This searing collection reveals how the plunder of Iraq’s heritage during the 2003 invasion was not collateral damage but part of a long history of imperial erasure.

In War Essays, Zainab Bahrani delivers a powerful reckoning of the destruction of Iraq’s cultural heritage in the wake of the 2003 invasion by weaving together personal experience and a critique of the enduring colonial practices of archaeology. Across two decades of essays, she examines the war’s devastating impact not only on human lives but also on Iraq’s historical landscapes, monuments, and memory, situating heritage loss within the broader geopolitics of the Middle East.

Bahrani confronts the prevailing narratives about the war, exposing how imperial violence extends beyond the battlefield to target history itself and reshaping the discipline of archaeology. By combining eyewitness testimony with theoretical inquiry, this book reflects on the role of intellectuals and historians in times of war and interrogates the responsibility of those who document conflict and its aftermath. Essential reading for scholars of Middle Eastern studies and archaeology, War Essays offers a unique and deeply personal perspective on the lasting scars of war and the fragile relationship between history and memory.