The Iraq PortalA view of Baghdad, Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia and in the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. With a population of over 46 million, it is the 30th-most populous country. It is a federal parliamentary republic that consists of 18 governorates. Iraq is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. Iraqi people are diverse; mostly Arabs, as well as Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Most Iraqis are Muslims – minority faiths include Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Zoroastrianism. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; others also recognized in specific regions are Turkish, Suret, and Armenian. Modern Iraq dates to 1920, when a Mandate was created by League of Nations. A British-backed monarchy was founded in 1921 under Faisal. The Hashemite kingdom got independence from the UK in 1932. In 1958, the kingdom was overthrown and a republic was established, first led by General Qasim and then by brothers Abdul Salam Arif and Abdul Rahman Arif. Iraq was ruled by the Ba'ath Party from 1968 to 2003, led by Al-Bakr and then by Saddam Hussein, as a one-party state. The country fought major wars – the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War. In 2003, a U.S-led coalition invaded and occupied Iraq, initiating the Second Gulf War, which overthrew the Ba'athist government as part of its war on terror. It continued with an insurgency and sectarian civil war. The U.S. troops began to withdraw and war officially ended in 2011. The subsequent continuing repression and sectarian policies of Nouri al-Maliki's government caused protests, after which a coalition of Ba'athist and Sunni militias took up arms during a campaign. The climax of the campaign was the offensive by the ISIS that marked its rapid territorial expansion, prompting the return of American troops to fight the war, which lasted until 2017. Iran has also intervened since 2014, expanding its influence through sectarian parties and Khomeinist militia groups, triggering widespread protests. (Full article...) Selected article -Al-Talaba Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الطلبة الرياضي, lit. ''Students Sports Club'') is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. Its football team competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top flight of Iraqi football. Founded in 1969, the club was named Al-Jamiea but became known as Al-Talaba ahead of the 1978–79 season after being merged with a new club of the same name. Their home stadium is Al-Talaba Stadium. Al-Talaba are one of Iraq's most successful teams having won five league titles, most recently in the 2001–02 season. They have also achieved two FA Cups, one Super Cup and a joint-record three Umm al-Ma'arik Championships. The club's best achievements on the continental stage include finishing fourth at the 1986 Asian Club Championship and finishing second and fourth at the 1995 and 1998–99 editions of the Asian Cup Winners' Cup respectively. (Full article...)Selected picture![]() The Code of Hammurabi (Codex Hammurabi), the best preserved ancient law code, was created ca. 1760 BC (middle chronology) in ancient Babylon. It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi.
Did you know...![]()
Selected biography -
Justin Meram (Arabic: جستن حكمت عزيز ميرام; born December 4, 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for National Independent Soccer Association club Michigan Stars. Born in the United States, he plays for the Iraq national team. (Full article...)
General imagesThe following are images from various Iraq-related articles on Wikipedia.
ListsTopicsCategoriesRelated portalsReligions in Iraq Arab states Other countries WikiProjectsThings you can do
Associated WikimediaThe following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
Discover Wikipedia using portals |