Baghdad
بَغْدَاد | |
|---|---|
| Mayoralty of Baghdad | |
Top-bottom, L-R: Aerial view of the Green Zone; • Tigris • Republican Palace • Al-Zawraa Park • Mutanabbi Street • Al-Kazimiyya Mosque • Al-Faw Palace | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: City of Peace (مَدِيْنَةُ السَّلَام)[1] | |
  Baghdad Location of Baghdad within Iraq  Baghdad Baghdad (Asia) .svg) Baghdad Baghdad (Earth) | |
| Coordinates: 33°18′55″N 44°21′58″E / 33.31528°N 44.36611°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+03:00 (Arabian Standard Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | (Not Observed) |
| Postal code | 10001 to 10090 |
| Website | amanatbaghdad.gov.iq (in Arabic) |
Baghdad (/ˈbæɡdæd/ BAG-dad or /bəɡˈdæd/ bəg-DAD; Arabic: بَغْدَاد, romanized: Baghdād, [baɣˈdaːd] ) is capital and largest city of Iraq. Located on the Tigris, the city is part of the Baghdad Governorate. It has a population variously estimated at 6 or over 7 million. Compared to its large population, the city has a small area at just 673 square kilometers (260 sq mi).[note 1] Baghdad is popular for being a center in the Islamic world. Baghdad the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo and the second-largest city in West Asia after Tehran.
In 762 AD, Baghdad was founded 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".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.[7] 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.
The city served as capital of the former British Mandate of Mesopotamia. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent monarchial state in 1932, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arab culture. The city has faced severe infrastructural damage due to the Iraq War, which began with the United States-led invasion of Iraq, the subsequent insurgency (2011–2013) and renewed war (2013–2017), 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, and are very rare now.[8]
As capital of Iraq, Baghdad is home to government offices and diplomatic missions. It is home to numerous landmarks, popular as tourist spots, such mosques, churches, synagogues, malls and hotels. The city serves as an important gateway hub to Iraq, through the Baghdad International Airport. Ethnically, Baghdad is a diverse city, with Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims as a majority, while Assyrians, Armenians and Jews are a minority, making the city cosmopolitan.
- ^ Petersen, Andrew (13 September 2011). "Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam)". Islamic Arts & Architecture. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ "Baghdad Population Live". Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "Iraq". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 16 May 2020. (Archived 2020 edition.)
- ^ "Baghdad" Archived 9 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 19 July 2019.
- ^ Gilbert Burnham; Riyadh Lafta; Shannon Doocy; Les Roberts (11 October 2006). "Mortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross-sectional cluster sample survey". The Lancet. 368 (9545): 1421–1428. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.88.4036. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69491-9. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 17055943. S2CID 23673934. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013. (110 KB)
- ^ "Cities and urban areas in Iraq with population over 100,000" Archived 15 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Mongabay.com
- ^ "Largest Cities Through History". Geography.about.com. 6 April 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ "Twin Suicide Bombings In Baghdad Market Kill At Least 32, Wound Over 100". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
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