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Baghdad

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of the Middle
East

                     Baghdad
   بغداد
   A mosque in Baghdad, circa 1973.
   A mosque in Baghdad, circa 1973.
   The location of Baghdad within Iraq.
   The location of Baghdad within Iraq.
       Coordinates: 33°20′00″N, 44°26′00″E
       Country                 Iraq
       Province         Baghdad Governorate
   Government
       -  Mayor     Sabir al-Isawi
   Area
        - City      204.2 km²  (78.8  sq mi)
      Elevation     34  m (111.5  ft)
   Population (2006)
        - City      4.5 million
       - Density    30,000/km² (77,699.6/sq mi)
        - Metro     8.0 million
                    Approximate figures
      Time zone     GMT +3 ( UTC)
    - Summer ( DST) +4 ( UTC)

   Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد Baġdād) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad
   Governorate. With a metropolitan area estimated at a population of
   7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq. It is the second-largest
   city in the Arab world (after Cairo) and the second-largest city in
   southwest Asia (after Tehran).

   Located on the Tigris River, the city dates back to at least the 8th
   century, and probably to pre-Islamic times. Once the centre of Dar
   al-salam, the Muslim world, Baghdad has been a centre of violent
   conflict since 2003 because of the ongoing Iraq War.

Name

   Although there is no dispute over its Iranian origin, there have been
   several rival proposals as to its specific etymology. The most reliable
   and most widely accepted among these is that the name is a Middle
   Persian compound of Bhaga "god" + dād "given", translating to
   "god-given" or "God's gift", whence Modern Persian Baɣdād, Arabic
   Baġdād. Another leading proposal is that the name comes from Middle
   Persian Bāgh-dād "The Given Garden".

History

Foundation

   The city of Baghdad is often said to have been founded on the west bank
   of the Tigris on 30 July 762 by the Abbasid dynasty, led by caliph
   al-Mansur, replacing Harran as the seat of the caliphal government;
   however, a city of Baghdad is mentioned in pre-Islamic texts, including
   the Talmud , and the Abbasid city was likely built on the site of this
   earlier settlement.
   Zumurrud Khaton tomb in Baghdad,1932
   Zumurrud Khaton tomb in Baghdad, 1932

   Baghdad eclipsed Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire, which
   was located some 30 km (20 miles) to the southeast, which had been
   under Muslim control since 637, and which became quickly deserted after
   the foundation of Baghdad. The site of Babylon, which had been deserted
   since the 2nd century BC, lies some 90 km (55 miles) to the south.

   The city was designed as a circle about 2 km in diameter, leading it to
   be known as the "Round City". The original design shows a ring of
   residential and commercial structures along the inside of the city
   walls, but the final construction added another ring, inside the first.
   In the center of the city lay the mosque, as well as headquarters for
   guards. The purpose or use of the remaining space in the centre is
   unknown. The circular design of the city was a direct reflection of the
   traditional Persian Sasanian urban design. The ancient Sasanian city of
   Gur/ Firouzabad is nearly identical in its general circular design,
   radiating avenues, and the government buildings and temples at the
   epicenter of the city.

   The roundness points to the fact that it was based on Persian
   precedents such as Firouzabad in Persia. The two designers who were
   hired by al-Mansur to plan the city's design were Naubakht, a former
   Persian Zoroastrian who also determined that the date of the foundation
   of the city would be astrologically auspicious, and Mashallah, a Jew
   from Khorasan, Iran.

A centre of learning (8th to 9th c.)

   Within a generation of its founding, Baghdad became a hub of learning
   and commerce. The House of Wisdom was an establishment dedicated to the
   translation of Greek, Middle Persian and Syriac works. The Barmakids
   were influential in bringing scholars from the nearby Academy of
   Gundishapur, facilitating the introduction of Greek and Indian science
   into the Arabic world. Baghdad was likely the largest city in the world
   from shortly after its foundation until the 930s, when it was tied by
   Córdoba. Several estimates suggest that the city contained over a
   million inhabitants at its peak. A portion of the population of Baghdad
   originated in Iran, especially from Khorasan. Many of Shahrazad's tales
   in One Thousand and One Nights are set in Baghdad during this period.

Stagnation and invasions (10th to 16th c.)

   By the 10th century, the city's population was between 300,000 and
   500,000. Baghdad's early meteoric growth slowed due to troubles within
   the Caliphate, including relocations of the capital to Samarra (during
   808–819 and 836–892), the loss of the western and easternmost
   provinces, and periods of political domination by the Iranian Buwayhids
   (945–1055) and Seljuk Turks (1055–1135). Nevertheless, the city
   remained one of the cultural and commercial hubs of the Islamic world
   until February 10, 1258, when it was sacked by the Mongols under Hulagu
   Khan during the sack of Baghdad. The Mongols massacred most of the
   city's inhabitants, including the Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim, and
   destroyed large sections of the city. The canals and dykes forming the
   city's irrigation system were also destroyed. The sack of Baghdad put
   an end to the Abbasid Caliphate, a blow from which the Islamic
   civilization never fully recovered.

   At this point Baghdad was ruled by the Il-Khanids, the Mongol emperors
   of Iran. In 1401, Baghdad was again sacked, by Timur ("Tamerlane"). It
   became a provincial capital controlled by the Jalayirid (1400–1411),
   Qara Quyunlu (1411–1469), Aq Quyunlu (1469–1508), and Safavid
   (1508–1534) dynasties.

Ottoman Baghdad (16th to 19th c.)

   In 1534, Baghdad was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. Under the
   Ottomans, Baghdad fell into a period of decline, partially as a result
   of the enmity between its rulers and Persia. For a time, Baghdad had
   been the largest city in the Middle East before being overtaken by
   Constantinople in the 16th century. The Nuttall Encyclopedia reports
   the 1907 population of Baghdad as 185,000.

20th century

   Baghdad in 1932
   Baghdad in 1932

   Baghdad remained under Ottoman rule until the establishment of the
   kingdom of Iraq under British control in 1921. British control was
   established by a systematic suppression of Iraqi Arab and Kurdish
   national aspirations. Iraq was given formal independence in 1932, and
   increased autonomy in 1946. In 1958 the Iraqi Army deposed the grandson
   of the British-installed monarch, Faisal II. The city's population grew
   from an estimated 145,000 in 1900 to 580,000 in 1950 of which 140,000
   were Jewish.
   Baghdad in the 1970s
   Baghdad in the 1970s

   During the 1970s Baghdad experienced a period of prosperity and growth
   because of a sharp increase in the price of petroleum, Iraq's main
   export. New infrastructure including modern sewage, water, and highway
   facilities were built during this period. However, the Iran-Iraq War of
   the 1980s was a difficult time for the city, as money flowed into the
   army and thousands of residents were killed. Iran launched a number of
   missile attacks against Baghdad, although they caused relatively little
   damage and few casualties. In 1991 the Persian Gulf War caused damage
   to Baghdad's transportation, power, and sanitary infrastructure.

2003 Invasion of Iraq

   2003 street map of Baghdad
   2003 street map of Baghdad

   Baghdad was bombed very heavily in March and April 2003 in the 2003
   invasion of Iraq, and fell under US control by April 7- April 9.
   Additional damage was caused by the severe looting during the days
   following the end of the war. With the deposition of Saddam Hussein's
   regime, the city was occupied by U.S. troops. The Coalition Provisional
   Authority established a three-square-mile (8-km²) " Green Zone" within
   the heart of the city from which it governed Iraq during the period
   before the new Iraqi government was established. The Coalition
   Provisional Authority ceded power to the interim government at the end
   of June 2004 and dissolved itself.
   A satellite false-color image of Baghdad, taken March 31, 2003. The
   image shows smoke rising from pools of burning oil spread along "Canal
   Road" and other locations. Ditches full of oil were created shortly
   before the war to obscure visibility (black) and vegetation (red)
   A satellite false-colour image of Baghdad, taken March 31, 2003. The
   image shows smoke rising from pools of burning oil spread along "Canal
   Road" and other locations. Ditches full of oil were created shortly
   before the war to obscure visibility (black) and vegetation (red)

   On September 23, 2003, a Gallup poll indicated that about two-thirds of
   Baghdad residents said that the removal of the Iraqi leader was worth
   the hardships they encountered, and that they expected a better life in
   five years' time. As time passed, however, support for the occupation
   declined dramatically. In April 2004, USA Today reported that a
   follow-up Gallup poll in Baghdad indicated that "only 13 percent of the
   people now say the invasion of Iraq was morally justifiable. In the
   2003 poll, more than twice that number saw it as the right thing to
   do."

   Most residents of Baghdad became impatient with the occupation because
   essential services such as electricity were still unreliable more than
   a year after the invasion. In the hot summer of 2004, electricity was
   only available intermittently in most areas of the city. An additional
   pressing concern was the lack of security. The curfew imposed
   immediately after the invasion had been lifted in the winter of 2003,
   but the city that had once had a vibrant night life was still
   considered too dangerous after dark for many citizens. Those dangers
   included kidnapping and the risk of being caught in fighting between
   security forces and insurgents.

   On 10th April 2007, the United States military began construction of a
   three mile long 3.5 metre tall wall around the Sunni district of
   Baghdad (Guardian). On 23rd April , the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri
   Maliki, called for construction to be halted on the wall (Guardian)
   (BBC).

Geography and climate

   The city is located on a vast plain bisected by the Tigris River. The
   Tigris splits Baghdad in half, with the Eastern half being called
   'Risafa' and the Western half known as 'Karkh'. The land on which the
   city is built is almost entirely flat and low-lying, being of alluvial
   origin due to the periodic large floods which have occurred on the
   river.

   Baghdad is, in terms of maximum temperatures, one of the hottest cities
   in the world. In the summer from June to August, the average maximum is
   as high as 44°C (111°F) accompanied by blazing sunshine: rainfall is
   almost completely unknown at this time of year. Temperatures exceeding
   50°C (122°F) in the shade are by no means unheard of, and even at night
   temperatures in summer are seldom below 24°C (75°F) Though the humidity
   is low due to Baghdad's distance from the marshy Persian Gulf, dust
   storms from the deserts to the west are a normal occurrence during the
   summer.

   In the winter, from December to February, by contrast, Baghdad has
   maximum temperatures averaging 15 to 16°C (59 to 61°F). Minima can
   indeed be very cold: the average January minimum is around 4°C (39°F)
   but temperatures below 0°C (32°F) are not uncommon during this season.

   Annual rainfall, almost entirely confined to the period from November
   to March, averages around 140  millimetres (5.5 in), but has been as
   high as 575 millimetres (23 in) and as low as 23 millimetres (~1 in).

Reconstruction Efforts

   A Rendering of the Tahrir Square Development, the first phase of the
   Baghdad Renaissance Plan
   A Rendering of the Tahrir Square Development, the first phase of the
   Baghdad Renaissance Plan

   Most Reconstruction of Iraq efforts have been devoted to the
   restoration and repair of badly damaged infrastructure. More visible
   efforts at reconstruction through private development, such as
   architect and urban designer Hisham N. Ashkouri's Baghdad Renaissance
   Plan and Sindbad Hotel Complex and Conference Centre garnered early
   interest, but remain undeveloped due to the instability of the region.

Government

   The City of Baghdad has 89 official neighborhoods within 9 districts.
   These official subdivisions of the city served as administrative
   centers for the delivery of municipal services but until 2003 had no
   political function. Beginning in April 2003, the U.S. controlled
   Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) began the process of creating new
   functions for these. The process initially focused on the election of
   neighborhood councils in the official neighborhoods, elected by
   neighborhood caucuses. CPA convened a series of meetings in each
   neighborhood to explain local government, to describe the caucus
   election process and to encourage participants to spread the word and
   bring friends, relatives and neighbors to subsequent meetings. Each
   neighborhood process ultimately ended with a final meeting where
   candidates for the new neighborhood councils identified themselves and
   asked their neighbors to vote for them. Once all 88 (later increased to
   89) neighborhood councils were in place, each neighborhood council
   elected representatives from among their members to serve on one of the
   city's nine district councils. The number of neighborhood
   representatives on a district council is based upon the neighborhood’s
   population. The next step was to have each of the nine district
   councils elect representatives from their membership to serve on the 37
   member Baghdad City Council. This three tier system of local government
   connected the people of Baghdad to the central government through their
   representatives from the neighbourhood, through the district, and up to
   the city council.
   Baghdad Bank
   Baghdad Bank

   The same process was used to provide representative councils for the
   other communities in Baghdad Province outside of the City itself.
   There, local councils were elected from 20 neighborhoods (Nahia) and
   these councils elected representatives from their members to serve on
   six district councils (Qada). As within the City, the district councils
   then elected representatives from among their members to serve on the
   35 member Baghdad Regional Council.

   The final step in the establishment of the system of local government
   for Baghdad Province was the election of the Baghdad Provincial
   Council. As before, the representatives to the Provincial Council were
   elected by their peers from the lower councils in numbers proportional
   to the population of the districts they represent. The 41 member
   Provincial Council took office in February, 2004 and served until
   National elections held in January 2005, when a new Provincial Council
   was elected.

   This system of 127 separate councils may seem overly cumbersome but
   Baghdad Province is home to approximately seven million people. At the
   lowest level, the neighbourhood councils, each council represents an
   average of 74,000 people.

   The nine District Advisory Councils (DAC) are as follows :
     * Adhamiyah
     * Karkh
     * Karadah (Kharadah)
     * Kadhimyah
     * Mansour
     * Sadr City ( Thawr)
     * Rasheed
     * Rusafa
     * Tisa Nissan (9 Nissan)

Culture

   A helicopter flying by Baghdad's tower
   A helicopter flying by Baghdad's tower

   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 centers in Iraq, having features more characteristic
   of nomadic Arabic dialects (Verseegh, The Arabic Language). 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.

Institutions

   Some of the important cultural institutions in the city include:
     * Iraqi National Orchestra – Rehearsals and performances were briefly
       interrupted during the second Gulf War, but have since returned to
       normal.
     * National Theatre of Iraq – The theatre was looted during the 2003
       Invasion of Iraq, but efforts are underway to restore the theatre.

   The live theatre scene received a boost during the 1990s when UN
   sanctions limited the import of foreign films. As many as 30 movie
   theatres were reported to have been converted to live stages, producing
   a wide range of comedies and dramatic productions.

   Institutions offering cultural education in Baghdad include the Academy
   of Music, Institute of Fine Arts and the Music and Ballet School.
   Baghdad is also home to a number of museums which housed artifacts and
   relics of ancient civilizations; many of these were stolen, and the
   museums looted, during the widespread chaos immediately after U.S.
   forces entered the city.

   During the 2003 occupation of Iraq, AFN Iraq ("Freedom Radio")
   broadcast news and entertainment within Baghdad, among other locations.

Sights and monuments

   A helicopter flying by the Al-Shaheed Monument
   A helicopter flying by the Al-Shaheed Monument

   Points of interest include the National Museum of Iraq, whose priceless
   collection of artifacts was looted during the 2003 invasion, the iconic
   Hands of Victory arches (which have been a contentious issue as to
   their continued presence; mulitple Iraqi parties are in discussions as
   to whether they should remain as historical monuments or be
   dismantled), and the Baghdad zoo. Thousands of ancient manuscripts in
   the National Library were destroyed when the building burnt down during
   the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Al Kadhimain Shrines in the northwest of
   Baghdad (in Kadhimiya) is one of the most important Shi'ite religious
   buildings in Iraq. It was finished in 1515 and the 7th ( Musa ibn Jafar
   al-Kathim) and the 9th Imams ( Mohammad al-Jawad) were buried here. One
   of the oldest buildings is the 12th century or 13th century Abbasid
   Palace. The palace is part of the central historical area of the city
   and close to other historically important buildings such as the Saray
   Building and Al-Mustansiriyah School (From the Abbasid Period). There
   are other landmarks in Baghdad, each of them marks a certain era and
   has become associated with memorable events or even just changes that
   marked the city scape. Here are some of them:
     * Baghdad Tower (used to be known as Saddam Tower): before its
       partial destruction due to the USA bombing of the Ma'amoon
       Telecommunication Centre next to it, the tower used to be the
       highest point in the city and from where all Baghdad can be seen.
       The construction of the tower marks a period of the post-Gulf-war
       of 1991 reconstruction efforts.

     * The Two Level Bridge in Jadriyah (Jisr Abul Tabqain (the Iraqi
       common name of it)): Though the planing for this bridge was put
       long time ago and even before Saddam's regime take over(reference),
       the bridge was never built back then. As part of the reconstruction
       efforts to make Baghdad even better than before 1991 war and the
       USA air force destructive attacks, the long planned bridge was
       executed. It connects Al-Doura area (which is very large)with a
       direct path to the rest of the Baghdad and complements the 14th of
       July Bridge. The structure of the bridge is rather bulky and not
       much engineering had been put to it, but it functions for its
       purpose.

     * Al-Zawra'a Park in Al-Mansour Area and almost in a central location
       of Baghdad.

     * Al-Shaheed Monument: The monument to the Iraqi soldiers killed in
       the Iran-Iraq war, located on the east bank of the Tigris near Sadr
       City.

Sport

   Baghdad is home to the most successful football teams in Iraq, the
   biggest being Al Quwa Al Jawiya (Airforce club), Al Zawra, Al Shurta
   (Police) and Al Talaba (Students). The largest stadium in Baghdad is Al
   Shaab Stadium which was opened in 1966. Another, much larger stadium,
   is still in the opening stages of construction.

   The city has also had a strong tradition of horse racing ever since
   World War I, known to Baghdadis simply as 'Races'. There are reports of
   pressures by Islamists to stop this tradition due to the associated
   gambling.

Baghdad's major neighborhoods

   Baghdad International Airport
   Baghdad International Airport
     * Adhamiyah: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
     * Al-Kadhimya: Shiite majority.
     * Karrada: Shiite majority, Christian presence.
     * Al-Jadriya Area : Mixed area.
     * Al-Mansour: Mixed area.
     * Zayouna: Mixed neighbourhood.
     * Dora: Mixed area.
     * Sadr City: Almost exclusively Shiite.
     * Hurriya City: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.
     * Baghdad Al-Jadida(New Baghdad): Shiite majority, Christian
       presence.
     * Al-Sa'adoon area : Mixed area.
     * Bab Al-Moatham : Sunni majority, shiite presence.
     * Bab Al-Sharqi : Mixed area.
     * Al-Baya' : Shiite majority, Sunni presence.
     * Al-Saydiya : Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
     * Al-A'amiriya : Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
     * Al-Shu'ala: Almost exclusively Shiite.
     * Al- Ghazaliya: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
     * Al-Za'franiya: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.
     * Hayy Ur: Almost exclusively Shiite.
     * Sha'ab City: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.
     * Hayy Al-Jami'a: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
     * Al-Adel: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
     * Al:Khadhraa: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.
     * Hayy Al-Jihad: Mixed area.
     * Hayy Al-A'amel: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.

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