 493: “Ähnlich, wie die where he lived for ten taureau blanc was published Giorgio Ronconi (1810-1890). Cambridge University Press, Grabungen Nabonids nicht years. For Nabonidus and in 1774. In this masterpiece, 1996. Print. eigentlich archäologisch Belshazzar in Herodotus and “le seul conte de critique sind, ist der Umgang mit der Xenophon, see Grassi 195-97. biblique du XVIIIe siècle” Bartelmus, Alexa, and Geschichte nicht eigentlich (Pomeau, XXXV), Voltaire Jon Taylor. “Collecting historisch.” 26 Note that Nabonidus is mixes characters and and Connecting History: called Nabonnios in Contra situations of the Bible in a Nabonidus and the Kassite 24 On the birth of Apionem, Naboandelos in narrative full of humor and Rebuilding of E(ul)maš of archaeology and perception Jewish Antiquities; the name vivacity. The metamorphosis (Ištar)-Annunītu in Sippar- of the past, see Schnapp. To of Nabonidus, as well as the of Nebuchadnezzar into oxen Annunītu.” Journal of put it with Panofsky’s poetic name of other Babylonian lasts for seven years, and Cuneiform Studies 66 (2014): words: “The Middle Ages kings, is often distorted in it is caused by the prophet 113-28. Print. had left antiquity unburied the Greek testimonies (see Daniel. On the intertextuality and alternately galvanized Grassi). of Le taureau blanc, see Beaulieu, Paul-Alain. The and exorcised its corpse. The Cotoni. Reign of Nabonidus King of Renaissance stood weeping 27 For Belshazzar and his Babylon 556-539 B.C. New at its grave and tried to role in ancient and medieval 31 We may also note that Haven: Yale University Press, resurrect its soul. And in one testimonies, see Grassi. Nabonidus reverts to some 1989. Print. fatally auspicious moment it cultic practices from the succeeded” (113). 28 In the Prayer of Nabonidus time of Nebuchadnezzar ---. “King Nabonidus and the we have only the diviner (Beaulieu, The Reign 122-23). Neo-Babylonian Empire.” who suggests Nabonidus to It is interesting to notice Civilizations of the Ancient pray to God, but it is likely that also Saddam Hussein Near East. Ed. Jack M. Sasson. that the lost part of the work considered himself deeply Vol. 2. New York: Scribner, contained the exaltation of bound to Nebuchadnezzar 1995. 969-79. Print. the true God as in 4 Dan. (see (cp. e.g. Fales 172). Collins, “4Q Prayer” 86). ––›

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screened movies but also served as a place of cultural communication and More Than Movies: Cinema Petra in space for interaction, with room to host Amman During the Mandatory Period several thousand guests. The following study of Cinema Petra and its influence on Amman’s society focuses on the years of the British Mandate until 1946.1 Consolidation of Hashemite power in the country along with the emergence of ambitious social groups characterized political, economic and cultural developments during the 1930s and 1940s in Trans jordan. The mandate ended shortly before Renate Dieterich the first Arab-Israeli war and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. In the The movie theatre can be considered as Keywords: Amman; Transjordan; Arab wake of these events, the state not only one of various modernizing forces that Cinema; Cinema Petra; Social History changed by name—from the Emirate of dramatically transformed Middle Eastern Transjordan to the Hashemite Kingdom of societies in the 20th century. Cinema Pe- The movie theatre can be considered as Jordan—but also expanded its territory tra was the biggest and most important one of various modernizing forces that and increased in population. The years movie theatre in Transjordan throughout dramatically transformed Middle Eastern 1946-48 therefore marked a clear histori- the 1930s and 1940s and had a multi-pur- societies since the turn of the last century. cal caesura for the (Trans-) Jordanian soci- pose function. It not only screened mov- Transjordan was part of this transforma- ety, as a massive influx of Palestinian refu- ies but also served as a place of cultural tion with the advent of modern schooling, gees and migrants radically altered the communication and space for interaction. local newspapers, broadcasting, instant social composition (Hanania). Since the It was a major place of public gathering communication through telegraphs and 1990s, research interest on Transjordan and entertainment during the 1930s and telephones, and cultural innovations like has increasingly drawn attention to ques- early 1940s and became part of the pub- the gramophone and moving pictures. tions of social and socio-economic history, lic space needed by Amman’s urban elite Cinema Petra was the biggest and most but research on Amman proper is still for their cultural and political activities. important movie theatre in Transjordan scarce (Amawi, State and Class; Fisch- Thus the cinema contributed to the emer- throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Located bach; Hannoyer and Shami; Rogan and gence of a critical public sphere in the in Amman, capital of Transjordan, it had a Tell). This study will shed some light on the growing young Transjordanian capital. multi-purpose function. It not only development of Amman’s society through

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the lens of Cinema Petra’s history and its fered, and for which other purposes the nationalists and tribal forces attacking effects on social and cultural change. This theatre houses were used. him in raids from the south (Wilson 60-84; is interesting from several points of view: The evolution of Amman as capital of the Dann 84, 88). By the end of the 1920s, Firstly, the attendance of movie shows new nation state was exceptional, not only Abdullah had succeeded—though only was a sign of emerging mass consump- seen against the background of semi-co- with strong British support—to neutralize tion in the Middle East during this period. lonial state formation by European powers opponents and to consolidate Hashemite Secondly, the cinema showed Arab, Eu- through the treaty of San Remo in 1920, reign in Transjordan. A political and eco- ropean and American films and thus ex- but also due to the fact that the city had nomic elite in the country was still to posed the inhabitants of Amman to dif- been depopulated for several hundred emerge. This process began in the 1930s ferent lifestyles and cultural norms. years until the end of the 19th century. and accelerated in the 1940s. At the be- Thirdly, the hall of Cinema Petra served as Both the Hashemite state and Amman’s ginning of the 1920s, Transjordan com- a central point of public gathering urban society constituted new elements in prised of 300,000 inhabitants, half of throughout the period described. It wit- the social setting of Transjordan. which were nomads, while the other half nessed not only movie screenings but were mainly small-scale cultivators. Illit- served in many instances as a meeting The Historical Setting: Transjordan as a eracy was widespread and schools did point for political, philanthropic and cul- Nation State—Amman as Its Capital not exist outside the few towns. Amman, tural purposes. The most valuable sources The founding of the Emirate of Transjor- in contrast, hosted merchants, of whom for a study of the different cinematic en- dan in 1921 by the British was meant to many had emigrated from Palestine and terprises in Transjordan are contempo- calm the nationalist aspirations of the Syria. It was the center of political action rary Arab newspapers, mainly Filasṭīn Hashemite family after the Great Arab Re- in Transjordan and also the place of cen- (“Palestine”), al-Difāʿ (“Defense”) and al- volt and the collapse of the Ottoman Em- tral power as represented by the Hashem- Urdunn (“Jordan”), in its early days called pire. The Emirate was nominally ruled by ite court and the British residency. al-Urdunn al-Jadīd (“The New Jordan”). an “independent government” with Amir Amman has a long, though not continu- Some studies on the history and social Abdullah as the head of state from 1921 ous, tradition of settlement starting in pre- development of Amman also mention on, but in fact, the British maintained con- historic times. It flourished under different those cinemas or quote from conversa- trol over all vital spheres in terms of eco rulers and varying names throughout the tions with eyewitnesses from those days. nomy, politics and administration. A Brit- centuries, but after the disastrous Mongo- The very few memoirs about Amman in ish resident in Amman who in turn was lian conquest in the 13th century, Amman the 1930s and 1940s add to these details. subordinate to the high commissioner in lost more and more of its importance and These sources tell much about the setting Palestine represented the British manda- was eventually completely abandoned. of the movie theatres, the various ways in tory force. In the early years, the Amir Natural disasters, mainly earthquakes, de- which the inhabitants of Amman used the struggled against various forces challeng- cisively contributed to the decay. It re- cinema, the kind of entertainment of- ing his rule, amongst them exiled Syrian mained uninhabited for centuries, though

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its lands and springs were used by Bed- man with water and allowed for agricul- in general. One such institution was the ouin tribes for pasture and cattle raising. tural use of the land (Rifai 137). cinema. It was in principle open to every- The Ottoman power started to pacify the Though Amman was a small village during one and permitted autonomous access to area in the middle of the 19th century. Part the 1920s, with 2,000 inhabitants in 1921, it information and entertainment even for of this pacification was the settlement of grew slowly but steadily during the follow- those who were illiterate.4 As a place of Caucasian refugees in Amman and other ing years and comprised approximately public gathering, it became one of the Transjordanian villages beginning in 1878. 20,000 citizens in 1939 (Hacker 56-59).2 central meeting points for an emerging Thus, Circassians, and from 1907 onwards, From its early beginnings, Amman’s soci- urban elite. What Vanessa Schwartz has Chechens, became the re-founders of the ety was composed of different groups of described as the “interlocking relations city when they established themselves in inhabitants with varying national, ethnic between the boulevard and the press” in the ruins of ancient Amman. and religious backgrounds. Because the late 19th century Paris also holds true for The choice of Amman as the new capital city had scarcely been populated before the example of the cinema in Amman: “[It] in 1928 was due to several factors: The the state formation, its inhabitants were created a culture in which individuals from first was the Hejaz Railway, which had necessarily migrants, either from other different classes and of both sexes were reached the town in 1903 and connected parts of the country or from abroad. For expected to derive pleasure from the Amman in northern and southern direc- this reason, Amman proper did not know same sights and experiences” (16). This tions. In the early 20th century, the railway a tradition of urban notables comparable was new for Transjordan, where such ele- station near Amman became the central to urban centers of Bilad al-Sham. Never- ments of a mass consumer culture were point for travelling pilgrims on their way theless, members of influential families still to emerge. to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. and tribes soon gained important posi- In general, Palestinian and Syrian immi- The construction of the railway led to a tions in the new state or played a signifi- grants dominated the local economy until first—though still very modest—impetus for cant role in anti-Hashemite opposition.3 the 1930s, while farming remained a Cir- the development of the city where mer- Even though the social composition of cassian domain. This Palestinian and Syri- chants and moneylenders from Syria and Amman’s population was more complex an economic dominance can be seen on Palestine settled. Secondly, there was a than that of other Transjordanian towns, the numerous leasing documents from the small airport in Marka, close to Amman, the influence of conservative tribal values period showing that many of the shops, already operating during World War I (Ro- and norms was significant (Alon, “The Trib- storerooms, restaurants and also movie gan 93). The airdrome was of use for the al System” 216-19). theatres in the commercial centre in old British striving to control their mandatory Parallel to the population growth, new and downtown were run by Arab immigrants area. Equally important was the existence modern institutions gradually emerged from Greater Syria and Palestine (Rafīʿ 65- of water: springs in the surrounding that contributed to the social transforma- 86). Smaller groups of migrants came mountains and a small river in the city tion of the city in particular and the pro- from the Hijaz, Iran or Uzbekistan. In addi- centre supplied the inhabitants of Am- cess of nation building in the nascent state tion, there was internal migration of native

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Transjordanians to the city. In particular, of religious and ethnic clubs, sports clubs, world of moving pictures reached Pales- families from Salt, the former provincial welfare societies, and the running of cafés tine through the screening of films at the centre, chose to establish themselves in and restaurants where men—but not wom- Europa Hotel in Jerusalem (Shafik 10). In the city, a trend that continued well into en—could meet and converse. In addition, the Middle East, the cinema contributed the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1930s, landless immigrants from Palestine operated a to the acceleration of social change in the migrants from Palestine settled in Amman, printing press and edited a local newspa- 20th century, as did the railway, the tele- as did merchants from Najd on the Arabi- per, al-Urdunn (“Jordan”). The education graph, the press and the radio.5 The an Peninsula after the pacification of the system, which had hitherto mainly relied screening of movies introduced hitherto Transjordanian-Saudi border (Hacker 35). on traditional Islamic kuttāb schools teach- unknown subjects, lifestyles and social The 1930s and 1940s witnessed increasing ing only basic reading and writing, now norms to the spectators. This does not, of building activities that produced new improved. Government as well as private course, only apply to the audience in the housing types. The houses were built for engagement enabled gifted Transjorda- Arab world but to all cultural surround- wealthy middle-class residents and their nian students to pursue their studies in ings. However, movies as “urban specta- nuclear families, and marked a turning- Palestine, Syria or Lebanon (Filasṭīn 26 cle” (Schwartz 3) supported a process of away from traditional housing designed July 1926, 18 June 1938, 8 Mar. 1941; al- individualization and diversity accompa- for extended families. Thus, the gradual Difāʿ 15 Aug. 1935; al-Urdunn 1 Dec. 1940). nying the shaping of modernity in the social change of the urban population was Arab world. This process had already been also reflected in a new building trend The Arab Cinema triggered before, but the interwar period (Wood 18-21). In 1895, the Lumière brothers introduced witnessed new kinds of entertainment and a new and exciting medium to the public: mass consumption, and a different notion During the mandate period, Amman’s so- the cinematograph, a machine that was of leisure time. cial fabric underwent a deep transforma- both a camera and a projector. This As an unprecedented crossroads of key tion, with the emergence of an urban con- marked the birth of moving pictures, elements associated with modern life, cin- stituency (Droz-Vincent 13). Under the which have fascinated a worldwide audi- ema combined a technological attempt to influence of modernizing institutions, Am- ence ever since. The success of movies transform reality into spectacle with an au- man’s citizens were not exclusively con- was from its beginning not confined to the dience of spectators gathered as an undif- fined to ancient identities, as the predom- Western world. Emphasis should be ferentiated and constantly changing mass inant tribal population structure of placed on the fact that the Arab world was audience (Schwartz 200). Transjordan would have suggested, but almost from the very beginning part of the Ever since, the compatibility of cinematic were able to redefine their interests and worldwide audience of moving pictures. entertainment with Arab and Muslim organize themselves along different and The first public movie screenings in the norms and values has been a subject of overlapping identities (Robins 44). Such Arab world took place in 1896 and 1897 in debate: “Arab cinema is frequently criti- developments included the establishment Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. In 1900, the cized as evidence of Westernization and

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acculturation. […] [It] raises questions sions. Both the Hashemite court and the another sign of a new use of space by the about authenticity and acculturation, tradi- British residency supported this process. population creating a new sense of col- tion, and alienation, and the roots of these This creation—or construction—of a uniting lectivity among the people. The growth of relations and ideas” (Shafik 4). However, national identity went hand in hand with Amman, combined with new means of en- the Arab world gradually adopted the new the emergence of public places. There tertainment, the emergence of mass con- medium, picking up on timeless subjects were, however, no public buildings or of- sumption, and growing political senti- such as romance but also contributing to ficially designated indoor places for pub- ments of Arab nationalism contributed to the ongoing anti-colonial debates and the lic events. Therefore, venues for public the gradual emergence of a public sphere shaping of political opinion, thereby pro- gathering in Amman were mostly private where citizens came together for collec- ducing new images of itself (Shafik 11-18). premises, like cinemas, hotels, schools or tive leisure activities, discussion and social simply private houses, which, for example, activities. In this respect, Amman did not Public Space and National Representation hosted literary circles. substantially differ from Arab urban cen- in the Capital ters like Beirut or Damascus even though Since the 19th century, Middle Eastern ur- Despite this, the rulers used the streets its number of inhabitants was much small- ban centers such as Cairo, Damascus and and squares of the city to present them- er (Skovgaard-Petersen 12-15). Rabat had experienced the outcomes of selves and to represent the new nation. Western town planning. European archi- Amman witnessed organized military pa- The Cinema in Transjordan tects implemented their ideas of modern rades, public receptions of high-ranking The owners of Cinema Petra were both towns away from the traditional old cities, official guests, and celebrated historical Christians, as was the editor of al-Urdunn, thereby decisively transforming the eco- events that were important to Arab nation- the local newspaper. The latter had moved nomic and social lives of their inhabitants. alism6 and to Transjordan’s identity as a na- to Amman from Palestine, while the own- Amman, in contrast, did not become such tion state. On such occasions, the inhabit- ers of Cinema Petra were Syrians by origin. a “colonial city” because it was so scarcely ants of the city decorated their houses, The causes for the Christian dominance in populated when the British arrived. There- went out to greet the official foreign the Palestinian press can be traced back to fore, the mandatory power saw no need to guests, or just enjoyed themselves at the developments in the Ottoman Empire and ‘organize’ an oriental city or to redirect various entertainments, which were orga- Western missionary activities in the 19th town development towards more ‘mod- nized by the municipality or by the Hash- century. Political, cultural and religious re- ern’, i.e. Western, forms of town planning. emite court. Other examples were the sentments had for a long time deterred However, there was a clear tendency in street parades that were regularly held to Ottoman rulers from the establishment of Amman to install elements of the modern commemorate religious festivities like ʿĪd the printing press (Shomali 225-28). Books nation state. National symbols underlining al-Aḍḥā, the Muslim feast of immolation.7 in Arabic were imports from Western the aspired new common identity of the The frequent pro-Palestinian protest dem- countries brought to the East. In 1846, people became visible on many occa- onstrations and strikes of the 1930s were French missionaries brought the first print-

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ing press to Jerusalem. The Palestinian pictures, however. “The story of Amman’s room for many people, the band playing press began to flourish after the Ottoman early cinemas is a story of a city entering from behind the screen, and that a Charlie reforms of 1908 and stayed mainly in the modernity with new emerging public Chaplin film was screened that day (27). hands of Greek Orthodox Christians for spaces of sociability and entertainment” Due to the shortage of electricity supply, many years to come (Ayalon 57-59). The (Daher 31). The first movie theatre in Am- Cinema Nasr had its own generator to se- running of cinemas, in contrast, was not man, owned by Rushdi al-Ṣafadi and cure the functioning of the necessary tech- confined to the Christian minority, while called al-Sharq al-ʿArabī (“Arab East”),9 was nical devices (Ayoub).11 The end of this first religious restrictions were behind the set up in 1925, screening films in open-air- cinema project came in 1934 when Cine- fact that bars and alcohol-serving restau- performances (al-Urdunn 27 Mar. 1926, 8 ma Petra opened its doors to the public. A rants in Transjordan were always owned May 1926). The first movie theatre building third movie theatre, Cinema al-Imara, was by Christians.8 The running of the enter- was realized in 1929 by the Syrian Abu opened in the early 1940s, also run by a tainment business in the city was there- Sayah al-Qabbani, owner of Cinema Syrian (Rashid 246; Abu Ghanima 90). It fore a Christian affair, but Cinema Petra Nasr.10 It was amazingly spacious and screened open-air shows during summer was frequented by all inhabitants of the could host up to 1000 people. Cinema time. The novelist ʿAbd al-Rahman Munif, city regardless of their creed, as will be Nasr screened silent movies, both Arab who has described his childhood in Am- shown below. and foreign (Rashid 245-46; Abu Ghanima man in the 1930s and 1940s, recalls such The movie theatres of Amman symbolized 86; Ayoub). Among those films were the open-air-sessions during the summer at- the advent of a modern institution in a early works of Charlie Chaplin and Holly- tracting crowds of people. Some of them rather conservative surrounding. Various wood productions with cowboy subjects, paid the entrance fee while others pre- reports of enthusiastic approval of the cin- which drew the attention of the inhabit- ferred to watch the films for free from out- ema by the public suggest that this new ants of Amman. This was parallel to devel- side, sitting on the pavement (175-76). The institution gained wide acceptance. This opments in the Levant where these Amer- owners of Cinema al-Imara finally placed enthusiasm stood partly in contrast to the ican-style films also attracted the masses a thick curtain in order to hide the screen quality of the shows, which were at times (Thompson 91). The silent movies were ac- from outside spectators. described as somewhat pathetic. In addi- companied—as in Europe—by live music, tion, we can read complaints about the performed by a three-man band. The Cinema Petra high entrance fees, which were twice as show took place every evening, with night The 1930s were crucial for the constitution much as those at the cinema in Haifa (Mal- shows on weekends. of a public discourse on political and so- kawi 153). While Palestinian cinemas like One of the very few memoirs of Amman cial issues in Transjordan. The central pow- the one in Haifa translated foreign films for written by a woman is the one by Najmiyya er in Amman now controlled all parts of the audience, the Transjordanians had to Hikmat, who tells about her visit to Cinema the country and was able to contain the watch them in their original language. This Nasr when she was a child. She recounts power of rebelling tribal sheikhs (Alon, did not prevent them from flocking to the the wide space inside the house giving “Tribal Shaykhs” 77). But the colonial expe-

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rience in the Arab world and develop- 1940s, it became a major place of public producing companies and film directors ments in Palestine, especially after the be- gathering and amusement and one of the (Shafik 9). Like other Arab countries, ginning of the revolt in 1936, had a strong central places of public space in Amman. Transjordan did not have local film pro- influence on the political atmosphere in duction until the late 1950s. This fact is the country. Strikes, demonstrations and Cultural, Political and Philanthropic Activ- reflected in the selection of films screened political statements in favor of the Palestin- ities at Cinema Petra, which were either Egyp- ian cause were frequent.12 The inhabitants The hall of Cinema Petra was used for var- tian or US productions. of Amman and other towns in Transjordan ious events of public interest. People from In addition, theatre companies came to engaged in charity work and the collec- different ethnic or religious backgrounds town to perform in front of enthusiastic au- tion of donations to support the victims in regularly gathered in the cinema, guided diences, and music shows entertained the Palestine (al-Urdunn 29 June 1936; Filasṭīn by common interest and thus partly over- public. A film with the music of the famous 25 June 1935, 1 and 11 July 1936). The cir- coming traditional bindings of religion, Egyptian singer and actor Muhammad culation of the Palestinian press in Trans- family or tribe that dominated society in ʿAbd al-Wahhab attracted the masses in jordan contributed to a growing political Transjordan. The Christian minority, which 1934. This film, called Al-Warda al-Bayḍaʾ consciousness among the citizens. Anoth- comprised approximately eight percent of (“The White Rose,” Egypt 1933), was direct- er source of discontent was the difficult Amman’s population, used the hall of Cin- ed by the Egyptian Muhammad Karim and economic condition in the 1930s sparked ema Petra repeatedly for festivities of their tells the story of an unfulfilled love be- by consecutive years of drought (Ama- religious schools. However, these events tween a servant and the daughter of his douny 134-37). were by no means confined to members wealthy employer. The white rose here is It was during those troubled times that of their own creed, but also open to the a symbol for the pureness and decency of Cinema Petra, deriving its name from the Muslim inhabitants of the city (al-Urdunn this love. The use of such symbols, as Vio- famous Nabataean city of Petra in the 23 July 1939, 11 July 1943). la Shafik has pointed out, was a new and south of (Trans-) Jordan, was set up on The cinema also connected the Transjor- innovative element of cultural expression Basman Street by Wadi Asʿad and Tawfiq danians to cultural developments in the in Arabic arts (60-61). Qattan.13 The theatre soon got ahead of its Arab region through films and singers, Qays wa Layla (“Qays and Layla,” Egypt competitor and became the most popular mainly from Egypt and Syria. Many of the 1934), screened in 1941, is another exam- movie theatre in town. But its success was very successful films of the time, mostly ple of a film depicting a passionate but not only due to the film business but also directed by Egyptian producers, found sad love story. The plot refers to an age- to its function as a public venue. The in- an audience at Cinema Petra. Until the old famous Arabic love story that has inhabitants of Amman used it not only for 1950s, when the majority of Arab states spired countless storytellers, authors and entertainment, but assembled in its prem- had become independent from former filmmakers throughout the Arab world ises for social, cultural and political pur- colonial or mandate rule, Egypt was the and beyond. poses. Throughout the 1930s and early only Arab country with nameable film

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While the Egyptian film Intisār al-Shabāb al-Atrash performed live at Cinema Petra lon (Hannoyer 32-33). The Amir’s literary (“Triumph of the Youth”), produced in 1940 (Filasṭīn 27 Nov. 1943). salon was another place where cultural ac- and screened the same year in Amman (al- Actors and actresses from Egypt and Syria tivities unfolded; however, it was private, Urdunn 1 Dec. 1940), also touched on the arrived in town to stage their plays. They in contrast to public places like Cinema pitfalls of love and desire, it is more reveal- introduced another modern form of cul- Petra or Hotel Philadelphia, which was an- ing to look at the role of the female singer tural expression, owing their success in other important venue for public events. and dancer in this musical, embodied by large parts to the fact that they were far In addition, the Amir’s salon was directly Asmahan al-Atrash,14 sister of famous beyond any local production (Landau 94). linked to the state and not an institution Druze singer Farid al-Atrash. The two sib- Ramsis, one of Egypt’s most famous the- driven by citizens’ involvement and en- lings, Druzes and originally from Syria but atre companies and led by Yusuf Wahbi gagement, as was Cinema Petra. living in Egypt since the failed Druze revolt (81-83), arrived in Amman in 1938 for a in Syria in the mid-1920s, acted and sang three-day visit at Cinema Petra, and again The charity organization al-Jamʿiyya al- in this musical film, representing them- in 1942 (Filasṭīn 24 Apr. 1938; al-Difāʿ 2 Khayriyya, founded in 1941 by Shukri Bek selves as artists in Cairo. The positive de- Apr. 1942). Like in other countries, the fact Shaʿshaʿa, the Transjordanian Minister of piction of the artist’s life in bars and night- of females acting on stage was impressive Defense and Interior, also convened at clubs marked a breach with because this kind of profession was usu- Cinema Petra. The organization was active long-established moral resentments ally regarded as immoral (Landau 76). in supporting the destitute part of the against this kind of profession, especially Local performances carried more of the population in Amman (Filasṭīn 20 Dec. for women (Moubayed 522-23). characteristics of amateur theatre (Rashid 1940, 2 Mar. 1941). Among other activities, Cinema Petra also served as a music hall. 246).15 Transjordanian schoolboys and boy it paid the hospital bills for those who In 1940, the Palestinian Broadcasting scouts presented their own theatre plays. could not afford medical treatment, sup- Band performed in Amman, accompa- In 1941, young men from Amman per- ported students from Transjordan at Cai- nied by the band of the Arab Legion in formed the Arab play Fatḥ al-Andalus ro’s Al-Azhar University, and maintained addition to Arab singers—including a (“The Conquest of al-Andalus,” 1931) writ- an asylum for the poor (al-Urdunn 2 Mar. woman—and local schoolboys. This con- ten by Fuʿad al-Khatib. Among the actors 1942). On the occasion of ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā 1940, cert was broadcasted by the Palestinian was Sulayman al-Nabulsi, who became it announced the collection of donations radio station and was the first transmis- Jordan’s Prime Minister in the 1950s (Abu for its activities, thus connecting the tradi- sion from Transjordan (al-Urdunn 1 Apr. Ghanima 89). The author, al-Khatib, was a tional Muslim religious duty of zakāt with 1940). The Palestinian Broadcasting Band prominent figure of the pre-war nationalist modern forms of charity work (al-Urdunn in cooperation with the Transjordanian movement and had been close to the 27 Jan. 1940). A festivity organized by the ministry of culture also organized a chil- Hashemites ever since. He lived at the organization in March 1941 brought to- dren’s party at the cinema (Abu Ghanima court of the Amir, who himself loved Arab gether the elite of Amman, merchants, stu- 90). In 1943, the popular musician Farid literature and poetry and had a literary sa- dents and officials from the government.

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They listened to music played by the Pal- of Amman, the Arab Legion played, and a bration that was held at the hall of Cinema estinian Broadcasting Band, the music lottery under the auspice of Amir Abdul- Petra. This huge number indicates how corps of the Arab Legion. Later, Fakhri allah took place in the hall of Cinema Petra spacious Cinema Petra in fact was. The Barudi, a well-known nationalist from Syr- (al-Difāʿ 14 and 15 Apr. 1946).17 In 1944, the band of the Arab Legion played and poets ia, spoke to the public (al-Urdunn 10 Mar. Islamic College in Amman held a celebra- recited from their work stressing the na- 1941). From then on, the charity organization of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday tional overtone of the event (al-Urdunn 24 tion planned such a festivity on a yearly at Cinema Petra. The guests who filled the Aug. 1942). Thus, such commemorations basis and always convened at Cinema seats of the cinema were all members of contributed to the construction of a na- Petra (e.g. al-Urdunn 15 Dec. 1942). the political and economic elite of the tional identity in Transjordan, and they When the theatre company with the well- country. Their generous donations to the largely benefited from Cinema Petra as known actress Nadia arrived in town to- amount of 5000 Palestinian pounds were the central public space in town. gether with fifty actors and actresses to designed for a new school building (al- Another political event was the reception stage a nationalist play at Cinema Petra, Urdunn 14 Mar. 1944). of Sultan al-Atrash, leader of the Druze re- the charity organized a singing and danc- Other events held at Cinema Petra were volt in Syria in 1937. He was greeted by ing party for the public accompanying the literary competitions or remembrances of rejoicing masses on the streets. A festivity performance. The proceeds went to the the deceased. Some of these obsequies, to honor the guest with 1500 participants poor of Amman (al-Urdunn 6 Nov. 1941), like the ones for King Ali and King Husain was organized in the hall of Cinema Petra while the company itself donated its tak- in 1935 (Filasṭīn 27 Mar. 1935; al-Difāʿ 2 (al-Difāʿ 16 and 19 May 1937). In 1940, all ings from the ticket sales.16 The play had June 1935), were reminiscent of the Hash- students of the country were invited to an educational tenor, telling the people emite efforts to establish a Greater Arab gather for a festivity at Cinema Petra in or- about the virtues of democracy and the state. They were part of the Hashemite as- der to support the Palestinian national fight of an oppressed country against a piration to legitimate their rule in the emir- cause. The Arab Legion played and the tyrannous force. A film about Mecca and ate and their pan-Arab endeavors. The director of the education department held the Hajj, screened in 1942, is another ex- festivities in 1942 for the remembrance of a speech (al-Difāʿ 7 Apr. 1940). ample of the educational function that the the revolt may serve as an example of such Shortly after the Second World War, Said cinema fulfilled (al-Urdunn 3 May 1942). attempts to construct a national Transjor- Ramadan18 came to Amman to attract the In 1946, the charity demonstrated its com- danian identity in connection with Hash- Transjordanians to the ideas of the Muslim mitment to the Palestinian national cause emite rulership in Transjordan. Amman, Brotherhood. He lectured on the religious by participating in a festivity, organized by capital of the emirate, was decorated with and political ideas of the movement at the municipality of Amman and a Palestin- flowers and flags on this occasion, the Cinema Petra. ʿAbd al-Rahman Munif re- ian committee from Haifa, for the support Amir spoke to the crowds lining the calls the event as follows: of orphans in Palestine. The organizers streets, and the mayor of Amman invited When he [Saʿid Ramadan] gave one collected donations from the inhabitants more than 3,000 official guests to a cele- of his scheduled speeches, the Petra

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Cinema would be thronged by young Others criticized the owners of Cinema man was simply not big enough to make and old. Even those who avoided the Petra for completely different reasons: a women’s cinema profitable. cinema because they considered it to they accused them of being “too much Some of the films and theatre shows be corrupt pushed and shoved others interested in their own profit” and “not staged at Cinema Petra depicted a very to get in so that they could listen to the caring about the national interest” (al- different role for women than the tradi- orator who knew how to excite people Jazeera 11 Jan. 1940). The reason behind tional one. They contradicted long-estab- and appeal to their emotions. (251-52) such criticism was the fact that Qattan lished moral values about female behav- and Asʿad had screened Marie Antoinette ior. Intisār al-Shabāb is an example of a This speech, as Munif remembers, gave a (USA 1938) in the building of the Arab Le- film presenting women with “dubious pro- boost to the efforts of the Muslim Brother- gion in Marka, circumventing the pay- fessions” as singers or dancers in a posi- hood in Transjordan, who had set up their ment of the custom duty (al-Jazeera 11 tive way (Moubayed 522-23). Such films, first office in the emirate in 1945. Jan. 1940; Abu Ghanima 91).19 This is an watched by a large and enthusiastic audi- interesting point because it shows that ence, reflected a changing notion of fe- Morals, Gender and the Cinema the cinema business was a profitable eco- male appearance in public and the role of Romantic love and forbidden relation- nomic undertaking closely watched by women in society. ships have always been among the prom- the community. Another sign of changing role percep- inent subjects of the film industry from the Another element of Cinema Petra’s mod- tions was the growing female participation very beginning, regardless of the creator’s ernizing force was the fact that it was also in charity activities. In 1938, a group of origin. Such love stories sometimes met open to the female populace. In the be- women from Amman staged a play—in this the moral resistance of more conservative ginning, the movie theatre held a special case for an exclusive female audience— parts of society and the religiously learned, show for the women of Amman once a and donated the profit to the poor of the as had been reported from Egypt, Leba- week. Later, Cinema Petra provided for town (al-Urdunn 13 Apr. 1938). The English non and Syria (Shafik 49). ʿAbd al-Rahman separate space for men and women, Girls’ School staged a theatre show in Munif mentions such resentments that thus enabling both sexes to watch a 1943, performing for a mixed audience, parts of society showed towards the cin- movie at the same time, and occasion- made up of—among others—members of ema in Transjordan (Munif 252). Neverthe- ally offered special shows for women the government and other influential per- less, with the exception of Wahhabi (Ayoub). This stood in contrast to the Syr- sonalities of the town (Filasṭīn 22 July ʿulamāʾ in Saudi Arabia, there was no fun- ian and Lebanese example of cinemas 1943).20 damental rejection of movies grounded created exclusively for a female audi- The Transjordanian Women’s Union, on Islamic aniconism by Muslim scholars ence (Thompson 95). The much smaller founded in 1945 by Amira Zain (the wife of and the issue of exposing people did not potential audience in Amman can pre- Amir Talal, son of Abdullah) and Emily arouse religious resentment. sumably explain this difference and it is Bish arat, in addition to the wives of many argued here that the population of Am- influential notables of Amman, used Cin-

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ema Petra for its annual festivities (Filasṭīn influenced the process of social change in opment of Amman’s urban society. The 27 Feb. 1945, 4 Sept. 1945, 6 Mar. 1946). the country and in Amman. Cinema Petra manifold uses of the theatre crosscut While Amira Zain was a Muslim, Emily as a site for communication is but only one boundaries of class and gender. On the Bish arat came from a Christian family. As example of this gradual social change in one hand, it was a place where the urban the example of the Transjordanian Wom- the city. Other important institutions fos- elite could represent themselves through en’s Union shows, there were no religious tering this transformation were schools various cultural and philanthropic activi- barriers preventing participation in such such as the Bishop’s School that opened ties and where discussions of common welfare activities. its doors in 1936, the Islamic College and concern could unfold. On the other hand, Their activities reflect a growing interest of the Arts and Crafts School (Amadouny with its movie shows it welcomed all in- Amman’s women to take part in public life. 155-57), the Arab Legion that provided job habitants of the city regardless of social Again, this development was parallel to chances for young men and the numerous origin, provided they could pay the en- that in other Arab countries and had its government departments and govern- trance fee. roots in the social and political transforma- ment-related establishments that imple- The various social events held at Cinema tions of the mandate years. In addition, as mented state authority in the whole coun- Petra reflected the growing collective re- Elisabeth Thompson points out, “[…] the try through modern administration. sponsibility and simultaneously the shift- war had mobilized women in philanthrop- Cinema Petra served a variety of purposes. ing identities of Amman’s citizens. Am- ic organizations” (98). Such philanthropic It was not only a movie theatre but also a man’s merchants, politicians and ambitions were also part of the elite for- place of public gathering. People from dif- landowners were the key actors of nation- mation in the city. Ellen Fleischmann de- ferent backgrounds assembled in its hall al affairs. Using Cinema Petra’s spacious scribes a very similar situation for Pales- for varying reasons. While some sought assembly hall, they started to organize tine, and Amman’s female populace was recreation and entertainment, others were themselves politically, culturally and phil- no different in this respect (96). It was at- inspired by social responsibility or were anthropically. Muslims and Christians tached to a trend measurable in the whole driven by political conviction. Cinema Pe- came together for rituals like obsequies, region during that period. Transjordan in tra played an important role for the cul- thus blurring religious boundaries. Inno- general and Amman in particular were not tural development of the city through the vative cultural experiences with educa- distant, isolated places, but stood in close numerous literary events that were held tional or political undertones triggered relation with regional political, economic there. Both guests from other Arab coun- the integration of regional trends. The in- and social developments. tries and local artists entertained with re habitants of Amman developed a public citations from their works. Cinema Petra discourse on cultural, social, economic Conclusion thus became part of the public space and political issues connecting them with The political and economic transformation needed by Amman’s inhabitants for their the broader Arab public sphere and its that Transjordan underwent during the cultural and political activities and may be centers in Cairo, Damascus, Beirut and years of the British mandate necessarily understood as an indicator of the devel- Baghdad. This discourse is reflected in the

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Renate Dieterich various events held at Cinema Petra. With the introduction and incorporation of has been educated at Bonn University modernizing institutions both from rein the fields of Islamic studies and gional Arab and Western culture and the political science. She has researched gradual formation of collective action, the and published extensively on politics emerging urban elite became the agents and society in modern Jordan and on of a broader social and political transfor- 20th century Transjordanian history. mation process. Her research interests focus on social Notes 4 At that time, the majority 7 Al-Urdunn 11 Jan. 1930 8 Alcohol consumption is 14 For a biography of movements, democratization and radical of the Transjordanian (festivity of the Arab forbidden by Islamic law. Asmahan, see Zuhur. Islam in the Middle East. She currently 1 Cinema Petra existed well population was illiterate or renaissance), 15 Oct. 1930 works in the field of international beyond the end of the nearly illiterate. However, this (return of Amir Talal from a 9 Arabic name of the new 15 For a list of various theatre fact did not necessarily mean trip to Cyprus), 16 Dec. 1930 state of Transjordan. plays that were staged in academic cooperation. mandate but the 1930s and 1940s were clearly its golden that they were not informed. (arrival of King Husayn Ibn Amman during that period, email: [email protected] years. Later, competing In fact, newspapers were read ʿAli); Filasṭīn 19 July 1934, 10 Later, Qabbani was joined see Malkawi 154-55. cinematic enterprises like out loud in many Arab cities 21 July 1934 (celebration of by a Sharabji as second Rainbow Cinema on Jabal in cafés and other public Amir Abdullah’s return from owner (al-Urdunn 6 Aug. 16 The municipality Amman—which still exists places for those who could Great Britain); al-Difāʿ 28 1930). announced a sum of 140 today—were more attractive not read them themselves Oct. 1934 and Filasṭīn 25 Nov. Palestinian pounds, which to audiences, and other (see Ayalon 4). For an analysis 1934 (celebration of Amir 11 Amman did not have a went to the charity (al-Urdunn places and options for of the importance of coffee Talal’s wedding); al-Urdunn central power plant until 28 Dec. 1941). public gathering and the houses in Jordan see al- 7 Aug. 1935 and Filasṭīn 17 the late 1930s and electrical dissemination of information Muslih; and Daher 24-25. Aug. 1935 (visit of Amir Saud supply came from generators 17 While Islamic law emerged. ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz); Filasṭīn run by individuals. contradicts raffles and 5 Broadcasting in the region 24 Sept. 1939 (festivity of the lotteries, they were quite 2 All numbers, however, are started rather late with Radio Arab renaissance); al-Urdunn 12 For the development of frequent during these days estimates because no official Cairo in 1934 and the first 18 Oct. 1942 (festivity at the Transjordan’s public opinion in Transjordan, which hints census was conducted. transmissions from Palestine end of Ramadan); al-Urdunn on regional and national at the fact that religious in 1936. 24 May 1942 (celebration of politics in the 1930s see resentment against lotteries 3 Among those were the Arab independence). Eugene Kharaysat. was unknown then. Circassian Al-Mufti family 6 For a discussion on the Rogan has already pointed residing in Amman, the evolution and different to the fact that the new state 13 The two, who were ––› Al-Majali from Karak, the notions of nationalism in the tried to exhibit its national Christians of Syrian origin, Al-Tall from Irbid, or the Arab world during the first identity through symbolic also planned to open a Tarawnah tribe, the latter half of the 20th century, see acts on the streets of Amman wine and dancing bar in acting as part of the small Jankowski and Gershoni. (100-106). downtown Amman close to nationalist opposition with its Husseini Mosque (Filasṭīn 3 slogan “Transjordan for the May 1934). Transjordanians” (Robins 45).

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Rafīʿ, Muhammad. Dhākirat Shafik, Viola. Arab Cinema: Wilson, Mary C. King al-madīna, awrāq ʿAmmān al- History and Cultural Identity. Abdullah, Britain and qadīma, qirāʾ fī-l-ʿuqūd al-ijār Cairo: The American the Making of Jordan. (1928-1938). Amman: Amānat University in Cairo Press, Cambridge: Cambridge ISSN: 2196-629X ʿAmmān al-kubra, 2002. Print. 1998. Print. University Press, 1987. Print. URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis: 04-ep0003-2014-45-21576

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