Middle EastCapital: Baghdad

Iraq

Iraq lies between the Tigris and Euphrates and includes parts of Mesopotamia, a core region of early urban states and writing. The area was shaped by Babylonian, Persian, Islamic, Ottoman and British influence. The modern state became independent in 1932; wars, authoritarian rule and recent conflicts have had severe consequences for residents and cultural heritage.

Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdistan), Turkmen, Neo-Aramaic languages, Mandaic
Religions & worldviews: Islam (Shia and Sunni traditions), Christian churches, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Historic Jewish communities

Historical timeline

3500 BCE – 2000 BCE
Urban civilisations of Mesopotamia
Cities in southern Mesopotamia developed government, trade and early forms of cuneiform writing.
1792 BCE – 1750 BCE
Babylon under Hammurabi
King Hammurabi expanded Babylon; his law texts are among the best-known written legal collections of antiquity.
900 BCE – 609 BCE
Assyrian empires
Assyrian kingdoms ruled parts of Mesopotamia and neighbouring areas; their power rested on administration and military expansion.
539 BCE – 141
Achaemenid and Hellenistic rule
Babylon was incorporated into the Persian Empire; Hellenistic periods followed Alexander's campaigns.
762
Foundation of Baghdad
The Abbasid caliph al-Mansur founded Baghdad, which grew into an important political and intellectual centre.
1258
Mongol capture of Baghdad
The city was captured by Mongol forces; the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad came to an end.
1534 – 1918
Ottoman Iraq
Ottoman rule was established after prolonged rivalry with Safavid Persia.
1932
Independent Iraq
Iraq became independent from Britain; monarchy, republic and authoritarian rule followed one another.
2003
Invasion and political transformation
The US-led invasion ended Saddam Hussein's rule; occupation, sectarian violence and prolonged instability followed.

Historical context

From the fourth millennium BCE, cities in southern Mesopotamia developed irrigated agriculture, specialised crafts, administration and cuneiform writing. Sumerian city-states, Akkadian rule and later Babylonian and Assyrian empires repeatedly changed the political landscape. Clay tablets provide an exceptional wealth of information, but largely reflect institutions and literate elites; the everyday lives of all inhabitants are less fully documented.

The region was successively incorporated into Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian and Sasanian empires, after which Islamic conquests brought new political and religious frameworks. Founded in 762 as the Abbasid capital, Baghdad became an administrative and intellectual centre connected across Eurasia. The Mongol capture in 1258 was a major political rupture, but trade, scholarship and urban life later developed again under different regional dynasties and Ottoman rule.

Ottoman provincial rule preceded the British occupation during the First World War and the formation of the modern kingdom of Iraq under a mandate. Independence in 1932 was followed by monarchical and republican governments, coups and authoritarian rule. The war with Iran, invasion of Kuwait, international sanctions, the 2003 invasion and subsequent sectarian and political violence caused heavy losses and displacement. Society remains diverse, and cultural heritage is vulnerable.

Peoples & cultural heritage through the ages

3500 BCE – 539

Ancient Mesopotamia

Sumerians
Akkadians
Babylonians
Assyrians
Arameans

City-states and empires encompassed multilingual communities; populations and political borders changed through conquest and migration.

539 – 1932

Islamic and Ottoman periods

Arabs
Kurds
Turkmen
Assyrians
Jewish communities

Arabic-, Kurdish-, Turkmen- and Aramaic-speaking communities lived under successive empires and regional administrations.

1932

Modern Iraq

Arabs
Kurds
Turkmen
Assyrians
Yazidis
Mandaeans

The modern state encompasses varied ethnic and religious communities; war, persecution and displacement have profoundly affected their circumstances.

Religion, worldview & philosophy

Ancient Mesopotamian communities worshipped many deities and connected temple institutions with urban government, agriculture and kingship. Religious texts and rites changed over the centuries; later Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions became established in the region. This succession was not a simple replacement: communities, sacred places and practices developed under varied imperial and local conditions.

The contemporary population includes mainly Sunni and Shia Muslims, as well as Christian, Yazidi, Mandaean and other communities. Religious traditions are internally diverse and connected with local languages, shrines and families. War, persecution and emigration have severely affected minority communities; their history should not be reduced to sectarian categories. Secular political ideas and religious institutions have also played different roles in the modern state.

Art movements

🎨 Cuneiform and clay tabletsc. 3400 BCE–1st century CE
Scribes impressed wedge-shaped signs into clay for administration, literature, science and correspondence. Thousands of surviving tablets document a long tradition of literacy, but writing and languages changed over time; the texts also chiefly reflect urban institutions and specialist scribes.
🎨 Ziggurats and temple architecture3rd–1st millennia BCE
Monumental terraced buildings and temple complexes organised religious and urban space in different Mesopotamian cities. Brick was an important building material in the river landscape; form and function varied by place and dynasty, and archaeological reconstructions depend on fragmentary surviving evidence.
🎨 Abbasid art and architecture8th–13th centuries
Baghdad and other urban centres supported architecture, calligraphy, book production and crafts within an extensive Islamic empire. Urban art survives only in part and cannot be attributed exclusively to one community; patronage, trade and the exchange of knowledge connected diverse regions and makers.
🎨 Modern Iraqi art20th–21st centuries
Painters, sculptors, poets and architects combined international modernist forms with local motifs and historical memory. War, censorship, displacement and diaspora affected subjects and working conditions; artists employ varied media and positions, so no single style can summarise the modern Iraqi experience.

Traditions & customs

Iraqi maqamMusic & dance
A classical urban musical tradition combining singing and instrumental accompaniment.
NowruzFestival21 March
A spring celebration of particular significance to Kurdish communities.
Arabic calligraphyCraft
Calligraphic traditions are used in religious, literary and decorative contexts.
Ashura observancesRitualMuharram
Shia communities commemorate the Battle of Karbala through varied processions and gatherings.

Cuisine & culinary history

Iraqi cuisine is rooted in Mesopotamian agriculture, date palms, grains and river and marshland produce. Arab, Persian, Ottoman and Kurdish influences, as well as the diversity of religious communities, are reflected in regional dishes.

Culinary history

The Tigris and Euphrates supported irrigated agriculture and a long history of grain, date and garden cultivation. Wheat, barley, rice, pulses, vegetables, fish and lamb were combined in different ways. Mesopotamian clay tablets preserve a few ancient recipes but do not demonstrate complete continuity with contemporary dishes. Persian, Arab, Turkish and other trading and court traditions added techniques and flavours.

Rice dishes, stews, stuffed vegetables, flatbreads and dates are connected to regional availability and family and festive meals. Over the centuries Baghdad brought diverse communities and cooking traditions together, while northern, southern and Kurdish cuisines retain their own emphases. War, sanctions, migration and displacement changed food security and access to ingredients; diaspora communities carry and renew Iraqi cooking traditions elsewhere.

Tigris and Euphrates agriculture
Date cultivation and river produce
Persian and Ottoman culinary traditions
Arab and Kurdish regional cuisines
Jewish, Christian and other community cuisines

MasgoufMain course
Tigris fish grilled over an open wood fire.
Origin: River cuisine of central and southern Iraq.
QuziMain course
Slow-roasted lamb with rice, nuts and spices.
Origin: Iraqi festive cuisine with regional variations.
DolmaMain course
Vegetables or vine leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and sometimes meat.
Origin: Ottoman and wider Middle Eastern stuffed-vegetable traditions.
KubbaMain course
Spiced dough or bulgur balls filled with meat or vegetables.
Origin: Iraqi and Levantine regional varieties.
KleichaDessert
Filled biscuits with dates or nuts.
Origin: Iraqi baking tradition, often associated with holidays.

Wonders & heritage

Hanging Gardens of Babylonc. 600 BCE

Historical figures

No linked people yet.

Events

Code of Hammurabi1754 BCE · Politics & state formation
Al-Khwarizmi's treatise on algebra820 · Science

All events →

Conflicts & fossils

Sources: Iraq — Encyclopaedia Britannica

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