http___en.wikipedia.org_wiki_History_of_Iraq_1.xml
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Ирак Република Ирак е държава в Близкия изток, намираща се на територията на някогашна Месопотамия. Тя граничи със Саудитска Арабия и Кувейт на юг, с Турция на север, със Сирия и Йордания на запад и с Иран на изток. Местността между реките Тигър и Ефрат от древни времена е била люлка на велики цивилизации — шумерите, асирийците и вавилонците. По-късно тези райони попадат под властта на Персия, преди да бъдат завладени от арабите през 656 г. През 762 г. халифатът е преместен в Багдад, който се превръща в един от центровете на арабския свят, преди да бъде разрушен от монголците и Хулагу, през 1258 г. По-късно е завладян от османците през 1534 г. Участието на Османската империя в Първата световна война се превръща в национална катастрофа и се стига до разделянето ѝ на няколко по-малки държави. Франция поема контрола върху Сирия и Ливан, а Великобритания — над Палестина и Ирак. През 1932г. държавата е провъзгласена за независима монархия. През 1958 г. след държавен преврат Ирак престава да бъде монархия и се превръща в република. Баасистите започват да набират сила и завземат властта през 1968, а през 1979 президент на страната става Саддам Хюсеин. Партия Баас активно модернизира страната и въвежда арабска форма на социализма. Ирак води война с Иран, която завършва без ясен победител, но с милиони жертви и за двете страни. След войната в Персийския залив през 1991 г. Ирак се намира в положение на международна изолация, продължила до втората война в залива през 2003 г., когато САЩ и коалиция от държави окупират страната, свалят режима на Саддам Хюсеин и инсталират ново правителство. Съдържание - 1 История - 2 География - 3 Държавно устройство - 4 Административно деление - 5 Население - 6 Икономика - 7 Култура - 8 Други - 9 Източници - 10 Външни препратки История[редактиране | edit source] Древен Ирак[редактиране | edit source] Ирак често е наричан „люлка на цивилизацията“, тъй като тук се е развила най-старата цивилизация на Земята — шумерската, която процъфтява в долината между реките Тигър и Ефрат по време на халколита. Именно тук преди 6000 години се създава първата писменост и започва да се записва самата човешка история. Шумерската цивилизация се развива стабилно в продължение на 3000 години, и бива наследена от Акадското царство през 24 век пр.н.е.. След повече от два века, през 21 век пр.н.е., започва т.нар. Шумерско възраждане, което продължава до 2004 пр.н.е., когато еламско нашествие слага край на шумерския възход. През 18 век се появява нова могъща цивилизация — Вавилония, която става хегемон в южен Ирак, а паралелно с нея на север се формира Асирия. През 6 век пр.н.е. персийският цар Кир II Велики побеждава Нововавилонското царство в битката при Опис и го включва в състава на Ахеменидската империя за почти 4 века. През 4-ти век Александър Велики завладява тези територии и днешен Ирак става част от елинистичното Селевкидско царство за почти 200 години.[2] Аршакидската династия на Партското царство, начело с Митридат I (171-138 г.) на свой ред завземат тези територии. Римляните от Сирия също нападат региона няколко пъти. Ардашир I от Сасанидското царство унищожава Партия и покорява Ирак през 224 н.е. Така регионът става част от Персия в продължение на няколко века — до 7 век, когато мюсюлманите завладяват Месопотамия. Ислямски златен век[редактиране | edit source] През 7 век мюсюлманите разпространяват исляма в Ирак. Братовчедът на пророка Мохамед — Али ибн Абу Талиб, премества столицата на Рашидунския халифат в Куфа, откъдето управлява като четвърти халиф. По-късно територията става част от халифата на умаядите. През 8 век абасидите построяват Багдад като нова столица, и градът се превръща във водещ център за ислямския и арабския свят в продължение на 5 века. Багдад става най-големият мултикултурен град на Средновековието с население от над 1 милион жители,[3] и е най-големият научен център по време на Ислямския златен век. Монголците опустошават и ограбват града през 1258 година.[4] Монголско нашествие[редактиране | edit source] През 1257 година хан Хулагу събира огромна армия, съставяща голяма част от всички войски на монголската империя, за да завладее Багдад. Хулагу настоява пред арабските управници града да му бъде предаден доброволно, но последният абасидски халиф — Ал-Мустасим, отказва. В отговор хан Хулагу превзема града и го унищожава, избивайки между 200 000 и 1 000 000 от жителите му,[5] а Ал-Мустасим е убит чрез стъпкване от коне. Резултатите от монголското нашествие са налице — голямата библиотека на Багдад, съдържаща хиляди безценни документи, е изгорена; напоителните системи, поддържали земеделието по тези земи в развет в продължение на хилядолетия, биват унищожени. Самият Багдад никога не възвръща величието си. В средата на 14 век чумата опустошава целия ислямски свят.[6] Най-малко 1/3 от населението на Сирия, Ирак и Иран умира.[7] През 1401 друг монголски пълководец — Тамерлан, пленява отново града и избива 20 000 от жителите му.[8] Османски Ирак[редактиране | edit source] В края на 14 и началото на 15 век т.нар. черни туркомани налагат управлението си над днешен Ирак. През 1466 те са изгонени от белите туркомани, а през 16 век цялата територия става част от Османската империя под названието Багдадски пашалък. През целия период на османско управление (1533-1918) днешен Ирак е арена на борби между племена и различни османски родове. Сефевидите на два пъти успяват за кратко да отвоюват Ирак от османците, между 1508 и 1533 и 1622 и 1638. Между 1747 и 1831 мамелюците успяват да придобият автономия от Високата порта, смазват племенните въстания, намаляват властта на еничарите, възстановяват обществения ред и провеждат програма за модернизация на обществото и войската. През 1831 османците премахват мамелюците от властта и възстановяват пълния си контрол върху Ирак.[9] До началото на 20 век населението на Ирак се свива до по-малко от 5 милиона души.[10] Британска окупация и кралство Ирак[редактиране | edit source] Краят на османският контрол върху Ирак идва по време на Първата световна война. Османската империя застава на страната на Централните сили, което става повод Великобритания да влезе във война с нея. По време на т.нар. Месопотамска кампания британците претърпяват тежка загуба при обсадата на Кут (1915-16), но успяват да се възстановят от удара и завладяват Багдад през 1917 година. През 1918 двете страни подписват примирие. Територията на Ирак е отцепена от Османската империя от французите и англичаните съгласно подписаното през 1916 тайно споразумение Сайкс-Пико, в което Франция, Великобритания и Руската империя определят сферите си на влияние в западна Азия. На 11 ноември 1920 година получава мандат от Обществото на народите под британски контрол и наименованието "Иракска държава". Великобритания налага монархия начело с Хашемитската династия и окончателно предопределя иракските граници, без да вземе под внимание интересите на отделните етнически и религиозни групи, като кюрдите и асирийците на север. Това довежда до шиитски и кюрдски бунтове по време на британския мандат. Ръководството на багдадския комисар Арнолд Уилсън довежда до всенародно Иракско въстание. Това събитие, съчетано с високите разходи на Великобритания за тази територия, опитите за налагане на пълен колониален контрол и протестите на Томас Лорънс принуждават британците да сменят Уилсън с нов комисар — сър Пърси Кокс, който потушава бунта и поставя в благоприятна позиция сунитите. По време на управлението си британците подкрепят традиционната шейхова структура на сунитите пред градското националистическо движение. На сунитските шейхове се дават много права на самоуправление, но строгият военен контрол се запазва. През 1932 на Ирак е дадена независимост, но Великобритания запазва силно военно присъствие. Първият крал — Файсал I, управлява само една година, до 1933, след което е сменен от крал Гази I. Монархията е нестабилна и опитите за военен преврат са чести. През 1930-те Рашид Али ал-Гайлани и група приближени офицери влизат в контакт с държавите-членки на Оста в опит да договорят премахване на британското влияние в Ирак. Това довежда до организиран от ал-Гайлани преврат през 1941, чийто неуспех е причината Великобритания да обяви война на Ирак и да го окупира. Окупацията официално приключва през 1947 година. Краят на монархията настъпва на 14 юли 1958 година, когато с успешен военен преврат кралската власт е свалена. Република Ирак[редактиране | edit source] Превратът от 1958 докарва на власт генерал Абд ал-Карим Касим. Едно от първите му действия е оттеглянето от Багдадския пакт (СЕНТО) и установяване на близки отношения с СССР. Правителството му обаче е свалено — отново чрез преврат — през февруари 1963 година от Абдул Салам Ариф. Ариф умира през 1966 и президентският пост е поет от брат му. В крайна сметка и той е свален от власт, този път от партия БААС начело с Ахмед Хасан ал-Бакир. Постепенно обаче влиянието му започва да намалява за сметка на това на Саддам Хюсеин, който става държавен глава през 1979. БААС национализира голяма част от промишлеността и транспорта, забранява изповядването на радикален ислям и дава равни права на жените. Малко след като Саддам поема властта, ситуацията в съседен Иран се променя коренно — светският режим на шаха е свален от радикалните поддръжници на аятоллах Хомейни и е установена шиитска теократична държава. Иракското правителство възприема тази промяна като опасна за стабилността на Ирак, тъй като шиитите са мнозинство в страната. Иракските шиите се разделят — едни поддържат светската позиция на БААС, а други подкрепят установяването на шериат. През 1980 година Саддам твърди, че Иран се опитва да свали правителството му, и обявява война. Саддам поддържа групировката Народни мужахидини на Иран, която се бори против аятолаха, а иракската армия използва широк спектър от специални въоръжения, включително химически, срещу военни и цивилни в Иран. Войната се води в окопи от една страна, и с размяна на ракетни удари от друга (т.нар. "Война на градовете"). Западните страни, САЩ[11][12] и СССР застават на страната на Ирак, възприемайки го като "по-малкото зло", но международната подкрепа за правителството на Саддам драстично намалява след кампанията Ал-Анфал. По време на тази военна операция иракската армия организира геноцид срещу кюрдите,[13] вследствие на което са убити 182 000 кюрди.[14] Кулминацията на кампанията е обгазяването на Халабджа, при което загиват 4000 души. Това е наказателна акция за подкрепата на кюрдите към иранската кауза. Ирано-иракската война приключва през 1988 година с незначителни териториални промени и стотици хиляди загинали. Мобилизацията на Ирак засяга по-голям процент от жителите, като към 1988 иракската армия е 4-тата най-голяма в света.[15] Война в Залива[редактиране | edit source] През 1990 година Ирак се намира в състояние на икономически колапс. Същевременно съседен Кувейт с население от около едва 1 милион души увеличава производството и износа си на петрол, което се отразява зле на иракския износ на тази суровина. Ирак обвинява Кувейт, че краде петролните му запаси чрез пробиване на диагонални шахти, които минават през границата и изтеглят иракски петрол в кувейтски кладенци. Кувейт отрича обвинението, в отговор на което през август 1990 Ирак го напада. ООН решава да наложи икономически санкции на Ирак и го призовава незабавно да изтегли войските си от по-малката страна. Ирак не се съгласява с тези искания и отхвърля санкциите. В отговор Съветът за сигурност на ООН гласува резолюция 678, която дава право на страните-членки да използват всякакви средства за "възстановяване на мира и сигурността". В последствие САЩ, които имат огромни интереси към петролните запаси района на Персийския залив, повеждат международна коалиция за освобождаването на Кувейт. Военната коалиция от западни държави изтласква иракската армия от Кувейт. Американските войски разполагат с голямо технологично предимство пред изтощените от недостиг на ресурси иракски въоръжени сили. Коалицията започва и масирани въздушни бомбардировки над военни цели в Ирак, но някои от ударите убиват и много цивилни. Такава е въздушната атака над Амирия, при която загиват 408 цивилни.[16][17][18] Преди окончателното си изтегляне от Кувейт обаче, иракските сили подпалват петролните кладенци там, което предизвиква икономическа и екологична катастрофа в Кувейт. Саддам отговаря на загубата с изстрелване на ракети „Скъд“ срещу Израел и Саудитска Арабия. Въпреки това Ирак е окончателно победен, а последвалите резолюции на ООН призовават режима на Саддам да спре репресиите срещу етнически малцинства, да се откаже от програмите си за химически и биологични оръжия и да спре опитите за създаване на ядрено оръжие. Установява се зона, забранена за полети, която да попречи на самолети от иракските военновъздушни сили да организират удари срещу кюрдски и шиитски цели. В резултат на икономическите санкции обаче в страната през 1990-те години умират 500 000 деца по данни на УНИЦЕФ.[19] Според бившия главен прокурор на САЩ Рамзи Кларк броят на загиналите от 1990 до 2002 в следствие на ефектите от икономическите санкции, бомбардировките и отравяне с обеднен уран е 1,5 милиона души.[20] Американска окупация на Ирак[редактиране | edit source] През 1990 г. Саддам Хюсеин самоволно окупира Кувейт с цел да наложи контрол над нефтените залежи на страната, но Съюзниците, начело със САЩ освобождават Кувейт. Тогава е имало сведения, че Саддам Хюсеин планира да използва оръжия за масово унищожение и подкрепя ислямските терористи, поради което САЩ, Великобритания, Австралия, Полша и Дания нападат Ирак и успяват за по-малко от месец да окупират цялата държава (последният град в ръцете на Саддам Хюсеин е Тикрит, който пада на 15 април 2003). На 28 юни 2004 властта е прехвърлена в ръцете на иракско правителство, макар че в страната продължават да се намират над 160 000 военнослужещи от редица държави, включително и България до края на 2005 г. Въпреки плановете на американците за сигурен и демократичен Ирак, особено след залавянето на Саддам Хюсеин на 13 декември 2003, в страната действат много терористични организации (най-вече в така наречения Сунитски триъгълник), а атентатите са ежедневие за жителите на много градове, сред които Багдад, Фалуджа, Рамади, Самара, Мосул, Басра, Бакуба, Кербала, Наджаф и др. Първите избори в Ирак след свалянето от власт на Саддам Хюсеин бяха проведени през февруари 2005 г. География[редактиране | edit source] Голяма част от територията на Ирак е заета от пустини, но районът между двете основни реки — Тигър и Ефрат — и наоколо е плодороден. В северната част на страната преобладава планински релеф, като най-високата точка е връх Хаджи Ибрахим (3600 м). Ирак има тесен излаз на Персийския залив. Близо до брега и в района на река Шат ал-Араб, в която се сливат Тигър и Ефрат, доскоро е имало големи по площ блата, но всички те са пресушени до средата на 1990-те години. Климатът е от пустинен тип, с меки до хладни зими и сухи, горещи и безоблачни летни месеци. В северните райони зимите са студени и с почти постоянни снеговалежи и по тази причина напролет често има наводнения. Столицата Багдад се намира на река Тигър, в центъра на плодородната и населена източна част от страната. Центровете на Южен и Северен Ирак са съответно Басра и Мосул. Ирак се смята за едно от 15-те места на планетата, наричани под общото наименование „Люлка на цивилизацията“. Държавно устройство[редактиране | edit source] До 2003 година Ирак е авторитарна, еднопартийна диктатура. След свалянето на Саддам Хюсеин и партия БААС от власт страната е реорганизирана във федеративна парламентарна република, което е записано в конституцията от 2005 година. Политическата система се основава на консенсуса между трите основни етнорелигиозни общности - араби сунити, араби шиити и кюрди. Министър-председателят е основната политическа фигура в страната. Първият демократично избран премиер е Нури ал-Малики. Президент е Джалал Талабани. Неговият пост има много малко правомощия. Иракският парламент се състои от 275 депутата, а към днешна дата в него са представени четири партии. Заради лошата икономическа обстановка, корупцията и въоръжените борби между отделни групировки, правителството трудно упражнява контрол върху държавата. Вътрешната сигурност е слаба — различни радикални ислямски духовници и фундаменталисти организират бомбени атентати, които почти винаги водят до голям брой жертви. Иракски Кюрдистан е един от малкото стабилни региони, въпреки, че в икономическо отношение той е най-слабо развит. Въоръжени сили[редактиране | edit source] Въоръжените сили на Ирак, официално Иракски сили за сигурност представляват отбранителната институция на страната. Те включват армия, военновъздушни сили, военноморски флот, полицейски и полувоенни служби. Към 2008 общата численост на иракските сили за сигурност е 531 000 души (180 000 военни, 340 000 полицаи и други).[21] Целта на иракското правителство е да се постигне численост от 600 000 души към 2010. През 2009 въоръжените сили поемат задачата да опазват сигурността в цялата страна. Дотогава тази задача е била изпълнявана от коалиционните сили. Иракските войски към днешна дата са най-големият купувач на американско оръжие, вкл. джипове, транспортни самолети, танкове, бронетранспортьори, леко стрелково оръжие и комуникационна апаратура. Въпреки това нивото на подготовка е слабо. Военни болници в страната няма, в следствие на което ранените войници трябва да бъдат лекувани в граждански медицински заведения, които са малко на брой. Административно деление[редактиране | edit source] Ирак е разделен на 18 провинции (по време на войната в Персийския залив Кувейт за кратко става 19-та провинция), на арабски наричани мухафазати (ед.ч. — мухафаза), а на кюрдски паризгати (ед.ч. — паризга): Население[редактиране | edit source] Населението на Ирак към 2009 е 28 946 000 души. Около 75-80% от тях са араби, 15-20% са кюрди, под 5% са тюркмени, асирийци, халдейци, арменци, чеченци, черкези, евреи, мандайци, бахайци, йезиди, иранци и други. 97% от населението принадлежи към ислямската вяра. Две-трети от мюсюлманите са шиити. Средната грамотност на населението е 74,1%. Икономика[редактиране | edit source] Ирак има смесена икономика с голямо държавно участие. След откриването на огромните нефтени запаси през 1927 г. Ирак става водещ световен производител на нефт. Ирак разполага и с едни от най-големите в света запаси на сяра, която е суровина за различни химически производства. С установяването на режима на Саддам Хюсеин голяма част от приходите отиват за въоръжаване. През 1980 г. Ирак започва осемгодишна война с Иран, в която загиват над 300 000 иракчани, а през 1990 г. иракски войски нахлуват в Кувейт. През 1991 г. коалиция от държави, водени от САЩ, изтласкват иракските войски от Кувейт. Наложените от ООН санкции поставят Ирак в международна изолация. Ирак използва нефтените си запаси само за вътрешни нужди. В резултат брутният вътрешен продукт е намален наполовина. Нанесените материални щети, човешките жертви по време на войната в Залива и последвалото ембарго върху външната търговия, възпрепятстват развитието на икономиката на Ирак, което особено силно засяга най-бедните слоеве на иракското население. Култура[редактиране | edit source] Други[редактиране | edit source] - Комуникации в Ирак - Транспорт в Ирак - Армия на Ирак - Външна политика на Ирак - Война в Персийския залив (1990-1991) - Война в Ирак (2003) - Сунитски триъгълник Източници[редактиране | edit source] - ↑ http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2007&ey=2010&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=433&s=NGDPD,NGDPDPC,PPPGDP,PPPPC,LP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=54&pr.y=11 - ↑ "Seleucia on the Tigris, Iraq", University of Michigan. - ↑ Largest Cities Through History, Matt Rosenberg - ↑ Erica Fraser. The Islamic World to 1600, University of Calgary. - ↑ Ian Frazier, Annals of history: Invaders: Destroying Baghdad, The New Yorker 25 April 2005. p.4 - ↑ The Islamic World to 1600: The Mongol Invasions (The Black Death), The University of Calgary - ↑ Q&A with John Kelly on The Great Mortality on National Review Online. // Nationalreview.com, 2005-09-14. - ↑ Tamerlane – Timur the Lame Biography. // Asianhistory.about.com, 2010-02-15. - ↑ Iraq. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. - ↑ Population crises and cycles in history. A review of the book Population Crises and Population cycles by Claire Russell and W.M.S. Russell. - ↑ Statement by former NSC official Howard Teicher to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. Plain text version - ↑ Shaking Hands with Saddam Hussein:The U.S. Tilts toward Iraq, 1980-1984 - ↑ Black, George. Genocide in Iraq: the Anfal campaign against the Kurds / Western Asia Watch. New York • Washington • Los Angeles • London, Human Rights Watch, July 1993, [1993]. - ↑ David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds, 504 pp., I.B. - ↑ Iraqi Army GlobalSecurity.org - ↑ Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War, Rick Atkinson, 1993, p. 284–285 - ↑ The Ameriya Shelter – St. Valentine's Day Massacre. // Uruknet.de. - ↑ 'Smarter' bombs still hit civilians. - ↑ "UNICEF : Questions and Answers for the Iraq child mortality surveys" 16 August 1999 - ↑ (The Wisdom Fund, "[Clark] Charges US, British and UN Leaders," 20. November 1996) - ↑ Доклад на Пентагона Външни препратки[редактиране | edit source] - ((en)) Карта на Среден Изток
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History of Iraq Present day Iraq, known in classical antiquity as Mesopotamia, was home to the oldest civilizations in the world,[1][2] with a cultural history of over 10,000 years,[3][4][5] hence its common epithet, the Cradle of Civilization. Mesopotamia, as part of the larger Fertile Crescent, was a significant part of the Ancient Near East throughout the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Arabs have been the majority of Iraq's population since Sassanid times.[6] Iraq was ruled by the indigenous empires, Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian and also by foreign empires; Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanian empires during the Iron Age and Classical Antiquity, before Iraq was conquered by the Muslim Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century, and became a center of the Islamic Golden Age during the medieval Abbasid Caliphate. After a series of invasions and conquest by the Mongols and Turks, Iraq fell under Ottoman rule in the 16th century, intermittently falling under Iranian Safavid and Mamluk control. Ottoman rule ended with World War I, and Iraq came to be administered by the British Empire until the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq in 1933. The Republic of Iraq was established in 1958 following a coup d'état. The Republic was controlled by Saddam Hussein from 1979 to 2003, into which period falls the Iran-Iraq war and the Persian Gulf War. Saddam Hussein was deposed following the 2003 US-led invasion of the country. Following the invasion, the situation deteriorated to the extent that in 2006–2007, Iraq was on the brink of civil war. However, conditions improved following a surge in U.S. troops in 2007–2008, and the war was declared formally over in December 2011, with the U.S. troops leaving the country. Contents - 1 Prehistory - 2 Ancient Mesopotamia - 3 Classical Antiquity - 4 Muslim Rule and the Abbasid Caliphate - 5 Mongol conquest - 6 Ottoman Iraq and Mamluk rule - 7 20th century - 8 Recent history (2003–present) - 9 See also - 10 References - 11 Further reading - 12 External links Prehistory[edit] During 1957–1961 Shanidar Cave was excavated by Ralph Solecki and his team from Columbia University, and nine skeletons of Neanderthal man of varying ages and states of preservation and completeness (labelled Shanidar I – IX) were discovered dating from 60–80,000 years BP. A tenth individual was recently discovered by M. Zeder during examination of a faunal assemblage from the site at the Smithsonian Institution. The remains seemed to Zeder to suggest that Neandertals had funeral ceremonies, burying their dead with flowers (although the flowers are now thought to be a modern contaminant), and that they took care of injured and elderly individuals. Ancient Mesopotamia[edit] Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. It has been identified as having "inspired some of the most important developments in human history including the invention of the wheel, the planting of the first cereal crops and the development of cursive script, Mathematics, Astronomy and Agriculture."[7] Sumer, Akkad and early Assyria[edit] Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Iraq. It is the earliest known civilization in the world, making Iraq one of the Cradles of Civilization. The Sumerian civilization spanned over 3000 years[8] and began with the first settlement of Eridu in the Ubaid period (mid-6th millennium BC) through the Uruk period (4th millennium BC) and the Early Dynastic periods (3rd millennium BC) until the rise of Assyria and Babylonia in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC respectively. The Ubaid period marks the Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic phase in Mesopotamia, which represents the earliest settlement on the alluvial plain in the south. Early urbanization begins with the Ubaid period, around 5300 BC. The Ubaid culture gives way to the Uruk period from c. 4000 BC. The invention of the wheel and the beginning of the Chalcolithic period fall into the Ubaid period. The Sumerian historical record remains obscure until the Early Dynastic period, when a now deciphered syllabary writing system was developed, which has allowed archaeologists to read contemporary records and inscriptions. Classical Sumer ends with the rise of the Semitic Akkadian kings in the 24th century BC. Following the Gutian period, there is a brief Sumerian renaissance in the 21st century, cut short in the 20th century BC by Amorite invasions, a Semitic people from the north east Levant who founded Babylon as an independent state in 1894 BC. The Amorite dynasty of Isin persisted until c. 1600 BC, when southern Mesopotamia was united under Kassite Babylonian rule. The north of Mesopotamia had become the Akkadian speaking state of Assyria by the late 25th century BC. Along with the rest of Mesopotamia it was ruled by the Akkadian kings from the late 24th to mid 22nd centuries BC, after which it once again became independent.[9] - Ubaid period: 5300 – 4100 BC (Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic) - Uruk period: 4100 – 2900 BC (Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age I) - Uruk XIV-V: 4100 – 3300 BC - Uruk IV period: 3300 – 3000 BC - Jemdet Nasr period (Uruk III): 3100 – 2900 BC[10] - Early Dynastic period (Early Bronze Age II-IV) - Early Dynastic I period: 2900–2800 BC - Early Dynastic II period: 2800–2600 BC (Gilgamesh) - Early Dynastic IIIa period: 2600–2500 BC - Early Dynastic IIIb period: c. 2500–2334 BC - Early Assyria c. 2400 BC - Akkadian Empire period: c. 2334–2218 BC (Sargon) - Gutian period: c. 2218–2047 BC (Early Bronze Age IV) - Ur III period: c. 2047–1940 BC - Assyrian Dynastic period c. 2035 BC Assyria and Babylonia[edit] Assyria[edit] Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom in what is now Northern Iraq, extant as a nation state from the late 25th or early–24th century BC to 605 BC. After this it survived as a geo-political entity until the 7th century.[11] centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq), that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: 𒀸𒋗𒁺 𐎹 Aššūrāyu; Aramaic: אתור Aṯur; Hebrew: אַשּׁוּר Aššûr; Arabic: آشور Āšūr). Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively known. In the Assyrian King List, the earliest king recorded was Tudiya. He was a contemporary of Ibrium of Ebla who appears to have lived in the late 25th or early 24th century BC, according to the king list. The foundation of the first true urbanised Assyrian monarchy was traditionally ascribed to Ushpia a contemporary of Ishbi-Erra of Isin and Naplanum of Larsa.[12] c. 2030 BC. Assyria had a period of empire from the 19th to 18th centuries BC. From the 14th to 11th centuries BC Assyria once more became a major power with the rise of the Middle Assyrian Empire which dominated the whole of Mesopotamia and much of the Near East and Anatolia. After an interregnum of a hundred or so years, Assyria began to expand once more with the rise of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Neo-Assyrian Empire[edit] The Neo-Assyrian Empire is usually considered to have begun with the accession of Adad-nirari II, in 911 BC, lasting until the fall of Nineveh at the hands of the Babylonians in 612 BC.[13] Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II in the 10th century BC, Assyria became a great regional power, growing to be the largest empire the world had yet seen, conquering the 25th dynasty Egypt and much of the Near East, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Arabia, Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. It began reaching the peak of its power with the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III (ruled 745 – 727 BC).[14][15] This period is well-referenced in several sources, including the Assyro-Babylonian Chronicles and the Hebrew Bible. Assyria finally succumbed to a combined attack by the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians, following a bitter series of weakening civil wars within Assyria itself. Nineveh was sacked in 612 BC, Harran overrun in 608 BC and a final defeat was suffered at Carchemish in 605 BC.[11] Babylonia[edit] Babylonia was a state in central and southern Iraq with Babylon as its capital. It was founded as an independent state by an Amorite king named Sumuabum in 1894 BC.[11] During the 3rd millennium BCE, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism.[16] The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian (and vice versa) is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.[16] This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the 3rd millennium BC as a sprachbund.[16] Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BCE (the exact dating being a matter of debate),[17] but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century CE. Babylonia emerged from the Amorite dynasties (c. 1900 BC) when Hammurabi (c. 1792–1750 BC), unified the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad. The Babylonian (and Assyrian) culture was a synthesis of Akkadian and Sumerian culture. Babylonians spoke the Akkadian language, and retained the Sumerian language for religious use, which by Hammurabi's time was declining as a spoken language. The rulers of Babylonia carried the title "King of Sumer and Akkad". The earliest mention of the city of Babylon can be found in a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the 24th century BC. Following the collapse of the Ur-III dynasty at the hands of the Elamites (2002 BC traditional, 1940 BC short), the Amorites gained control over most of Mesopotamia, where they formed a series of small kingdoms. During the 1st centuries of what is called the "Amorite period", the most powerful city states were Isin and Larsa, although Shamshi-Adad I came close to uniting the more northern regions around Assur and Mari. One of these Amorite dynasties was established in the city-state of Babylon, which would ultimately take over the others and form the first Babylonian empire, during what is also called the Old Babylonian Period. Neo-Babylonian Empire[edit] Eventually, during the 9th century BC, one of the most powerful tribes outside Babylon, the Semitic Chaldeans (Latin Chaldaeus, Greek Khaldaios, Assyrian Kaldu), gained prominence in the far south east of Mesopotamia, and along with the Elamites made a number of failed attempts to loosen the Assyrian grip on Babylon. In 620 BC, the Chaldeans helped Nabopolassar to take power in Babylonia. At that time, Assyria riven by a series of bitter civil wars being fought for control of the kingdom after the death of its last great ruler, Ashurbanipal. Nabo-Polassar allied Babylonia with the Medes, Persians, Cimmerians and Scythians. A weakened Assyria could not withstand this added pressure, and in 612 BC, Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, fell. The entire city, was sacked. Later, Nebuchadnezzar II (Nabopolassar's son) inherited a proportion of the former Assyrian empire for Babylonia. He added territory to Babylonia and undertook much building work in the city. In the 6th century BC (586 BC), Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Judea (Judah), destroyed Jerusalem; Solomon's Temple was also destroyed; Nebuchadnezzar II carried away an estimated 15,000 captives, and sent most of its population into exile in Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Chaldean rule eventually ended in Babylon, its final king Nabonidus was ironically from the final Assyrian capital of Harran.[11] Classical Antiquity[edit] Achaemenid and Seleucid rule[edit] Various invaders conquered Mesopotamia after the death of Nabonidus the Assyrian born last king of Babylon, including Cyrus the Great in 539 BC and Alexander of Macedon in 331 BC, who died there in 323 BC. In the 6th century BC, it became part of the Achaemenid Empire, then was conquered by Alexander and remained under Greek rule under the Seleucid dynasty for nearly two centuries. Babylon declined after the founding of Seleucia on the Tigris, the new Seleucid Empire capital. Assyria continued to exist as a Geo-Political entity, and was known as Athura by the Achaemenids. Parthian and Roman rule[edit] The Seleucids were succeeded by the Parthian Empire in the 3rd century BC. At the beginning of the 2nd century AD, the Romans, led by emperor Trajan, invaded Parthia and conquered Mesopotamia, making it an imperial province. It was returned to the Parthians shortly after by Trajan's successor, Hadrian. Christianity entered Mesopotamia in the 1st century AD, and Assyria in particular became the center of Eastern Rite Christianity and the Syriac literary tradition. Native Mesopotamian Religion began to die out during this period, although temples were still being dedicated to the Assyrian national god Ashur in his home city as late as the 4th century.[9] Sassanid Empire[edit] In the 3rd century AD, the Parthians were in turn succeeded by the Sassanid dynasty, which ruled Mesopotamia until the 7th century Islamic caliphate rule, after which point Assyria (Assuristan) was dissolved. The Sassanids conquered the independent Neo-Assyrian states of Adiabene, Osroene, Hatra and finally Assur during the 3rd century AD. In the mid-6th century the Persian Empire under the Sassanid dynasty was divided by Khosrow I into four quarters, of which the western one, called Khvārvarān, included most of modern Iraq, and subdivided to provinces of Mishān, Asuristān (Assyria), Adiabene (which was for a time an independent Assyrian state) and Lower Media. The term Iraq is widely used in the medieval Arabic sources for the area in the center and south of the modern republic as a geographic rather than a political term, implying no greater precision of boundaries than the term "Mesopotamia" or, indeed, many of the names of modern states before the 20th century. The area of modern Iraq north of Tikrit was known in Arab Muslim times as Al-Jazirah, which means "The Island" and refers to the "island" between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. To the south of Mesopotamia lay the Arabian deserts, inhabited largely by ethnic Arab tribesmen who acknowledged the overlordship of the Sassanian Emperors, as they had to the Assyrian, Babylonian, Achaemenid, Seleucid and Parthian emperors before them. Until 602, the desert frontier of the Persian Empire had been guarded by the Arab Lakhmid kings of Al-Hirah, who were themselves Arabs but who ruled a settled buffer state subject to Persia. In that year Shahanshah Khosrow II Aparviz (Persian خسرو پرويز) abolished the Lakhmid kingdom and laid the frontier open to nomad incursions. Farther north, the western quarter was bounded by the Byzantine Empire. The frontier more or less followed the modern Syria-Iraq border and continued northward into modern Turkey, leaving Nisibis (modern Nusaybin) as the Sassanian frontier fortress while the Byzantines held Dara and the nearby Assyrian populated Amida (modern Diyarbakır). Muslim Rule and the Abbasid Caliphate[edit] The first organised conflict between local Arab tribes and Persian forces seems to have been in 634, when the Arabs were defeated at the Battle of the Bridge. There was a force of some 5,000 Muslims under Abū `Ubayd ath-Thaqafī, which was routed by the Persians. This was followed by Khalid ibn al-Walid's successful campaign which saw all of Iraq come under Arab rule within a year, with the exception of the Persian Empire's capital, Ctesiphon. Around 636, a larger Arab Muslim force under Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās defeated the main Persian army at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and moved on to capture the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. By the end of 638, the Muslims had conquered all of the Western Sassanid provinces (including modern Iraq), and the last Sassanid Emperor, Yazdegerd III, had fled to central and then northern Persia, where he was killed in 651. The Islamic invasion was followed by immigration from the Arabian Peninsula. Though this was by no means the first of such emigrations, as migration from the Arabian peninsula to the Fertile Crescent has been a pattern of human behaviour since antiquity, the Islamic expansions constituted the largest of the Semitic expansions in history. These new arrivals did not disperse and settle throughout the country; instead they established two new garrison cities, at al-Kūfah, near ancient Babylon, and at Basrah in the south, while the north remained largely Assyrian and Christian in character. Iraq thus became a province of the Muslim caliphate. The city of Baghdad was built in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. During this period, Baghdad served as the intellectual center of the Muslim world for several centuries, up until the sack of Baghdad in 1258. Many famous Muslim scientists, philosophers, inventors, poets and writers were active in Iraq during the 8th to 13th centuries. Mongol conquest[edit] Ottoman Iraq and Mamluk rule[edit] During the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the Black Sheep Turkmen ruled the area now known as Iraq. In 1466, the White Sheep Turkmen defeated the Black Sheep and took control. In the 16th century, most of the territory of present-day Iraq came under the control of Ottoman Empire as the pashalik of Baghdad. Throughout most of the period of Ottoman rule (1533-1918) the territory of present-day Iraq was a battle zone between the rival regional empires and tribal alliances. Iraq was divided into three vilayets: The Safavid dynasty of Iran briefly asserted their hegemony over Iraq in the periods of 1508-1533 and 1622-1638. During the years 1747-1831 Iraq was ruled by the Mamluk officers of Georgian origin who succeeded in obtaining autonomy from the Ottoman Empire, suppressed tribal revolts, curbed the power of the Janissaries, restored order and introduced a program of modernization of economy and military. In 1831, the Ottomans managed to overthrow the Mamluk regime and again imposed their direct control over Iraq.[18] 20th century[edit] British mandate[edit] Ottoman rule over Iraq lasted until World War I, when the Ottomans sided with Germany and the Central Powers. In the Mesopotamian campaign against the Central Powers, British forces invaded the country and suffered a defeat at the hands of the Turkish army during the Siege of Kut (1915–16). However the British finally won in the Mesopotamian Campaign with the capture of Baghdad in March 1917. During the war the British employed the help of a number of Assyrian, Armenian and Arab tribes against the Ottomans, who in turn employed the Kurds as allies. After the war the Ottoman Empire was divided up, and the British Mandate of Mesopotamia was established by League of Nations mandate. Britain imposed a Hāshimite monarchy on Iraq and defined the territorial limits of Iraq without taking into account the politics of the different ethnic and religious groups in the country, in particular those of the Kurds and the Christian Assyrians to the north. During the British occupation, the Shi'ites and Kurds fought for independence, and the British employed Assyrian Levies to help quell these insurrections. Iraq also became an oligarchy government at this time. Although the monarch Faisal I of Iraq was legitimized and proclaimed King by a plebiscite in 1921, independence was achieved in 1932, when the British Mandate officially ended. Independent Kingdom of Iraq[edit] Establishment of Arab Sunni domination in Iraq was followed by Assyrian, Yazidi and Shi'a unrests, which were all brutally suppressed. In 1936, the first military coup took place in the Kingdom of Iraq, as Bakr Sidqi succeeded in replacing the acting Prime Minister with his associate. Multiple coups followed in a period of political instability, peaking in 1941. During World War II, Iraqi regime of Regent 'Abd al-Ilah was overthrown in 1941 by the Golden Square officers, headed by Rashid Ali. The short lived pro-Nazi government of Iraq was defeated in May 1941 by the allied forces (with local Assyrian and Kurdish help) in Anglo-Iraqi War. Iraq was later used as a base for allied attacks on Vichy-French held Mandate of Syria and support for the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.[19] In 1945, Iraq joined the United Nations and became a founding member of the Arab League. At the same time, the Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani led a rebellion against the central government in Baghdad. After the failure of the uprising Barzani and his followers fled to the Soviet Union. In 1948, massive violent protests, known as the Al-Wathbah uprising broke out across Baghdad as a popular demand against the government treaty with the British, and with communist part support. More protests continued in spring, but were interrupted in May, with the marshal law, when Iraq entered the failed 1948 Arab-Israeli War along with other members of the Arab League. In February 1958, King Hussein of Jordan and `Abd al-Ilāh proposed a union of Hāshimite monarchies to counter the recently formed Egyptian-Syrian union. The prime minister Nuri as-Said wanted Kuwait to be part of the proposed Arab-Hāshimite Union. Shaykh `Abd-Allāh as-Salīm, the ruler of Kuwait, was invited to Baghdad to discuss Kuwait's future. This policy brought the government of Iraq into direct conflict with Britain, which did not want to grant independence to Kuwait. At that point, the monarchy found itself completely isolated. Nuri as-Said was able to contain the rising discontent only by resorting to even greater political oppression. Republic of Iraq[edit] Inspired by Nasser, officers from the Nineteenth Brigade, 3rd Division known as "The Four Colonials", under the leadership of Brigadier Abd al-Karīm Qāsim (known as "az-Za`īm", 'the leader') and Colonel Abdul Salam Arif overthrew the Hashimite monarchy on July 14, 1958. The new government proclaimed Iraq to be a republic and rejected the idea of a union with Jordan. Iraq's activity in the Baghdad Pact ceased. In 1961, Kuwait gained independence from Britain and Iraq claimed sovereignty over Kuwait. A period of considerable instability followed. The same year, Mustafa Barzani, who had been invited to return to Iraq by Qasim three years earlier, began engaging Iraqi government forces and establishing Kurdish control in the north in what was the beginning of the First Kurdish Iraqi War. Ba'athist Iraq[edit] Qāsim was assassinated in February 1963, when the Ba'ath Party took power under the leadership of General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (prime minister) and Colonel Abdul Salam Arif (president). In June 1963, Syria, which meanwhile had also fell under Ba'athist rule, took part in the Iraqi military campaign against the Kurds by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and a force of 6,000 soldiers. Several months later, `Abd as-Salam Muhammad `Arif led a successful coup against the Ba'ath government. Arif declared a ceasefire in February 1964 which provoked a split among Kurdish urban radicals on one hand and Peshmerga (Freedom fighters) forces led by Barzani on the other. On April 13, 1966, President Abdul Salam Arif died in a helicopter crash and was succeeded by his brother, General Abdul Rahman Arif. Following the unexpected death of Arif, whereupon he was replaced by his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, the Iraqi government launched a last-ditch effort to defeat the Kurds. This campaign failed in May 1966, when Barzani forces thoroughly defeated the Iraqi Army at the Battle of Mount Handrin, near Rawanduz. Following the Six Day War of 1967, the Ba'ath Party felt strong enough to retake power in 1968. Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr became president and chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). The Ba'ath government started a campaign to end the Kurdish insurrection, which stalled in 1969. This can be partly attributed to the internal power struggle in Baghdad and also tensions with Iran. Moreover, the Soviet Union pressured the Iraqis to come to terms with Barzani. The war ended with more than 100,000 mortal casualties, with little achievements to both Kurdish rebels and the Iraqi government. In the aftermath of the First Kurdish Iraqi War, a peace plan was announced in March 1970 and provided for broader Kurdish autonomy. The plan also gave Kurds representation in government bodies, to be implemented in four years.[20] Despite this, the Iraqi government embarked on an Arabization program in the oil rich regions of Kirkuk and Khanaqin in the same period.[21] In the following years, Baghdad government overcame its internal divisions and concluded a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union in April 1972 and ended its isolation within the Arab world. On the other hand, Kurds remained dependent on the Iranian military support and could do little to strengthen their forces. By 1974 the situation in the north escalated again into the Second Kurdish Iraqi War, to last until 1975. Under Saddam Hussein[edit] In July 1979, President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr was forced to resign by Saddam Hussein, who assumed the offices of both President and Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war, the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988, termed Qādisiyyat-Saddām – 'Saddam's Qādisiyyah'), which devastated the economy. Iraq declared victory in 1988 but actually achieved a weary return to the status quo ante bellum, meaning both sides retained their original borders. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran, launching a simultaneous invasion by air and land into Iranian territory on 22 September 1980, following a long history of border disputes, and fears of Shia insurgency among Iraq's long-suppressed Shia majority influenced by the Iranian Revolution. Iraq was also aiming to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf state. The United States supported Saddam Hussein in the war against Iran.[22] Although Iraq hoped to take advantage of the revolutionary chaos in Iran and attacked without formal warning, they made only limited progress into Iran and within several months were repelled by the Iranians who regained virtually all lost territory by June 1982. For the next six years, Iran was on the offensive.[23] Despite calls for a ceasefire by the United Nations Security Council, hostilities continued until 20 August 1988. The war finally ended with a United Nations brokered ceasefire in the form of United Nations Security Council Resolution 598, which was accepted by both sides. It took several weeks for the Iranian armed forces to evacuate Iraqi territory to honor pre-war international borders between the two nations (see 1975 Algiers Agreement). The last prisoners of war were exchanged in 2003.[23][24] The war came at a great cost in lives and economic damage—half a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers as well as civilians are believed to have died in the war with many more injured—but it brought neither reparations nor change in borders. The conflict is often compared to World War I,[25] in that the tactics used closely mirrored those of that conflict, including large scale trench warfare, manned machine-gun posts, bayonet charges, use of barbed wire across trenches, human wave attacks across no-man's land, and extensive use of chemical weapons such as mustard gas by the Iraqi government against Iranian troops and civilians as well as Iraqi Kurds. At the time, the UN Security Council issued statements that "chemical weapons had been used in the war." However, in these UN statements it was never made clear that it was only Iraq that was using chemical weapons, so it has been said that "the international community remained silent as Iraq used weapons of mass destruction against Iranian as well as Iraqi Kurds" and it is believed. A long-standing territorial dispute was the ostensible reason for Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. In November 1990, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 678, permitting member states to use all necessary means, authorizing military action against the Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait and demanded a complete withdrawal by January 15, 1991. When Saddam Hussein failed to comply with this demand, the Persian Gulf War (Operation "Desert Storm") ensued on January 17, 1991. Probably as many as 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and a few thousand civilians were killed.[citation needed] In March 1991 revolts in the Shia-dominated southern Iraq started involving demoralized Iraqi Army troops and the anti-government Shia parties. Another wave of insurgency broke out shortly afterwards in the Kurdish populated northern Iraq (see 1991 uprisings in Iraq). Although they presented a serious threat to the Iraqi Ba'ath Party regime, Saddam Hussein managed to suppress the rebellions with massive and indiscriminate force and maintained power. They were ruthlessly crushed by the loyalist forces spearheaded by the Iraqi Republican Guard and the population was successfully terrorized. During the few weeks of unrest tens of thousands of people were killed. Many more died during the following months, while nearly two million Iraqis fled for their lives. In the aftermath, the government intensified the forced relocating of Marsh Arabs and the draining of the Iraqi marshlands, while the Coalition established the Iraqi no-fly zones. On 6 August 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 661 which imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, providing for a full trade embargo, excluding medical supplies, food and other items of humanitarian necessity, these to be determined by the Security Council sanctions committee. After the end of the Gulf War and after the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, the sanctions were linked to removal of weapons of mass destruction by Resolution 687 [2]. From 1991 until 2003 Iraq underwent hyperinflation, increased poverty and malnutrition. To varying degrees, the effects of government policy, the aftermath of Gulf War and the sanctions regime have been blamed for these conditions. During the late 1990s, the U.N. considered relaxing the sanctions imposed because of the hardships suffered by ordinary Iraqis. Studies dispute the number of people who died in south and central Iraq during the years of the sanctions. It is also disputed whether any extra hardship was caused by the sanctions or whether this was the result of other factors.[26][27][28] However, an oil for food program was established in 1996 to ease the effects of sanctions. Iraqi cooperation with UN weapons inspection teams was questioned on several occasions during the 1990s. UNSCOM chief weapons inspector Richard Butler withdrew his team from Iraq in November 1998 because of Iraq's lack of cooperation. The team returned in December.[29] Butler prepared a report for the UN Security Council afterwards in which he expressed dissatisfaction with the level of compliance [3]. The same month, US President Bill Clinton authorized air strikes on government targets and military facilities. Air strikes against military facilities and alleged WMD sites continued into 2002. Recent history (2003–present)[edit] 2003 invasion of Iraq[edit] After the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in the United States in 2001 were linked to the group formed by the multi-millionaire Saudi Osama bin Laden, American foreign policy began to call for the removal of the Ba'ath government in Iraq. Conservative think-tanks in Washington had for years been urging regime change in Baghdad, but until the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, official US policy was to simply keep Iraq complying with UN sanctions. The Iraq Liberation Act, codified regime change in Iraq as the official policy of the United States government. It was passed 99-0 by the United States Senate in 1998. The US urged the United Nations to take military action against Iraq. American president George W. Bush stated that Saddām had repeatedly violated 16 UN Security Council resolutions. The Iraqi government rejected Bush's assertions. A team of U.N. inspectors, led by Swedish diplomat Hans Blix was admitted, into the country; their final report stated that Iraqis capability in producing "weapons of mass destruction" was not significantly different from 1992 when the country dismantled the bulk of their remaining arsenals under terms of the ceasefire agreement with U.N. forces, but did not completely rule out the possibility that Saddam still had Weapons of Mass Destruction. The United States and the United Kingdom charged that Iraq was hiding Weapons and opposed the team's requests for more time to further investigate the matter. Resolution 1441 was passed unanimously by the UN Security Council on November 8, 2002, offering Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" that had been set out in several previous UN resolutions, threatening "serious consequences" if the obligations were not fulfilled. The UN Security Council did not issue a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. In March 2003 the United States and the United Kingdom, with military aid from other nations, invaded Iraq. History of Iraq (2003–11)[edit] In 2003, after the American and British invasion, Iraq was occupied by Coalition forces. On May 23, 2003, the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution lifting all economic sanctions against Iraq. As the country struggled to rebuild after three wars and a decade of sanctions, it was plagued by violence between a growing Iraqi insurgency and occupation forces. Saddam Hussein, who vanished in April, was captured on December 13, 2003. Jay Garner was appointed Interim Civil Administrator with three deputies, including Tim Cross. Garner was replaced in May 2003 by L. Paul Bremer, who was himself replaced by John Negroponte on April 19, 2004 who left Iraq in 2005. Negroponte was the last US interim administrator. Terrorism emerged as a threat to Iraq's people not long after the invasion of 2003. Al Qaeda now has a presence in the country, in the form of several terrorist groups formerly led by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. Al-Zarqawi was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a militant training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings and attacks during the Iraq war. Al-zarqawi was killed on June 7, 2006. Many foreign fighters and former Ba'ath Party officials have also joined the insurgency, which is mainly aimed at attacking American forces and Iraqis who work with them. The most dangerous insurgent area is the Sunni Triangle, a mostly Sunni-Muslim area just north of Baghdad. By the end of 2006 violence continued as the new Iraqi Government struggled to extend complete security within Iraq. U.S. and Coalition forces remained in Iraq. An increasingly disturbing trend had arisen - sectarian fighting. This new phase of conflict was waged predominately along religious sectarian lines. Fighting was primarily between the majority Shia and the minority Sunni. But there were reports of infighting as well. Reported acts of violence conducted by an uneasy tapestry of insurgents steadily increased by the end of 2006. According to official US figures, these attacks were overwhelming directed at American forces.[30] Also, criminal elements within Iraq's society seemed to perpetuate violence for their own means and ambitions. Further, Islamic Jihadist - of which Al Qaeda in Iraq is a member - continued to use terror and extreme acts of violence promarily against Shia civilians to advance their religious and political agenda(s). The aims of these attacks were not completely clear, but it was argued in 2006/7 that these attacks were aimed at fomenting civil conflict within Iraq to destroy the legitimacy of the newly elected Iraqi government and create an unsustainable position for the U.S. forces within Iraq. The most widely reported evidence of this argument stemmed from the 23 February 2006 attack on the Al Askari Mosque in Samarra, one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites. Analysis of the attack suggested that the Mujahideen Shura Council and Al-Qaeda in Iraq were responsible, and that the motivation was to provoke further violence by outraging the Shia population. [4] The Mujahideen Shura Council was said to have been headed by Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi.[31] In mid-October 2006, a statement was released, stating that the Mujahideen Shura Council had been disbanded and was replaced by the "Islamic State of Iraq". It was formed to resist efforts by the U.S. and Iraqi authorities to win over Sunni supporters of the insurgency. In response to attacks like the one against the Askari Mosque, violence escalated. Shia militias, some of whom were associated with elements in the Iraq government, reacted with violence against Sunnis. Additionally, the militias, it appeared in late 2006, had the capability to act outside the scope of government. As a result these powerful militias, it seemed as of late 2006, were leading reprisal acts of violence against the Sunni minority. A cycle of violence thus ensued whereby Sunni insurgent attacks were followed reprisals by Shiite militias- often in the form of Shi'ite death squads that sought out and killed Sunnis. Many commentators on the Iraq War began, by the end of 2006, to refer to this violent escalation as a civil war. Following a surge in U.S. troops in 2007 and 2008, violence in Iraq began to decrease. The war was declared formally over in December 2011. The U.S. ended their main military presence in 2011.[32] History of Iraq (2011–present)[edit] In December 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) began a broad campaign in northern and western Iraq. By January 2014, they had captured Fallujah and Ramadi.[33] In June 2014, they captured Mosul.[34] Under pressure from the United States, al-Maiki stepped down in August 2014. See also[edit] References[edit] - ^ Hart, Ron Duncan (2007), A Phoenix Rising, World Arts Press, p. 33, ISBN 978-0-9777514-1-9 - ^ Elsheshtawy, Yasser (2004), Planning Middle Eastern Cities, Routledge, p. 60, ISBN 978-0-415-30400-9 - ^ "Baghdad's Treasure: Lost To The Ages". Time. Retrieved 4 May 2010. - ^ http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/wr/article/0,27972,447386,00.html - ^ http://www.iraqidinar123.com/history-of-iraqi-dinar/ - ^ Concise Encyclopeida Of World History. Carlos Ramirez-Faria. - ^ Milton-Edwards, Beverley (May 2003). "Iraq, past, present and future: a thoroughly-modern mandate?". History & Policy (in English). United Kingdom: History & Policy. Retrieved 9 December 2010. - ^ Rassam, Suha (2005), Christianity in Iraq, Gracewing Publishing, ISBN 978-0-85244-633-1 - ^ a b George Roux - Ancient Iraq - ^ Pollock, Susan (1999), Ancient Mesopotamia. The Eden that never was, Case Studies in Early Societies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 2, ISBN 978-0-521-57568-3 - ^ a b c d Georges Roux - Ancient Iraq - ^ According to the Assyrian King List and Georges Roux, Ancient Iraq, p. 187. - ^ Chart of World Kingdoms, Nations and Empires — All Empires - ^ Assyrian Eponym List The Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, King of Assyria.pp.29 - ^ a b c Deutscher, Guy (2007). Syntactic Change in Akkadian: The Evolution of Sentential Complementation. Oxford University Press US. pp. 20–21. - ^ [Woods C. 2006 “Bilingualism, Scribal Learning, and the Death of Sumerian”. In S.L. Sanders (ed) Margins of Writing, Origins of Culture: 91-120 Chicago [1] - ^ Iraq. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 October 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. - ^ Robert Lyman (2006). Iraq 1941: The Battles For Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad. Osprey Publishing. - ^ G.S. Harris, Ethnic Conflict and the Kurds, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, pp.118–120, 1977 - ^ "Introduction : GENOCIDE IN IRAQ: The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds (Human Rights Watch Report, 1993)". Hrw.org. - ^ Tyler, Patrick E. Officers Say U.S. Aided Iraq in War Despite Use of Gas New York Times August 18, 2002. - ^ a b Molavi, Afshin (2005). "The Soul of Iran". Norton. - ^ Fathi, Nazila (14 March 2003). "Threats And Responses: Briefly Noted; Iran-Iraq Prisoner Deal". The New York Times. - ^ Abrahamian, Ervand, A History of Modern Iran, Cambridge, 2008, p.171 - ^ "Iraq surveys show 'humanitarian emergency'". Retrieved 29 November 2009. - ^ Spagat, Michael (September 2010). "Truth and death in Iraq under sanctions". Significance. - ^ Rubin, Michael (December 2001). "Sanctions on Iraq: A Valid Anti-American Grievance?" Middle East Review of International Affairs. - ^ Richard BUTLER, Saddam Defiant, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2000, p. 224 - ^ Gordon, Michael R.; Mazzetti, Mark; Shanker, Thom (17 August 2006). "Bombs Aimed at G.I.'s in Iraq Are Increasing". nytimes.com. Retrieved 27 March 2014. - ^ The Herald Article - ^ Logan, Joseph (December 18, 2011). "Last U.S. troops leave Iraq, ending war". Reuters. - ^ "Iraq's Fallujah falls to 'Qaeda-linked' militants". Daily Star. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014. - ^ Fahim, Kareem; Al-Salhy, Suadad (10 June 2014). "Sunni Militants Drive Iraqi Army Out of Mosul". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2014. - ^ http://online.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-prime-minister-steps-down-1408047116 Further reading[edit] - Kriwaczek, Paul. Babylon : Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization. Atlantic Books (2010). - Roux, Georges. Ancient Iraq. Penguin Books (1992). - Taurus,I.B. Three Kings in Baghdad: The Tragedy of Iraq's Monarchy, (2008). External links[edit] - Iraq: The Cradle of Civilization - Iraq History and Culture from the cradle of civilization and Noah to the present age and time - Historical Context of the Iran - Iraq War from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives