iraq

The Iraq Portal

A view of Baghdad, Iraq

Flag of Iraq	Coat of Arms of Iraq

With a population of over 46 million, it is the 31st-most populous country. It is a federal parliamentary republic that consists of 19 governorates. The country is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. The Iraqi people are diverse; mostly Arabs, as well as Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Most Iraqis are Muslims – minority faiths include Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Zoroastrianism. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; others also recognized in specific regions are Turkish (Turkmen), Suret (Assyrian), and Armenian.

Modern Iraq dates to 1920, when a Mandate was created by League of Nations. A British-backed monarchy was founded in 1921 under Faisal. The Hashemite kingdom gained independence from the UK in 1932. In 1958, the kingdom was overthrown and a republic was created. Iraq was ruled by the Ba'ath Party from 1968 to 2003, led by Al-Bakr and then by Saddam Hussein, as a one-party state. Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, sparking a war that ended as a stalemate in 1988. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to a military campaign waged by a US-led international coalition that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. An invasion launched by another US-led coalition as part of its "War on Terror" in 2003 resulted in the defeat of Ba'athists and Saddam's execution. Discontent with the de-Ba'athification policies of the Provisional Authority stirred up an anti-American insurgency, which escalated into a sectarian civil war. In 2005, a new constitution was adopted and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in Iraq. Withdrawal of US troops began in 2008, and the occupation officially ended in 2011. Continued repression and sectarian policies of Nouri al-Maliki's Shia government caused protests, after which a coalition of Ba'athist and Sunni militias took up arms during a campaign. The climax of the campaign was the North Iraq offensive by the ISID that marked its rapid territorial expansion, prompting the return of American troops to fight the war, which lasted until 2017. Iran has also intervened since 2014, expanding its influence through sectarian parties and Khomeinist militia groups, triggering widespread protests. (Full article...)

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Assyrian stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu, showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing Anzû, who has stolen the Tablet of Destinies from Enlil's sanctuary (Austen Henry Layard Monuments of Nineveh, 2nd Series, 1853)

Ninurta (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁: ^DNIN.URTA, possible meaning "Lord [of] Barley"), also known as Ninĝirsu (Sumerian: 𒀭𒎏𒄈𒋢: ^DNIN.ĜIR₂.SU, meaning "Lord [of] Girsu"), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war who was first worshipped in early Sumer. In the earliest records, he is a god of agriculture and healing, who cures humans of sicknesses and releases them from the power of demons. In later times, as Mesopotamia grew more militarized, he became a warrior deity, though he retained many of his earlier agricultural attributes. He was regarded as the son of the chief god Enlil and his main cult center in Sumer was the Eshumesha temple in Nippur. Ninĝirsu was honored by King Gudea of Lagash (ruled 2144–2124 BC), who rebuilt Ninĝirsu's temple in Lagash. Later, Ninurta became beloved by the Assyrians as a formidable warrior. The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (ruled 883–859 BC) built a massive temple for him at Kalhu, which became his most important cult center from then on.

In the epic poem Lugal-e, Ninurta slays the demon Asag using his talking mace Sharur and uses stones to build the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to make them useful for irrigation. In a poem sometimes referred to as the "Sumerian Georgica", Ninurta provides agricultural advice to farmers. In an Akkadian myth, he was the champion of the gods against the Anzû bird after it stole the Tablet of Destinies from his father Enlil and, in a myth that is alluded to in many works but never fully preserved, he killed a group of warriors known as the "Slain Heroes". His major symbols were a perched bird and a plow. (Full article...)

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The Great Golden Lyre from Ur, Iraq Museum

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...that the oldest known writing system, known as cuneiform, was developed in southern Iraq during the Sumerian civilization.
...that the oldest laws were written in Iraq by the Sumerian King Ur-Nammu.
...that Iraq is second only to Saudi Arabia in oil reserves.
...that the national soccer team of Iraq won the AFC Asian Cup in 2007.
...the wheel was invented in the southern Iraqi city of Ur.
...that Iraq is the largest producer of dates with more than 400 types and more than 22 million date palms.
...that Iraq’s national dish is Masgouf (impaled fish) and its national cookie is Kleicha (meaning circle or wheel), both of which can be traced back to antiquity.
...in the 1940s and 1950s, Iraq had 4/5 of the world's Arecaceae population, these numbers have drastically decreased in the last few decades.

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Nabonidus (Babylonian cuneiform: Nabû-naʾid, meaning "May Nabu be exalted" or "Nabu is praised") was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenian Empire under Cyrus the Great in 539 BC. Nabonidus was the last native ruler of ancient Mesopotamia, the end of his reign marking the end of thousands of years of Sumero-Akkadian states, kingdoms and empires. He was also the last independent king of Babylon. Regarded as one of the most vibrant and individualistic rulers of his time, Nabonidus is characterised by some scholars as an unorthodox religious reformer and as the first archaeologist. (Full article...)

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Louis Raphaël I Sako Rifat Chadirji Nebuchadnezzar II Sennacherib Al-Mu'tasim Al-Mu'tadid Sargon II Justin Meram Gilgamesh Zaha Hadid Ashurbanipal Shalmaneser V Saddam Hussein Barham Salih Sassoon Eskell Sargon Of Akkad Ilham al-Madfai Kadim Al Sahir Rida Al Abdullah Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr

General images

The following are images from various Iraq-related articles on Wiki English.

Image 1Nuri Said (1888 – 1958) contributed to the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq and the armed forces while also served as the Prime minister of the state. (from History of Iraq)
Image 2Younis Mahmoud is Iraq's all-time most capped player in international matches, having played in 148 official games. (from Sport in Iraq)
Image 3Munir Bashir, an acclaimed musician. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 4Masghouf fish, one of Iraq's national dishes, a Mesopotamian cuisine dating back to ancient times, typically fish caught from the rivers of Euphrates and Tigris, and grilled near the river bed (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 5Riyadh Alazzawi fighting for his seventh world heavyweight kickboxing title in his hometown of Baghdad, Iraq. (from Sport in Iraq)
Image 6The Age of the Caliphs
  Muhammad, 622–632

  Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661

  Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750
(from History of Iraq)
Image 7Ilham Madfai, "The Baghdad Beatle". Madfai's synthesis of Western guitar stylings with traditional Iraqi music has made him a popular performer in his native country and throughout the Middle East. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 8Iraq Museum (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 9Inside the Shanidar Cave where the remains of eight adults and two infant Neanderthals, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago were found. (from History of Iraq)
Image 10The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 11Bronze head of an Akkadian ruler from Nineveh, presumably depicting either Sargon of Akkad, or Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin. The Akkadian Empire was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. (from History of Iraq)
Image 12Iraq state emblem under nationalist Qasim was mostly based on Mesopotamian symbol of Shamash, and avoided pan-Arab symbolism by incorporating elements of Socialist heraldry. (from History of Iraq)
Image 13Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Iraq 1932–1959 (from History of Iraq)
Image 14Kadim Al Sahir known as "The Caesar" of Arabic songs. Considered as one of the most successful singers in the history of the Arab World. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 15Abbasid Caliphate at its greatest extent (from History of Iraq)
Image 16Nazem Ghazali was one of the most popular singers in the history of Iraq and in the Arab world. His songs are still heard by many in the Arab world. He was known by his maqam songs. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 17U.S. Army soldier searches an Iraqi boy, March 2011. (from History of Iraq)
Image 18The Mongol Empire's expansion (from History of Iraq)
Image 19Muhammad al-Qubbanchi performing Maqam (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 20Kuwait became a Governorate of Iraq. (from History of Iraq)
Image 21Saddam Hussein promoting women's education in the 1970s (from History of Iraq)
Image 22Al-Mutanabi, regarded as one of the greatest, most prominent and influential poets in the Arabic language; much of his work has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide. (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 23Occupation zones in Iraq in September 2003 (from History of Iraq)
Image 247th-century BC relief depicting Ashurbanipal (r. 669–631 BC) and three royal attendants in a chariot. Ashurbanipal was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire which was the largest empire in history up to that point. (from History of Iraq)
Image 25The Neo-Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Iraq)
Image 26The Lion of Babylon of The Ishtar Gate has remained a prominent symbol of Iraqi culture throughout history. (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 27British ruled Mesopotamia in pink (from History of Iraq)
Image 28Iraqi music group led by Yusuf Za'arur in Baghdad, wearing the sidara, ca 1930. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 29Saddam Hussein, a leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. (from History of Iraq)
Image 30Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. She is known for being influenced by Sumerian ancient cities. (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 317th-century BC relief depicting Ashurbanipal (r. 669–631 BC) and three royal attendants in a chariot (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 32Flood Tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 33The Assyrian Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Iraq)
Image 34"Entry of Alexander into Babylon", a 1665 painting by Charles LeBrun, depicts Alexander the Great's uncontested entry into the city of Babylon, envisioned with pre-existing Hellenistic architecture. (from History of Iraq)
Image 35This earthenware dish was made in 9th-century Iraq. It is housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (from History of Iraq)

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