About Iraq

The map shows Iraq, an almost landlocked country in the Middle East. Iraq has a short coastline at the Persian Gulf. The region lies within the Fertile Crescent; it is crossed by the river system of Euphrates and Tigris. Iraq was home to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, the "Land Between the Rivers," also known as the land of Shinar in the Hebrew Bible. The Tigris and Euphrates valley was the site where humans invented urban living, the wheel, and writing, and it is one of the assumed locations of the Garden of Eden.

Iraq borders Turkey, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

The territory of today Iraq was very sought-after; it was the center of several consecutive empires the Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, and the Babylonian empire. The Romans went there, the Persians, the Mongols, and the Greeks. The country became successively part of the Arab Islamic Rashidun, Umayyad, and Abbasid caliphates.

In the 16th-century the land was integrated into the Ottoman Empire. From the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, the course of Iraqi history was affected by continuing conflicts between the Safavid Empire in Iran and the Ottoman Turks. ^[1]

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom. In 1920 it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration, the country gained independence from the UK in 1932.

With an area of 438,317 km², Iraq is somewhat smaller than France, or slightly larger than the US state of California.

Iraq has a population of about 40 million people (in 2019), major ethnic groups are Arabs (75-80%), Kurds (15%), and Turkmens. Capital and largest city is Baghdad. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; other spoken languages are Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian. The official religion is Islam.

 

More about Iraq

Major cities in Iraq

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, located on the Tigris River, in the central east of the country. The city is home to about 8,37 million people.
For some time, Baghdad was the center of the known world as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate for the majority of its existence, then known as Madinat al-Salam (city of peace).
The town was laid out in 762 by the Abbasid caliph al-Manṣūr as a purpose-built capital and became a center for Arabic science and trade and was home to the House of Wisdom, a library and public academy.

In March 2026, Baghdad was facing a severe security crisis. The capital is still a prime site for proxy strikes (the U.S. Embassy to Iraq, for example) by Iran.

Basra

Basra is Iraq's main port and economic capital with a population of 2,6 million people (in 2026). The city is situated at the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud) river, about 100 km from the Persian Gulf.

Kirkuk

Kirkuk is an industrial city situated in the borderland between predominantly Arab Iraq and the Kurdistan region in northern part of the country. The city is an important center of Iraq's oil industry and the "capital of Iraqi culture."

Najaf

(an-Najaf al-Ashraf)
Najaf lies on the Euphrates River in southern Iraq. The city is considered sacred by Shi'a Muslims; it is home to the shrine of Ali, the fourth Rashidun and the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law. Within the metropolitan area of Najaf lies Kufa, a prominent historic city and famous for the Great Mosque of Kufa. Kufic, the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts, was developed in the town.

Sulaymaniyah

Sulaymaniyah (Slemani), is the capital of a Kurdish governorate of the same name in northeastern Iraq. The cultural capital of South Kurdistan is often described as a "cosmopolitan city." It is a popular tourist destination surrounded by several mountain ranges.

Hillah

Hillah is a city in the center of the nation, located on the on the Al-Ḥillah river, the eastern branch of the Euphrates River. The capital of the Babil Governorate is located adjacent to the ancient city of Babylon.

Amarah

Amarah (al-'Amarah), the former Ottoman military outpost is located in south-eastern Iraq at the site where the Tigris branches into two river arms. It is the capital of the Maysan Governorate.

Nasiriyah

Nasiriyah is the capital of the Dhi Qar Governorate. The city, founded in the 19th-century, is situated in the southeastern part of the country on the banks of the Euphrates River. Nasiriyah lies close to the ruins of the ancient Sumerian city-state of Ur.

Karbala

Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate and considered a holy city for Shi'ite Muslims. The city is home to the Imam Husayn Shrine, where Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad is buried.

Samarra

Samarra was the Abbasid capital and the seat of power in most of the 9th century (836 CE until 892 CE). The city is situated on the east bank of the Tigris River in the Saladin Governorate, about 125 km (78 miles) north of Baghdad and has a population of about 357,000. The Al-Askari Mosque in Samarra contains the tombs of the 10th and 11th imams, revered by Shia pilgrims. The Samarra Archaeological City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site—the city holds a legendary place in the origins of Islamic textile design.