Iraq is a large country in the Middle East, historically known as Mesopotamia. It has been ruled by various empires and was a British mandate until 1932. Saddam Hussein was appointed president in 1979 and Iraq was left with severe economic sanctions after the Gulf War. The United States invaded Iraq in 2003, removing Hussein from power and establishing a parliamentary government. Visiting Iraq is difficult due to closed borders and limited visas. The Kurdish area remains tense with discussions of independence.
Iraq is a large country in the Middle East. It covers 169,000 square miles (438,300 square km), making it about twice the size of the state of Idaho. It borders Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey and has coastlines along the Persian Gulf.
This country is sometimes referred to as the cradle of civilization, as it was the region historically referred to as Mesopotamia, where the first recorded civilization, the Sumerians, flourished millennia ago. The Sumerians would be followed by the Akkadian Empire under Sargon in the 24th century BC, the Babylonians under Hammurabi in the 18th century BC, the Assyrians under Nebuchadnezzar in the 10th century BC, and the Chaldeans under Nabo-Polassar in the 7th century BC. Polassar, Nebuchadnezzar II would go on to greatly expand Babylon’s glory, and is best known for building the Hanging Garden of Babylon.
After the death of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Persians began to descend on Babylon. By the 6th century BC they had conquered and held it until Alexander the Great took control of it in the 4th century. The Greeks held control of the area for two centuries, before losing it to the Parthians, who in turn lost it to the Sasanian Persians.
The Sasanians held Iraq as part of the Iranian Empire for many centuries until the Arab Islamic expansion in the 7th century. By the mid-7th century the Arabs had conquered much of the Iranian empire, including modern-day Iraq.
By the 16th century the Ottoman Empire had taken control of the area, and while it lost that control for brief periods to local tribes, the Iranians and the Mamluks, they mostly held the territory until the end of World War I. In 16, Iraq was taken over as a British mandate, which created the modern borders of the new territory, disregarding ethnic groups such as those of the Kurds in the north.
The British mandate ended in 1932 and the country was declared independent, under the rule of a Hashimite monarchy. This lasted until 1958, when the monarchy was overthrown by members of the military, who declared the new nation a republic. In 1963 the Ba’ath Party seized power in the country, although it was itself soon overthrown in a coup. A few years later the Ba’ath Party again took power in 1968. For the next decade Iraq would grow economically, the industrial sector would grow dramatically, and diplomatic relations would normalize with many major nations.
In 1979, the president resigned and appointed Saddam Hussein, who already ran the country from the sidelines, as his successor. Hussein declared war on Iran the following year, and for the next eight years both countries were wracked with fighting. In 1990 Iraq again asserted ownership over its smaller neighbor Kuwait. Iraq invaded, and in response the United States launched an offensive, and Iraq was left with severe economic sanctions and virtually no infrastructure in the aftermath. The United States also created a no-fly zone in the north of the country, supposedly to defend the Kurdish population, which had repeatedly been the victim of atrocities under Hussein.
In 2003, citing an alleged program to create weapons of mass destruction, the United States invaded Iraq, occupying the country and removing Saddam Hussein from power. Free elections were held in early 2005 and a parliamentary government was elected. The United States and a coalition of supporting nations remained to prop up the government against regular attacks that most now refer to as a civil war.
The northern Kurdish area remains very tense, with ethnic Kurds continuing to discuss full independence. Although the Kurds have achieved great autonomy, many see this autonomy as simply a step towards independence. It remains to be seen how such moves would be treated by neighboring countries with their own Kurdish populations.
Visiting this country can be difficult, as visas are generally only issued to those on official business, such as journalists or aid workers. Commercial flights themselves are rare and all borders into the country are closed. While there are an incredible number of beautiful sites to visit, including the ruins of cities as old as civilization itself, until the political situation stabilizes, the nation is effectively sealed off.
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