Oddly enough, Saddam loved the pre-islamic history of Iraq. He rebuilt Ur and Babylon to his glory, but did what is, in Archaeology, a Mortal Sin.
He DID NOT delineate the ancient ruins from restoration with a LINE of demarcation.
So, what were Ancient Ruins became modern vanities for Saddam.
Unfortunately, ISIS does not make the distinction and destroys everything, modern or ancient.
What we’ve learned is that guys like Saddam, as bad as they may be, are par for the course in the Arab world. You replace them and what you’ll likely get is much much worse.