Portal:Iraq

The Iraq Portal

A view of Baghdad, Iraq

Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia and in the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. With a population of over 46 million, it is the 30st-most populous country. It is a federal parliamentary republic that consists of 18 governorates. Iraq 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. 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, Suret, 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 got independence from the UK in 1932. In 1958, the kingdom was overthrown and a republic was established, first led by General Qasim and then by brothers Abdul Salam Arif and Abdul Rahman Arif. 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. The country fought major wars – the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War. In 2003, a U.S-led coalition invaded and occupied Iraq, initiating the Second Gulf War, which overthrew the Ba'athist government as part of its war on terror. It continued with an insurgency and sectarian civil war. The U.S. troops began to withdraw and war officially ended in 2011. The subsequent continuing repression and sectarian policies of Nouri al-Maliki's 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 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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The COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). During the pandemic, Iraq reported its first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections on 22 February 2020 in Najaf. By April, the number of confirmed cases had exceeded the hundred mark in Baghdad, Basra, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil and Najaf.

As of 7 April 2020, officially 28,414 tests have been done in Iraq as a whole (including the Kurdistan Region), with 1202 of them turning out positive. Of those tests, 12,143 were done by the Kurdish Ministry of Health, which means that the other 16,271 were done by the Iraqi Ministry of Health. While 0.25% of the Kurdistan Region's population has been tested, only 0.05% of the rest of the country has been tested, thus highlighting the possible disparity between total positive case numbers between regions. Iraq is considered "especially vulnerable to the epidemic due to being ravaged" – by war and United Nations sanctions, and by sectarian conflict over the past three decades. (Full article...)

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Lake Dukan

Did you know...

...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.

Selected biography -

Salih in 2019

Barham Salih (Kurdish: بەرھەم ساڵح, romanized: Berhem Salih; Arabic: برهم صالح; born 12 September 1960) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the eighth president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022.

He is the former prime minister of the Kurdistan Region and a former deputy prime minister of the Iraqi federal government. He was elected and assumed office as president of Iraq on 2 October 2018. Salih is the third non-Arab president of Iraq, succeeding Fuad Masum, also Kurdish. In October 2022 he lost his re-election to Abdul Latif Rashid. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
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 Nabonidus Saddam Hussein 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 Wikipedia.

Image 1The Assyrian Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Iraq)
Image 2The Age of the Caliphs
  Muhammad, 622–632

  Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661

  Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750
(from History of Iraq)
Image 3Iraqi music group led by Yusuf Za'arur in Baghdad, wearing the sidara, ca 1930. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 4Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Iraq 1932–1959 (from History of Iraq)
Image 5Flood Tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 6Muhammad al-Qubbanchi performing Maqam (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 7Al-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 8Nazem 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 9"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 10Iraq Museum (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 11Abbasid Caliphate at its greatest extent (from History of Iraq)
Image 12The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 13Zaha 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 14Younis Mahmoud is Iraq's all-time most capped player in international matches, having played in 148 official games. (from Sport in Iraq)
Image 15Iraq 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 16British ruled Mesopotamia in pink (from History of Iraq)
Image 17U.S. Army soldier searches an Iraqi boy, March 2011. (from History of Iraq)
Image 18Kuwait became a Governorate of Iraq. (from History of Iraq)
Image 19Kadim 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 20The Lion of Babylon of The Ishtar Gate has remained a prominent symbol of Iraqi culture throughout history. (from Culture of Iraq)
Image 21Inside 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 22Masghouf 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 23Munir Bashir, an acclaimed musician. (from Music of Iraq)
Image 24Ilham 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 257th-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 26Nuri 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 27The Mongol Empire's expansion (from History of Iraq)
Image 28Occupation zones in Iraq in September 2003 (from History of Iraq)
Image 29Saddam Hussein promoting women's education in the 1970s (from History of Iraq)
Image 30The Neo-Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent (from History of Iraq)
Image 31This earthenware dish was made in 9th-century Iraq. It is housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. (from History of Iraq)
Image 32Riyadh Alazzawi fighting for his seventh world heavyweight kickboxing title in his hometown of Baghdad, Iraq. (from Sport in Iraq)
Image 33Bronze 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 34Saddam 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 357th-century BC relief depicting Ashurbanipal (r. 669–631 BC) and three royal attendants in a chariot (from Culture of Iraq)

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