Iraq

sovereign state in Western Asia

100 dated entries naming Iraq, drawn from 89 separate years between 2900 BCE and 2025 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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29th century BC

2900 BCEc. 2900 BC: 2600 BC: Votive statues from the Square Temple of Eshnunna (modern Tell Ashmar, Iraq) were made. One of them is now in the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Excavated 1932–1933.source

23rd century BC

2300 BCEc. 2300 BC – 2184 BC: The Disc of Enheduanna, from Ur (modern Muqaiyir, Iraq) is made. It is now in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.source
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

22nd century BC

2120 BCEc. 2120 BC: Votive statue of Gudea from Lagash (modern Iraq) is made.source

6th century BC

575 BCEIshtar Gate and throne room wall from Babylon, Iraq is made. The modified version for installation is now on display in Germany.source

4th century

350The city of Anbar (Iraq) is founded by king Shapur II.source
359Siege of Amida: Shapur II besieges the Roman fortress of Amida (modern Diyarbakir). After seventy-three days the city is conquered and the population is massacred by the Persians. Ammianus Marcellinus is a fortunate survivor and flees to Singara (Iraq).source
363June 26 – Battle of Samarra: Julian is mortally wounded in a skirmish and dies from a wound received during the fighting near Samarra (Iraq). Jovian, general of the Guard, succeeds him and is proclaimed Emperor by the troops.source

6th century

554Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man, king of the Lakhmid kingdom (Iraq)source

7th century

602Khosrau II annexes the Lakhmid kingdom (Southern Iraq), and puts king Nu'man III to death.source
605As a result of a quarrel between the Lakhmid kingdom (Southern Iraq) and King Khosrau II, the Persian frontier with Arabia is no longer guarded (approximate date).source
609Battle of Dhi Qar: Arab tribesmen of Bakr ibn Wa'il defeat a Persian force (5,000 men), at a watering place near Kufa (Southern Iraq).source
627December 12 – Battle of Nineveh: Heraclius crosses the Great Zab river and, in a feigned retreat, defeats the Persian army (12,000 men) under Rhahzadh, near the ruins of Nineveh (Iraq). Although wounded, Heraclius refuses to leave the battlefield, and in a final cavalry charge personally kills the Persian general.source
633April – Battle of Chains (Kuwait) and Battle of River (Iraq): A Muslim army (18,000 men) under Khalid ibn al-Walid invades Mesopotamia, and wins decisive victories.source
634Battle of Firaz: The Rashidun Arabs (15,000 men) under Khalid ibn al-Walid defeat the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire, Persian Empire and Arab Christians (at least 10 times larger than Khalid's army) in Mesopotamia (Iraq).source
636The city of Basra (modern Iraq) is founded on the Shatt al-Arab, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The port will become a major trading center for commodities from Arabia, India, and Persia.source
637The Muslims replace Zoroastrianism with Islam in Mesopotamia (later Iraq); they do not force their conquered subjects to embrace the Islamic faith, but they do require acceptance of the Quran as the doctrine of divine teaching, and will oblige their subjects to learn Arabic (approximate date).source
638Abu Musa al-Asha'ari, companion (sahabah) of Muhammad, establishes Hafar al-Batin, located in the northeastern region of the Arabian Peninsula. He orders the digging for new wells, along this desert route that Muslims travel from Iraq to Mecca for the Hajj (pilgrimage).source
656June 17 – Uthman ibn Affan is murdered at Medina after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi-Talib, who becomes the fourth caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. He makes Kufah (Iraq) his capital, but the succession is disputed.source
662Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan, Muslim general and a member of the Umayyad clan, is appointed governor of Iraq (Basra) and the former Persian provinces (approximate date).source
686Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, former governor of Mesopotamia, tries to regain control of his province, as the various Muslim tribes in the region Kufa (Iraq) are engaged in an Islamic civil war.source
691Battle of Maskin: An Umayyad army under caliph Abd al-Malik defeats the rebel forces in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). He reconquers the Arabian Peninsula, taking the holy city of Medina.source
697Syrian forces under Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, governor of Iraq, defeat the Persian Kharijites, who have captured the city of Mosul and occupy large parts of Mesopotamia (approximate date).source

8th century

701Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim: Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan sends Syrian troops to reinforce the Muslim army of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. He faces a 200,000-man army under Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath near Kufa (modern Iraq). Al-Ash'ath is defeated, and his rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate fails.source
714Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, governor of Mesopotamia, dies at Wasit (Iraq) after a 20-year administration. He is credited for improving agricultural production and introducing the diacritic points to the Arabic script. Al-Hajjaj convinces Al-Walid I to adopt an Arab currency.source
720Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, former governor of Iraq, revolts and is defeated at Basra, by Umayyad forces under Al-Abbas ibn al-Walid and Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. He is arrested and later executed.source
743February 6 – Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik dies after a 19-year reign, in which the Arab expansion in Europe has been stopped and the Umayyad Caliphate has come under pressure from the Turks in Central Asia and Berbers in North Africa. He is succeeded by his nephew Al-Walid II, who has Khalid al-Qasri, former governor of Iraq, imprisoned and tortured.source
749Abbasid Revolution: Muslim forces under Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i defeat a large Umayyad army (50,000 men) at Isfahan, and invade Iraq, taking the city of Kufa.source
756Ibn al-Muqaffa', Muslim writer and thinker, is tortured at Basra (modern Iraq), on orders from Caliph al-Mansur. His limbs are severed and he is thrown, still alive, into a burning oven (approximate date).source

9th century

827Khalid ibn Abd al-Malik al-Marwarrudhi and Ali ibn Isa al-Asturlabi travel to the Plain of Sinjar (modern Iraq), under orders of Caliph Al-Ma'mun, to measure the size of the Earth.source
842January 5 – Caliph Al-Mu'tasim dies at Samarra (modern Iraq), after an eight year reign. He is succeeded by his son Al-Wathiq, as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
851The Great Mosque of Samarra (modern Iraq) is completed during the reign of Caliph Al-Mutawakkil.source
870The Zanj Rebellion: The Zanj (black slaves from East Africa) capture the Abbasid seaport of Al-Ubullah at the Persian Gulf, and cut off communications with Basra (modern Iraq).source
872The Zanj Rebellion: The Zanj (black slaves from East Africa) defeat the Abbasid forces, led by caliphal regent Al-Muwaffaq (brother of caliph Al-Mu'tamid). Hostilities in Mesopotamia (Southern Iraq) will preoccupy Al-Muwaffaq, and the Zanj will remain on the offensive over the next several years.source
878Zanj Rebellion: The Zanj (black slaves from East Africa) in Mesopotamia seize Wasit (modern Iraq), and establish a presence in the Persian province of Khuzestan.source
883The Zanj Rebellion: Abbasid general Al-Muwaffaq brings in Egyptian forces, to help him in his two-year siege of the Zanj capital Mukhtara. He captures the city, and crushes the revolt that has devastated Chaldea (modern Iraq) since 869.source
885Battle of Tawahin: Muslim forces (4,000 men) of the Abbasid Caliphate, under Al-Mu'tadid, are defeated near Ramlah (modern Israel) by Khumarawayh, ruler of the Tulunid dynasty. This ends the Abbasid attempt to recover Syria from the Tulunids. A large part of the Abbasid army is captured, and transported to Egypt. Khumarawayh aims for reconciliation with the caliphal government, and allows the soldiers who want to return to modern-day Iraq to depart without ransom, while offering the rest the opportunity to settle in Egypt.source

10th century

940Saadia Gaon, a Jewish rabbi and philosopher, compiles his Siddur (Jewish prayer book) in Arabic and synagogal poetry in modern-day Iraq (approximate date).source
943Spring – Allied with the Rus', a Hungarian army raids Moesia and Thrace. Emperor Romanos I buys peace, and accepts to pay a yearly tribute (protection money) to the Hungarians. His frontiers now 'protected' on the Balkan Peninsula, Romanos sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (80,000 men) led by general John Kourkouas (his commander-in-chief) to invade northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).source
944The Al-Askari Mosque is built in Samarra (modern Iraq).source
977The Imam Ali Mosque, located in Najaf (modern Iraq), is completed by 'Adud al-Dawla.source

11th century

1006April 30 – The brightest supernova ever recorded, SN 1006, occurs in the constellation of Lupus. It is observed and described in China, Japan, Iraq, Egypt, and Europe and possibly depicted in North American rock art. Modern astronomers now consider its distance at about 7,200 light-years. The supernova provides enough light to read by on a night with a dark moon.source
1012December 22 – Baha' al-Dawla, Buyid emir of Iraqsource
1025May – Musharrif al-Dawla, Buyid emir of Iraq (b. 1003)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
1086Sultan Malik-Shah I rebuilds the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf (modern Iraq), after it was destroyed by fire.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
1195The Abbasid Caliph, Al-Nasir, takes military action against the Ayyubid Sultan, Al-Aziz Uthman, who controls Egypt and Syria. The Caliph mobilizes his forces and marches into Mesopotamia, directly challenging Ayyubid authority in the region of Iraq.source

13th century

1202May 20 – An earthquake shakes the Levant from Egypt to northern Iraq, causing severe damage in Palestine, Lebanon and western Syria, including the fortifications of the Crusader cities of Acre, Jaffa and Tyre.source
1257Winter – Mongol forces move down from their base at Hamadan, while Baiju Noyan crosses the river Tigris at Mosul with his army. On the left-wing Kitbuqa enters the plain of Iraq, while Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan advance through Kermanshah.source
1258The consequences of the volcanic 1257 Samalas eruption in Indonesia include the following anecdotal accounts: very dry fog in France; lunar eclipses in England; severe winter in Europe; a harsh spring in Iceland; famine in England, Germany, France and Italy; and pestilence in London, parts of France, Austria, Iraq, Syria, and southeast Turkey.source
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

1310July 1 – The Citadel of Erbil, headquarters of a rebellion by 10,000 Eastern Christians and located in what is now Iraq, is captured after a siege by the Mongol Ilkhanate, and the defenders are massacred.source
1374Shaikh Hasan Jalayir succeeds his father, Shaykh Uways Jalayir, as ruler of the Jalayirid Sultanate in modern-day Iraq and western Iran. Hasan proves to be an unpopular ruler and is executed on October 9 and succeeded by his brother, Shaikh Hussain Jalayir.source
1374October 8 – Shaikh Hasan Jalayir became the ruler of the Jalayirid Sultanate, in what is now Iraq, as the eldest son of the late Shaykh Uways Jalayir, who had been Sultan since 1356, but would reign for only one day.source
1384Qara Muhammad succeeds Bairam Khawaja, as ruler of the Kara Koyunlu ("Black Sheep Turkomans"), in modern-day Armenia and northern Iraq.source
1400Timur conquers the Empire of The Black Sheep Turkomans, in present-day Azerbaijan, and the Jalayirid dynasty in present-day Iraq. Black Sheep ruler Qara Yusuf and Jalayirid Sultan Ahmad flee, and take refuge with the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I.source

15th century

1402The Aq Qoyunlu ("White Sheep Turkmen") tribal confederation, in modern-day northern Iraq and Iran, moves its capital from Amida to Diyarbakır.source
1421July 2 – At Erciş in what is now Turkey, Iskandar ibn Yusuf is crowned as the Sultan of Qara Qoyunlu, a kingdom encompassing what are now eastern Turkey, northwestern Iran and northern Iraq, northern Armenia and all of Azerbaijan.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

1553April 28 – Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa, leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church in modern-day Iraq, is recognized by Pope Julius III as the Patriarch of Mosul.source

17th century

1639The Treaty of Zuhab is signed between the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire and Safavid Persia, delineating the modern Turkey-Iran and Iraq-Iran border lines.source

20th century

1916January 13 – WWI: Battle of Wadi – Ottoman Empire forces defeat the British, during the Mesopotamian campaign in modern-day Iraq.source
1932October 3 – Iraq becomes an independent kingdom under Faisal, ending the British mandate.source
1933August 7 – Simele massacre: More than 3,000 Assyrian Iraqis are killed by Iraqi government troops.source
1939April 4 – Faisal II becomes King of Iraq aged three, following the death of his father, Ghazi, in an automobile incident.source
1948May 15 – 1948 Arab–Israeli War: The British Mandate of Palestine is officially terminated; expeditionary forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria and Iraq invade Israel and clash with Israeli forces after declaring war.source
1951March – The Israeli government organizes Operation Ezra and Nehemiah, a mass airlift of Jews out of Iraq.source
1958February 14 – The Hashemite Kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan unite in the Arab Federation, with King Faisal II of Iraq as head of state.source
1960September 14 – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.source
1961June 25 – Iraqi president Abd al-Karim Qasim announces his intention to annex newly independent Kuwait (such an annexation will occur in 1990).source
1967June 5 – Six-Day War begins: Israel launches Operation Focus, an attack on Egyptian Air Force airfields; the allied armies of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan invade Israel. Battle of Ammunition Hill, start of the Jordanian campaignsource
1975March 6 – Algiers Agreement: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement in their border dispute.source
1979July 16 – Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigns and Vice President Saddam al-Tikriti, more commonly referred to in the Western press as "Saddam Hussein", assumes the presidency.source
1980September 22 – The command council of Iraq orders its army to "deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets", initiating the Iran–Iraq War.source
1981June 7 – Operation Opera: The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, killing ten Iraqi troops and a French technician.source
1982February 7 – Iraqi club Al-Shorta win the 1982 Arab Club Champions Cup with a 4–2 aggregate win over Al-Nejmeh in the final.source
1987May 17 – Iran–Iraq War: is hit by two Iraqi-owned Exocet AM39 air-to-surface missiles killing 37 sailors.source
1988March 16 – The Halabja chemical attack is carried out by Iraqi government forces.source
1992March 25 – The International Atomic Energy Agency orders Iraq to destroy an industrial complex at Al Atheer that is being used to manufacture nuclear weapons.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 8 – Kurdish–Turkish conflict: the PKK-declared ceasefire ends in Iraq.source
1993March 17 – The Kurdistan Workers' Party announces a unilateral ceasefire in Iraq.source
1995June 29 – Iraq disarmament crisis: According to UNSCOM, the unity of the U.N. Security Council begins to fray as a few countries, particularly France and Russia, become more interested in making financial deals with Iraq than in disarming the country.source
1996Iraq disarmament crisis: U.N. Inspector Scott Ritter attempts to conduct surprise inspections on the Republican Guard facility at the airport but is blocked by Iraqi officials.source

21st century

2007April 18 – 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings: A series of attacks take place across Baghdad, Iraq, killing nearly 200 people.source
2007August 14 – Multiple suicide bombings kill 572 people in Qahtaniya, northern Iraq.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
2014August 8 – American-led intervention in Iraq: The United States military begins an air campaign in northern Iraq to stem the influx of ISIL militants.source
2014June 12 – In the Camp Speicher massacre in Iraq, ISIL kills 1,566 Shia Iraqi Air Force cadets. It is the second deadliest terrorist attack in history and the deadliest attack conducted by ISIL.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
2017November 12 – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes the border region between Iraq and Iran leaving at least 530 dead and over 70,000 homeless.source
2017November 3 – Syrian Civil War: both Deir ez-Zor in Syria and Al-Qa'im in Iraq are declared liberated from ISIL on the same day.source
2017September 25 – The Kurdistan Region votes in a referendum to become an independent state, in defiance of Iraq; by October 15, the crisis escalates into a short-lived armed conflict over disputed territories.source
2019October 5 – 2019 Iraqi protests: 91 people are killed by police during a week of demonstrations in Iraq.source
2020January 8 – Iran launches ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. soldiers, injuring over 100 personnel.source
2021March 6 – Pope Francis meets with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq. It is the first-ever meeting between a pope and a grand ayatollah.source
2025June 23 – Iran launches missiles at US bases in Qatar and Iraq in response to the previous day's strikes.source