Iraqi Republic, state in the Southwest. Asia, in Mesopotamia. The name appeared in the 7th-8th centuries. n. e. after Arab, the conquest of the territory along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, inhabited in ancient times. Arab, Iraq "shore, coast".

Geographical names of the world: Toponymic dictionary. - M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001 .

Iraq

(Iraq), a state in the Middle East, between Syria, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia; goes to V. in a narrow strip to Persian Gulf . Pl. 441.8 thousand km²; consists of 18 governorates. Capital - Baghdad ; other large cities - Basra , Mosul , Erbil , Kirkuk , Karbala , Nasiriyah, An Najaf , Umm Qasr (main seaport). Population 23.3 million people (2001); townspeople - 76%; Arabs 75%, Kurds live in the north (18%; have had national autonomy since 1977), Assyrians, Turkmens, Armenians, Chaldeans. The majority of the population are Shia Muslims (60–65%; live mainly in the south, their sacred centers are An-Najaf, Karbala, Samarra) and Sunni Muslims (32–37%; in the center and in the northwest); a small number of Yezidis, Christians, Mandaeans. Official language - Arabic; Kurdish - in the northern regions ( Kurdistan ). The population is concentrated in the river valleys Tiger and Euphrates , as well as in the urban agglomerations of Baghdad and Basra.
Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia) is one of the oldest centers of civilization. The first states (Ur, Kish, Lagash) arose in the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates in the 4th-3rd millennia BC, and in the 3rd-1st millennia - Akkad, Babylonia, Assyria, which in the middle of the 6th century. BC. were conquered by the Persians, in the middle of the IV century. BC. - Alexander the Great, in the III century. BC. - Parthians. From the 3rd century AD the territory of Iraq was part of Persia (Iran), in the middle of the 7th century. it was conquered by the Arabs (included in the Abassid Caliphate), and in 1534 by the Ottoman Turks. In 1914 Yuzh. Iraq was occupied by British troops, and from 1922 all of Iraq became a British mandate. Since 1932, India has been an independent emirate, and since 1958, a republic. In 1979–2003 the country was ruled by the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein, who waged wars with neighbors (Iran, Kuwait) and against which the UN introduced the economy in 1990. sanctions. In the spring of 2003, the Anglo-American coalition overthrew this regime by military means, and all the previous state. institutions (the Ba'ath Party, the Revolutionary Command Council, the Majlis el-Watani) were abolished. Management is carried out by an interim American administration, which will be replaced by an Iraqi one after the elections.
B.ch. I. takes Mesopotamian lowland , on NW. plateau Jezire (Upper Mesopotamia), to the west and south - Syrian and Arabian desert , on SV. - south. spurs Zagros(the highest point of Haji Ibrahim - 3613 m). In the north, the climate is of the Mediterranean continental type; in the south, it is dry tropical; sufficient amount of precipitation falls only in the mountains. With SZ. to SE. the territory of the country is crossed by the rivers Tigris and Euphrates; merging near the Persian Hall. (near El-Kurn), they form the river. Shatt al Arab (193 km), the valley of which is heavily swamped. Steppes predominate, turning into deserts and semi-deserts. The Euphrates and Tigris valleys have fertile alluvial soils.
The basis of the economy is oil production (more than 11% of the world's oil reserves are concentrated on the territory of India; the main centers are Kirkuk, Ain Zala, Ez-Zubayr, Rumaila) and the export of crude oil, which provide 95% of the country's income. Oil is exported through a network of oil pipelines (4350 km) to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. Economy UN sanctions and the oil-for-food program in the 1990s limited its exports. In present time the oil sector is controlled by Anglo-American companies. Mining natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, salts. Petrochemical, met.-mod., el.-tech., cement., text., food. prom. After hostilities 1980–88, 1991, 1998–99, 2003 the country's economy fell into decline, and in the present. time most prom. enterprises are not working. Only 12% of the territory is cultivated and cultivated, irrigated agriculture prevails. Barley, wheat, rice, vegetables, cotton, gourds, tobacco, and date palms are grown (in the Basra region). Sheep and cattle are bred. Main transp. axes: Mosul - Baghdad - Basra, Erbil - Kirkuk - Baghdad, Baghdad - Ramadi - Kusayba, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; main ports - Umm Qasr, Fao, Ez-Zubair, Basra; intl. Baghdad airport. Numerous monuments of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia (Babylon, Nineveh, Nippur, Nimrud, etc.), Muslim shrines, mosques have been preserved. Cash unit - Iraqi dinar and US dollar.

Dictionary of modern geographical names. - Yekaterinburg: U-Factoria. Under the general editorship of Acad. V. M. Kotlyakova. 2006 .

The Republic of Iraq, a state in Southwest Asia. In the north it borders with Turkey, in the east with Iran, in the west with Jordan and Syria, in the south with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, in the extreme southeast it has access to the Persian Gulf. For a long time, Iraq, together with Saudi Arabia, owned a neutral zone used by the nomadic pastoralists of both countries. In 1975 and 1981, agreements were reached on the division of this territory, which actually took place in 1987. The border between Iraq and Iran along the Shatt al-Arab river remains controversial: Iraq claims the entire channel, and Iran believes that the border should run in the middle rivers.
Iraq occupies the territory between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known since biblical times as Mesopotamia. Its inhabitants created the oldest Sumerian civilization based on irrigated agriculture. Later, Mesopotamia was part of the great ancient states - Babylonia and Assyria.
NATURE
Terrain, water resources and minerals. The territory of Iraq is divided into four main natural area: mountainous north and northeast, Upper Mesopotamia (El Jazeera Plain), alluvial plains of Lower Mesopotamia and desert plateaus of the southwest.
The mountainous region is located to the east of the Tigris river valley. The northern mountains are the spurs of the Eastern Taurus, and the northeastern ones are the Zagros. The surface of this region gradually rises from the Tigris valley to the northeast from 500 to 2000 m. Separate mountain ranges rise above 2000 m above sea level, and the peaks in the border zone - above 3000 m above sea level. Here, on the border with Iran, there is the highest nameless peak of the country - 3607 m above sea level.
Folded mountains with steep slopes and often peneplanated ridges stretch parallel to the Iraqi-Turkish and Iraqi-Iranian borders. They are composed of limestones, gypsums, marls and sandstones and are deeply dissected by numerous streams of the Tigris basin. The Ravanduz gorge with the Shinek mountain pass stands out especially. The road connecting Iraq with Iran passes through this gorge.
The hilly plain of El Jazeera (translated as "island") is located on the interfluve of the middle reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers north of the cities of Samarra (on the Tigris river) and Hit (on the Euphrates river) and rises northward from about 100 to 450 m above sea level In places, the flat character of the terrain is broken by low mountains. In the east, the Makhul and Khamrin ridges are elongated submeridionally (with a peak of 526 m above sea level), and in the northwest, sublatitudinally - more high mountains Sinjar (with the top of Shelmira 1460 m above sea level). The plain is deeply dissected by numerous wadis, the flow of which is directed to the Euphrates or internal depressions and lakes. The Tigris and Euphrates within El Jazeera flow in narrow valleys, most deeply incised in the north and northwest.
Lower Mesopotamia extends southeast as far as the Persian Gulf and is ca. 500 km, area approx. 120 thousand sq. km, is composed of alluvial deposits and is characterized by a flat relief. Its absolute heights are usually less than 100 m above sea level. (in the north, in the Baghdad region, - 40 m, in the south, near Basra, - 2–3 m). The monotonous relief is broken in places by natural coastal ridges, numerous channels, irrigation and drainage channels. In many areas, the bottoms of the Tigris and Euphrates are elevated above the surrounding area. The slopes of the channels of both rivers are insignificant, so the flow is difficult and extensive swamps have formed in the southeast. In addition, Lower Mesopotamia abounds in lakes. The largest of them are El-Milh, El-Hammar, Es-Saadia, El-Habbaniya.
The southwestern desert region is a continuation of the Syrian-Arabian plateau. Its surface gradually decreases towards the valley of the Euphrates River and to the south from 700–800 m in the west to 200–300 m in the east and south. Flat-topped remnant hills and hills rise above the rubble-pebble surface. Sometimes there are sandy deserts and dune fields. The plateau is separated from the alluvial plain by a clear ledge up to 6 m high. Numerous wide wadis originate within the plateau, the flow of which is directed to the Euphrates valley. Wadis fill with water only after occasional downpours.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers crossing the whole country, the most full-flowing in the entire Middle East, play important role in the economy of Iraq. The Euphrates originates from the confluence of the Karasu and Murat rivers, the sources of which are located in the Armenian Highlands in Turkey, then through the territory of Syria it enters the borders of Iraq. In these countries, the waters of the Euphrates are largely taken for hydropower and other economic needs. The length of the Euphrates (from the sources of the Murat River) is approx. 3060 km. In the upper reaches of the Euphrates - a stormy mountain river, in Syria its course slows down somewhat, near the Syrian-Turkish border, the width of the channel is 150 m, and the speed of the flow is 1.5–2 m / s. The height difference is on average 1 m per 1 km. After the city of Heath, the width of the river is approx. 1.5 km at average depths of 2–3 m, the current is calm with a height difference of less than 9 cm per 1 km. At the confluence of the Euphrates with the Tigris, a full-flowing Shatt al-Arab stream with a length of approx. 190 km, flowing into the Persian Gulf. Below the city of Faisalia, the bed of the Euphrates bifurcates and reconnects above the city of Es-Samava. Further downstream, south of the city En-Nasiriya, the river bifurcates again and changes the direction of the flow to sublatitudinal. One stream flows into the Shatt al-Arab near the city of El-Kurna, and the other feeds the lake-marsh system of El-Hammar and, flowing out of the lake of the same name, also flows into the Shatt-al-Arab above Basra. The peak of the flood falls in April - June, when the snow melts in the mountains, and the low water in August - October.
The Tigris River, 1850 km long, originates from the lake. Khazar in the Armenian Highlands in Turkey and for almost 1500 km flows through the territory of Iraq. In the middle reaches, this rather turbulent river has a narrow channel that runs through a series of mountain ranges in northern Iraq. Within the Mesopotamian lowland, the width of the channel ranges from 120 to 400 m, and the depth is from 1.5 to several meters. Flow rate approx. 2 m/s. Since here the level of the water surface is almost 1.5 m higher than the surrounding area, the channel is artificially dammed. Unlike the Euphrates, the Tigris has high-water tributaries that originate in the mountains of northeastern Iraq. The largest tributaries are the Big and Small Zab, Diyala, Kerkhe, El-Uzaym. The water content of the Tigris increases significantly from October to March. The peak of the flood occurs in April, less often in March, and low water in August - September. Floods in Iraq are often catastrophic and cause severe economic damage. Meanwhile, Iraq has significant hydropower resources.
The Euphrates, Tigris and Shatt al-Arab rivers carry a large amount of sediment that is deposited on the floodplain during floods. Together with silty precipitation due to high volatility, up to 22 million tons of chemicals are annually deposited on the soil surface. As a result, soil salinization increases south of Baghdad, which significantly limits agricultural activity, especially south of 32°N.
Many ore and non-metallic minerals lurk in the bowels of Iraq. The leading place among them is occupied by huge reserves of oil, natural gas, solid bitumen and asphalt. The main oil reserves are concentrated in the vicinity of Kirkuk (the Baba-Gurgur, Bai-Khassan, Jambur fields) and Khanakin in the foothills of the Zagros, in the south in the Basra region (the Er-Rumaila field) and in the north near Mosul. Brown coal deposits have been explored in the region of Kirkuk, Zakho and in the Hamrin mountains, table salt in the vicinity of Baghdad, iron ore in Sulaymaniyah, copper ore, sulfur, bitumen near Mosul. Silver, lead, zinc, chromium, manganese, and uranium were also found. Iraq has huge reserves of building materials such as marble, limestone, quartz sand, dolomite, gypsum, clay, etc.
Climate, soil, flora and fauna. The climate of Iraq is subtropical Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and warm, rainy winters. Two seasons are most pronounced: a long hot summer (May-October) and a shorter cool and sometimes cold winter (December-March). In summer, the weather is usually cloudless and dry. Precipitation does not fall at all for four months, and in the remaining months of the warm season it is less than 15 mm.
The northern mountainous regions are characterized by hot dry summers and mild warm winters with rare frosts and frequent snowfalls. El Jazeera has dry hot summers and mild rainy winters. Lower Mesopotamia is characterized by hot summers and warm winters with rain and relatively high relative humidity. Dry hot summers and cool winters with rare rains are typical for the southwestern region. Significant seasonal and diurnal temperature fluctuations (sometimes as high as 30°C) have been recorded in many parts of Iraq.
Average July temperatures are 32–35°C, maximum temperatures are 40–43°C, minimum temperatures are 25–28°C, absolute maximum is 57°C. Average January temperatures are +10–13°C, average January maximum is 16–18°C, minimum – 4–7° С, the absolute minimum in the north of the country reached –18° С.
Precipitation falls mainly in winter (December-January), and there is little of it in the central and southern regions countries: average annual rainfall in Baghdad 180 mm, in the southwest approx. 100 mm, in Basra 160 mm. As you move north, their number increases and amounts to approx. 300 mm in the plains and up to 500–800 mm in the mountains.
In summer (May-June), northwestern winds blow continuously, carrying a lot of sand (the so-called dust storms), and in winter, northeast winds prevail, especially strong in February.
In the valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris and its tributaries, the most fertile alluvial-meadow and meadow soils are widespread. . True, in the south and east they experience strong salinization. In the southwest, in the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates, especially north of Baghdad, and on the left bank of the Tigris, serozems of subtropical steppes and semi-deserts, often saline, are widespread. The higher plateaus of El Jazeera are dominated by chestnut soils of the dry and desert steppes, while the mountains of the northeast are dominated by mountain chestnut and mountain brown soils. Barren sands are widespread in the south, the southeastern regions of Iraq are heavily waterlogged, and the soils are often saline.
The most widespread in Iraq is subtropical steppe and semi-desert vegetation, confined to the western, southwestern and southern regions (west and south of the Euphrates valley) and represented mainly by wormwood, saltwort, camel thorn, dzhuzgun, astragalus. In El Jazeera and in the north-east of the country, steppe xerophytic and ephemeral-forb vegetation prevails. Above 2500 m, summer pastures are common. In the mountains in the north and northeast of the country, massifs of mountain oak forests have been preserved, in which oaks predominate and there are comb (tamarix), pine, wild pear, pistachio, juniper, etc. Prickly bushes are common at the foot of the mountain ranges. The floodplain of the Euphrates, the Tigris and its tributaries is associated with tugai forest vegetation with shrub undergrowth, including poplars, willows, and comb. In the south-east of the country, large swampy areas are occupied by reed-reed thickets and solonchak vegetation. At present, in the river valleys of central and southern Iraq, up to the coast of the Persian Gulf, significant areas are set aside for date palm plantations.
The fauna of Iraq is not rich. In the steppes and semi-deserts there are gazelle, jackal, striped hyena. Rodents and reptiles are widespread, including the monitor lizard and the venomous cobra snake. Many waterfowl (flamingos, pelicans, ducks, geese, swans, herons, etc.) settle along the river banks. Rivers and lakes abound with fish. Carp, carp, catfish, etc. are of commercial importance. Horse mackerel, mackerel, barracuda, and shrimps are caught in the Persian Gulf. The real scourge of Iraq is insects, especially mosquitoes and mosquitoes, carriers of malaria and other diseases.
POPULATION
Demography. As of July 2004, there will be about 25.4 million inhabitants in Iraq. For several decades, the population of the country has increased rapidly due to high natural growth. Starting from 1957, when there were 6.4 million people, and until 1998, this figure exceeded 2.5% per year. The birth rate gradually decreased, from 4.9% in the 1950s to less than 3.2% in the 1990s. Citizens in 1957 accounted for 39% of all residents, and in 1997 - 72%. The death rate declined even faster than the birth rate, from 2.2% in the early 1950s to 0.8% in the late 1990s, primarily due to lower infant and child mortality. An estimated 42% of the residents were children under 15, 55% were between the ages of 15 and 65, and 3% were 65 or older.
Immigration was balanced to a large extent by emigration: in the 1980s, approx. 1 million people from some Middle Eastern and other Asian countries. Several hundred thousand Iraqis live outside of Iraq, in Western Europe and the United States, as well as in other Arab countries ah, in particular in Syria and the Gulf states. In 1980-1988, during the Iran-Iraq War, c. 500,000 Iraqi Shiites were deported to Iran. In the summer of 1988, after the defeat of the uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan, thousands of its inhabitants fled to neighboring regions of Turkey.
Ethnolinguistic and religious composition of the population. 75% of the country's population are Arabs, approx. 18% are Kurds, 7% are Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians and other small ethnic groups. Kurds form the majority in the northern and northeastern regions of the country. Throughout the 20th century Kurdish leaders and their supporters fought for independence or autonomy within modern Iraq. The Kurds initially belonged primarily to semi-nomadic tribes, but then moved to a settled way of life, and the spread of education, population migration to cities and various political shifts contributed to a decrease in the power of the Kurdish tribal leaders. Sunni Turkmen live mainly in the city of Kirkuk. The Assyrians originally belonged to an ancient Christian community, as did the Armenians, most of whom are descendants of refugees who arrived in Iraq during or immediately after the First World War.
The most widely spoken language is Arabic, which is used in government and educational institutions. Kurdish, which is spoken in the north of the country, also has official status.
The vast majority of Iraqis (95%) profess Islam and belong to the Imami communities (almost all of them are Arabs) and Sunnis. Shiites make up about half of all Muslims and predominate in the south. In other areas, the majority are Sunnis. There are many shrines of the Imamis in Iraq: in An-Najaf, Karbala, Samarra and Al-Qasimiya (one of the urban areas of Baghdad). Christianity is practiced by 3% of the population.
Modern Iraq is ruled predominantly by Sunni Arabs, people from Baghdad and Mosul. However, in recent decades, some Shiites and Iraqi Christians have held top government positions, such as Sadun Hamadi and Tariq Aziz. Educated Iraqis from outlying small towns were also appointed to some leadership positions, regardless of their religious or national affiliation.
Cities. According to the 1998 census, the population of Baghdad was 5123 thousand people, about a quarter of the entire population of Iraq. The capital grew at the expense of rural migrants and their descendants, who settled mainly in the urban areas of Saura and Esh-Shura. In 1998, there were about 1.5 million each in Mosul and Basra, and approx. 800 thousand people.
GOVERNMENT
Legislative and executive power. Iraq was proclaimed a republic after the overthrow of the monarch in 1958. An interim constitution, adopted in the same year, proclaimed the people to be the bearer of the supreme power in the country, Islam the state religion, and Iraq a part of the "Arab nation". The constitution confirmed the right to private property, freedom of speech and the press. In 1964 a new provisional constitution was approved. All citizens were given equal rights, regardless of race, religion or language affiliation. The constitution declared main goal achieving Arab unity. Subsequently, new interim constitutions came into force in 1968 and 1970, the latter being amended in 1973, 1974 and 1995. The most important of these was the recognition of "the rights of the Kurdish population." In 1973, the President of the Republic, in addition to the post supreme commander armed forces, received the post of chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), which consisted of 9 members and had the exclusive prerogatives of the highest legislative body until the first elections in 1980 of the National Council (unicameral parliament). The Parliament considers bills adopted by the SRC and submits them to the President for publication, and also independently considers bills that do not concern financial, military and public security issues and submits them to the SRC. The latter, if the bill is approved, submits it to the president for signature. Thus, the legislature includes the president, the SRK and the parliament, which consists of 250 deputies (30 of them are appointed by the president). The first parliamentary elections were held in 1980. At the same time, elections were held for the Legislative Council of the Kurdish Autonomous Region, consisting of 50 deputies. The term of office of the National Council is 4 years. The last election campaign took place in 2000.
Initially, it was enough to get two-thirds of the votes in the SRC to occupy the presidency. In accordance with the constitutional amendment of 1995, the head of state is elected for a 7-year term by popular referendum. On October 15, 1995, a referendum extended Saddam Hussein's mandate for another term, and on October 15, 2002, another similar referendum took place, extending the president's term in office for another 7 years. In fact, Saddam Hussein is a sovereign dictator. The head of state is in charge of the Council of Ministers, whose members are appointed and dismissed by his order.
Judicial system. adopted in Iraq mixed system law, including Islamic law (to determine personal status) and European, mainly French, law. There are three schools of Muslim law: Hanafi (among Sunni Arabs), Shafi'i (among Sunni Kurds) and Jafarite (among Shiite Arabs). Civil and economic cases are heard in numerous local courts of first instance, consisting of one judge appointed by the Ministry of Justice. The judgments of these courts can be appealed to the five circuit courts of appeal. The highest appellate body for civil cases is the Court of Cassation in Baghdad. In parallel with the courts of first instance, Sharia courts operate in which household, inheritance and religious cases are considered. In each territorial unit under the jurisdiction of a certain appellate court, there are criminal courts in charge of criminal cases. In addition, there are revolutionary courts that deal with political, economic and financial disputes related to the security of the state.
Administrative-territorial division. The main administrative divisions of Iraq are governorates (provinces). They are divided into kazy (districts) and nakhi (districts). There are 18 governorates in total, three of which - Dahuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah - form the Kurdish Autonomous Region in the north of the country.
Political parties and social movements. In the conditions of a monarchical system, from 1921 to 1958, political power belonged mainly to a small circle of privileged families. Despite the fact that from the beginning of the 1920s a parliament was convened and the activities of parties were officially allowed, the possibilities for opposition activity and criticism of the ruling elite remained extremely limited. As a result, legal political organizations, although not completely devoid of influence, were characterized by a small number and consisted mainly of supporters of well-known political figures. The most authoritative parties—the Iraqi Communist Party, the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Baath Party), and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (founded in 1946)—operated underground.
Iraqi Communist Party. Under the monarchical regime, the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), founded in 1934, was the most influential political organization. Along with the opposition to the authorities, she spoke in support of social reforms and gaining national independence. After the overthrow of the king, under the government Abdel Kerim Qasem(1958–1963), the party was semi-legal for a short time. When the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party was in power, especially in 1963 and after 1979, the ICP was severely persecuted, many of its members were arrested and executed. Like all other opposition forces, the ICP is outlawed. In the late 1970s, the Communist Party supported the liberation movement in Kurdistan by allying with the Kurdistan Democratic Party. In the 1960s and then in the late 1980s, the ICP split into several factions. Most ICP activists in opposition to the regime live in exile, mostly in Western Europe. In 1996, the "renewed" ICP was allowed to openly operate in the country, but no political role she doesn't play.
Arab Socialist Renaissance Party(Baath). The fundamental principles of Ba'athism - "a single Arab nation with an eternal mission", expressed in the slogan "unity (creation of a single Arab state), freedom (liberation of all Arab states from colonial dependence) and socialism (building a single Arab socialist society)" - were developed at the end 1940s in Syria, where the Ba'ath Party was formed in 1947. In Iraq, the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party began functioning in 1954 as regional office pan-Arab Ba'ath Party. In 1957, together with the ICP and other parties, it joined the National Unity Front and took part in the revolution of 1958. The party was represented in the first republican government.
In February 1963, supporters of the ideas of "Arabism" - the military and the Ba'athists overthrew Qasem and undertook repressions against the communists and their supporters. The Ba'ath Party formed a government (which fell already in November). The Ba'ath Party was forced to go underground. This party came to power again in July 1968 as a result of coup d'état. In the early years, Saddam Hussein - the second person in the state after President Bakr - invited the former implacable opponents, the communists and the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, to join the Ba'ath in the framework of the Progressive National Patriotic Front, which was implemented in 1973.
By the late 1970s, membership in the Ba'ath had become a sign of loyalty to the ruling regime. After Saddam Hussein assumed the presidency of Iraq on July 16, 1979, and especially during the war with Iran in 1980-1988, the party began to be identified with Hussein himself, who, along with his closest associates and relatives, monopolized power.
Democratic Party of Kurdistan. The Iraqi branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was established in 1946 by Mustafa Barzani. One of the most important points of disagreement between Barzani and the central government was the borders of Kurdistan, in particular Barzani's demand to include Kirkuk and its environs, where most of Iraqi oil was produced, into the Kurdish Autonomous Region. Shortly after the Ba'ath came to power in 1968, hostilities broke out in Kurdistan. Realizing that the Kurds could not be defeated by military force, and trying to buy time, Saddam Hussein signed an agreement with Barzani in March 1970, known as the March Manifesto, which declared significant concessions to the Kurds. However, almost immediately after the release of the manifesto, the government began the forcible expulsion of Kurds from their homes, seeking to change the ethnic composition of the population of some areas, and in 1971 deported approx. 40 thousand Shia Kurds (faili). On March 11, 1974, in accordance with the provisions of the March Manifesto, the Kurdistan Autonomy Law was adopted and the authorities of the Kurdish Autonomous Region were established.
In March 1975, an Iran-Iraq agreement was signed in Algeria, according to which Mohammed Reza Pahlavi undertook an obligation not to provide further assistance to Barzani and not to allow the rearmament or regrouping of Kurdish forces on the territory of Iran. In response, Iraq agreed to move its border with Iran along the Shatt al-Arab river in the section below Basra from the left (eastern) bank to the middle line of the channel. In 1979, after the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the KDP, led by the sons of Barzani - Idris and Massoud, relying on the new Shiite regime in Iran, again took up arms against Baghdad. Throughout the 8 years of the war with Iran, Kurdistan remained the main center of organized armed opposition to the Baathist regime. The Kurds were supported by the communist resistance forces and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, an organization led by Celal Talabani, which broke away from the KDP in 1975. Beginning in 1981, mass executions and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Kurds began to be carried out in Kurdistan by the central authorities.
Shiite opposition movement. The Shiite political movement in Iraq dates back to the late 1950s. Alarmed by the growth of communist influence in their community, several prominent religious leaders (ulema) of An-Najaf, led by Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, founded in the fall of 1958 their own political organization, the Association of An-Najaf Ulema.
In the late 1960s, the An-Najaf Ulema Association was transformed into the Islamic Appeal political party, to which the Ba'ath responded with brutal repression. In 1974, five ulema were executed without trial, and in February 1977, during the religious holiday of Muharram in cities where Muslim shrines are located, numerous arrests were made. Eight clerics were executed and fifteen were sentenced to life imprisonment. Inspired by the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran, where political power passed into the hands of Shiite religious leaders, the Islamic Call came into open conflict with its own government. Ba'ath institutions and police stations were attacked, and support for the new leadership of Iran was openly declared. In turn, the Baath took punitive action against the Islamic Call, declaring membership in this party a crime worthy of the death penalty. Already in April 1980, Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint Huba were executed. The war with Iran that began in September served as a pretext for launching a struggle against the Shiite movement in Iraq.
Foreign policy. Iraq's foreign policy in the 1970s–1980s was guided by the growing influence of Saudi Arabia and the small oil-producing states of the Arabian Peninsula, which was associated with the growth of their oil export revenues in 1973–1980. During this period, especially during the war with Iran, Iraq improved relations with most of the Arab countries. The exception was Syria, which supported Iran. After a ceasefire in the fall of 1988, Iraq began to provide military assistance to the commander of the Lebanese armed forces, General Michel Aoun, who opposed Syrian army stationed in Lebanese territory. Saddam Hussein tried to weaken the position of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and expand and strengthen his influence in the region. Territorial claims on Kuwait, its occupation and attempted annexation in August 1990 led to the UN embargo on trade with Iraq and the start of a new war. It was attended by a large international military contingent, mainly consisting of American troops, operating from the territory of Saudi Arabia and some other states.
Iraq is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Arab Cooperation Council, the League of Arab States, and the UN.
Armed forces. In 2002, the Iraqi army consisted of approx. 430 thousand people, the Republican Guard - 80 thousand people, there are 650 thousand trained reservists. The army was armed with 2200 tanks, the air force consisted of 350 combat aircraft and 500 helicopters, 2400 artillery pieces, 4400 armored vehicles. There are also paramilitaries (the "People's Army"), numbering 650,000, and three complementary security services.
ECONOMY
national income. In the 1970s, the state's huge revenues from oil exports made it possible to finance the dynamic growth and modernization of the country's economy. This process was interrupted due to hostilities in the Persian Gulf in 1980-1988 and 1990-1991, the reorientation of resources for military needs and the introduction of embargoes and economic sanctions by the UN decision, as well as due to falling oil prices. In 1988, Iraq's GDP was equal to 57.6 billion US dollars, or 3380 dollars per person, and in 1994, according to Western experts, it was only approx. 15 billion dollars, while by 1999 it had grown to 59.9 billion.
Structure and planning of production. Iraq is constitutionally a country with a state-regulated capitalist economy. The state is called upon to directly control the extraction and export of oil, most other leading industries, all banks, and almost all foreign trade; it must also allocate contracts for large construction projects against profitable loans and maintain the exchange rate. The state assumes an obligation to assist investors in the organization of capital-intensive agricultural enterprises, for example, irrigated fruit growing and horticulture, broiler production. Agricultural producers at preferential prices rent state lands, receive soft loans and enjoy favorable exchange rates. Private entrepreneurs are allowed to invest in construction, freight transport, retail trade and the service sector. The state also regulates prices for a number of goods.
The UN sanctions on foreign trade introduced in 1991 made significant adjustments to the state economic policy. At present, private entrepreneurs are allowed to enter the foreign market, which is connected even with the export of oil.
Labor resources. In the mid-1990s, ca. 40% of all employed were concentrated in the service sector, 30% in agriculture, 10% in manufacturing, another 8% in trade and 2% in the mining industry. As a result of the economic boom of the 1970s, a significant number of migrants from Arab and other Asian countries came to Iraq in search of jobs. Qualified foreign specialists were invited to manage some high-tech processes in the construction and manufacturing industries. Moroccan and Egyptian peasants were recruited to work in the agricultural sector.
Mining and manufacturing industry. Oil production is concentrated mainly in the fields around Kirkuk and Mosul in the north and around Basra and Rumaila in the southeast. Several smaller deposits are being developed in other parts of the country. Crude oil goes to refineries (Basra, Ed-Dawra, Baiji, Salah-ed-Din, etc.) and chemical plants (Ez-Zubair and Baghdad and its environs). In Mishraq, west of Mosul, sulfur deposits are being mined. Sulfur and sulfuric acid are obtained from it. Phosphorites are mined at two deposits north of Baghdad. They are used for the production of mineral fertilizers at the Al Qaim and Baiji chemical plants. Other important public sector industries include metalworking, electricity, gas, cement, textiles, electrical and food industry, production of synthetic fiber, assembly of trucks, buses and motors. Most of the large and high-tech enterprises, built mainly by foreign companies, are under state control, mainly in the vicinity of Baghdad, in Mosul and Basra.
Energy. Approx. 28.4 billion kWh (1998) of electricity, with 97.7% due to oil and gas processing, 2.1% due to the use of hydro resources. Almost the entire country is electrified, and 95% of the population has access to energy supply. Only in the distant countryside the population uses kerosene and firewood for heating and other household needs. Annual energy consumption is estimated at 26.4 billion kWh (1998).
Agriculture. The area suitable for agriculture is approx. 5450 thousand hectares (1/8 of the territory of Iraq). Up to 4,000 thousand hectares are occupied by pastures. The rest of the lands are withdrawn from agricultural use due to arid conditions and soil salinization, including due to insufficient drainage of previously irrigated lands. The main agricultural crops are wheat, barley and rice. Half of the arable land is allocated for them, mainly in the better moistened northern regions. Large areas in the river valleys are set aside for date palm plantations. Animal husbandry is based on the breeding of sheep and goats, in lesser degree cattle and developed in mountainous areas.
Transport. In the late 1990s, Iraq had a well-developed network highways total length approx. 45.5 thousand km, (of which 38.8 thousand km are paved), which included a number of high-speed highways. Length railways- 2450 km. The country has two international airports - in Baghdad and Basra, and more than 100, providing communication on local lines (in El-Khadit, Kirkuk, Mosul, etc.). The main Iraqi ports in the Persian Gulf - Basra, Umm Qasr, Fao and Ez-Zubair suffered little damage during military conflicts.
Within Iraq, the oilfields of Kirkuk (in the north) and Al Rumaila (in the southeast) are connected by a network of reversible pipelines to oil consumption and processing areas, as well as to ports on the coast of the Persian Gulf. The total length of oil pipelines is 4350 km, oil product pipelines 725 km, gas pipelines 1360 km. Through pipelines laid through the territories of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, Iraqi oil can flow to the ports of the Red and Mediterranean Seas, and from there to foreign markets.
Monetary and banking systems. Iraq has a Central Bank that issues the Iraqi dinar, state agricultural cooperative, industrial banks and two commercial bank, under the control of the state - Rafidain Bank and Rashid Bank. The authorities encourage the creation of private banks.
Budget. The main income of the treasury comes from the oil industry, on which the viability of the Iraqi economy depends. The expenditure side of the budget is not rigidly fixed and, as necessary, is redistributed between the usual cost items of state departments and “semi-independent agencies” that control key state and other oil-related enterprises, as well as annual development programs.
SOCIETY
Iraqi society was formed mainly under the influence of Islam and Arab culture. Throughout the 20th century under the influence Western civilization, growing urbanization and modernization, traditional social groups have been blurred, but not completely disappeared. Communities of small towns, villages and camps have survived as separate social units, and for the bulk of the population, religious affiliation remains the most important factor in self-identification.
Public associations and labor movement. The influence of the state in Iraq is so strong that all trade unions and various public organizations are the mouthpiece of official political power.
Trade unions are under the control of the organs of the ruling Baathist regime. All industrial workers are required to be members of trade unions. The latter, together with associations representing 150,000 agricultural workers and 475,000 service workers, form the General Federation of Iraqi Workers' Unions. The rural population is mostly involved in the General Union of Peasants' Cooperative Associations. Trade union members are entitled to free medical service and social payments, as well as for the purchase of industrial goods on credit in cooperative stores. Strikes are prohibited and suppressed by the authorities.
Several organizations protect the interests of small urban merchants and entrepreneurs. Teachers, doctors, pharmacists, lawyers and artists also have their own associations and trade unions. These associations perform certain social functions, and their headquarters serve as social clubs and leisure centers.
Social Security. Institutions in this area are mainly under the jurisdiction of the state. The state social insurance system guarantees pensions and disability benefits. Various professional associations also pay pensions to their members. Private and public charitable organizations provide assistance to the needy and the disabled.
Since 1959, the state has helped in the construction of housing migrants who rushed to Baghdad from the countryside. To this end, a belt of “model cities” with cheap housing has been created around the capital.
With the exception of a few private hospitals, almost all medical institutions state in the country. Health care provided to the public free of charge or at low prices. With the assistance of the World Health Organization, Iraq operated under a program to combat malaria, schistosomiasis and trachoma.
CULTURE
Iraq is home to various ethnic and religious groups whose traditions have influenced Iraqi culture. Muslim worldview and philosophy underlie the life of society.
Education system. The state provides universal free secular education at all stages - from kindergarten to the university. Primary schooling is compulsory for all children from the age of six. It lasts for 6 years and ends with exams, on the basis of which students move to secondary school. Secondary education includes two three-year stages. In 1998, approx. 71% of boys and 46% of girls of the corresponding age. After graduating from high school, young people can enter technological institutes or universities. In higher education institutions, preference is given to liberal education. Their graduates often go to work in government agencies. Humanitarian universities also train specialists in creative professions. The language of instruction is Arabic, with the exception of the northern regions, where in the first grades of elementary school, instruction is in Arabic. Kurdish. English has been taught since the fifth grade. There are six universities in Iraq: three in Baghdad and one each in Basra, Mosul and Erbil. There are also 19 technological institutes. In 1998, more than 70,000 students studied at the country's higher educational institutions.
As of the beginning of 1998, literate (able to read and write) were approx. 80% of the population.
Literature and art. Poetry is considered the most highly valued genre of creative self-expression in Iraq. This is truly folk literature, addressed not only to the educated or wealthy strata. The fine arts are less popular. The country's painters and sculptors are looking for modern art forms that would reflect the traditions and culture of Iraq. The art of ornamentation and calligraphy are especially developed. Many modern artists create in the style of abstractionism, surrealism, cubism, symbolism, although their works are not without national features. One of the most famous innovative artists of recent times is Javad Salim, whose work has received international recognition.
Dramatic performances usually carry a socio-political load. Most often, plays by Iraqi playwrights are staged, although performances based on scripts and European authors (both classical and modern) are regularly staged. There are several thriving theaters; Modern theater". Certain efforts are being made to revive folk music and dance. In the mass audience, songs in colloquial Arabic are the most popular. Jalil Bashir and some other composers write music for such traditional Arabic instruments as udd (lute) and qanun (zither).
Museums and libraries. The Iraqi Museum in Baghdad houses the rarest archaeological collections. Together with its large library, this institution is the main center of scientific archaeological and historical research. In addition, the Museum of Arab Antiquities, museums contemporary art, ethnographic and natural history. In all major cities Iraq has libraries. The largest funds are Public library in Baghdad. There are also mass rural libraries.
Publishing. Most publications are carried out by state organizations. Several learned societies publish journals in various branches of the social and natural sciences.
Baghdad publishes 7 daily newspapers in Arabic or English. The largest circulations have As-Saura (250,000 copies, printed organ of the Baath Party), Al-Jumhuriya (150,000 copies, government newspaper) and the weekly socio-political, literary and artistic magazine Alif Ba "(150 thousand copies). A number of state and public organizations have their own press. The Ministry of Information and Culture publishes the monthly political and literary magazine Al-Afaq al-Arabiya (Arab Horizons, 40 thousand copies), the Progressive National Patriotic Front - the daily newspaper Al-Iraq (Iraq, 30 thousand copies), the Iraqi Communist Party - the monthly socio-political magazine "As-Saqaf al-Jadida" ("New Culture", 3 thousand copies), the General Union of Agricultural Cooperative Societies - the weekly newspaper "Sout al-Fellah" (“Voice of the Peasant”, 40,000 copies), General Federation of Workers' Unions of Iraq - weekly “Wai al-Ummal” (“Workers' Consciousness”, 25,000 copies). Al-Qadisiyah (Armed Forces), Al-Iraq and popular magazines for children, women, workers and other groups are also published.
Broadcasting, television and film. State radio broadcasting, including an information block, music, entertainment and educational programs, is conducted around the clock. State television, which operates mainly in the evening, shows programs from both local and foreign production. The film industry in Iraq is underdeveloped; on average, one full-length film is produced per year. Popular with viewers are Egyptian, Indian, American and Italian films.
Sport. There are large stadiums in Baghdad and other major cities. Iraqi athletes have excelled in sports such as weightlifting, freestyle and classical wrestling, football, volleyball and basketball. Traditionally, wrestling, target shooting, and running are the most popular among the population.
Holidays and significant dates. As in the rest of the Islamic world, in Iraq such major religious holidays as the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, Eid al-Adha (Eid al-Adha - the feast of sacrifice) and Eid al-Fitr (Eid al-Fitr - the Feast of breaking the fast) are especially celebrated, which ends Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. Ashura (day of mourning) is also deeply revered in the country - a day of mourning for Shia Muslims (during this period, all entertainment events, radio and television programs are under strict control) in memory of the "martyrdom" of Hussein, Ali's son, cousin and son-in-law prophet Muhammad. The first day of spring, Navruz, is also celebrated. National holiday Kurds. There are two secular holidays in July: July 14 - Republic Day (the anniversary of the 1958 revolution) and July 17 - The Day the Baath Party came to power in 1968. In addition, Labor Day is celebrated on May 1 and January 6 is Army Day.
STORY
In 539 BC Cyrus II the Great defeated the Chaldeans and included Mesopotamia in the Persian state of the Achaemenids. Their reign continued until the collapse of the monarchy as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great, between 334 and 327 BC. Approximately 100 years later, the territory of Iraq became part of the Parthian kingdom. It lasted (with the exception of two short periods when it was under the rule of the Roman Empire), until its conquest in 227 AD. new Iranian rulers, the Sassanids, whose power stretched from Eastern Iran to the Syrian Desert and Anatolia. The period of Sassanid rule lasted ca. 400 years. see also Mesopotamia, ancient civilization.
Arab conquest. Starting from 635, the Sassanids began to gradually lose their positions before the onslaught of the Arab troops. The Sassanids suffered a final defeat from the Arab armies at the Battle of Qadisiya in 637. By the end of the 640s, most of the local Christians were converted to Islam. After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, a sharp rivalry for the throne of the caliph began. After the Umayyad dynasty seized power over the Arab Caliphate in 661 and moved its capital from Medina to Damascus, a period of long schism began in Islam. The inhabitants of Iraq, as followers of Ali (cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad), who was caliph for a short time (from 656 to 661, before the victory of the Umayyads), professed Shiism. With the coming to power of the Umayyads, Sunnism began to spread in the country. The confrontation between the Shiites and the Umayyads was the most important factor in the defeat that the Umayyads suffered from the Abbasids in 750.
Abbasid dynasty. Under the Abbasids, Baghdad became the center of power and the capital of the Arab Caliphate, which stretched from Morocco to northern India. The construction that unfolded in the city is associated with the reign of Caliph Al-Mansur (754-775). By the end of the 9th c. the rulers of Baghdad lost dominance over the rest of the Islamic world. see also Abbasids.
Mongol and Persian rule. In 1258 the Abbasids were dethroned by the Mongols, led by Khan Hulagu, who plundered Baghdad and devastated Mesopotamia. The Mongolian Hulaguid dynasty ruled in this region until the middle of the 14th century. It was succeeded by the Jalairid dynasty (1339–1410). In 1393 and 1401, Baghdad was again destroyed by the troops of Timur (Tamerlane) and twice (in 1394 and 1405) was restored under the Jalairids. Following this, various dynasties that ruled for a short time were replaced on the throne. The last in this series was the Iranian Safavid dynasty, which seized the territory of Iraq in 1509. Under the Safavids, Shiism became the state religion.
Ottoman Empire. The rulers of the neighboring Turkish state were afraid of the spread of the influence of Shiism in their territory, where Sunnism dominated. In 1534, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, whose hegemony lasted almost 400 years. Remoteness from the capital of the Ottoman Empire contributed to the weak supervision of Istanbul over the lands of Mesopotamia. Real power was often in the hands of governors.
At the end of the 19th century The Ottoman state, making efforts to regain control over an independent territory, carried out a number of important administrative reforms. At the beginning of the 20th century ideas of the "Arab revival" began to penetrate into Iraq from Syria and other centers, and some Iraqis were involved in secret societies in Istanbul that advocated granting federal or autonomous status to the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire. In 1914, when Iraq joined Germany and its allies, Great Britain invaded southern Iraq, and in 1918 British troops already controlled almost the entire territory of the country.
Modern Iraq and British rule. The modern Iraqi state was created by Great Britain in 1920. It included three vilayets of the Ottoman Empire: Basra (from which Kuwait was previously separated), Mosul and Baghdad. In April 1920, the League of Nations at a conference in San Remo issued a mandate to govern Iraq to Great Britain. In 1921, Iraq was proclaimed a kingdom headed by Emir Faisal (son of the sheriff of Mecca Hussein) from the Hashemite dynasty. Government was established in the form of a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament. However, initially all the most important ministries were under the control of the British "advisers", and the final decisions were taken by the British High Commissioner and the Commander of the Royal Air Force. In the localities, political power was concentrated in the hands of several urban clans and a newly created elite of large absentee landowners.
In 1932, Iraq received formal independence, but the real levers of government were concentrated in the British embassy. In the imperial mindset of the time, the importance of Iraq was determined by its important strategic position on the route to India. In addition, Iraq possessed large oil reserves, a concession for the development of which was obtained in 1925 by the Anglo-French-American consortium Turkish Petroleum (renamed Iraq Petroleum in 1929).
King Faisal died in 1933 and his son Ghazi succeeded to the throne. The political life of the country in the 1930s was characterized by factional struggle in the army, especially after the military coup of 1936. King Ghazi died suddenly in 1939, and his young son Faisal II ascended the throne, under whom Abdul Illah became regent. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the position of nationalist-minded officers proved strong enough to prevent a declaration of war on Nazi Germany, although the prime minister at that time was the pro-British General Nuri Said. Iraq merely broke off relations with Germany and declared its neutrality. In April 1941, the military overthrew the government, which accelerated the entry of the British armed forces, which by the end of May 1941 returned Nuri Said and Regent Abdul Illah to the leadership of the country. In January 1942, Iraq formally declared war on Germany and Italy. British troops were in Iraq until the autumn of 1947.
In 1946 the country was restored civil government. However, left-wing parties were banned, and the government remained in the hands of the conservatives, led by Nuri Said. In 1953, Faisal II, who had reached the age of 18, was crowned.
In 1948, Iraq participated in the unsuccessful first Arab-Israeli war, and then in 1949 refused to sign an armistice agreement with Israel.
In 1952, the government legalized an increase in Iraq's share of the rapidly growing oil revenues of the Iraq Petroleum Company to 50%. A significant part of the funds received was invested in long-term development projects. In 1955, in an attempt to protect itself from the left-wing "Nasserist" movement spreading throughout the Middle East, Iraq concluded a military treaty with Turkey, which, after the accession of Iran, Pakistan and Great Britain, turned into a US-backed military bloc known as the Baghdad Pact. see also british empire.
Iraqi Republic. July 14, 1958 led by underground organizations"Front of National Unity" and "Free Officers" in Iraq there was a revolution, the monarchical regime was overthrown and a republic was proclaimed. King Faisal II, Nuri Said and Abdul Illah were executed. The new government was headed by Brigadier General, leader of the Free Officers organization. Abdel Kerim Kasem. The cabinet included both military and civilians. A law was passed to carry out land reform on the model of the Egyptian. In 1959, Iraq withdrew from the Baghdad Pact, and in 1961 expropriated the plots that were in concession from the Iraq Petroleum Company. On June 25, 1961, six days after Britain recognized Kuwait's independence, Qasem laid out Iraqi claims to that country's territory.
The first issue on which the struggle unfolded already in July 1958 was the accession of Iraq to the United Arab Republic (UAR), which had just been created by Egypt and Syria. Accession was advocated by nationalists and leaders of the Ba'ath Party, who believed in Arab unification. The communists were against it. In an effort to distance himself from the communists, Kasem began repressions against the left. In February 1963, there was a military coup by supporters of the nationalists and the Baath Party. Qasem was killed, and a junta consisting of Ba'athists and Arab nationalists, led by Abdel Salam Aref, seized power. Aref formally recognized Kuwait's independence, but not its British borders, and put forward claims to the Bubiyan and Warba islands in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iraq, as well as to the southern periphery of the giant Rumaila oil field.
Aref was president of the country for three years and died in a plane crash in April 1966. The post of president was taken by the brother of the late Abdel Rahman Aref, who was in power for two years. In July 1968, he was overthrown in a military coup organized by the Ba'ath Party. During the reign of the Aref brothers, many key sectors of the economy (with the exception of the oil industry) were nationalized.
The main task of the Ba'ath leaders, who came to power in 1968, was to consolidate the country's political system. During the presidency of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and his successor Saddam Hussein, who took office in 1979 but actually took power much earlier, the regime brutally persecuted potential opponents and used the entire economic power of the state to support its supporters.
At first, the Baathists tried to put an end to the Kurdish uprising by concluding a peace agreement with their leaders in March 1970, according to which the Kurds were promised autonomy. However, a significant part of the agreements was not fulfilled, and in 1974 the leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party, Mullah Mustafa Barzani, who enjoyed the support of the Shah of Iran, again raised a full-scale uprising in order to expand the autonomy of the Kurds. As a result, on March 11, 1974, the autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan was proclaimed.
In 1972, having concluded a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the USSR, the Baathist government nationalized the Iraq Petroleum company, which forced the Iraqi communists to unite with the Baath Party within the Progressive National Patriotic Front, which included Kurdish movement Revolutionary Party of Kurdistan. After the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raised the price of oil, the position of official power and its economic power were strengthened. The rise in oil export revenues has allowed the government to fund large-scale development projects.
In 1975, as a result of negotiations in Algiers, the Ba'athists concluded with the Shah of Iran an Agreement on Borders and Good Neighborly Relations, according to which the border between the two countries was moved from the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab river to the middle of the river. In response, Iran closed its border to Kurdish rebels, making it easier for Baghdad to crack down on resistance. In the fall of 1978, Iraq expelled the Iranian Shah's main opponent, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who then spent 15 years in exile in An-Najaf.
In early 1979, after the victory Iranian revolution and the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the actions of the Kurds in Iraq resumed, and the basis of the Algiers agreements became invalid. In addition, the Shiite regime in Iran, led by Khomeini, attacked the Baathist regime in Iraq with the help of its Shiite opponents. In response, Saddam Hussein revived the old dispute over the Iraqi-Iranian border along the Shatt al-Arab and the status of Iranian Khuzestan (called Arabistan in Iraq). Hussein used the frequent border incidents that took place after the revolution as a pretext for a military invasion of Iranian territory on September 22, 1980.
At the beginning of the war, Iraq achieved some success, but the enemy army turned out to be more combat-ready than expected. In the spring of 1982, Iranian troops launched an offensive and expelled Iraqi armed units from their territory, and after a long period of positional actions, they captured the city of Fao in 1986 and approached Basra at a distance of 65 km. At the same time, Kurdish rebels under the command of Barzani's son Masoud regrouped their combat units and established control over most of the border mountainous regions in the north and northeast of the country. In 1987, the United States, which had previously sold weapons to Iran, sent its naval forces to the Persian Gulf to prevent Iran from blocking the shipping lanes leading to Kuwait, which served as a transit point for the supply of military equipment to Iraq and partly for the export of its oil. In the same year, the Iraqi army managed to oust the Iranian troops from the territory of their country, as well as begin military operations in Kurdistan. In August 1988, an Iran-Iraq ceasefire agreement was signed.
At the end of the war, the United States banned the export to Iraq of equipment that could be used for military purposes, and Israel threatened to attack Iraqi chemical and nuclear weapons. The post-war recovery of the economy was hampered by the sharp fall in oil prices caused by economic policy Kuwait and United United Arab Emirates, which sold more than 270 thousand tons of fuel per day (mainly produced in the Kuwaiti sector of the Er Rumaila field) in excess of the quota set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. After negotiations with Kuwait that ended in failure, Hussein decided to respond to "economic aggression" with his own military action.
In August 1990, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait. The invasion of Kuwait was condemned by the UN Security Council, which placed an embargo on trade with Iraq.
The United States and its coalition allies, based on a UN resolution condemning the occupation of Kuwait and demanding the immediate withdrawal of Iraqi troops and the restoration of the legitimate Kuwaiti government, on January 16, 1991, launched a massive strike against Iraq using aircraft and navy. The bombing continued for more than 40 days, followed by a massive ground operation multinational forces in Kuwait and Iraq, lasting 100 hours. At the same time, Kuwait was liberated and part of the territory of Iraq was occupied. The bombardment that continued for a month destroyed the entire economic infrastructure of Iraq. The US has announced that it will not allow the relaxation of UN sanctions as long as Hussein remains in power. Iraq accepted the condition that tough economic sanctions against it would continue until the complete elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical and biological.
In the autumn of 1991, Iraq was allowed to sell a strictly fixed amount of oil, provided that all transactions were carried out under the supervision of UN representatives. The proceeds, after the payment of reparations, were proposed to be directed to the emergency purchase of food and medicine. From 1991 to 1998, conflicts took place between Iraq and the UN inspectors who supervised the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, which brought Iraq to the brink of war with the United States.
Until November 1998, UN inspectors controlled the process of destroying missiles and weapons in Iraq mass destruction, however, since the end of 1998, Hussein stopped allowing UN representatives into the country.
The UN sanctions have caused enormous economic damage to the country, where devastation and hunger reign, there is not enough electricity and drinking water. Sewerage systems (30% of rural residents are deprived of modern sewerage) and water treatment plants (half of the rural population do not have clean drinking water) have been destroyed in many areas. Rampant intestinal diseases, cholera. In 10 years, child mortality has doubled, and a third of children under the age of five suffer from chronic diseases. Medicine is destroyed - there is no modern medical equipment, not enough medicines.
UN sanctions prohibit the import of products necessary for economic recovery, considered as dual-use goods - paper, printing equipment, paints, chemicals, stainless steel (necessary for the manufacture of surgical instruments), and so on. The entry into the country of scientific literature and equipment for educational institutions is closed.
Until 1991 approx. 90% foreign trade was concentrated in the hands of the state. In recent years, the private sector has been allowed to trade. Since direct trade operations are prohibited by UN sanctions, it is carried out through the Jordanian, Turkish, Syrian and Iranian borders. In November, the checkpoint on the Saudi-Iraqi border was officially opened. The most lively trade is with Turkey. In exchange for Iraqi oil, food, clothing, Appliances, equipment. The volume of Iraqi-Turkish trade reaches 1 billion 200 million dollars a year. According to unofficial data, oil exports amount to 2.7 million barrels per day (before 1991 - 3.5 million barrels).
On March 27, 2000, parliamentary elections were held in Iraq, as a result of which the majority of seats (165 out of 250) were received by representatives of the ruling Arab Socialist Renaissance Party - Baath, 55 - by independent deputies and 30 were appointed by the president.
In the summer of 2001, the UN Security Council voted to extend the Oil-for-Food humanitarian program by five months, with the proviso to tighten control over Iraq's compliance with the ban on the purchase of weapons and dual-use goods. However, Iraq does not agree to any reservations and insists on the final lifting of economic sanctions. Russia supports this demand and considers Iraq as a potential economic partner. There are currently approx. 200 Russian companies (the largest are Surgutneftegaz, Tatneft, Rosneft, Bashneft). They account for 40% of Iraqi oil exports.
In September 2002, Iraq agreed to re-authorize the activities of international inspectors who, on behalf of the UN and in pursuance of a Security Council resolution, are to verify the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This move was prompted mainly by the threat of military attack from the United States. The activities of Russian diplomacy also contributed to softening Iraq's position.
On March 20, 2003, the United States and Great Britain launched military operations against Iraq (Operation Shock and Awe). On April 9, Anglo-American troops took the city of Baghdad, and by the end of the month they occupied the entire country. In May 2003, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1483, according to which the United States and Great Britain were officially recognized as occupying Iraq. It also reaffirmed the sovereignty, integrity of the country and the right of the Iraqi people to freely determine its future political development. Since July 13, 2003, Iraq has been governed by the Provisional Governing Council (TMC), which included 25 political figures from the country. In the fall of that year, American soldiers captured former President Saddam Hussein. He was taken into custody at Camp Cropper (the largest US military base in the Persian Gulf). On June 1, 2004, the WSC handed over power to the elected president, Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar; The interim government was headed by Ayad Alawi. On August 18 of the same year, a provisional parliament consisting of 100 deputies was elected.
On January 30, 2005, parliamentary elections were held, in which more than 200 political parties and coalitions took part. According to new constitution, Parliament (National Assembly) consists of 275 deputies. Most of the seats in parliament (140) were won by the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance. The Kurdish Alliance received 75 seats, the Iraqi List party of Prime Minister A. Alawi - 40 seats. AT National Assembly included representatives of 24 political associations. Voter turnout reached over 70%. Several thousand observers followed the course of the elections, incl. 800 foreign.
On April 6, 2005, the Parliament elected 72-year-old Kurdish Jalal Talabani (Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan - PUK) as the President of the country. In April 2005, one of the leaders of the United Iraqi Alliance, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, was appointed prime minister. In an attempt to stop the wave of violence in the country, the government restored death penalty. Under pressure from the opposition in April 2006, Ibrahim al-Jaafari resigned, and Jawad (Nuri) al-Maliki took over as prime minister.
At the end of December 2006, Saddam Hussein was sentenced by a tribunal to death by hanging for crimes against humanity (accusations of killing 148 Shiites in the village of Ad-Dujail in 1982 after failed attempt attempt on his life). On December 30, he was hanged at the Iraqi military intelligence headquarters in northern Baghdad. On January 15, 2007, two associates of the former Iraqi president, Barzan al-Tikriti (former head of the Iraqi intelligence services) and Awwad al-Bandar (former chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Tribunal), were also executed by court verdict.
During military operation and the occupation of Iraq killed more than 3,000 US troops. The number of foreign troops in Iraq in con. 2006 amounted to 140 thousand people, incl. American contingent - 132 thousand people. In January 2007, US President George W. Bush proposed to increase it by another 21.5 thousand people.
According to a report released in January 2007 by the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq, in 2006 more than 34,000 people died in the country and approx. 36 thousand civilians. Talabani's government focuses on fighting terrorism and engaging in dialogue with political opposition groups. The President supports George Bush's new plans to stabilize the political situation in Iraq.
LITERATURE
Gorelikov S.G. . M., 1963
Gerasimov O.G. . M., 1984

Encyclopedia Around the World. 2008 .

REPUBLIC OF IRAQ
State in Southwest Asia. In the north it borders with Turkey, in the east - with Iran, in the south - with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, in the west - with Jordan and Syria. In the south, the country is washed by the Persian Gulf. The area of ​​Iraq is 434924 km2. Northern region Iraq - Al Jazra - occupies the Armenian Highlands, the height of which reaches 2135 m in the region of the Turkish border. In the northeast in the Iranian plateau is located highest point Iran, Mount Haji Ibrahim (3600 m). Further south lies the vast plain of the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. On the far south Iraq is a marshy plain, and to the west of the Euphrates the valley passes into the Syrian desert. In addition to the two main rivers of the country - the Tigris and the Euphrates, the tributaries of the Tigris are quite large: the Big Zab, the Small Zab and the Diyala.
The population of the country (estimated for 1998) is about 21,722,300 people, average density population of about 50 people per km2. Ethnic groups: Arabs - 75%, Kurds - 15%, Turks, Jews. Language: Arabic (state), Kurdish. Religion: Muslims - 95% (Shiites - 60%, Sunnis - 35%), Christians - 3%, Jews. The capital is Baghdad. Largest cities: Baghdad (4478000 people), Mosul (748000 people). The state structure is a republic. The head of state is President Saddam Hussein al-Takriti (in power since July 16, 1979, re-elected in 1995). The monetary unit is the Iraqi dinar. Average life expectancy (for 1998): 65 years - men, 68 years - women. The birth rate (per 1,000 people) is 38.6. Mortality rate (per 1000 people) - 6.6.
Iraq has a very rich history. The most famous states of antiquity flourished on the territory of modern Iraq: the Sumerian kingdom, which arose around the 4th millennium BC; from the 3rd millennium to the middle of the 1st millennium BC the territory was under the rule of the Babylonian and Assyrian kingdoms. From 539 to 331 BC Iraq was part of the Persian kingdom, and after that for 200 years it was part of the empire of Alexander the Great. For a long time, Persian dynasties ruled the country, and in the 7th century AD. Arabs came to the country. From 750 to 1258 Baghdad was the capital of the Abassid caliphs. In 1258, the country was ravaged by the Mongol invaders, and for a long time Turkish and Iranian rulers argued over its possession. It was only in the 17th century that Iraq finally became part of the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, there was a movement in Iraq for liberation from Turkish rule. Great Britain, which had its own interests in this region, actively helped Iraq. In August 1921, Iraq gained independence, at the same time King Fesal I was elected. Until 1932, Great Britain had a mandate to govern Iraq through its commissioner. In February 1958, the Arab Union of Iraq and Jordan was formed, but on July 14, 1958, as a result of a bloody military coup, the monarchy was overthrown, the king was killed, and the Arab Union fell apart. On July 15, a republic was proclaimed in Iraq. Since that time, the country has experienced several more military coups. As a result of the last of them, the current President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, came to power. One of the latest international crises caused by Iraq's policy in the region was the occupation of Kuwait: on August 28, 1990, Iraq declared Kuwait its 19th province and sent its troops there. The international community, led by the United States, organized an operation to liberate Kuwait, and at the end of February 1991, Iraqi troops were driven out of the country. Iraq is a member of the UN, IMF, ILO, Arab League, OPEC.
Most of the territory of Iraq is located in the zone continental climate. In the north, in the mountainous region, snow often falls in winter. In central Iraq, summers are long and hot, winters are short and cool. The average January temperature in Baghdad is about 9.5°C, the average July temperature is about 33°C. In the southernmost region of the country, the climate is very humid and the temperature often exceeds 50°C. the norm of precipitation does not exceed 152 mm. The vegetation of the country is not rich: deserts are located in the south and south-west, among the rare trees of the central part, date palm and poplar stand out. The fauna is quite rich: cheetah, gazelle, antelope, lion, hyena, wolf, jackal, hare, bat, jerboa. Among the numerous birds of prey, it is necessary to note the vulture, crow, owl, several species of hawk, buzzard. Lots of lizards.
Among the main museums of the country, the Iraqi Museum stands out with a rich collection of exhibits from the period ancient Mesopotamia, the Iraqi Museum of Natural History, the Iraqi War Museum - all in Baghdad. The Museum of Babylon exhibits exhibits from the period of the Babylonian kingdom. The Museum of the city of Mosul has a large collection of exhibits from the period of the Assyrian kingdom. Other attractions include the ruins of the last gates of Baghdad; the Abbasid Palace (1179), the former al-Mustansiriya University (1232), the Mirja Mosque (1358) are all in Baghdad. Not far from Baghdad is the city of Kedimein, famous for its mosque with a golden dome. In the city of Najaf - the tomb of Ali, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, one of the main shrines of the Shiites. In the city of Karbala, one of the holy cities of Shia Muslims, there is the tomb of Hussein ibn Ali, a Muslim martyr. In Mosul, the Chandani Church and the Great Mosque; on the other side of the Tigris are the ruins of Nineveh, the capital of the ancient Assyrian kingdom. Iraq is one of the early centers cultural development humanity. Here, sites of the ancient stone (Shanidar cave in Iraqi Kurdistan) and new stone (settlements of Dzharmo, Hassuna) centuries were discovered. The Mesopotamian lowland was already in ancient times considered the breadbasket of a vast region of Asia. On the territory of Iraq there were such powerful states of antiquity as Akkad, Babylon, Assyria.
Approximately 80% of the population of Iraq are Arabs, 18% are Kurds. Some of the Arabs and Kurds retain tribal division. There are more than a hundred nomadic, semi-nomadic and sedentary tribes in the country. The overwhelming majority of the Iraqi population (96%) are Shiite and Sunni Muslims, 3% are Christians, and 1% are Yezidis, Mandeans, and Jews. In Iraq, there are two holy cities of Shiites - An-Najaf and Karbala, where the tombs of Shiite imams have been preserved and where Shiites from all over the world make pilgrimages. The basis of the country's economy is the oil industry. About 60% of the population lives in cities. The largest city - the capital of Iraq - Baghdad. Other large industrial cities are Basra, Mosul, Erbil, Kirkuk.
In ancient times, the states of Akkad, Babylonia, Assyria, and others existed on the territory of Iraq (Mesopotamia, or Mesopotamia). With the arrival of the Arabs in the 7th century, the Arabic language and Islam spread to the territory of Iraq. From the 1630s until the end of the First World War as part of the Ottoman Empire; By the end of the war, Mesopotamia was occupied by British troops. In 1921, the kingdom of Iraq, dependent on Great Britain, was created. From 1922 (actually from 1920) to 1932, Iraq was a British mandated territory. In 1958 it was proclaimed a republic. At the end of 1979, relations with Iran escalated, which in 1980-1988 took the form of an armed conflict. In August 1990, Iraq carried out an armed takeover of Kuwait; in February 1991, he was defeated by the multinational armed forces led by the United States and withdrew his troops from Kuwait.
After Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the world community imposed trade and economic sanctions and established a sea, land and air blockade of Iraq. The war and its aftermath serious damage Iraq. In March 2003, the United States launched military operations against Iraq and occupied Baghdad and the entire country three weeks later. After the overthrow of Hussein, the contradictions between the main groups of the population - Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds - intensified.

Under the authoritarian rule of the Ba'ath Party, Iraq seeks to play the role of a regional power. Iraq, which has rich natural resources, relies primarily on the armed forces in foreign policy; allied to Iraq… … Terrorism and terrorists. Historical guide

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Iraq- a state in the Middle East, in the Mesopotamian lowland, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It borders Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan and Syria to the west, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. The territory of Iraq is washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf in the southeast of the country.

The northern region of Iraq - El Jazeera - occupies the Armenian Highlands, the height of which reaches 2135 m in the region of the Turkish border. Further south lies the vast plain of the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In the extreme south of Iraq there is a swampy plain, and to the west of the Euphrates the valley passes into the Syrian desert.

Serbia airports

Baghdad International Airport

Basra International Airport

Hotels Iraq 1 - 5 stars

Iraq weather

The climate of Iraq is subtropical Mediterranean. The northern mountainous regions are characterized by hot dry summers and mild warm winters with rare frosts and frequent snowfalls. El Jazeera has dry hot summers and mild rainy winters. Lower Mesopotamia is characterized by hot summers and warm winters with rain and relatively high relative humidity. Dry hot summers and cool winters with rare rains are typical for the southwestern region. Significant seasonal and diurnal temperature fluctuations (sometimes as high as 30°C) have been recorded in many parts of Iraq. Average temperatures in July are 32-35°C, average temperatures in January are +10-13°C.

Precipitation falls mainly in winter (December-January), and there are few of them in the central and southern regions of the country: the average annual rainfall in Baghdad is 180 mm. As you move north, their number increases and is about 300 mm in the plains and up to 500–800 mm in the mountains.

In summer (May-June) winds blow continuously northwest direction, carrying a mass of sand (dust storms), and northeast winds prevail in winter, especially strong in February.

Language of Iraq

Official language: Arabic and Kurdish

The most widely spoken language is Arabic, used in government and educational institutions. Kurdish, which is spoken in the north of the country, also has official status.

Currency of Iraq

International name: IQD

The Iraqi dinar is equal to 20 dirhams or 1000 fils (in reality, these units are practically not used). In circulation there are banknotes of 25,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, 500, 250 and 50 dirhams, as well as coins of 100 and 25 dirhams.

Officially, foreign currency can be used in specialized duty-free shops in Baghdad, while a passport must be presented, and the amount of a one-time purchase cannot exceed $200. However, in practice, US dollars, euros and currencies of neighboring countries have practically unlimited circulation in Iraq (hotels, for example, usually require payment only in foreign currency).

You can exchange currency for dinars and vice versa only in the markets or in specialized exchange shops. Credit and debit cards are not accepted. ATMs do not exist. Cashing traveler's checks is also almost impossible.

Customs restrictions

The import and export of currency is limited, the rules change frequently, so it is recommended to check with the embassy before traveling. It is allowed to take out of the country your personal belongings, handicrafts and goods purchased in the country. The export of any antiques (including gems, coins, manuscripts and other works of art) is prohibited. The transit of narcotic substances is prohibited and severely punished.

Importation of animals

When importing pets, you must present an international veterinary certificate.

Mains voltage

Tips

Tips for service personnel are 10% and are automatically added to the bill. In restaurants in large cities, tips are 10-15%; in provincial establishments, additional payments are not required, but it is recommended to round the amount up.

When traveling by taxi, you should agree on the amount in advance, before getting into the car.

Kitchen

The main national dishes of Iraqi cuisine are lamb and rice pilaf, with raisins, figs and almonds, yakhni, wheat cakes with sour milk. Of the sweets, halva and candied fruit are the most popular. The most common drinks are tea and coffee. Coffee is most often drunk without sugar, but saffron and nutmeg are added to it. Also drink sour milk diluted with water.

Purchases

You can bargain both in the markets and in private shops and shops.

Office Hours

Banks are usually open from Saturday to Wednesday - from 08.00 to 12.30, on Thursdays - from 08.00 to 11.00. During Ramadan, banks close by 10:00 am.

Shops are usually open from Saturday to Thursday from 08.30 to 13.00 and from 17.00 to 19.00, markets are mostly open only early in the morning and late in the evening.

Photo and video shooting

It is forbidden to take pictures of military installations and representatives of law enforcement forces. Also, do not take out a camera or video camera in mosques, in areas of large strategic objects (airports, bridges, etc.) or try to photograph local women. Men, if you ask them for permission, are photographed with obvious pleasure.

Safety

The main danger on the territory of the country is mines, unexploded ordnance and explosive devices deliberately planted by terrorist groups on the routes of transport convoys and in the areas of markets, mosques and government buildings.

All water should be considered potentially contaminated and unfit for drinking.

Code of the country: +964

First level geographic domain name:.iq

The medicine

Vaccination against diphtheria, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, tetanus, typhoid, malaria and rabies is recommended. The causative agents of bilharciosis (schistosomiasis), which are present in almost all fresh water bodies of the country, represent a separate danger - swimming in them is not recommended. Persons entering the country for more than 14 days, with the exception of diplomats and pilgrims, are required to undergo a medical examination for AIDS within 5 days (free of charge).

Emergency Phones

Each locality uses its own phone numbers rescue services.

is a state in Southwest Asia. In the north it borders with Turkey, in the east - with Iran, in the south - with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, in the west - with Jordan and Syria. In the south, the state is washed by the Persian Gulf.

The name of the country comes from the Arabic "Iraq" - "coast" or "lowland".

Official name: Republic of Iraq

Capital:

The area of ​​the land: 432.1 thousand sq. km

Total population: 31.2 million people

Administrative division: 16 governorates (provinces).

Form of government: Parliamentary republic.

Head of State: The president.

Composition of the population : 75% - Arabs, 15% - Kurds, Turks and Jews also live.

Official language: Arabic and Kurdish. Languages ​​are widely used at the household level ethnic groups, including Armenian and Assyrian. Many Iraqis speak English and French quite well, and some even speak Russian.

Religion: 60% are Shia Islam, 37% are Sunni Islam, and 3% are Christians.

Internet domain: .iq

Mains voltage: ~230 V, 50 Hz

Phone country code: +964

Country barcode: 626

Climate

The climate of Iraq is subtropical Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and warm, rainy winters. Two seasons are most pronounced: a long hot summer (May-October) and a shorter cool and sometimes cold winter (December-March). In summer, the weather is usually cloudless and dry. Precipitation does not fall at all for four months, and in the remaining months of the warm season it is less than 15 mm.

The northern mountainous regions are characterized by hot dry summers and mild warm winters with rare frosts and frequent snowfalls. El Jazeera has dry hot summers and mild rainy winters. Lower Mesopotamia is characterized by hot summers and warm winters with rain and relatively high relative humidity. Dry hot summers and cool winters with rare rains are typical for the southwestern region. Significant seasonal and diurnal temperature fluctuations (sometimes as high as 30°C) have been recorded in many parts of Iraq.

Average July temperatures are 32–35°C, maximum temperatures are 40–43°C, minimum temperatures are 25–28°C, absolute maximum is 57°C. Average January temperatures are +10–13°C, average January maximum is 16–18°C, minimum – 4–7° С, the absolute minimum in the north of the country reached –18° С.

Precipitation occurs mainly in winter (December-January), and there are few of them in the central and southern regions of the country: the average annual rainfall in Baghdad is 180 mm, in the southwest approx. 100 mm, in Basra 160 mm. As you move north, their number increases and amounts to approx. 300 mm in the plains and up to 500–800 mm in the mountains.

In summer (May-June), northwestern winds blow continuously, carrying a lot of sand (the so-called dust storms), and in winter, northeast winds prevail, especially strong in February.

Geography

Iraq is a state in the Middle East, in the Mesopotamian lowland, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It borders Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan and Syria to the west, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. The territory of Iraq is washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf in the southeast of the country.

The northern region of Iraq - El Jazeera - occupies the Armenian Highlands, the height of which reaches 2135 m in the region of the Turkish border. Further south lies the vast plain of the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In the extreme south of Iraq there is a swampy plain, and to the west of the Euphrates the valley passes into the Syrian desert.

Flora and fauna

Vegetable world

The most widespread in Iraq is subtropical steppe and semi-desert vegetation, confined to the western, southwestern and southern regions (west and south of the Euphrates valley) and represented mainly by wormwood, saltwort, camel thorn, dzhuzgun, astragalus. In El Jazeera and in the north-east of the country, steppe xerophytic and ephemeral-forb vegetation prevails.

Above 2500 m, summer pastures are common. In the mountains in the north and northeast of the country, massifs of mountain oak forests have been preserved, in which oaks predominate and there are comb (tamarix), pine, wild pear, pistachio, juniper, etc. Prickly bushes are common at the foot of the mountain ranges. The floodplain of the Euphrates, the Tigris and its tributaries is associated with tugai forest vegetation with shrub undergrowth, including poplars, willows, and comb.

In the south-east of the country, large swampy areas are occupied by reed-reed thickets and solonchak vegetation. At present, in the river valleys of central and southern Iraq, up to the coast of the Persian Gulf, significant areas are set aside for date palm plantations.

Animal world

The fauna of Iraq is not rich. In the steppes and semi-deserts there are gazelle, jackal, striped hyena. Rodents and reptiles are widespread, including the monitor lizard and the venomous cobra snake. Many waterfowl (flamingos, pelicans, ducks, geese, swans, herons, etc.) settle along the river banks. Rivers and lakes abound with fish. Carp, carp, catfish, etc. are of commercial importance. Horse mackerel, mackerel, barracuda, and shrimps are caught in the Persian Gulf. The real scourge of Iraq is insects, especially mosquitoes and mosquitoes, carriers of malaria and other diseases.

Attractions

The territory of modern Iraq is one of the centers of the formation of civilization. This land has been inhabited since time immemorial and is literally saturated with legends and myths. It is here that the Tigris and Euphrates flow, whose sources, according to legends, were in the Garden of Eden, the legendary cultures of Mesopotamia and Parthia, Assyria and Sumer, Akkad and Persia were born here, Babylon was noisy here with its famous Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel and the birthplace of Abraham was located - Ur of the Chaldees, one of the oldest cities on the planet - Baghdad, as well as the holy cities of An-Najaf and Karbala still stands here.

The rich history of the country, the unique historical, cultural, archaeological and religious monuments of Iraq earned it the reputation of one of the most interesting places in Asia, which even the tragic events of the late 20th century could not prevent.

Banks and currency

New Iraqi dinar (NID, IQD), nominally equal to 20 dirhams and 1000 fils (in reality, these units are practically not used). In circulation there are banknotes of 25,000, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, 500, 250 and 50 dirhams, as well as coins of 100 and 25 dirhams. The dirham exchange rate is quite unstable.

Banks are usually open from Saturday to Wednesday - from 08.00 to 12.30, on Thursdays - from 08.00 to 11.00. During Ramadan, banks close by 10:00 am.

Iraq's banking and financial infrastructure was virtually destroyed during the overthrow of Hussein's regime and is currently in the process of being rebuilt. You can exchange currency for dinars and vice versa only in the markets or in specialized exchange shops.

Credit and debit cards are not accepted. ATMs do not exist. It is also almost impossible to cash out travel checks (only 2 banks in Baghdad work with them, and the procedure itself is replete with formalities and takes a lot of time).

Officially, foreign currency can be used in specialized duty-free shops in Baghdad, while a passport must be presented, and the amount of a one-time purchase cannot exceed $200. However, in practice, US dollars, euros and currencies of neighboring countries have practically unlimited circulation in Iraq (hotels, for example, usually require payment only in foreign currency).

Useful information for tourists

In view of the tense situation, the state is practically not visited by foreign tourists.

Official name: Republic of Iraq.
Capital: Baghdad.

Population: 26,783,383 people (2006)
Language: Arabic, Kurdish.

Religion: islam
Territory: 437,072 sq. km.

Currency of Iraq: Iraqi dinar.

Calling code of Iraq - 964.

Geographic location and nature. State in Southwest Asia. In the east it borders with Iran (the length of the border is 1,458 km), in the south - with Saudi Arabia (814 km) and Kuwait (242 km), in the west - with Syria (605 km) and Jordan (181 km), in the north - with Turkey (331 km). In the south, Iraq is washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf. The total length of the border is 3,631 km, the length of the coastline is 58 km. Despite the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Iraq in 1990 after the end of the eight-year war, the development of an agreement regarding the border between the two countries continues. After the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi troops, the UN Boundary Commission established the Iraq-Kuwait demarcation line in accordance with Resolution No. 687 of June 17, 1992. Most of the territory is occupied by the Mesopotamian lowland, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; swamps formed at the confluence of these rivers and flow into the Persian Gulf. The ranges of the Armenian and Iranian highlands lie in the north and northeast of the country. The highest mountain is located on the Iranian Plateau - Hadji-Ibrahim (3600 m). To the west of the Euphrates lies the Syrian Desert, crossed by numerous dry riverbeds.

The main rivers of the country - Tigris and Euphrates, in addition, important rivers are the tributaries of the Tigris - Diyala, Big Zab and Small Zab. Large lakes: El-Milh, Tartar, El-Hammar. The bowels of the country are rich in oil and natural gas; phosphorites and sulfur are also mined.

History of Iraq . The fertile region of Mesopotamia, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, was the birthplace of several ancient civilizations such as Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria. For a long time, the territory of modern Iraq was part of Persia and the Seleucid state.

636 - Mesopotamia is conquered by the Arabs, who brought Islam with them.

762 - Baghdad becomes the center Arab Caliphate and remains so until the invasion of the Mongols in 1258.

1534-1914 - Mesopotamia as part of the Ottoman Empire.

1914-1921 - Mesopotamia under British occupation.

1921-1932 - proclamation of the Kingdom of Iraq (Arabic "land between the shores"). The League of Nations mandate issued to Great Britain is valid until 1932.

1932-1958 - declaration of independence. In 1955, Iraq signs the Baghdad Pact.

1958 - formation of a single Arab Union with the Kingdom of Jordan. The conspiracy of officers and the Revolution in Iraq 1958. The king, regent and prime minister of the country were killed, the monarchy was destroyed, Iraq was proclaimed a republic. Iraqi army brigade commander Abdel Kerim Qasem is head of the new regime. The Arab Union is disintegrating. Withdrawal from the Baghdad Pact, British military bases in the country are closed. The rule of General Qasem develops into a dictatorship.

February 1963 - As a result of the coup, the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Baath) comes to power. Execution of Kasem.

November 18, 1963 - power passed to the military junta headed by Abdel Salam Aref.

July 17, 1968 - The Ba'ath Party retakes power. The country was led by General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr.

1979-2003 - President of Iraq - Saddam Hussein.

1980-1988 - Iran-Iraq war.

1988 - The Iraqi army uses poison gas against Kurdish rebels.

January 17 - February 28, 1991 - Gulf War. Iraqi troops expelled from Kuwait.

1998 - Operation Fox in the Desert (American air raids on Baghdad).

2001 - After the events in New York on September 11, 2001, US President George W. Bush accuses Iraq, among other "rogue states" of supporting international terrorism and trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.

March 20 - May 1, 2003 - the invasion of the international coalition troops (the main participants are the USA and Great Britain) into Iraq with the aim of overthrowing Saddam Hussein, as well as to destroy weapons of mass destruction that were not found. The overthrow of the regime of Saddam Hussein with the support of Shiites and Kurds. On May 1, George W. Bush aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln proclaims: "The tyrant has fallen, Iraq is free!" - and declares the war won. The American Jay Garner, then Paul Bremer, becomes the head of the interim administration of Iraq. See also International Coalition Forces in Iraq.

2004 - The uprising of the Mahdi Army.

2006, December 30 - executed by hanging ex-president Iraqi Saddam Hussein.

Territory of modern Iraq - one of the centers of the formation of civilization. This land has been inhabited since time immemorial and is literally saturated with legends and myths. It is here that the Tigris and Euphrates flow, whose sources, according to legends, were in the Garden of Eden, the legendary cultures of Mesopotamia and Parthia, Assyria and Sumer, Akkad and Persia were born here, Babylon was noisy here with its famous Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel and the birthplace of Abraham was located - Ur of the Chaldees, one of the oldest cities on the planet - Baghdad, as well as the holy cities of An-Najaf and Karbala still stands here. The richest history of the country, the unique historical, cultural, archaeological and religious monuments of Iraq earned it the reputation of one of the most interesting places in Asia, which even the tragic events of the end could not prevent XX century.

Baghdad.The capital of Iraq is one of the oldest cities on the planet - already in XIX - XVIII centuries BC e. here, on the banks of the Tigris River, not far from the mouth of the Diyala River, there were human settlements. Modern Baghdad was founded in 762 as the capital of the Abbasid state, and by IX century, it has become the largest cultural and shopping center Middle East, becoming the capital of the Arab Caliphate. Repeatedly destroyed by the invaders almost to the ground, the city was quickly rebuilt each time, retaining, nevertheless, its radial structure.

Old Baghdad is an unimaginable mixture of narrow winding streets, markets and ancient adobe houses overlooking the Tigris embankment. Its main decorations are the old quarters themselves with their uneven cobblestone pavements, two-three-story houses with bizarrely decorated windows and doorways. Its historical monuments include Al-Mustansiriya Madrassah ( XIII c.), the Abbasid Palace ( XII-XIII c.), mausoleum of Zubaida ( XIII c.), the minaret of Suk-al-Ghazal ( XIII c.), the building of the Khan-Marjan caravanserai ( XIV c.), the Golden Mosque with the mausoleum of Musa al-Kadim ( XVI c.) and the famous Souk - a market that separates the old quarters from the younger areas. Outside the historical core of Baghdad, there are such unique monuments as the mosques of Ramadan and Bunniye (both XIV-XV centuries), the shrine of Al-Qadriya (Al-Kedereyya, XI c.) with a huge dome (1534), the complex of the Al-Adamiyya mosque on the territory of the mausoleum of Imam Abu Hanif ( 19th - 19th centuries), mausoleum and mosque of Al-Jailani ( XVI c.) with a huge dome and a luxurious library, the mausoleum of Omar al-Sahrawardi (1234), the El-Kadimayn Mosque (Al-Kadumayn, XV - XVI centuries - one of the most revered mosques in the Islamic world), Al-Jawaat ( XVI c.), Umm al-Mahar (Umm al-Maarik, XX c., the minarets of this mosque rise to a height of 43 m, and the Koran stored here was allegedly written in the blood of Saddam Hussein) and Al-Rahman ( XX c.), the mausoleum of Sitt-Zumurrud-Khatun (1202), as well as the new Mosque of the Caliphs with an ancient minaret, which belonged to the mosque of the Palace of the Caliphs about a thousand years ago.

Also noteworthy are the Vastani gates (Dafariyya, Bab el-Vastani, XIII c.) - the only surviving fragment of the medieval fortifications of the city, the ruins of the Halab gate (1221), the Armenian church of the Holy Virgin Mary, or Meskent (1640 - one of the oldest churches in Baghdad), Catholic Church St. Thomas (1866-1871) on Al-Khulafa street, the residence of the Chaldean patriarch and the temple of Our Lady of Sorrows (1838) belonging to the same denomination on Ras al-Gray, opposite the Shorja market, the Armenian Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( 1898) and the Syrian Catholic Church of the Holy Virgin Mary (1841).

Despite the desire of the occupying authorities to destroy all the monuments associated with the period of Hussein's rule, in the city you can still see the luxurious Ar-Rihab Palace in the western part of Baghdad and all eight of Saddam's palaces scattered throughout the city - Abu Guraib, Al-Salam, Al -Sejud, Al-Azimiya, Dora Farms, Radvaniya and the Republican Palace (access to the territory of most of these colorful buildings, which are real monuments of architecture and landscape architecture, is prohibited, but it is quite possible to view them from outside the fence), buildings of the Parliament and Government, the monument of the Revolution of June 14 (1960), the complex of the monument to the Unknown Soldier (1959) and the monument to the martyrs (1983) in memory of those killed in the Iran-Iraq war (both complexes have impressive museums), the monument to the Martyrs east of the bridge Dzhumkhuriya, the Arc de Triomphe, two arcs of which are made in the form of sabers cast from the metal of captured Iranian weapons, as well as many other structures of the period of the middle - end XX century.

Until recently, there were many museums in Baghdad, among which were such world-famous collections as the Archaeological Museum of Iraq, the Iraqi National Museum(the largest museum complex in the Middle East with 29 permanent exhibitions), the Iraqi Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Traditional Heritage, the Museum of National Costumes and Folklore with the Museum of Iraqi Art Pioneers nearby, the Museum of Natural History, the Iraqi War Museum and the Baghdad Museum. However, during the fighting in 2003, a significant part of the museum exhibits was looted, and at present their fate is unknown. There are also many parks in Baghdad, among which the most popular have always been the Zavra (Zaura) park, the gardens of Baghdad Island (60 hectares) with their numerous attractions, restaurants and amusement park, as well as the Baghdad Zoo in the bend of the Tigris.

The so-called Green Zone, within which all the palaces of the dictator were once located. Nowadays, this is a carefully guarded diplomatic and government area of ​​​​closed quarters in the very center of the capital, braided with barbed wire around the entire perimeter and furnished with roadblocks. Visiting the Hussein family's numerous villas, his underground bunker in the Belviere Palace, the headquarters of the once ruling Ba'ath Party, numerous ministries and departments (many of them very original designs), the Al-Rashid Hotel and many other structures is often almost impossible , but the general rhythm and lifestyle of this enclave of the new government, living in almost complete isolation from the rest of the city, is simply unparalleled in the world.

Always famous for its markets, Baghdad can still offer many colorful shopping areas, including the famous markets of copper workers (boilermakers), the Al-Bazzazin weavers market, the large Shorja bazaar - one of the most important shopping centers in the city, the Mustanser shopping street with dozens of haberdashery shops, women's clothing and jewelry, as well as dozens of small bazaars scattered almost throughout the capital

The ruins of the ancient capital of Babylonia - the main archaeological site of Iraq - lie about 100 kilometers south of Baghdad, on the banks of the Euphrates. According to scientists, already XXIII in. BC e. there was a large trading center on this place, and it arose on the ruins of an even more ancient Sumerian settlement. Thus, Babylon can be considered the oldest city on the planet. It was the center of Sumer and Urartu, Akkadia and Mesopotamia, Susiana and Assyria, Babylonia and the Achaemenid Empire. The ancient city reached its greatest prosperity in 626-538. BC e., when many temples and palaces were built, a powerful fortification system, as well as many other structures, including those included in the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel. However, already in 331 BC. e. Babylon was conquered by Alexander the Great, who was going to make the capital of his vast empire, but after his death, this idea was forgotten, and by the beginning of a new era, only ruins remained on the site of the city.

To this day, in varying degrees of safety, only fragments of the former greatness of the city have survived - Summer and winter palaces Nebuchadnezzar II(it is believed that it was on the terraces of these palaces that the famous area of ​​\u200b\u200babout 1.4 hectares was located), a unique seven-tiered ziggurat, Processional Street (the world's first asphalt road that went to the main temple of the city - Esagila), the famous Babylonian Lion and the Ishtar Gate (copy , the original gate is kept in the Berlin Museum). The ruthless time literally turned all other houses and structures into dust (clay unbaked brick mixed with straw and natural asphalt - the main construction material ancient city - turned out to be very unstable to the effects of wind and salt ground water). Around the ruins of Babylon, you can see the monumental country residence of Saddam Hussein and several ancient burial mounds that have not yet been excavated.

At the same time, many cities are scattered across the land of Mesopotamia that can compete with ancient Babylon: the ancient Ur(one of the oldest Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia, lying in the lower reaches of the Euphrates River); the ancient capital of Arcadia and the Sassanid Empire - the city Stesiphon(38 km from Baghdad) with its imperial palace complex and famous arch dating from V-IV centuries BC e.; included in the list of world cultural heritage ancient city Ashur(Kalat-Sherkat) in northern Mesopotamia - the first capital of the Assyrian Empire ( III

The territory of modern Iraq is one of the centers of the formation of civilization. This land has been inhabited since ancient times and is steeped in history: according to legends, the Tigris and Euphrates originate in the Garden of Eden, and the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Assyria, Parthia, Sumer, Akkad and Persia originated here.

The Republic of Iraq is located in the Mesopotamian lowland, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It borders Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iran. Washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf.
Iraq has large reserves of oil and natural gas.

State symbols

Flag- a rectangular panel of three equal horizontal stripes: top red, middle white and bottom black with an inscription in green"God is great" ("Allahu Akbar") on a white stripe. The ratio of the flag's width to its length is 2:3. The flag was approved on January 22, 2008.

Coat of arms– includes the Eagle of Saladin associated with 20th century Pan-Arabism, a shield with an Iraqi flag, and below a scroll with the Arabic words الجمهورية العراقية (“Republic of Iraq)”. The coat of arms was approved in 2008.

Modern state structure

Form of government- a parliamentary republic based on the consensus of the three main ethno-religious communities of the Iraqi people: Shia Arabs, Sunni Arabs and Kurds. Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Sunnis largely led the country, and after his overthrow they found themselves in opposition.
The country is currently in a state of political instability.
head of state- the president.
Head of the government- Prime Minister.
Capital- Baghdad.
Largest cities- Baghdad, Mosul.
official languages- Arabic, New Aramaic, Sorani.
Territory- 437,072 km².
Population– 31 858 481 people Shiites in Iraq represent 65% of the population, Sunnis - 35%. Shiites live in the south, Kurds - in the north, Christians - dispersed. The Yezidis are an ethno-confessional group mainly living in northern Iraq. During the reign of Saddam Hussein, the Christian population of the country, numbering 1.8 million in 2003, was under the protection of the authorities. With the beginning of the American occupation and the reign of anarchy and chaos, the country was swept by a wave of pogroms directed against Christians and Yezidis, which were accompanied by murders and robberies. The attacking side in this case are both Sunnis and Shiites with Kurds. All this led to a significant outflow of Christians from Iraq and to a reduction in the Christian population of the country to 600 thousand people.
State religion- Islam. Religious affiliation remains the most important factor in self-identification.
Climate- subtropical mediterranean.
Currency- Iraqi dinar.
Administrative division– 18 governorates (regions).
Sport- the most popular are weightlifting, freestyle and classical wrestling, football, volleyball and basketball. Wrestling, target shooting, and running are the most popular among the population. There are many stadiums in the country.

Education- universal free secular education at all stages - from kindergarten to university. Primary schooling is compulsory for all children from the age of 6. It lasts 6 years and ends with exams, on the basis of which students move to secondary school. Secondary education includes two three-year stages. After graduating from high school, you can enter technological institutes or universities. In higher educational institutions, preference is given to liberal arts education. Their graduates often go to work in government agencies. Humanitarian universities also train specialists in creative professions. The language of instruction is Arabic, with the exception of the northern regions, where the first grades of elementary school are taught in Kurdish. English has been taught since the fifth grade. There are six universities in Iraq: three in Baghdad and one each in Basra, Mosul and Erbil. 19 technological institutes.

Economy. The basis of the economy is the export of oil. The economy developed dynamically in the 1970s. But in connection with the Iran-Iraq war, the economy began to degrade and quickly fell into decay.
Developed energy. Most of the agricultural land is occupied by pastures, because The soil of Iraq is arid and saline. The main agricultural crops are wheat, barley and rice. Large areas in the river valleys are set aside for date palm plantations.
Animal husbandry: breeding of sheep and goats, to a lesser extent cattle, mainly in mountainous areas.
Armed forces- Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Forces.

culture

Clothing in detail is different in different parts of the country, but in general it is close to the North Arab Bedouin costume. Men wear tapering, usually white trousers and a long, wide shirt (dishdasha) tied with a belt. In cold weather, an open raincoat (aba) is put on top. The headdress is a scarf (yashmag), held by a woolen plait (agal) twisted around the head. Footwear - wooden or leather sandals, more than wealthy people wear soft shoes. The rice growers and fishermen of Southern Iraq often wear only a loincloth.

Women's clothing: trousers, a long dress (atag) of bright colors for young women and dark for older women, and a silk or woolen cloak (aba). The head is covered with a dark scarf, tied on the forehead with a strip of fabric (chardag). Another handkerchief (foot) descends from the chin to the chest; women who have made a pilgrimage to holy places wear a white foot. Jewelry and amulets are varied: rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, earrings, nose rings and brooches made from a wide variety of materials.
The food is dominated by dates, barley and wheat cakes, rice, sour milk, vegetables. Favorite drinks - tea, coffee, fruit sherbets, lemonade - hamud, sour milk diluted with water with salt.

Musician

Iraqi folk music, known as the music of Mesopotamia, refers to music Arab world, but contains elements of Turkish, Persian and Indian musical cultures. Songs in colloquial Arabic are popular among mass audiences. Jalil Bashir and some other composers write music for traditional Arabic instruments: udd (lute) and qanun (zither).

Poetry is the most popular genre of literature. Fine art is less popular. The country's painters and sculptors work in forms that most reflect the traditions and culture of Iraq. The art of ornamentation and calligraphy are especially developed. Many modern artists create in the style of abstractionism, surrealism, cubism, symbolism, although their works are not without national features. One of the most famous innovative artists of recent times is Javad Salim, whose work has received international recognition.

Javad Salim (1919-1961)

The largest Iraqi artist, sculptor and graphic artist of the 20th century. One of the founders of modern national art of Iraq. Studied sculpture in Paris, Rome, studied in London. In the late 1940s he finally returned to his homeland.
He is the founder of the Baghdad Association of Contemporary Art. He was one of the initiators of the creation of the Institute fine arts in Baghdad. His most famous work is the Freedom Monument (1960), erected in Baghdad in honor of the 1958 revolution.

Painting by D. Salim

There are libraries in all major cities of Iraq. The Public Library in Baghdad has the largest collection. There are also mass rural libraries.
Baghdad publishes 7 daily newspapers in Arabic or English. A number of state and public organizations have their own publications.
State radio broadcasting, television and cinema work. The film industry in Iraq is underdeveloped; on average, one full-length film is produced per year. Popular with viewers are Egyptian, Indian, American and Italian films.

Nature

Flora

In the western, southwestern and southern regions, subtropical steppe and semi-desert vegetation is most common: wormwood, saltwort, camel thorn, dzhuzgun, astragalus. In El Jazeera and the northeast, forb vegetation predominates. Above 2500 m there are summer pastures. Mountain-oak forests have been preserved in the mountains in the north and north-east of the country: oaks, comb (tamarix), pine, wild pear, pistachio, juniper, etc. Prickly bushes are common at the foot of the mountain ranges.

wild pear

In the floodplain of the Euphrates, the Tigris and its tributaries, tugai forest vegetation with shrub undergrowth is common, including poplars, willows, and combs. In the southeast, large swampy massifs are occupied by reed-reed thickets and solonchak vegetation. In the river valleys of central and southern Iraq, large areas are set aside for date palm plantations.

Fauna

The fauna of Iraq is not very rich. In the steppes and semi-deserts there are gazelle, jackal, striped hyena. Rodents and reptiles (lizard and poisonous snake cobra) are widespread.

Many waterfowl (flamingos, pelicans, ducks, geese, swans, herons, etc.) settle along the river banks. There are a lot of fish in the rivers and lakes: carp, carp, catfish, etc. In the Persian Gulf, horse mackerel, mackerel, barracuda, and shrimps are caught. In Iraq, there are many insects that carry malaria and other diseases, especially mosquitoes and mosquitoes.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iraq

Hatra

The ruined ancient city in the Parthian kingdom, founded BC. e., its heyday fell on the I-II centuries, and the destruction occurred in 257. Its ruins are located on the territory of Northern Iraq, in the province of Nineveh. The total area of ​​the city was approximately 320 hectares, the plan of the city resembled an oval in shape. It is of historical value, combines Hellenistic and ancient Roman architecture with Arabic decor.

Ashur (city)

Capital ancient Assyria, the first city built by the Assyrians and named after the Assyrian Supreme God Ashur.
The deterioration of the climate Arabian Peninsula in the second half of the III millennium BC. e. caused the migration of Semitic tribes from there to the middle course of the Euphrates and beyond. The northern group of these Semitic migrants were the Assyrians, closely related in origin and language to the tribes that settled in that part of Mesopotamia where the Euphrates approaches the Tigris and were called Akkadians.

Sanbenito

City on east coast Tigris River, 125 km north of Baghdad. From the north, east and south, instead of walls, the city is protected by ancient irrigation canals. The name Samarra comes from the Arabic phrase "joy to the beholder". Some buildings in the city date back to the 5th century. BC.
Samarra is considered the holy city of the Shiites, because. the remains of two imams of Askari rest in the golden-domed mosque of Askaria.

Sights of Iraq

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. They were created at the beginning of the 7th century. BC. for the wife of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. Presumably they were located in the ancient state of Babylon, near the modern city of Hilla (a city in the central part of Iraq).
Dusty and noisy Babylon, located on a bare sandy plain, did not please the queen, who grew up in the mountainous and green Media. To console her, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the erection of hanging gardens. But in historical science, the name of the gardens was mistakenly assigned to the Assyrian queen Semiramis, who lived two centuries earlier. The name of Nebuchadnezzar's wife was Amitis (or Amanis).

Ziggurat at Ur

The best-preserved temple complex of the Ancient Mesopotamia. Erected in the XXI century. BC e. (about 2047 BC) in the city of Ur by the local kings Ur-Nammu and Shulgi, as well as the sanctuary of Ekishnugal, in honor of the moon deity Nanna. Subsequently, it was rebuilt more than once, it was significantly expanded by the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus. The foundation of the temple complex is 64x46 m, the height is up to 30 m.

Temple of Imam Hussein

One of the oldest mosques in the world and a Shiite holy site in the city of Karbala. It stands on the site of the tomb of Husayn ibn Ali, Muhammad's second grandson, not far from where he was killed during the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. The tomb of Husayn ibn Ali is one of the holiest places for Shiites outside of Mecca and Medina, and many make a pilgrimage to this place every year.

National Museum of Iraq (Baghdad)

Al-Shahid Monument (Baghdad)

Also known as the Martyr's Memorial. Dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war. The monument was opened in 1983. The authors are Iraqi architect Saman Kamal and Iraqi sculptor and artist Ismail Fattah al-Turk.

The monument consists of circular platforms 190 m in diameter in the center of an artificial lake. A huge 40-meter turquoise dome stands on the platform. The two halves of the split dome are displaced, in the middle of them there is an eternal flame.
The rest of the monument area consists of a park, a playground, a parking lot, sidewalks, a bridge, and a lake.
The museum, library, cafeteria, lecture hall and exhibition gallery are located on two levels under the domes.

Baghdad Zoo

Opened in 1971. During the Gulf War, it was badly damaged, but was not closed and continued its work until 2002, when Saddam Hussein closed it for reconstruction. During the invasion of the coalition forces in 2003, the zoo suffered severe damage, the zoo staff left it, leaving the animals behind. During the Battle of Baghdad, out of about 700 animals that lived in the zoo at that time, only 35 survived. The zoo was badly damaged by looters. After the restoration of the zoo with the support of US Army engineers, it was opened on July 20 of the same year. At the time of opening, the zoo had 86 animals, including 19 surviving lions. Now the number of animals is more than a thousand.

Story

Iraq in antiquity

In the region of Mesopotamia, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, several ancient civilizations (Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria) originated. This was due to the fertility of the local soils. The first states on these lands appeared in the 4th millennium BC. e. The territory of modern Iraq was part of Persia and the Seleucid state.
The Arabs conquered Mesopotamia in 636 and brought Islam with them.
In 762, Baghdad became the center of the Arab Caliphate and remained so until the invasion of the Mongols in 1258 - Baghdad was destroyed and the caliph was killed.

Iraq within the Ottoman Empire

In 1534, the territory of Mesopotamia was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and became part of the Ottoman Empire as a province with the name Ottoman Iraq. The province existed until 1918.
British troops invaded southern Iraq in 1914 and by 1918 had taken control of almost all of Iraq.
In 1921, the Kingdom of Iraq was proclaimed, which lasted until 1932.

Iraqi independence

In 1932, Iraq declared its independence, but the real power largely remained with Great Britain, the oil fields were in the concession of the Turkish petroleum consortium.
In 1948, under the Portsmouth Treaty imposed by the British government, Great Britain received the right to occupy the country in the event of a military threat. In 1955, Iraq signed the Baghdad Pact (military-political grouping in the Middle East, created on the initiative of Great Britain, the United States and Turkey, which existed in 1955-1979)
In 1958 Iraq formed a single Arab Federation with the Kingdom of Jordan. As a result of a conspiracy of officers and a revolution in July of the same year, the king, regent and prime minister of the country were killed, the monarchy was destroyed, and Iraq was proclaimed a republic.

Abdel Kerim Kasem

The head of the new regime was the commander of the brigade of the Iraqi army, Abdel Kerim Kasem. The Arab Federation collapsed. In 1961 Iraq withdrew from the Baghdad Pact, British military bases in the country were closed. But the rule of General Kasem develops into a dictatorship and politically draws closer to the communists.
On September 11, 1961, the Kurdish uprising began under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani. A Free Kurdistan emerged, which lasted until March 1975.

Mustafa Barzani

In 1963, there was a coup, the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Baath) came to power. Kasem was executed, began mass repression against the communists. Saddam Hussein, who returned from exile from Cairo, condemned the then Ba'ath leadership for these repressions.
In November 1963, a military junta led by Abdel Salam Aref came to power. Many Ba'ath leaders were executed, Saddam Hussein was arrested and tortured in prison.
In 1968, the Ba'ath Party took power again and allied itself with the Iraqi Communist Party.
On March 11, 1970, a Kurdish-Iraqi treaty was concluded on the formation of an autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. In March 1974, Baghdad publishes its own version of the law on autonomy without the consent of the Kurds. In response, Barzani raises a new rebellion.
In March 1975, in Algiers, Saddam Hussein and the Shah of Iran conclude an agreement, and after that the Shah stops supporting Barzani. The Kurdish uprising failed, and Free Kurdistan was liquidated.
On July 11, 1979, there was a palace coup in Baghdad with the resignation of President al-Bakr, and Saddam Hussein occupies the presidency until 2003.
In 1979, the Iraqi Communist Party goes underground and starts a guerrilla war in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, in which Kurdish nationalists gradually begin to participate.

Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

Reasons: ethnic and religious, political and economic, ideological and personal. The struggle for dominance in the region, the fragility of national cohesion and an arbitrary approach to the creation of "states" and the definition of their borders on the map of the Ottoman Empire that ceased to exist after the First World War. Geography was at the center of the conflict.

On the streets of Baghdad

The war began on September 22, 1980 with the invasion of the Iraqi army into the Iranian province of Khuzestan. By the summer of 1982, Iran returned the territories occupied by Iraq, after which the parties began a war of attrition. The armistice that ended the war was signed on 20 August 1988 and restored the pre-war situation.
In terms of duration, resources involved, and human casualties, the Iran-Iraq war is one of the largest military conflicts since World War II. During the war, chemical weapons were actively used.
June 7, 1981 14 Israeli fighter-bombers destroy two Iraqi nuclear reactor(Operation "Opera"), operating and under construction, as well as related research laboratories. The reactors were created with the help of France.
In 1987-1989 The Iraqi army conducted an Anfal military campaign against the guerrilla groups of Iraqi communists and Kurds, and chemical weapons were used. Between 100,000 and 180,000 civilians were killed during the operation.
On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait, which was occupied and annexed by Iraq.
February 28, 1991 after 5 weeks of air bombing and 4 days ground war Kuwait was liberated by the forces of the international coalition led by the United States.
After the events in New York on September 11, 2001, US President George W. Bush accused Iraq, among other "rogue states", of supporting international terrorism and trying to develop weapons of mass destruction. In a private conversation, George W. Bush said, "God instructed me to hit Saddam." Thus began the Iraq War.

Iraqi War

This is a military conflict that began with the invasion of US forces and their allies in Iraq in order to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein.
The invasion took place on March 20, 2003 (main actors US and UK) to overthrow Saddam Hussein and destroy weapons of mass destruction that were never found. On May 1, George W. Bush, aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, proclaimed: "The tyrant has fallen, Iraq is free!" and declared the war won. The American Jay Garner, then Paul Bremer became the head of the interim administration of Iraq.

Destroyed Iraqi T-72 tank

Shiite extremist groups and the Iraqi Communist Party emerged from the underground. The Ba'ath Party went underground and organized a guerrilla war.
The Americans killed Saddam's two sons and his 14-year-old grandson, first in a shootout and then by aerial bombing of the house where they were hiding.
Since the summer of 2003, a guerrilla war began, which reached its maximum by the summer of 2007.
On December 30, 2006, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging.

Saddam Hussein (1937-2006)

Saddam Hussein is one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century. In Iraq, he was hated, feared and idolized. In the 1970s, he was the most popular personality in Iraq. Under him, the standard of living of the Iraqis rose sharply, which was associated with the nationalization of the Iraqi oil wealth. The Iraqi government invested huge revenues from oil exports in the development of the economy and the social sphere.
But, having become the president of the country, he plunged the country into a war with Iran, this war destroyed the Iraqi economy. He occupied neighboring Kuwait and became worst enemy represented by the West and the United States. Sanctions were imposed on Iraq, which worsened the standard of living of Iraqis, and this changed the opinion of the president.
He suppressed any dissent, carried out repressions against his enemies: he brutally suppressed the uprisings of Shiites and Kurds in 1991, struck at the Kurdish resistance in 1987-1988, got rid of real and potential enemies with the help of dexterity and intrigue, etc.
Saddam Hussein said about himself: “I don't care what they say about me now. I care about what people will say about me four or five hundred centuries after my death.”
5 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the violence in the country does not subside, remember his times.
The parties that won the 2010 elections were mired in endless squabbles. On December 18, 2011, the last US forces were withdrawn from Iraq. The remaining military, as well as officers of the Iraqi army, guard the US embassy.