"You may not know it yet," states Iraqi author Joseph Braude, addressing a global audience, "But an essential Iraq, with its roots stretching back to the dawn of human civilization, has indelibly shaped your social reality. It bequeathed the bridges you drive on and the tunnels you drive through, the principles of law you adhere to, and many of the religious values and traditions that underlie your beliefs about God."
Middle East Fellowship has prepared a timeline of Iraq, tracing its ancient roots and tracking major developments up until the second Gulf war.Middle East Fellowship has prepared a timeline of Iraq, tracing its ancient roots and tracking major developments up until the second Gulf war.
"You may not know it yet," states Iraqi author Joseph Braude, addressing a global audience, "But an essential Iraq, with its roots stretching back to the dawn of human civilization, has indelibly shaped your social reality. It bequeathed the bridges you drive on and the tunnels you drive through, the principles of law you adhere to, and many of the religious values and traditions that underlie your beliefs about God."
The land of Iraq-or Mesopotamia-is the birthplace of many important societal developments, religious ideas, inventions and mathematical discoveries. It is the land where Abraham and Noah were born, men spoken of in both the Bible and the Qu''ran. It has also been speculated that Iraq, the "land between two rivers," is the historical location of the Garden of Eden. Though modern Iraqis have a complicated relationship with the history of their region, many look to the developments of past empires as a narrative of glory and achievement-part of the legacy of Iraq.
4000 BC
The Sumerian Empire, arguably the first human civilization, develops in Iraq based on two factors: the violent unpredictability of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the richness of the soil. The unpredictability of the rivers, whose floods could wipe out whole villages of people, necessitated a form of collective management and irrigation. The richness of soil and sophisticated irrigation systems made a food surplus possible for the first time in history. The earliest form of writing, cuneiform, was developed by the Sumerians, using chopped off reeds as writing instruments against wet clay tablets. Sumerians also invented the wheel, a mathematical system based on the number 60 (the basis of time in the modern world), and a system of banking.
2340 BC
The Akkadian Empire is born when Sargon, the "gardener" of the Sumerian royal court who was in charge of the taming of the rivers through the use of irrigation systems and the commander of thousands of men, leads a successful revolt. He establishes his capital in Akkadia, for which his empire is named. The Akkadian Empire is short-lived, quickly succumbing to revolts throughout the region.
1700 BC
King Hammurabi''s Babylonian empire ushers in a new age in the Iraqi region. Known best for the legal concepts he introduced, Hammurabi established legal protection for the lower classes, the state''s authority to enforce the law and the declaration that the punishment should fit the crime (the "Hammurabi Code"-"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"-is quoted to this day). Not long after Hammurabi''s reign, Abraham emerges from Ur, spreading a similar concept of justice to other parts of the Middle East. The legal philosophy Hammurabi devised underpins the entire Western legal system. Apart from his laws, Hammurabi becomes known for his obsessive micromanagement of the daily operations of the empire and his bold military strategies.
900 BC
From Northern Mesopotamia, the Assyrian Empire, which had a long tradition of military prowess, became the new rulers of this region through their conquests. According to scholar Sandra Mackey: "They brought with them an arsenal of chariots capable of mowing down enemy soldiers, battering rams forceful enough to break down the walls of resistant cities, and movable towers from which armored warriors unleashed hails of spears and arrows on their foes within a vast territory... More than anything, the Assyrians brought to the battlefield a passion for war and a zeal for terror." Iraqi scholar Joseph Braude calls Assyria "the first totalitarian state." It was to this state (and its capital: the city of Nineveh) that the biblical prophet Jonah came with a message from God causing the Assyrians to repent.
586 BC
Nebuchadnezzar, who has gained control of Southern Mesopotamia and Syria, razes the Temple of Solomon in Palestine and marches the Jews off to captivity in Babylon (2 Kings 26:8-21). In Babylon, Jewish scholars compile the Talmud.
539 BC
Cyrus invades and conquers Mesopotamia, incorporating the territory into the Persian Empire. According to Iraqi scholar Joseph Braude, Cyrus won praise because he "ruled by granting autonomy and religious freedom to the Jews, Zoroastrians and countless other religious and cultic groups in the ancient Near East. He built an Empire that adopted a posture of tolerance in the face of a complex ethnic and religious environment that since the dawn of time had been plagued by warfare and conflict." The Bible also praises Cyrus for allowing Jews to return to Palestine and rebuild their temple (2 Chronicles 36:22-23).
331 BC
Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire, marking the first Western imperialist enterprise in the territory of Iraq. Alexander dies in Babylon in 331 BC and his empire crumbles. Mesopotamia falls under the rule of the Greek Seleucid Empire. The Seleucid Empire falls to the Parthian Empire and later, the Sassanians.
637 AD
The Islamic-Arab army conquers the territory of Iraq. At the time of the Arab conquest most Iraqi tribes and communities belong to the Christian faith. Over the years, just as they adopt the Arabic language as their own, the peoples living in the region of Iraq begin to convert to Islam. The definitive victory of the Arabs over the Persians comes at the battle of al-Qadisyah in 636. Saddam Hussein later calls upon the imagery of the al-Qadisyah campaign to justify his war against Persian Iran in 1980.
661 AD
Ali, the step son of Muhammad and revered figure in Shia Islam, is murdered. The break between the Shia and Sunni Muslims starts with the death of Muhammad in 661. Many rally around his stepson Ali to become the successor. The Islamic leadership passes over Ali. Eventually, this argument over the leadership of Islam is enough to cause a split in the Islamic community. Shia trace their religious heritage back to Muhammad and Ali, while the Sunni trace their heritage back to Muhammad and the Islamic Caliphs. Iraq is unique in the fact that it has an almost equal numbers of Shia and Sunni Muslims, which has been the source of internal conflict.
760 AD
Abo al Abbas becomes the first Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, whose power is centered in its Baghdad capital. For a long period, Baghdad is the political, cultural and intellectual center of the Arab world. During Abbasid rule, Muhammad al-Khawarizmi, a Baghdad intellectual, invents the algorithm, algebra and a remarkable map of the known world. Combing Greek philosophy and Islamic religious principles, the scholars of Baghdad help pave the way for a new era in the Middle East.
1258 AD
Baghdad falls to Mongol invaders.
1533 AD
The territory of Iraq is conquered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The territory will remain under Ottoman control for several centuries, with brief interludes of Safavid and Mamluke authority.
1916 AD
The Western powers secretly meet to form the Sykes-Pikot Agreement, in which allied leaders determine how the Ottoman Empire of the Middle East will be divided between them once it is conquered during the battles of WWI.
1917 AD
The Ottoman Empire collapses in the battles of World War I as British troops invade Mesopotamia and occupy the city of Baghdad. Britain promises Arab independence after the war, making a deal with Arab Nationalist Hussein ibn Ali, which leads many citizens in the empire to rise up against their Ottoman rulers, who have become increasingly oppressive during the last days of their reign over the region of the Middle East. Britain''s interest in Iraq, however, is more than military strategy; they have long coveted the oil resources known to lie beneath the soil.
1919 AD
The Paris Peace conference convenes. As Arabs voice their desire for independence, the Western powers divide up the real estate of the Middle East. The borders of modern Iraq are drawn to fit with Britain''s colonial interests in the region. The haphazard political boundaries, though fulfilling England''s short term needs, inevitably contributes to later political conflicts in the region (the Iran-Iraq war and the invasion of Kuwait both are partially based on territorial disputes that arise from the "divide and conquer" strategy of the European colonizers).
1932 AD
The British Mandate is officially terminated but this does not end the era of British influence over Iraq. The Monarchy, until its overthrow in 1958, continues close relations with the Western powers.
1953 AD
18 year old Faisal II ascends to the throne of the monarchy, though the true political power was wielded by his advisors. Faisal was educated in Britain and was more a product of British political, intellectual and cultural norms than he was a product of Iraqi society and he had little interest in the operations of his own kingdom. Like Iraqi kings before him he was accused of being the puppet of Western powers.
1958 AD
Egyptian President Nasser threatens to topple the pro-Western government of Beirut. The Iraqi King, Faisal II, who is also allied with Western powers, orders his troops into Jordan causing General Abd al-Karim Qasim, who dislikes the idea of sending Iraqis to war against other Arabs, to turn against the monarchy. The overwhelmed King quickly surrenders in exchange for safe passage for himself and his family. But, in the front court yard of his own palace, the young king is mowed down by machine gun bullets, along with fifteen to twenty others. Abdul-Karim Qasim seizes power.
1963 AD
Abdul-Karim Qasim is assassinated and his corpse is displayed on Iraq''s television airwaves by his assassins. General Abd al-Salam Arif takes his place. Though the Ba''athists helped stage the coup, political differences eventually led Arif to view the party as a threat to his power, causing him to purge the Ba''athists from his administration and fire rockets into the headquarters of Ba''ath leadership. When Abd al-Salam Arif dies, his brother, Abd al-Rahman Arif, takes his place. 1968 AD Ba''athists seize power. Abd al-Rahman Arif is escorted to the airport and is exiled to London. Al-Bakr assumes the mantle of presidency, while Saddam Hussein takes a place at his side as the Vice-President.
1979 AD
Saddam Hussein forces Ba''athist president Al-Bakr into retirement and assumes the mantle of the presidency. As part of his initial rise to power, Saddam has twenty-one members of his own Regional Command Council executed as "traitors," including the deputy prime minister and other prominent government officials who stood in the way of his personal ambitions for power. Over his decades-long rule over Iraq, Saddam would take part in several genocidal campaigns, launch an oppressive secret service effort to keep all his citizens too terrified to criticize the government, initiate several wars and flood Iraq with images of himself, in the form of portraits and elaborate works of art. Though seeing himself as a modern Saladin, the heroic Islamic-Arab defender of the Middle East during the Crusades, Saddam''s rule would be marked by terror, war and racism against non-Arabs.
1980 AD
Disputing the strategic territory of the Shatt al-Arab, Iran and Iraq go to war. Saddam hopes to acquire the strategic territory of the Shatt al-Arab, along with several border areas and Gulf islands, which he believes will give him control over the entire Persian Gulf. [2] Iran has also been supporting the northern Kurds and the southern Iraqi Shia in their revolts against the Ba''ath regime. Saddam hopes to crush the Iranian Shah in order to destabilize the revolutions within his own country. Erroneously, the Iraqi military imagines that it can make quick work of Iran, which is bogged down amidst revolts from its own internal dissenters. But Baghdad is wrong-the Iran-Iraq war will last eight years and neither side will emerge victorious.
1981 AD
The Israeli military, worried by Iraq''s potential to acquire nuclear capabilities, bomb a nuclear reactor outside of Baghdad.
1982 AD Within the period of a few months, several assassination attempts are made against Saddam Hussein by local insurgents. In Iran an "Army of Twenty Million" children-boys around the age of twelve-are sent across the minefields of the Iran-Iraqi border to clear the way for the Iranian military.[3]
1984 AD
The U.S., under President Reagan, restores diplomatic ties with Iraq. Fearful of the Islamic regime in Iran, the U.S. administration is supportive of Iraq''s war efforts. According to Sandra Mackey: "Official American help to Saddam Hussein''s multifaceted military machine came through the back door of intelligence. Illicit aid came by the way of deadly pathogens purchased from U.S. biological firms and perhaps $500 million in dual-use imports diverted by Iraq to the military sector." In other words, some of the "weapons of mass destruction" belonging to the Iraqi regime that later U.S. administrations would criticize were, in fact, originally given to Iraq by the United States. Washington also eventually provides Iraqi intelligence with reconnaissance photographs that aid in pinpointing Iranian missile targets. [4]
1987 AD
To suppress the Kurdish rebellion in Northern Iraq, Saddam''s military uses chemical weapons against Kurdish civilians, killing 238 Kurds in a single attack with poisonous gas. They also initiate a village-to-village campaign of terror, in which Kurdish civilians are separated into groups, sending children, women and the elderly into camps (where many die from starvation and disease) as men are trucked off and are presumably lined up before a firing squad, shot and buried in a secret mass grave.
1988 AD
The Iraqi army starts an intensive four-month bombing campaign of Tehran, Iran''s capital. As a result, Iran accepts U.N. Resolution 598 and a cease-fire is established between the secular Iraqi Ba''athist state and the Iranian Islamic Republic. According to scholar Sandra Mackey, by the end of the conflict the Iran-Iraq war "killed at least a million people, wounded another 2 million, engaged almost 40 percent of the adult male populations of both countries and cost roughly $1,190 billion in economic terms." [5] The war also leaves Saddam with a debt of 70 to 80 billion dollars, an economic reality that will have far-reaching consequences in the years to come.
1990 AD
Saddam Hussein, who has steeped his country in severe economic debt in order to pay for the war against Iran, accuses Kuwait of flooding the world market with oil, creating negative economic consequences for Iraq. Saddam also demands that Kuwait waive the large debt that Iraq owes them-a proposal which the Kuwaiti government promptly rejects. April Glaspie, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, tells Saddam Hussein that "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait" (though she does encourage a diplomatic resolution) [6].
Iraqi officials interpret these statements as a signal that the U.S. will not get involved if the economic feud with Kuwait causes a war. Based on this interpretation, Saddam, hoping to free himself of debt and acquire water ports and additional oil resources, invades and conquers Kuwait. His soldiers initiate a series of mass slaughters and gang rapes of Kuwaiti civilians, sparking the outrage of the international community. Though he does commit these atrocities against Kuwaitis, many other stories are exaggerated by the international press. A story that Iraqi soldiers are removing babies from Kuwaiti hospitals and leaving them to die on hospital floors is reported by the press and believed by both politicians and human rights groups (like Amnesty International) but later proves to be a fabricated event. [7]
1991 AD
George Bush Sr. assembles a large multinational force to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi military occupation. According to Sandra Mackey, Bush succeeds in a "dazzling campaign of diplomacy [collecting] over thirty nations into a grand coalition to confront Iraqi aggression under the principles codified in the United Nations Charter." [8]
U.S. forces launch an air and ground campaign against Iraq with two military objectives: expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait and the destruction of Hussein''s Republican guards. Iraqi troops, demoralized by the oppression of the regime, retreat and surrender in large numbers. In a public address, Bush urges Iraqis to rise up in rebellion against Saddam''s regime. The $60 billion dollar U.S. led campaign is a quick and decisive victory, lasting only six weeks. In March of the same year, Shia groups in the south of Iraq begin to rebel against Saddam. In the north, a Kurdish rebellion is also initiated.
Despite the fact that the Bush administration encourages the rebellion, he does not militarily support the uprisings. In fact, U.S. forces hinder the revolt''s efforts in several intentional and unintentional ways. "When the rebels in the river town of Nassariyah broke into an Iraqi army barracks to seize desperately needed guns and ammunition, the Americans in control of southern Iraq stop them. At the same time, U.S. army units throughout the zone of occupation in southern Iraq systematically blew up Hussein''s captured weapons stores and communications equipment rather than turning them over to the Shia insurgents." [9]
The U.S., more afraid of a Shia-led Iraqi government than one led by Saddam, chooses not to aid the rebels. Israel, the U.S. strategic ally in the Middle East, also voices its opposition to regime change, despite the fact that Saddam has launched missiles into Tel Aviv. Nevertheless, even without assistance from the U.S., most expect the rebellions to be successful. Saddam''s military is weak and disloyal. His infrastructure is also being attacked on two fronts: the Kurdish North and the Shia South. It comes as a shock when both rebellions are crushed, resulting in the mass slaughter of many Iraqis, as well as the mass exodus of fifty thousand Kurds. Many Iraqis become resentful that the U.S. administration is unwilling to aid them in their revolt, despite Bush''s public endorsement of Iraqi civil war. Though the U.S. wins a military victory with "Operation Desert Storm," a huge humanitarian crisis is left in its wake. As economic sanctions begin to create additional suffering, more and more commentators in the Arab world begin to blame the U.S., at least in part, for the problems in Iraq.
In response to the Shia uprising, Saddam Hussein expands a campaign to divert the water flowing into the southern marshes from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Historically, the marshes have been used as an labyrinthine escape route for southern rebels. The Ma''adan ("Marsh Arabs") who rely on this ecosystem for survival are put in serious jeopardy by Saddam''s actions, and the environmental consequences are also dire-the destruction of the marshland ecosystem, along with its native plants and wildlife, is described by the U.N. as the "environmental crime of the century." Saddam initiates a genocidal campaign against the Ma''dan, causing thousands to leave the country.
1991 AD
Economic sanctions, imposed in 1990, have a rapid and devastating effect on the Iraqi populace. A few months after the end of the Gulf War, a team from Harvard University comes to the conclusion that "since the sanctions have been imposed, the child mortality rate has doubled while the death rate among children under five has tripled." The U.N., after analyzing the crisis of economic sanctions, offers an "Oil for Food" program, which would allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for humanitarian supplies. Seemingly unmoved by the intense suffering of his own people, Saddam refuses the U.N.''s offer, calling the sanctions program an attack on Iraqi sovereignty. From the outset, it also appears as though Saddam will not give up his "weapons of mass destruction," the one concession the U.N. requires in order for the sanctions to be lifted. Strategically, Saddam feels that these weapons, as a potential threat against rebel groups, is perhaps the only things keeping him in power. George Bush, by issuing the following statement, implies that sanctions should continue to be imposed even if Saddam dismantles his chemical arsenal: "At this juncture, my view is that we don''t want to lift these sanctions as long as Saddam Hussein is in power." [10]
The humanitarian crisis escalates, harming every aspect of Iraqi life and Iraqi social institutions. "With no electricity, 15 million gallons of untreated sewage bypassed sanitation pumps and flowed into the Tigris each day. Doctors trained by some of the best medical institutions in the West performed surgery by flashlight in dark hospitals. On the streets, peddlers sold oil lamps to those in need of light just as the Mesopotamians had done three thousand years ago." Over time, international resistance to sanctions grows. To many it seems as though "the United States, as the hard-line proponent of sanctions [appears] no more concerned about the suffering of the Iraqi people than Saddam Hussein." As Iraqis continue to die in large numbers, the Ba''ath appear no closer to disarmament and Saddam Hussein''s despotic power over his country has been strengthened-rather than weakened-by U.S. and U.N. policies. By 1995 the Iraqi economy is in such disrepair that the Iraqi dinar, once worth three U.S. dollars, falls to the value of 1/2,500th dollars [11]-less than a penny. In order to pay for even simple goods and services, Iraqis are forced to carry around stacks of dinars by the cartload. The money is barely worth the paper that it is printed on.
1996 AD
Saddam finally agrees to the U.N. "Oil for Food" program." Food gradually becomes more plentiful in Iraq. But, due to a combination of malice and incompetence from the regime, the medical supplies sent to Iraq often do not end up in the hands of those who needed it the most. The Iraqi government refuses to distribute the supplies to areas suspected of harboring dissenters against Saddam''s regime, and the supplies meant for Iraqi citizens turn up in the markets of Syria and Jordan. [12]
The United States, in its role on the U.N. security council, scrutinizes every legally imported item into Iraq in search of "dual use" supplies and equipment-virtually anything and everything that could potentially be used as part of a weapon. Even seemingly harmless items like graphite pencils, computers, tires, car parts and scientific journals are blocked at entry points. [13] These stringent red-tape restrictions also result in the painful hindrance of humanitarian relief efforts. The regime of Saddam Hussein, the U.N. and the United States seem to collide in a stalemate over sanctions, resulting in the deaths of millions of Iraqis and the total and utter devastation of Iraqi society. In the political game, each side ends up blaming the other, refusing to accept any responsibility for the growing humanitarian crisis. Both parties seem more concerned with winning the sanctions war than they are with preserving the lives of Iraqi citizens.
2000 AD
George Bush Jr. takes the oath of office and becomes the 43rd president of the United States. Taking little initiative in pushing the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, Bush earns a reputation for being more or less disinterested in foreign policy. From the outset, however, he remains committed to the policy of Iraqi containment. Bush''s administration is divided by "hawks" (Donald Rumsfield and Paul Wolfowitz) and "doves" (such as Colin Powell). Long before 9-11, Rumsfield and Wolfowitz argue for military engagement with Iraq. According to Sandra Mackey: "Their motivations [are based] on two major considerations: the demands placed on the U.S. military budget by the ongoing containment of Baghdad [$100 million a year] and the interests of Israel." Colin Powell and Richard Haass-"doves"-argue for introducing "smart sanctions," which they hope will limit the devastating economic and humanitarian effects of the current embargo against Iraq.
2001 AD
On September 11th, Al Qaeda terrorists who trained in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, crash planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. According to scholar Sandra Mackey, "Vice President Dick Cheney, appearing on Meet the Press, [responds] to a question about whether the U.S. government believed Saddam Hussein was part of the events of September the 11th with a clear and simple ''no.''" Nevertheless, 9-11 drastically changes the American political landscape, bringing out renewed interest in the Middle East and giving "hawks" in the government more flexibility in planning for war. Saddam Hussein is eventually seen as a potential provider of nuclear arms after a report surfaces that al-Qaeda wants to acquire a nuclear arsenal.
2002 AD
The Bush administration takes their case for war against Iraq to the United Nations. Around the world, activists show up in record numbers to protest the intentions of the U.S. campaign. Protestors and governmental representatives of many nations emphasize the human cost of war and the fallacy of military pre-emption, while the U.S. administration and their small group of supporters (Britain and Spain) emphasize the brutality of Saddam''s regime and the potential threat of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The U.N. accepts continued pushes for weapons inspections in Iraq but ultimately rejects the U.S. proposals for an immediate call to war.
2003 AD
British and American troops invade Iraq, winning a quick and decisive victory over a period of 38 days. Most Iraqis, especially the southern Shi''ites and the northern Kurds, celebrate the demise of the overwhelmingly oppressive Ba''ath party, but suspicions also begin to surface about the intentions of the American campaign, especially in regards to Iraqi oil. A period of lawlessness ensues in which looting and crime is rampant in the streets and some of Iraq''s museums are plundered, losing priceless artifacts from Iraq''s long history. The lack of fresh water and electricity also become significant problems in Iraq.
1) The New Iraq, Joseph Braude. Prologue, pg. x. 2003. Basic Books.
2) The Middle East Today: Sixth Edition, pg. 460. Don Peretz. Praeger Publishers, 1994.
3) The Reckoning, Sandra Mackey, pgs. 253-254. W.W. Norton and Company. May 2005.
4) Sandra Mackey, pgs. 341-342.
5) Sandra Mackey, pg. 235.
6) The Glapsie Transcript (found in the Iraq War Reader, Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf, pg. 68)
7) John R. MacArthur, "Remember Nayirah, Witness for Kuwait?" from the Iraq War Reader pg. 135
8) Sandra Mackey, pg. 346.
9) Sandra Mackey, pg. 348.
10) The Iraq War Reader, 163. Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf. Touchstone, 2003.
11) Sandra Mackey, pg. 304
12) Sandra Mackey, pg. 364.
13) Sandra Mackey, pg. 365.