Baghdad
Capital and largest city of Iraq / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Baghdad (/ˈbæɡdæd/ ⓘ BAG-dad or /bəɡˈdæd/ bəg-DAD; Arabic: بَغْدَاد, romanized: Baghdād, [baɣˈdaːd] ⓘ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris river. In 762 AD, Baghdad was chosen as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, and became its most notable major development project. Within a short time, the city evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center of the Muslim world. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning".
Baghdad
بَغْدَاد | |
|---|---|
| Mayoralty of Baghdad | |
       Top-bottom, L-R: Aerial view of the Green Zone; Haydar-Khana Mosque • Statue of Karim Qasim Iraq Museum • House of Sassoon Eskell Atraqchi for Art & cultural heritage • View over Baghdad and the Tigris river | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: City of Peace (مَدِيْنَةُ السَّلَام)[1] | |
  Baghdad Location of Baghdad within Iraq Show map of Iraq Baghdad Baghdad (Asia) Show map of Asia | |
| Coordinates: 33°18′55″N 44°21′58″E | |
| Country | Iraq |
| Governorate | Baghdad |
| Established | 30 July 762 AD |
| Founded by | Caliph al-Mansur |
| Districts | 11 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Body | Baghdad City Advisory Council |
| • Mayor | Ammar Moussa Kadhum |
| Area | |
| • Total | 673 km2 (260 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 34 m (112 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Estimate (2024) | 7,921,134[2] |
| • Rank | 1st in Iraq |
| Demonym | Baghdadi |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (Arabian Standard Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (No DST) |
| Postal code | 10001 to 10090 |
| Website | amanatbaghdad.gov.iq (in Arabic) |
For much of the Abbasid era, during the Islamic Golden Age, Baghdad was the largest city in the world. Its population peaked at more than one million people.[3] The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1932, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arab culture, with a population variously estimated at 6 or over 7 million.[note 1] Compared to its large population, it has a small area at just 673 square kilometers (260 sq mi).
The city has faced severe infrastructural damage due to the Iraq War, which began with the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and lasted until 2011, and the subsequent insurgency and renewed war that lasted until 2017, resulting in a substantial loss of cultural heritage and historical artifacts. During this period, Baghdad had one of the highest rates of terrorist attacks in the world. However, terrorist attacks have gradually been on the decline since the territorial defeat of the Islamic State militant group in Iraq in 2017.[8]