Ancient era
In the Bronze Age, the most significant episode of iconoclasm occurred in Egypt during the Amarna Period, when Akhenaten, based in his new capital of Akhetaten, instituted a … See more

Islam has a strong tradition of forbidding the depiction of figures, especially religious figures, with Sunni Islam forbidding it more than Shia Islam. In the history of Islam, the act of removing idols from the Ka'ba in Mecca has great symbolic and historic importance for all … See more

In early Medieval India, there were numerous recorded instances of temple desecration mostly by Indian Muslim kings against rival Indian Hindu kingdoms, which involved conflicts … See more

Damnatio memoriae
Revolutions and changes of regime, whether through uprising of the local population, foreign invasion, or a combination of both, are often accompanied by the public destruction of statues and … See more

Scattered expressions of opposition to the use of images have been reported: the Synod of Elvira appeared to endorse iconoclasm; Canon 36 states, "Pictures are not to be placed … See more

China
There have been a number of anti-Buddhist campaigns in Chinese history that led to the destruction of Buddhist temples and images. One of the most notable of these campaigns was the Great Anti-Buddhist … See more

• Aniconism
• Censorship by religion
• Cult image
• Cultural Revolution
• Icon
• Iconolatry See more