All of the uses of ancient Mesopotamian iconography in these protests are fascinating. For at least 70 years ancient Mesopotamian imagery has been a symbol of particularist Iraqi national identity (al-wataniya) and used in opposition to pan-Islamist and pan-Arabist movements.
60 years ago Iraqi president Abd al-Karim Qasim held a parade in Baghdad to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the July 14 1958 revolution. The parade featured floats depicting ancient Mesopotamia, including a ziggurat, Hammurabi's code, and a tablet comparing Qasim to Dumuzi. 
The message was clear: Iraq under Qasim was not going to join Nasser's United Arab Republic, because Iraq was special and unique and had a deep-rooted past separate from the rest of the Arab world.
Four months earlier, pro-Nasser elements in the Iraqi army had staged an attempted coup in Mosul. There was immense pressure on Qasim to accede to the progress of Arab unity.
Qasim resisted this, correctly foreseeing that Nasser's UAR was doomed to fail. But he needed to make an argument as to why Iraq should not join. He turned to the ancient past, changing Iraq's flag to feature an 8-pointed star, a symbol of of the goddess Ishtar.
Iraq's national seal was changed to include the star with solar rays, a symbol of the sun god Shamash.
Nasser's UAR unraveled in 1961, doomed by the economic and social differences between Syria and Egypt which made highly centralizes, one-size-fits-all autocratic rule impossible.
Fast forward to 1968. Ba'athists now control both Iraq and Syria.
Fast forward to 1968. Ba'athists now control both Iraq and Syria.
The Ba'ath were pan-Arab nationalists as well. According to their ideology, they should merge Iraq and Syria as the first step towards Arab unity (al-Qawumiya).
After seizing power, they don't actually want to do this.
After seizing power, they don't actually want to do this.
Iraq has tons of oil money rolling in that they don't want to share. Syria's Ba'ath Party is dominated by Alawites who don't want to become even more of a minority than they already are. And neither party wants to cede power to the other one.
So the Iraqi Ba'ath turn again to the ancient past, with an aggressively particularist cultural program arguing that Iraq is unique because of its ancient past and has a distinct identity in the Arab world, and therefore should remain an independent state.
From 1968-1972, the Iraqi Administration of Antiquities saw its budget increase by over 80%. In 1974, all antiquities were declared state property and export of them was banned. New museums were built at Basra, Nasiriyah, Arbil, Kirkuk, and yes, Mosul.
The idea was that everything that once occurred within the borders of the modern state of Iraq is now part of every Iraqi's national identity, superseding religion or ethnicity.
This approach suppressed the culture of ethnic minorities. Assyrians, for example, no longer could claim a special connection with Iraq's ancient past. Iraqi schoolbooks emphasized that the Medes (who the Kurds viewed as their ancestors) were responsible for destroying Nineveh.
Saddam Hussein continued this policy. He was said to obsessively read reports from the Director of Antiquities, and offer copious comments. He frequently had himself depicted as an ancient figure in art:
His speeches routinely made reference to Iraq's ancient past. A key theme was recapitulation: Iraq's ancient enemies are the same as Iraq's modern enemies. Iran = the Elamites, the Achaemenids, the Sasanians. Iraq = Ur, Babylon, the early Muslims.
In the run-up to the 2003 invasion, he regularly described George W. Bush as the return of Hulagu Khan, destroyer of Baghdad in 1258.
Saddam equated himself with the Sumerian god Dumuzi, always rising again in response to defeat.
Saddam equated himself with the Sumerian god Dumuzi, always rising again in response to defeat.
After Saddam, the link between the ancient, pre-Islamic past and a particularly Iraqi national identity continued.
Iraq's 2005 constitution begins "We, the people of Mesopotamia, the homeland of the apostles and prophets, resting place of the virtuous imams,...
Iraq's 2005 constitution begins "We, the people of Mesopotamia, the homeland of the apostles and prophets, resting place of the virtuous imams,...
...cradle of civilization, crafters of writing, and home of numeration. Upon our land the first law made by man was passed, and the oldest pact of just governance was inscribed, and upon our soil the saints and companions of the Prophet prayed."
ISIS' campaign of destruction against Iraq's ancient past (motivated primarily by its use as a symbol of nationalism) led to an increased use of ancient Mesopotamian iconography as a symbol of Iraqi national resistance to ISIS:
Now, the protest movement is using imagery from Mesopotamia to portray themselves as a new generation standing for the good of Iraq against corruption and foreign influence.
