Info about Iraq
The History of Iraq
The Republic of Iraq, known commonly as Iraq, is a nation in Western Asia which has territory stretching from the Zagros mountains to the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. It borders Syria to the Northwest, Jordan to the West and Turkey to the North. Other neighboring countries are Iran to the East, with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the South. The capital city of Iraq is Baghdad. The nation has two major rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates which run through its centre. Historically, these rivers have provided Iraq with an advantage over neighboring Asian nations, as they give rise to agriculturally capable land, in contrast with the desert land common in many other Asian countries.
Iraq is commonly known as the cradle of civilization, as it was the home of the oldest known civilization in the Earth’s history- The Sumerian Civilization. They were known to be present during the late 4th millennium BC, and developed the world’s first writing system and recorded history. The civilization was prosperous for over 3,000 years, after which they were displaced and revolted a number of times. However, the Sumerians were replaced completely by the Babylonian civilization in the 18th century BC. Iraq has been at the heart of many other empires since, notably the Persians, who invaded in the 6th century BC and ruled until Alexander the Great brought Iraq under Greek rule in the 4th century BC. After several attempts to invade by the Romans, the country was ruled by the Persians until the 7th Century AD when it became the Islamic ruled Mesopotamia. Iraq would later go on to be ruled by the Ottoman Empire, until its defeat in the First World War, and the transfer of Iraqi sovereignty to the British.
Despite a lengthy and culturally significant history, Iraq is widely known more recently for the severe troubles which have plagued the country. They began in the 1990’s when Iraq invaded Kuwait to gain control of their oil fields in order to rebuild their economy, which was severely damaged after the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s. The USA had a massive national interest in the supply of oil from the Western Asian region, and stepped in to restore peace to the area. This led to the first Gulf War, which led to the quick destruction of the Iraqi armed forces. Despite being defeated, Saddam Hussein ordered his retreating forces to set Kuwaiti oil wells ablaze, causing ecological and economic disaster in Kuwait. As a result of the defeat, the UN imposed sanctions on Iraq which ordered them to destroy all biological and chemical weapons, and to cease pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.
However, in 2003, a US led coalition invaded Iraq due to claims that Iraq had not abandoned attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction. Although these claims would later be cast in doubt by subsequent inquiries, the second Gulf War saw Saddam Hussein deposed as leader of Iraq and a temporary rule of the nation by the coalition forces. Sovereignty was returned to the provisional Iraqi government in 2004. Since the end of the invasion, coalition forces have remained in order to keep order due to the massive political and religious instability created by the removal of the old regime, and to help establish a stable government.