Save Civilization Monument

The Monument of Saving Civilization stands as a witness to the intertwining of art and identity, and to Iraq’s continuous struggle between pain and hope.

It was designed by the great Iraqi sculptor Mohammad Ghani Hikmat, and completed around 2010 by commission from the Baghdad Municipality, as part of a project to decorate the capital with gates and artistic sculptures that reflect its deep-rooted spirit.

The monument is located on the Karkh side of Baghdad, specifically in the Al Mansour district near Al Zawraa Park, and it is considered one of four major art projects assigned to Hikmat within a cultural program for the city of Baghdad. It was one of his final works before his passing.

The monument consists of a tilted or broken cylindrical column, representing Iraqi civilization, which at times cracks or collapses due to wars, neglect, and conflict.

In front of this column extend human hands and arms, as if grasping it or trying to prevent it from falling a powerful symbol of human responsibility in protecting and preserving culture from being lost.

On the surface of the column is inscribed a phrase in cuneiform script (or inspired by it), stating:

"From here, writing began." A reference to the fact that the land of Iraq is the cradle of writing and human civilization, as if the monument is declaring a clear message:

“Culture was born here… and it must continue.”

The cylindrical column represents the ancient Iraqi civilizations Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian that once rose on this land. As for the break and tilt in the column, they express the threats and erosion that have afflicted these civilizations over the ages.

Meanwhile, the extended arms represent the spirit of the people, the artists, and the intellectuals who rise up to protect their history, lifting with their hands a heritage on the verge of collapse.