Iraq

I

Introduction

Iraq, officially Republic of Iraq, also Irak, republic in the Middle East, bordered on the north by Turkey; on the east by Iran; on the south by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf; and on the west by Jordan and Syria. Iraq has a total area of 437,072 sq km (168,754 sq mi), taking into account the adjustments made to the border with Kuwait under the UN demarcation, which Iraq formally accepted in November 1994; the unadjusted area is 438,317 sq km (169,235 sq mi). These figures exclude Iraq’s share of the Neutral Zone (3,522 sq km/1,360 sq mi), an area with no permanent inhabitants lying between Iraq and Saudi Arabia that is jointly administered by the two governments, and through which nomads can move freely. Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait in August 1990, occupying it until expelled by a UN-led coalition in February 1991, during the Gulf War.

Some of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations developed in the area that makes up modern Iraq: Assyria, Babylonia, Mesopotamia, and Sumer. Baghdad is the country’s capital and largest city.

II

Land and Resources

There are four major areas within Iraq. The high Zagros Mountains in the extreme north-east are barren and harsh, supporting only pastoral nomadism during the summer months. Elevations reach 3,600 m (11,811 ft) at Jabal Ibrāhīm, the highest point in Iraq. Also part of this region are the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. They are an ideal environment for settlement, although now deforested, and form part of the Fertile Crescent where most cereal crops grow.

Between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the north lies a barren zone used by nomads and known as Al Jazira (Arabic, “island”). The sediment from the rivers forms a fertile alluvial plain in central and southern Iraq that is rich in agricultural potential. To the south-east of this plain lie extensive marshlands that reach Iraq’s 40 km (25 mi) of coastline on the Persian Gulf. To the west of the Euphrates, and covering more than half of the country, lies desert: on the southern border with Saudi Arabia is the Shamiya Desert; on the west, part of the Syrian Desert.

A

Rivers and Lakes

Present-day Iraq occupies the greater part of the ancient land of Mesopotamia, the plain between the Tigris and the Euphrates. The two rivers flow through Iraq from north-west to south-east. They meet about 160 km (100 mi) north of the Persian Gulf to form the River Shatt Al Arab, which drains into the gulf. The chief tributaries of the Tigris are the Great Zab, Little Zab, and Diyālā rivers. Level terrain separates the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in their lower courses. In ancient times the Tigris and the Euphrates were joined by a network of canals and irrigation ditches that directed the water of the higher-lying and more westerly Euphrates across the valley into the Tigris.

B

Climate

Most of Iraq has a continental climate—the summers are long and hot and the winters short and cool. The main exception is the mountainous north-eastern portion of the country, which has cool summers followed by cold, often snowy, winters; occasionally the snow is heavy, and when it melts in the spring it can cause widespread flooding downstream in central and southern Iraq. The mean January temperature in Baghdad, in central Iraq, is 9.4° C (49° F); for the months of July and August it is 35° C (95° F), and temperatures as high as 50.6° C (123° F) have been recorded. In the southern area around the Persian Gulf some of the highest atmospheric temperatures in the world have been recorded, and humidity is high. In the north-eastern highlands rainfall is considerable during October to May, but farther south, on the central alluvial plain, precipitation is slight, averaging approximately 152 mm (6 in) annually. The Syrian Desert receives little or no precipitation.