Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Often called the “Cradle of Civilization”, Iraq is home to the oldest civilization in the world. The Sumerians settled in southern Iraq in an area called Mesopotamia, became the first established civilization in the world, and invented writing, the wheel, the plow, discovered the use of bronze and advanced mathematics, and created the first piece of epic literature. Their written language, called Cuneiform, allowed extended and nuanced trade networks to develop, as well as the first evidence of recorded history. Massive buildings called ziggurats dominated cities and were the religious center, and eventually the political hub, of the civilization.
Over the course of the following millenia, Mesopotamia would be home to some of the world’s first empires and the epicenter of discoveries that still shape the way we live our lives today. In 2350 BCE, Sargon of the Akkadian people created the world’s first empire when he unified most of modern day Iraq under his leadership. In 1792 BCE, the Babylonian king Hammurabi conquered the region. Hammurabi created the first written code of law, which is the basis of all judiciary practices in the modern world. In 627 BCE, another Babylonian came to power and established the Neo-Babylonian Empire. One of its most famous kings, Nebuchadnezzar II (ruled from 604-561 BCE), completely revitalized the ancient city of Babylon. Babylon became famous for its grand architecture, which included the Gates of Ishtar, which was one of the gates into the city. The Gates of Ishtar were completely covered in bricks of lapis lazuli, which gave the gate a bright, shining blue color. Images of lions, dragons, and bulls can be seen marching along the gates, created using bright gold bricks. Nebuchadnezzar also created the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. One of the largest ziggurats in Babylon was known as Etemenanki. Scholars agree that this structure was likely the inspiration for the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The Neo-Babylonian Empire was eventually conquered by the Persian Empire led by Cyrus the Great. For the next centuries, the area was controlled by some of the largest empires of the ancient world, including the empire of Alexander the Great, the Parthians, and the Romans.
In 762 CE the city of Baghdad was founded and became the center of the Muslim world, which it would remain for the next 500 years. In 1534, Iraq was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, which it would control until 1919 when the Ottoman Empire was on the losing side of World War I and was dissolved. The modern history of Iraq is tumultuous and often violent, with invasions by foreign countries, the rise of terror organizations, continuing religious strife, and political aggressions and upheavals.