Baghdad, the capital of the Republic of Iraq, the center of the province of Baghdad. Its population reached about 8.5 million in 2016, making it the largest city in Iraq and the second largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It ranks 40th in the world in terms of population. The city is the economic, administrative and educational center of the country.
Built by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in the eighth century, and made it the capital of the Abbasid state; then Baghdad became a great place, as it was the most important centers of science in its diversity in the world and a meeting place for scholars and scholars for several centuries of time. Baghdad currently represents a case of civil succession within the framework of one site. In the framework of the Rafidain site, the capitals successively tracked from ancient Babylon to the Greek Seleucia and Persian Qesfoun, which was known as the cities of Kisra, then the current Arab Baghdad.
Baghdad reached its climax in the era of the Fifth Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid and was associated with his name in the novels of the Thousand and One Nights of world renown, as it became the capital of the ancient world. This position has been lost since 1258 when it was conquered by the Mongols and Tatars. By the beginnings of the sixteenth century, the Safavids and the Ottomans exchanged control of the city, until the Ottomans finally conquered it in 1535, and they remained under their rule for nearly 4 centuries. In 1917, the British took control of the city, and it was subjugated like most other regions of Iraq under the British Mandate, then it became the capital of the Iraqi Kingdom in 1921, and the Iraqi Republic in 1958.
The importance of Baghdad’s geographical location lies in the availability of water and the decrease in the risks of floods, which in turn led to the expansion of the city and its increase in influence, as well as its ease of communication across the Tigris River by the bridges connecting it across the sides of the river, which penetrates its center to equate it with two parts, Karkh and Rusafa. Today, the city consists of 27 regions, which in turn are divided into several neighborhoods.
Baghdad is distinguished by its cultural importance, which is represented by the presence of a large number of important monuments, such as museums, historical schools, libraries, and theaters. The city is famous for its Islamic monuments, which are the remains of the walls of the city of Baghdad, the Caliphate House, and Al-Mustansiriya School. Old Baghdad has several names, such as Medina, Al-Zawra, and Dar es Salaam.