Baghdad - City of Iraq

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous.It is the largest city in Iraq,and the third largest city in the Arab World after Cairo and Tehran.

Once the centre of the Muslim world, Baghdad is now important because of the ongoing Iraq War.

There were many parks, gardens, villas, and beautiful promenades which gave the city an elegant and classy finish . In the centre of the city lay the mosque, as well as headquarters for guards. The purpose or use of the remaining space in the center is unknown. The circular design of the city was a direct reflection of the traditional Arab urban design. The ancient Sasanian city of Gur is nearly identical in its general circular design, radiating avenues, and the government buildings and temples at the centre of the city.

On 30 July 762 the caliph Abu Ja'far Al-Mansur founded the city. Mansur believed that Baghdad was the perfect city to be the capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasids. Mansur loved the site so much he is quoted saying, “This is indeed the city that I am to found, where I am to live, and where my descendants will reign afterward". The city's growth was helped by its location, which gave it control over strategic and trading routes .

Monthly trade fairs were also held in this area. Another reason why Baghdad provided an excellent location was due to the abundance of water and its dry climate. Water exists on both north and south ends of the city gates, allowing all households to have a plentiful supply, which was very uncommon during this time. Baghdad reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of the caliph Harun al-Rashid in the early 9th century.

Naubaknt and Mashallah, believed that the city should be built under the sign of the lion, Leo . Leo is significant because he is the element of fire and symbolises productivity, proudness, and expansion. The bricks used to make the city were 18” on all four sides. Abu Hanifa was the counter of the bricks and he developed a canal, which brought water to the work site for the use of both human consumption and the manufacturing of the bricks. Also, throughout the city marble was used to make the buildings and marble steps led down to the river’s edge.

In the middle of Baghdad, in the central square was the Golden Gate Palace. The Palace was the residence of the caliph and his family. In the central part of the building was a green dome that was 160 feet high. Surrounding the palace was an esplanade, a waterside building, in which only the caliph could come riding on horseback. The roundness points to the fact that it was based on Arab. The two designers who were hired by al-Mansur to plan the city's design were Naubakht, Zoroastrian who also determined that the date of the foundation of the city would be astrologically auspicious, and Mashallah, a Jew from Khorasan, Iran.

Baghdad and southern Iraq were once again brought under Ottoman rule in 1638 and remained so until captured by the British during World War I in 1917. It became the capital of the kingdom of Iraq under British control in 1921. Iraq was given formal independence in 1932, and increased autonomy in 1946. In July 1958 the Iraqi Army staged a coup under Abdul Karim Kassem. The King Faisal II, and his Prime Minister Nuri al-Said, amongst others, were killed.

Baghdad has always played an important role in Arab cultural life and has been the home of noted writers, musicians and visual artists.

The dialect of Arabic spoken in Baghdad today differs from that of other large urban centres in Iraq, having features more characteristic of nomadic Arabic dialects . It is possible that this was caused by the repopulating of the city with rural residents after the multiple sacks of the late Middle Ages.