Iraq
Ancient Mesopotamia — the land between the Tigris and Euphrates where cities and writing were born.
Overview
Iraq occupies the ancient Fertile Crescent. Sumerians invented writing here around 3200 BCE; Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians followed. In the Islamic era, Abbasid Baghdad was the largest city in the world.
Basic Information
History Timeline
- c. 3200 BCESumerian cuneiform writing
- 2334 BCEAkkadian Empire under Sargon
- 1792 – 1750 BCEHammurabi's Babylon
- 911 – 609 BCENeo-Assyrian Empire
- 539 BCECyrus captures Babylon
- 762Abbasid caliph al-Mansur founds Baghdad
- 1258Mongol sack of Baghdad
- 1932Independence from Britain
Ancient Peoples
- Sumerians
- Akkadians
- Babylonians
- Assyrians
Ancient Kingdoms
- Sumer
- Akkad
- Babylonia
- Assyria
Empires
- Akkadian
- Neo-Assyrian
- Neo-Babylonian
- Abbasid Caliphate
- Ottoman
Religions
- Shia Islam
- Sunni Islam
- Christianity
- Yazidism
Culture
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Hammurabi's Code and Baghdad's House of Wisdom all belong to this soil.
Language
Ancient Akkadian and Sumerian gave way to Aramaic, then Arabic after the 7th century.
Important Battles
- Battle of Opis539 BCE
Persian conquest of Babylon
- Siege of Baghdad1258
Mongol destruction
Historical Figures
First empire-builder
Babylonian king and lawgiver
Abbasid caliph at Baghdad's zenith
Archaeological Sites
- Babylon
- Nineveh
- Nimrud
- Ur
- Uruk
- Ctesiphon
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Ashur
- Hatra
- Samarra Archaeological City
- Erbil Citadel
- Babylon
Dynasties
- Ur III
- Hammurabi
- Abbasid
Colonial Period
Britain administered Iraq under a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1932.
Modern History
Modern Iraq has been shaped by the Ba'athist era, the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf Wars and the 2003 US invasion.