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Forasia/Mid.East
Elevations, meter
Precipition, mm
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Forasia/Mid.East |
Elevations, meter |
Precipition, mm |
Population:
Historical Background:
Iraq was one of the first regions in the world to create the bases of cultural and social stability. Eight-thousand years ago, in theneolithic age, villages were set up where man learnt farming, animal husbandry, housbuilding, weaving, pottery, and even the making of art objects by painting and sculpture.
In the south, AL UBEID civilization flourished alomst 6,000 years ago and spread out to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Half-way during the Age of AL WARKA, 5,200 years ago, writing was invented in an iconographic form, which then developed into cuneiform. 4800 - 4350 B.C. is the period known as the DAWN of DYNASTICS, which had three phases all distinguished for their remarkable artistry - evident in sculpture, seals, and the use of metals.
From 2112 to 2004 B.C. the Third UR Daynasty was established: its kings, especially the founder URNAMMO and SHULGI, were noted for their love of art and literature. They left us their bronze figures which protrayed them carring the earth-vessels they used in building - in expression of their participation with the people in construcation.
The cultural chain continued. The old BABYLONIAN Age, 2004 - 1594 B.C., witnessed an activation of architecture, sculpture, seal carving, and especially literary arts and the sciences. In geometry and mathematics the BABYLONIANS had formulated theories which were in much later times ascribed to Euclid and Pythagoras. They used 1st. and 2nd. degree algebraic formulae, and put the foundations of logarithms. Most distinguished, perhaps, were their humane laws - crystallized in the famous code of
HAMMURABI (1792 - 1750 B.C.)
ASSYRIANS, centred in the north, spoke the same language as the AKKADIANS and
BABYLONIANS and used the same cuneiform writing. Historically, the Assyrian went mainly through three distinguished phases:
The Assyrian imperial period was succeeded by the NEO BABYLONIAN Age, 612 - 538 B.C., whose towering figure was the magnificent NEBCHADNEZZAR (604 - 562 B.C.). He was unique in his architectural and artistic achievements, together with his wise political administration and the skill and power with which he quelled all rebellious elements throughout his far-flung empire, which included Syria and Palestine.
The advent of Islam caused a great revolution in many parts of the world. The people of Iraq, in cultural continuation, welcomed the new sublime message, and in embracing it they built a great civilization which, starting soon after the Prophet´s Hijra, continued through the UMAYYAD Period, 660 - 750 A.D., and the ABBASID Age, 750 - 1258 A.D.
Iraq, the cradle of civilization, is situated in the north-east of the great Arab homeland of which it is an important part. It lies to the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula, itself part of South-West Asia of which Iraq is an extension, because of their similar geophysical structures. Iraq is in the southern part of the North Temperate Zone between latitudes 29.5 - 37.25 and longitudes 38.45 - 45.48.
It has an area of 438,446 Sq, which includes the 18 governorates. In the central part, astride the Tigris, lies the great capital of Harun Al-Rashid, Baghdad.
Iraq is bounded on the North by Turkey, on the West by Syria and Jordan, on the south by Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Gulf, and on the East by Iran.
Because of its geographical position, it has been a bridge between three continents, Asia, Africa, aand Europe, and between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. Its therefore, the shortest land route between Europe and South-East Asia.
The country can be divided roughly into three regions: the mountainous snow-clad north and north-east, about 20% of the whole country, a central largely limestone plateau represnting 59,5% of the whole, and the southern flat lowland alluvial plain, with many lakes and marshes.
Two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, travers the country from north to south: hteir sources are in the far away uplands of Armenia and Anatolia, and they are fed by many tributaries, which makes Iraq natable for its rich water resources. Two rivers meet in the Shatt-Al-Arab, which runs through Basrah Governorate in the south to pour in the Arabian Gulf.
The Tigris is 1,718 Km long, of which 1,418 Km are in Iraq. The Euphrates is 2,300 Km long, of which 1,213 Km are in Iraq. The Shatt-Al_Arab, from the two rivers´ confluence to the Arabian Gulf, is 110 Km long.
Iraq has a population of over 16 million, of which the majority are Arabs. There are several minorities which enjoy full national and cultural rights within the overall national framework of the Iraq Republic. Freedom to parctise their religious rites is protected by law for all religious denominations, and their major feast days are official holidays for them.
The official language is Arabic, but there are also other officially recognized languages: Kurdish, Turkoman, and Syriac. The foreign language most widely used is English.
Shat Al-Arab
Haj Omran
The Marshes
Kurdustan
There are in the country about 10,000 archaeological sites in which lie hidden the remains of a long succession of civilizatins that date as back as the palaeolithic age, 100,000 years ago. The most recent are those that belong to the Islamic periods.
The cultural formation of the country was distinguished for its originality and continuity, which gave its civilizations a uniformity of its own. This partly explains why it was a focal point from which radiated sciences and arts that contributed to the progress of many parts of the world.
JARMO, in the town of Chamchamal (Ta´mim/Kirkuk Governorate), is one of the earliest villages of man. In places such as HASSOUNA, UM AL DABBAGHIYA, MATARA and TEL AL SUWAN, excellent finds have been unearthed which now grace museums at home and abroad.
At UM AL DABBAGHIYA, near HATRA, household paintings have been found that go back some 8,000 years. TEL AL SUWAN has given us a large number of superb small sculptures. It is interesting to note that MESOPOTAMIAN man, who lived in SHANIDAR Cave (near Arbil) nearly 50,000 years ago, displayed a special sens of beauty: - he strewed flowers on the graves of the dead - a thing never observed by archaelogists anywhere else in the world.
The discoveries in the Royal Cemetery of UR, in the south, give an idea of the high point of development the arts had reached in the 3rd millenium.
The Sumerians
The Babylonians
The Assyrians.
Kingdom of Hatra Later, under the AKKADIANS (2371 - 2143 B.C.), the country was united under central authority which established the first empire in history.The Akkadians were the early Arab pioneers: their empire included Iran, Anatolia, and Syria.
For about a century after the Akkadians the country went through a recession caused by the invasion of a barbaric people across the north from Iran. Soon later, however, SUMERIAN princes emerged who resucitated local culture, foremost among whom was GUDEA, ruler of LAGASH.
- the ancient (contemporary with the old Babylonian period), the medieval, and lasttly the imperial phase, 910 - 612 B.C. They were remarkable for their love of building and their political organization: - they founded the largest empiers of their times and built great cities, such as ASSUR, NINEVEH, NIMRUD, DUR SHARRUKIN, whose remains are to be seen nowadays in museums throughout the world.
Islams Architecture
Shrines
Under Construction! Upon the fall of Babylon the country was dominated by foreigners: - Achaemenids, the Greeks (Seleucids) and others. Babylonians and Assyrians created many of the art works of Susa, Persipolis and Bazargaw. Their imprint was left on the sculpture and glazed bricks of those cities. The Greeks benefited from the Babylonian heritage of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, geometry and literature.
Two thousand years ago, or a little more, the Arabs made their architectural and artistic contributions in various places in the north, in Syria, in Jordan, in southern Anatolia. Their great buildings, statues and metallurgic works are still to be seen in part in HATRA, where they carved their names on their beautiful works. In ASSUR the Arabs, at the time of Hatra, built four great Ewans, which still carry the name of their Arab architect. Connected with the Hatra culture, before its demise in A.D. 241, was also the culture of Arab HIRA, in central Iraq. Hira continued until the Arab Islamic conquest of Iraq in A.D.632. Under Omar bin Al Khatab, the second Caliph after the Prophet, important cities were built, such as Kufa and Basrah. Under the Umayyads, Wasit was built as a link between these two cities, and under the Abbasid Caliph, Abu Jaafar Al Mansour, Baghdad (Dar al Salam - City of peace) was built in the year A.D. 762. Some sixty years later Samara was built by Caliph Al Muatasim in the year A.D. 836 to replace Baghdad as the Capital city.
In the year 892 the seat of the Caliphate went back to Baghdad, which remaind the center of government until its bloody downfall on the hands of the Mongols led by Hulago in 1258.
The Abbasids was a golden age of wealth, learning and creativity, all patronized and encouraged by the Caliphs themselves. Arabs medicine, chemistry, geometry, mathematics, astronomy, poetry, all flouished - and were the greatest in the world.
Darkness fell upon the country after the year 1258 - Hulago, the grandson of Gengis Khan, left behind him a trail of horror and destruction. In the 16th. century the Ottomans ruled Iraq - until 1917, when Iraq was placed under the British mandate. A form of political independence was at last obtained in 1932.The people of Iraq have worked hard to rid themselves of the effect of centuries of stagnation. Their achievements have been truly spectacular.
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