"... because I say so".There was no ISIS in 1999.
![www.google.com](https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/default-og-image.png?quality=90&strip=all)
ISIS, a history: how the world's worst terror group came to be
Vox is a general interest news site for the 21st century. Its mission: to help everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help shape it. In text, video and audio, our reporters explain politics, policy, world affairs, technology, culture, science, the climate crisis, money...
![www.google.com](https://www.google.com/static-assets/icons/favicon-32x32.png)
The group began, in a very different form, in 1999. In the 16 years since, it has been shaped by — and has at moments helped to shape — the conflicts, physical and ideological, of the Middle East.