Iraq largely coincides with the ancient region of
Mesopotamia, often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. The history of Mesopotamia extends back to the
Lower Paleolithic period, with significant developments continuing through the establishment of the
Caliphate in the late 7th century AD, after which the region became known as Iraq.
Bronze and Iron Age , where the remains of eight adults and two infant
Neanderthals, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago were found Within its borders lies the ancient land of
Sumer, which emerged between 6000 and 5000 BC during the
Neolithic Ubaid period. while continuing the
Assyrian-derived imperial title
King of Kings, which remained in use into
late antiquity.
Babylon became an imperial capital of the empire, and
Aramaic, long established in Mesopotamia, became the
lingua franca of the empire for administration and interregional communication. After Mesopotamia came under Macedonian control following
Alexander the Great's campaign in 331 BCE, Babylon surrendered without resistance. Alexander intended to make Babylon the capital of his empire, but this plan was abandoned after his death in 323 BCE, with
Seleucia established as the imperial capital in Mesopotamia. Following the founding of Seleucia, the population of Babylon was resettled to it. Under
Seleucid rule, administrative and economic power remained centered in Mesopotamia. Babylonian economic traditions persisted during this period, including the continued use of the silver
shekel.
Babylonian chronicle fragments record Seleucid rulers engaging with local institutions, while temple authorities, scholarly traditions, and
cuneiform writing continued to function during the Seleucid period. Archaeological evidence from Uruk indicates that
Babylonian religious institutions and architectural traditions continued to function during this period. In Babylonian contexts, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia. In late antiquity, Mesopotamia formed part of the decentralized
Parthian Empire, which contained numerous semi-autonomous kingdoms and maintained Aramaic as a lingua franca alongside
Mesopotamian religious traditions. During the Parthian and
Sasanian periods,
Ctesiphon gradually merged with Seleucia to form a cosmopolitan metropolis that served as the Sasanian capital, later known as
al-Madāʾin. Under Sasanian rule this territory was organized as the province of
Āsōristān, corresponding to the geography of Babylonia which Arabic-writing geographers referred to as al-ʿIrāq, a regional designation that continued into the Islamic period. The capitals of
Iranic empires shifted toward Mesopotamia, from
Susa to Ctesiphon. The Iranic state came to be dependent on the Iraqi
Sawad for its state revenues and centralized administration. When the Sasanians lost the Mesopotamian capital at Ctesiphon during the
Arab conquests, Sasanian rule came to an end. Following the conquest, Iraq emerged as politically and culturally distinct from
Syria, a division noted by
Byzantine authors such as Theophanes, who referred to their inhabitants respectively as “Herakites” and “Isamites”.
Middle Ages with capitals in Baghdad and
Samarra c. 850In the decades after the conquest, the
Rashidun caliph
Ali ibn Abi Talib strengthened Iraq’s political importance by transferring the seat of the caliphate from
Medina to
Kufa. Under
Umayyad rule, the
governor of Iraq frequently exercised authority over much of the empire’s eastern provinces. After the
Battle of Karbala in 680, Iraq became the primary locus of
Alid political opposition, a legacy that the
Abbasid Caliphate later mobilized when establishing their rule from Iraq. Iraq was the
metropole of the Abbasid Caliphate even before Baghdad was founded, and following earlier
Mesopotamian precedents, Abbasid rulers spent large sums on restoring and extending canal systems and cultivating land. With the founding of Baghdad in 762, Iraq became the political, economic, and intellectual core during the
Islamic Golden Age, housing institutions such as the
House of Wisdom. Abbasid Iraq generated the highest state revenues of the caliphate, reaching four times that of
Egypt, the second richest province, drawing largely on the agricultural productivity of southern Iraq. During this period, large quantities of opaque glazed pottery were produced in Iraq and exported as mass-produced commercial goods across the
Indian Ocean. Abbasid literary culture in Iraq reflected long-term
Mesopotamian narrative continuities, appearing across Muslim and Jewish texts despite religious and political change. In his
court narratives,
al-Masʿūdī presents Iraq as a distinct regional point of comparison, including contrasts between Iraqi and Syrian officials in matters of administration, accounts in which the people of Iraq are cited as rejecting Egyptian claims of environmental advantage, and anecdotes in which legal practice in
Mecca is discussed in terms of how it would be ridiculed by the Iraqis. From the tenth century onward, Iraq entered a period of political fragmentation as effective power shifted from the Abbasid caliphs to regional dynasties. Authority within Iraq was exercised by a succession of local dynasties, including the
Hamdanids,
Buyids,
Uqaylids, and
Mazyadids, which competed and negotiated for control of Iraqi cities and territories. During this period, regional rulers exercised authority in Iraq while receiving formal recognition from the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. This period of decentralized rule in Iraq ended with the rise of the
Seljuk Empire, whose capture of Baghdad in 1055 ended Buyid dominance and left the Abbasid caliphs as largely ceremonial figures under Seljuk rule. The existing pattern of regional rule in Iraq was disrupted by the
Mongol conquest in the thirteenth century. In 1258, Mongol forces
captured and sacked Baghdad, bringing Abbasid political rule in Iraq to an end and causing widespread destruction. Iraq was subsequently incorporated into the
Ilkhanate as a territorial province within the Mongol Empire. Under Ilkhanid rule, elements of agricultural production and urban life in Iraq gradually recovered, and Iraq remained a populated and economically active region into the late medieval period. After the collapse of Mongol rule in the 14th century, Iraq came under the control of the
Jalayirids, a dynasty of Mongol origin that ruled from Baghdad following the breakup of the Ilkhanate.Their authority was eventually replaced by the
Qara Qoyunlu, a Turkoman confederation that captured Baghdad in the early 15th century and extended its rule over much of Iraq. In the later 15th century, the
Aq Qoyunlu defeated the Qara Qoyunlu and established control over Iraq as part of a wider regional empire. This period of Turkmen rule ended in 1508 when Shah Ismail I conquered Baghdad and incorporated Iraq into the
Safavid Empire.
Early Modern Period Iraq was conquered by
Sultan Suleiman I in 1534 and became part of the
Ottoman Empire. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Iraq was a major frontier of the
Ottoman–Safavid wars, with Baghdad changing hands several times until the
Treaty of Zuhab in 1639 confirmed Ottoman control. Administratively, Iraq was organised into the provinces of
Baghdad,
Basra,
Mosul, and
Shahrizor, which the Ottomans collectively referred to as Hıtta-i Irakiyye (“the Iraq region”). From 1749 to 1831, Iraq was ruled by a
Mamluk dynasty of
Georgian origin with considerable autonomy while maintaining nominal allegiance to the Ottoman sultan. After the dynasty was overthrown in 1831, the centralisation of Iraq under Baghdad began. Under the two-time Ottoman Viceroy,
Namık Pasha, Baghdad's authority was expanded through military and administrative reforms.
Midhat Pasha introduced further reforms in taxation, land registration, infrastructure, education, and communications, reforms often seen as laying the groundwork for the modern Iraq. Iraq remained under Ottoman control until the
First World War, when the British launched the
Mesopotamian campaign. The campaign led to the
occupation of Baghdad in 1917, and in 1920 Ottoman Iraq was formally dissolved with the establishment of the
British Mandate of Mesopotamia.
Modern Iraq (1888–1958) served eight terms as
prime minister during
Mandatory Iraq and the
Hashemite Kingdom Iraq's modern history began in the wake of World War I, as the region emerged from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. However, the government gradually came under the control of
Saddam Hussein, Iraq's then vice-president. In the 1970s, the leadership offered peace initiatives to Assyrians in Iraq and invited exiled Iraqi Jews back to Iraq. The government introduced free healthcare and education, nationalised oil, promoted women's rights and developed infrastructure. In 1974, the
second Iraqi–Kurdish war began and
border clashes with Iran took place on
Shatt al-Arab. Iran supported Kurdish militants. In 1973, Iraq participated in the
Yom Kippur War against Israel, alongside
Syria and
Egypt. A
statue of Saddam was toppled in Baghdad, symbolising the end of his rule. During that time, the government of Iraq, headed by
Haider al-Abadi requested the international community to assist Iraq against ISIS, resulting in the creation of the
American-led Coalition against ISIS. Meanwhile, in an attempt to counter US influence,
Khomeinist anti-US militias prompted
Iranian intervention, which resulted in the latter expanding its influence. The Iraqi armed forces, supported by the US-led coalition, as well as the Popular Mobilisation Forces,
Peshmerga and other allied anti-ISIS militias then initiated a counter-offensive to retake and liberate ISIS-held territory. In December 2017, when ISIS had lost all its territory in Iraq, the government declared victory.
2019-2021 protests One of the main causes for popular discontent in Iraq is the lack of reliable electricity infrastructure and clean water. The electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand. and
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became
Prime Minister. Since assuming office in October 2022, Prime Minister al-Sudani has overseen a period of relative political, security, and economic stabilisation. Government officials have cited increased regional diplomacy, improved international relations, and economic diversification initiatives such as the
Iraq–Europe Development Road project as key indicators of recovery. In August 2023, al-Sudani established the
Iraq Development Fund whose purpose is to strengthen the private sector and finance projects of crucial social and environmental value. In 2024, Iraq experienced unprecedented rainfall that —according to the
Ministry of Water Resources— boosted Iraq's strategic water reserves by 10%, significantly easing the drought crisis. In February 2025, the Iraq Development Fund had gained $7bn in
foreign direct investments, and signed Memoranda of Understanding with a number of countries including the
United Kingdom and
Japan. In May 2025, Iraqi
Ministry of Planning announced that the unemployment rate in Iraq had dropped from 17% in 2022 to 13% in 2025. A report published on 24 July 2025 and submitted to the
United Nations Security Council, assessed that ISIS "is at its weakest" in Iraq since its emergence. == Geography ==