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Baghdad

capital city of Iraq

86 dated entries naming Baghdad, drawn from 82 separate years between 2300 BCE and 2014 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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23rd century BC

  • 2300 BCEc. 2300 BC – 2200 BC: "Head of a man from Nineveh" (modern Kuyunjik, Iraq) is made. It is now in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad.source

8th century

  • 762July 30 – Caliph al-Mansur moves the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate from Kufa to the new capital of Baghdad.source
  • 766Baghdad nears completion as up to 100,000 labourers create a circular city about 1 or 2 km in diameter (depending on the source). In the center of the "Round City" is a palace built for Caliph al-Mansur. The capital is ringed by three lines of walls (approximate date).source
  • 773The number 0 is introduced to the city of Baghdad, which will be developed in the Middle East by Arabian mathematicians, who will base their numbers on the Indian system (long after the Maya culture developed the concept, cf. Maya numerals).source
  • 775Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754–775) dies after a 21-year reign, in which he has made Baghdad the residence of the Abbasid Caliphate. He is succeeded by his son al-Mahdi.source
  • 786September 14 – Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, upon the death of his brother Al-Hadi. He appoints Salim Yunisi as governor of Sindh and the Indus Valley.source
  • 793Arab traders make Baghdad a financial center of the Silk Road between China and Europe. Caravans carry little or no money on their long journeys; Chinese traders use what they call fei qian (zh) ("flying money") to avoid robbery. The Arabs have adopted a similar banking system known as hawala to transmit funds (approximate date).source
  • 794A paper mill begins production at Baghdad during the Abbasid era, as the Arabs spread the techniques developed by Chinese papermakers. Baghdad becomes a great seat of learning, with Christian and Jewish scholars as well as Muslims, while Europe remains largely unlettered. The Arabs will become the world's most proficient papermakers.source

9th century

  • 806Yahya ibn Khalid, Persian vizier of Bagdadsource
  • 812Fourth Fitna: Forces loyal to al-Ma'mun, led by Tahir ibn Husayn, blockade Baghdad, which is loyal to al-Ma'mun's brother, Caliph al-Amin, and begin the year-long Siege of Baghdad.source
  • 813Autumn – Siege of Baghdad: Caliph al-Amin surrenders Baghdad, after al-Ma'mun's General Tahir accepts his peace terms, but he is captured and executed. His brother al-Ma'mun becomes undisputed ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
  • 813Caliph al Ma’mun founds a school in Baghdad called the House of Wisdom. In this school scholars translated Greek philosophy classics into Arabic.source
  • 819August 11 – Caliph Al-Ma'mun returns to Baghdad, securing the city's place as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
  • 836Driven by tensions between his favoured Turkish guard and the populace of Baghdad, Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim moves his residence to the new city of Samarra, 130 km north of Baghdad. With brief interruptions, the city will remain the seat of the Abbasid caliphs until 892.source
  • 870June 21 – Caliph Al-Muhtadi is deposed and killed by the Turks, after a brief reign. He is succeeded by Al-Mu'tamid (son of the late Al-Mutawakkil) as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate, who moves his court to Baghdad. End of the Anarchy at Samarra.source
  • 875The Samanid Dynasty establishes a court at Bukhara (modern Uzbekistan), which becomes a rival city to Baghdad on the strategic Silk Road.source
  • 876April 8 – Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul: Abbasid forces, led by Al-Muwaffaq, halt a Saffarid invasion on the River Tigris. Emir Ya'qub ibn al-Layth tries to capture the Abbasid Caliphate's capital of Baghdad, but he is forced, with his army, to retreat.source
  • 891June 2 – Al-Muwaffaq, an Abbasid prince and Commander-in-chief, dies at the capital of Baghdad. His son Al-Mu'tadid is recognized as regent, and second heir of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
  • 892April – Al-Mu'tadid, the de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate, removes his cousin Al-Mufawwad from succession. He becomes caliph himself, after the death of Al-Mu'tamid, returning the capital from Samarra to Baghdad.source
  • 900Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are victorious at Balkh (Northern Afghanistan) over Amr ibn al-Layth; the latter is captured and sent to Caliph Al-Mu'tadid in Baghdad. The Samanid Dynasty rules over Khorasan, as well as Transoxiana. A few months later, the Samanids conquer the Zaydid emirate of Tabaristan. This victory marks the beginning of the dispersion of the local Shi'ites by the new Sunni power.source

10th century

  • 901February 18 – Thābit ibn Qurra dies at Baghdad, having served as court astronomer to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutadid. He has spent his life translating and teaching the works of Greek mathematicians, and of his own.source
  • 902April 5 – Caliph Al-Mu'tadid dies in Baghdad after a 10-year reign. Possibly poisoned in a palace intrigue, he is succeeded by his eldest son Al-Muktafi as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
  • 908December 17 – Husayn ibn Hamdan leads a revolt to depose the newly-appointed Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir in Baghdad. He installs his uncle Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz and kills vizier Al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i, but fails to murder Al-Muqtadir. This leads, finally, to the coup's collapse.source
  • 920Muslim chroniclers in Baghdad record an unusually cold summer.source
  • 921June 21 – A diplomatic delegation is sent from Baghdad to establish trade routes between the Abbasid Caliphate towards Bukhara (modern Uzbekistan). Ahmad ibn Fadlan, an Arab diplomat and traveller, makes contact with Almış, the İltäbär (vassal-king under the Khazars) of Volga Bulgaria, on behalf of Caliph al-Muqtadir.source
  • 922March 26 – Mansur al-Hallaj, a Persian mystic writer, is sentenced to death for heresy after a long trial at Baghdad. Having supported reform in the Abbasid Caliphate, he has been seen as a rabble-rouser, and is flogged, mutilated and executed (by beheading).source
  • 924March – A group of 1,800 warriors of the Qarmatians of Bahrayn attack and destroy the returning Hajj caravans at al-Habir. Some of the more prominent pilgrims, who were returning to Baghdad from Mecca, are taken to Al-Ahsa Oasis to be held for ransom. The event leads to the downfall and execution of the Abbasid Caliphate's vizier, Ibn al-Furat.source
  • 925November — In Baghdad (now in Iraq), Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Khaqani is dismissed from his position as the Grand Vizier of the Abbasid Caliphate upon the insistence of the Abbasid commander Mu'nis al-Muzaffar.source
  • 929al-Ta'i', Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (d. 1003)source
  • 935Córdoba, capital of Al-Andalus, becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Baghdad, capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
  • 936Summer – Ibn Muqla, an Abbasid official and vizier, is disgraced after his failed campaign against Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, the rebellious governor of Wasit. He is arrested and imprisoned in Baghdad.source
  • 941March 9 – The famed Green Dome of the Palace of the Golden Gate at Baghdad collapses, amidst heavy rainfall.source
  • 945Winter – Muslim forces under Nasir al-Dawla capture Baghdad and restore Caliph Al-Muttaqi to power again. Al-Dawla establishes himself as amir al-umara, or de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
  • 947Al-Qadir, Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (d. 1031)source
  • 961King Ashot III of Armenia (the Merciful) moves his capital from Kars eastward to Ani (modern Turkey). Located on a major east-west caravan route, Ani will become larger than any European city, with a population of about 100,000 that will rival Baghdad, Cairo, and Constantinople. Ani also becomes the site of the royal mausoleum of the Bagratuni kings.source
  • 982'Adud al-Dawla, emir (king of kings) of the Buyid Dynasty, concludes a 10-year peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. He establishes what will soon become the most important hospital of Baghdad.source
  • 991November 22: The beginning of the reign of al-Qadir, Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, under the tutelage of the Buyids and following the deposition of al-Ta'i.source

11th century

  • 1003August 3 – At-Ta'i, Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (b. 929)source
  • 1014Hammad ibn Buluggin adopts Sunni Islam and declares his independence from the Zirid dynasty (modern Algeria). He recognizes the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad as being the rightful caliphs and becomes the first ruler of the Hammadid dynasty (until 1028).source
  • 1023March – Musharrif al-Dawla, ruler of Iraq, comes to Baghdad to see the Abbasid Caliph al-Qadir, and attempts to defy the caliphate.source
  • 1025May – Ishoyahb IV, the unpopular Nicene Christian Patriarch of the Church of the East, dies in Baghdad after a five-year reign, leaving a vacancy that will not be filled until 1028.source
  • 1031November 29 – Al-Qadir, Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (b. 947)source
  • 1055Winter – The Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Tughril capture Baghdad and enter the city in a Roman-styled triumph. Al-Malik al-Rahim, the last Buyid emir in Iraq, is taken prisoner.source
  • 1066The Abu Hanifa Mosque is established in Baghdad, when the Grand Vizier of the Seljuk Empire, Abu Saad al-Khwarizmi or al-Mustawfi, builds a shrine for Abu Hanifa near his tomb.source
  • 1075April 2 – Al-Qa'im, Abbasid caliph in Baghdad (b. 1001)source
  • 1078April/May – Al-Mustazhir, Abbasid caliph in Baghdad (d. 1118)source
  • 1094February 3 – Caliph of Baghdad al-Muqtadi dies and is succeeded by his nominated heir Ahmad (al-Mustazhir).source
  • 1100January – The Seljuk ruler Muhammad Tapar is expelled from Baghdad by his brother Barkiyaruq, but Muhammad manages to retake the city during his spring offensive.source

12th century

  • 1132Summer – Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk governor (atabeg) of Aleppo and Mosul, marches on Baghdad (the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate), to add it to his dominions. He is defeated by the forces of Caliph Al-Mustarshid, near Tikrit (modern Iraq). Zengi flees and escapes, with the help of Tikrit's governor Najm ad-Din Ayyub (the father of Saladin), who conveys him across the River Tigris.source
  • 1134Abdul Qadir Jilani becomes principal of the Hanbali school in Baghdad.source
  • 1135August 29 – Caliph Al-Mustarshid is assassinated at Baghdad after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Al-Rashid Billah as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate (until 1138).source
  • 1136August 18 – Seljuk sultan Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud appoints al-Rashid Billah's uncle Al-Muqtafi as new caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad.source
  • 1138June 6 – Al-Rashid Billah (deposed caliph of Baghdad), having fled to Isfahan, is killed there by a team of four Nizari Ismailis (Assassins). This is celebrated in Alamut for a week by Shias.source
  • 1154April 18 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, encamps before Damascus and overthrows Mujir al-Din by force with support of the Jewish citizens, who open the eastern gate to the bulk of his army. Mujir flees to the citadel, but capitulates after only a few hours. He is offered his life and the Emirate of Homs. A few weeks later Mujir is suspected of plotting with old friends in Damascus and is exiled to Baghdad. Damascus is annexed to Zangid territory and all of Syria is unified under the authority of Nur al-Din, from Edessa in the north to the Hauran to the south.source
  • 1157January 12–March 16 – Caliph Al-Muqtafi successfully defends Baghdad against the coalition forces of Sultan Muhammad of Hamadan, and Atabeg Qutb-adin of Mosul.source

13th century

  • 1225October 5 – Caliph Al-Nasir dies from dysentery at Baghdad after a 45-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Al-Zahir as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
  • 1226July 10 – In Baghdad, Al-Mānsūr al-Mustansir bi-llah (known as Al-Mustansir I) becomes the new Caliph of the adherents of Islam (and the 36th of the Abbasid dyansty), succeeding his father, al-Zahir bi-Amr Allah, who died only nine months after succeeding to the Caliphate.source
  • 1245April – Egyptian forces under As-Salih Ayyub besiege the city of Damascus. After six months, As-Salih Ismail, ruler of Damascus, surrenders to Ayyub in return for a vassal-principality, consisting of Baalbek and the Hauran. Ayyub is awarded the title of sultan by Caliph Al-Musta'sim in Baghdad.source
  • 1246August 24 – Güyük Khan, eldest son of Ögedei Khan, is enthroned as the 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (which is witnessed by a papal mission under Giovanni da Pian del Carpine) at Karakorum. Güyük reverses several edicts of his mother, Töregene Khatun, and orders Eljigidei, Mongol viceroy of Persia, to advance into Syria and prepare an attack on Baghdad.source
  • 1256Spring – Mongol forces (some 80,000 men), under Hulagu Khan, cross the Oxus River, and begin their campaign to destroy the remaining Muslim states in southwestern Asia – with the first objectives being the Nizari Ismaili strongholds and Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. The roads across Turkestan and Persia are repaired, and bridges built. Carts are requisitioned to bring siege machines from China.source
  • 1258February 20 – Al-Musta'sim, Abbasid caliph of Baghdadsource
  • 1261June 13 – Al-Mustansir II becomes the first Abbasid ruler in Cairo (after his escape during the Siege of Baghdad). He is sent with an army by Sultan Baibars to recover Baghdad, but is killed in a Mongol ambush near Anbar (modern Iraq), on November 28. The Abbasid caliphs continue as religious figureheads for the Mamluks in Egypt until the 16th century.source

14th century

  • 1336May 19 – The governor of Baghdad, Oirat 'Ali Padsah, defeats Arpa Ke'un near Maraga, contributing to the disintegration of the Ilkhanate.source

15th century

  • 1401July 9 – (27 Dhu al-Qadah 803 A.H.) Timur raids the city of Baghdad, in the Jalayirid Empire, then carries out a massacre of its inhabitants, including women and children, as punishment for resisting his rule. According to accounts later, "90,000 human heads were piled up on the public places of the town." The only persons spared death are "theologians, shaikhs and dervishes", and the only buildings not demolished are "mosques, universities and hostels."source
  • 1433April 9 – Ispend bin Yusuf deposes Shah Muhammad of Qara Qoyunlu as Governor of Baghdad.source
  • 1445March 8 – The Amir Isfahan of Baghdad (born Ispend bin Yusuf) dies after a reign of 12 years and is succeeded by Fulad Mirza. The ruler of the adjacent Qara Qoyunlu Empire, Jahan Shah, then mobilizes an army at Tabriz to invade and take control of Baghdad.source
  • 1446June 8 – After a siege of seven months, Baghdad is captured by the Sultan Jahan Shah of Qara Qoyunlu, whose forces move into what is now Iraq.source

16th century

  • 1534December 4 – The Ottoman army under Suleiman the Magnificent captures the city of Baghdad from the Safavids without a struggle, beginning almost 400 years of Ottoman rule of what is now Iraq.source

17th century

  • 1616December – In the Middle East, traveller Pietro Della Valle marries Jowaya, daughter of a Nestorian Christian father and an Armenian mother, in Baghdad. The couple then sets off (1617) to find the Shah in Isfahan.source
  • 1624January 14 – After 90 years of Ottoman occupation, Baghdad is recaptured by the Safavid Empire.source
  • 1626July 4 – The Ottoman Army halts its attempt to retake Baghdad from the Persians, after having lost it in 1624.source
  • 1638August 27 – Tayyar Mehmed Pasha becomes the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire after Bayram Pasha dies while fighting in Baghdad.source

18th century

  • 1733December 19 – Unsuccessful in capturing Baghdad from the Ottoman Empire, Persia's ruler Nader Shah signs the Treaty of Baghdad with the Ottoman Governor, Ahmad Khan Pasha, with the Turks and the Iranians agreeing to restore the boundary between the two empires to the lines before the 1732 Ottoman invasion of Iran.source

20th century

  • 1921August 23 – King Faisal I of Iraq is crowned in Baghdad.source
  • 1969January 27 – Fourteen men, 9 of them Jews, are executed in Baghdad for spying for Israel.source
  • 1993January 19 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM inspectors to use its own aircraft to fly into Iraq and begins military operations in the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait, and the northern Iraqi no-fly zones. U.S. forces fire approximately 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Baghdad factories linked to Iraq's illegal nuclear weapons program (→ January 1993 airstrikes on Iraq). Iraq then informs UNSCOM that it will be able to resume its flights.source
  • 1993June 27 – U.S. President Bill Clinton orders a cruise missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in the Al-Mansur District of Baghdad, in response to an Iraqi plot to assassinate former U.S. President George H. W. Bush during his visit to Kuwait in mid-April.source
  • 1995December 16 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi scuba divers, under the direction of the United Nations Special Commission, dredge the Tigris near Baghdad. The divers find over 200 prohibited Russian-made missile instruments and components.source
  • 1998February 20 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein negotiates a deal with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, allowing weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad, preventing military action by the United States and United Kingdom.source

21st century

  • 2005August 31 – The Al-Aimmah bridge disaster in Baghdad, Iraq kills 953 Shia Muslim pilgrims who were celebrating a religious festival.source
  • 2006November 23 – A series of car bombs and mortar attacks in Sadr City, Baghdad, kills at least 215 people and injure 257 other people.source
  • 2007April 18 – 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings: A series of attacks take place across Baghdad, Iraq, killing nearly 200 people.source
  • 2007February 3 – A truck bomb explodes in Baghdad, Iraq, killing at least 135 people and injures 339 others.source
  • 2009December 8 – A series of attacks in Baghdad, Iraq kill at least 127 people and injure at least 448 more.source
  • 2009October 25 – Two suicide attacks in Baghdad, Iraq, kill 155 people and injure at least 721 people.source
  • 2014June 5 – A Sunni militant group now calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) begins an offensive through northern Iraq, aiming to capture the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad and overthrow the Shiite government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.source

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