Play

Baghdad

Capital of IraqBaghdad grew up on the banks of the Tigris River in central Iraq. The ruins of Ctesiphon, the capital of an earlier Persian empire, are about 30 km to the south-east.

Why it's the capital

On 30 July 762 the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur ordered a new capital to be built here, believing the site on the Tigris was ideal for ruling his empire. In 1921 Baghdad became the capital of the new Kingdom of Iraq under British control, and it stayed the capital at independence in 1932.

Fun facts

  1. Al-Mansur called his new city the 'City of Peace', and at its heart was a circular core about 2 km wide, known as the Round City.
  2. By the middle of the 9th century, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad had the largest collection of books in the world.
  3. Many of the tales of the Arabian Nights, also called One Thousand and One Nights, are set in Baghdad.

Finding it on the globe

Aim for the middle of Iraq: Baghdad is close to the centre of the country, on the Tigris, almost due east of Damascus.

Sources: Wikipedia: Baghdad