Iraq , [ a ] officially known as the Republic of Iraq , [ b ] is a country in West Asia , bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south , Turkey to the north , Iran to the east , the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast , Jordan to the southwest , and Syria to the west. It covers an area of , square kilometres , sq mi and has a population of over 46 million, making it the 58th largest country by area and the 31st most populous in the world.
Baghdad is the capital and largest city of Iraq , home to over 8 million people. Starting in the 6th millennium BC , fertile plains between Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, referred to as Mesopotamia , fostered the rise of early cities, civilizations, and empires like Sumer , Akkad , and Assyria.
Known as the Cradle of Civilization , it saw the invention of writing systems , mathematics , navigation , timekeeping , a calendar , astrology , wheels , sailboat , and a law code. After the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia , Baghdad became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and a global cultural and intellectual hub during the Islamic Golden Age , home to institutions like the House of Wisdom. The city's destruction by the Mongols in led to a prolonged decline due to plagues and successive empires.
It has deep biblical history. Since independence, Iraq has experienced spells of significant economic and military growth alongside periods of instability and conflict. Mandatory Iraq was established by the British in and transitioned to an independent kingdom in In , a U. From to , it faced another war with the rise and defeat of the Islamic State.
Today post-war conflict in Iraq continues at a lower scale, hampering stability alongside the rising influence of Iran. A federal parliamentary republic country, Iraq is considered an emerging middle power.
