Various western museums have been criticised for exhibiting items of historical interest belonging to other cultures. According to a spokesperson for the British museum, the practice is participarory and transparent, and said to be working in active partnership with and for diverse communities in an inclusive way. This from a u.k. perspective who are believed to hold protocol of some sort for seeming representatives of a culture to sign an agreement that allows for the taking away of artefacts. Terms may not be apparent. Historically, the looting of temples etc. during wartime was thought to have been part of a demoralising campagne.
The as called Benin Bronze were said to have been looted by British soldiers in Nigeria, thought to be in 1897. Reportedly they consist of more than a thousand plaques and sculptors dating from the thirteenth Century onwards that once decorated the palace of the King of Benin, thought to have been created by the Edo people. They are reportedly on display at the British museum
Some ancient artefacts from the middle east, now in western hands are the Moab stone, the Kurkh monoliths and the Cyrus cylinder. The ninth Century BC Moab stone pertaining to King Mesha, modern day Jordan, details an age of conflicts with the Israelites, slave labour and descriptions of intricate building works completed. According to biblical passages, Moab reportedly gave Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams as vassalage. Mesha refused to continue to pay following the death of King Ahab, reportedly 853 BC. The result was Israel attacked, seemingly destroying the place and eventually retreating amongst comments of child abuse involving the king and his children. Biblical accounts end there. The Moab stone however recounts that Mesha captures Israelites in retaliation and uses them as slave labour. The stone was reportedly found in Jordan in 1868 and is believed to be on display in the Louvre, Paris.
The Kurkh monoliths, dated more intricately, possibly 850’s BC, are two inscribed stones found in Kurkh, Turkey in 1861. Pertain to Shalmaneser III, believed to be king of Assyria from 859-824 BC. King Jehu seemingly was a vassal which may indicate Judeans were party to Assyrian officialdom. Biblical passages describe Judeans colonising thought to be present day Jordan. They were mainly business people, and well versed in music and the arts: Shalmaneser III may have been a founder of the middle Assyrian empire, Assyria being the Persian empire, believed to have been three. The script describes tributes of gold, silver, copper and lead; and details crossing the Euphrates in animal skin lined boats. Campagnes in modern day Iraq and Syria. Some adversaries mentioned were various middle eastern kings including Ahab of Israel. Conflicts for years. According to Jewish sources, war with Assyria in Israel, 722 BC, lead to Benjamites seeking refuge in Judah; seemingly since becoming assimilated. Many of the ten tribes remaining were reportedly forcibly resettled in Persia; in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor river and thought to be other places. They are known as the ten lost tribes of Israel.
The Cyrus cylinder is reportedly dated 539 BC. Pertains to Cyrus II, believed to be a founder of the as called neo- Assyrian empire. Was reportedly instrumental in a colonisation of Samaria, sometimes known as the west bank. A previous colonisation thought to have resulted in the battle of Jericho. Cyrus encouraged intermarriage and priests of the Jewish faith for polities sake. A policy was moving people around. Said to be aimed at precipitating a new homogenous Assyrian race. May be an influence on further empires. According to biblical accounts, Jewish prisoners resettled in Babylon, seemingly homesick were allowed to return after 50 years or so: The cylinder was reportedly found in 1879 during an excavation of ancient Babylon. Believed to be on display in the British museum.
A Jewish dispersion, thought to be the result of various empires, existed for several centuries before the seige of Jerusalem, reportedly in 73 AD. Results were the appropriation of land, said to be for military purposes, which lead to homelessness. A watershed of migration followed: The Roman empire became a Christian entity in 313 AD. Dissolved in 1453.