History

Ancient History

The Sumerians, who appeared around 4800 B.C. in a place called Al-Ubaid, were a gifted and imaginative people. They developed the first known system of writing. The Sumerian language, linguistically separate from any other, has been preserved for us today through the thousands of clay tablets they left behind.

In 2340 B.C., Sargon conquered Sumer and built the Akkadian Empire stretching over most of the Sumerian city-states and extending as far away as Lebanon. The Akkadians were a Semitic-speaking group who had been settling around the city of Babylon. The Akkadian empire only lasted a short period of time. In 2125 B.C., the Sumerian city of Ur revolted and the Akkadian empire fell.

The reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) is regarded as one of the highlights of ancient Mesopotamian civliation. Hammurabi was teh first to develop a code of law, moving justice from the whips of the powerful, to a codified system of regulation applicable to all society. The Hammurabi code was taken as the foundation for many modern systems of justice.

The Assyrians were known for their mastery in battle and their penchant for city-building. Assyrian rule over Mesopotamia ended around 609 B.C. From their origins in a few major cities on the Tigris river in Northern Iraq—Nineveh, Ashur, and Kalahk—the Assyrians grew by the 9th century B.C. to control most of the Middle East, from Egypt to the Persian Gulf.

Under Nabopolasser, Babylon threw off Assyrian rule in 626 B.C. and became the capital of the Babylonian Empire. With the recovery of Babylonian indepenency, a new era of architectural activity ensued and Babylon was made into one of the wonders of the ancient world with the construction of the hanging gardens, gate of Ishtar, and the tower of Babylon.

Modern History

The region of Mesopotamia came under Arab influence in 637 A.D. and it was the Arabs who were first to call the country “Iraq.” Baghdad was built in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Baghdad served as the intellectual center of the Muslim world for several centuries.

During 786-809 A.D., under the rule of the fifth Abbasid Caliph, Baghdad became a great center of civilizations. It was both a wealthy and intellectual city. Universities were established, science and math flourished, and literature reached its height. However, by the 9th and 10th centuries, the kingdom had disintegrated.

Abbasids remained in power until 1258 A.D. when Mongols sacked the city. The Turks drove the Mongols out of the area and Mesopotamia fell to the Ottomans in the 16th century. Iraq was separated into three provinces within the Ottoman Empire: Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul.

Ottoman rule lasted until the end of World War I. In 1920, the Treaty of Sevres established Iraq as a mandate of the League of Nations under British administration, and in 1921 the country was made a kingdom under Faisal I. The British mandate was terminated in 1932 and Iraq was admitted to the League of Nations.

For a detailed timeline and history, visit The History of Iraq.

Historic Achievements

  • sophisticated irrigation systems
  • first cereal agriculture
  • earliest writing system (cuneiform)
  • full syllabic alphabet
  • double entry accounting practices
  • commercial record-keeping
  • the usage of private property
  • the numeral 60 based math system
  • banking
  • recording literature (such as the epic, Gilgamesh)
  • early calendars
  • bureaucratic system of priesthood
  • earliest legal comprehensive code (the Hammurabi Code)
  • the first wheel
  • the first seed plow
  • the first sailboat
  • the division of the circle into 360 degrees
  • the invention of latitude and longitude in geographical navigation
  • the first sophisticated use of medical science
  • algebraic equations and invention of zero

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