The royal family in Iraq - rare photographs rescued from the ruins of Al-Zohour Palace in 2004

In the February 2013 issue of the British periodical entitled "Asian Affairs," published by the Asian Society in London, an article was published in English entitled "Portraits of the Hashemites." This article was placed in the context of a letter to the editor sent to the aforementioned association by retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel William Lear. The article was decorated with a group of wonderful historical photographs from the archives of the royal family in Iraq, including some that had not been published before. In this letter, the writer Willem Lier mentioned the story of finding this group of photographs in the ruins and ruins of the Royal Palace of Flowers under the circumstances of the ongoing war in Iraq. It seems that this group of photographs and other artistic works was hidden for some reason in secret warehouses in the Al-Zuhur Palace and appeared in the rubble after the demolition of the building, which was in the custody of the Iraqi security authorities during the era of the previous regime, and as a result of the American aircraft's bombing of the Iraqi security services deployed in various areas of Baghdad. The impact of the news was amazing in finding such a treasure trove of historical Iraqi photographs. I had spent more than thirty years researching and investigating the history of photography in Iraq.