Empire Builders: Icons of Conquest

Discover the untold stories of ten famous pillaged treasures and the ongoing debate on their return.

Victorious Empires have long benefitted from the fruits of conquest, through territorial expansion, wealth accumulation, and cultural dominance. But they also enriched themselves through the acquisition or cultural appropriation of monuments, objects, and icons. At worst the spoils of war have also involved the pillaging, stealing or destruction of national treasures belonging to the conquered. Pillaging has ancient routes. In this Empire Builders special, we look at how and why ten of these famous icons of conquest were removed, what made them special and the debate on whether, when and how they should be returned.