Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, located along both banks of the Tigris River in the central part of the country. Bridges link the eastern and western quarters of the city across the river plain. Broad avenues, government complexes, and commercial plazas spread outward from the waterways.

The Abbasid caliph al-Mansur founded the settlement in 762 as a circular fortified capital named Madinat al-Salam. Royal palaces and administrative offices stood inside concentric brick walls, with four defensive gates opening outward to regional trade routes. Scholars and translators gathered in academic centers during the Islamic Golden Age, creating collections of scientific treatises, philosophy, and astronomical charts. Ottoman administrators governed the province from the 16th century until the early 20th century. Modern statehood arrived in 1921 when the territory formed the Kingdom of Iraq with Baghdad as its capital.

National ministries, judicial courts, and international embassies establish the city as the administrative center of the republic. Industrial operations produce refined fuels at an oil refinery complex on the southern riverbank, along with woven cotton goods, leather, and packaged foods. Financial institutions, commercial freight carriers, and the Iraq Stock Exchange coordinate regional trade. Building material suppliers, pharmaceutical factories, and electrical equipment assemblers distribute goods to towns across the Tigris basin, while municipal utility networks maintain water purification and transport systems.

Al-Mustansiriya Madrasah features medieval brickwork and arched courtyards dating from the 13th century, preserving decorative Islamic calligraphy along its interior halls. Antiquities from ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, including Sumerian limestone statues and Babylonian clay tablets, fill the display galleries of the Iraq Museum. Booksellers and literary readers gather weekly along Al-Mutanabbi Street, where open-air bookstalls line the pedestrian walkway near the riverfront. Higher learning centers on the University of Baghdad, established along the Jadriya peninsula with academic faculties dedicated to engineering, medicine, and languages. Shaded date palms, flower gardens, and open-air athletic courts fill the public grounds of Al-Zawraa Park.