By Syed S. Hussain

New York

As Iraq struggles to redefine itself to the changing political landscape, a new and uncertain phase has begun in the country’s long and tumulus history. One cannot but be amazed at the great contradictions and yet strange similarities in the history of the last 6,000 years of this land to which belonged the great patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, prophet Abraham.

Iraq, known in antiquity as Mesopotamia, had developed a flourishing culture pre-dating civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. The earliest to develop was the Sumerian civilization. They had a very advanced agriculture system and developed the earliest form of writing. History writing and poetry also owe their origins to this thriving civilization of 4000 BC.

The Babylonian civilization under the famous King Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C) was the next important civilization to develop in this land. The famous Hammurabi Code (one of the earliest legal codes) was produced during his reign.

They were followed by a new dynasty under Nebuchadnezzar I. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) built the celebrated Hanging Gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

During the next few centuries Iraq saw many invaders including Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great, but for the most period remained part of the Persian Empire. In the 7th century AD Arab Muslims captured it from the Persians.

The advent of the Muslims brought in a new era. In 634AD the Arab Muslims under the leadership of Khalid bin Walid defeated the Persians and became the new masters of this fertile land. The second Caliph Omar ordered the founding of two cities: Kufah named as the capital of Iraq, and Basra the port city.

After the fourth Caliph Ali the fratricidal battle in the city of Karbala resulted in the division of the Muslims in two distinct sects, which was to remain till the present day. The chasm created in consequence has had an extremely divisive effect on the Muslim Umma.

In 750AD the Abbasid Dynasty was established and in 762AD the capital city of Baghdad was founded. For the next few centuries Baghdad became the center of power in the world. It also became the center of philosophical, scientific, and literary grandeur. The excellence of learning achieved there was the best available in the world at that time.

All that changed when the Mongol chief Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, marched on Baghdad in AD 1258 and reduced the city to rubble. The streets of Baghdad were flooded with blood and the Abbasid Dynasty passed into history. A century and a half later another Mongol, Tamer Lane sacked Baghdad bringing ruin and destruction on the city.

After swapping hand many times between the Persians and the Ottomans, Iraq finally became part of the Ottoman Empire. This rule ended with the collapse of the Ottomans at the end of the First World War. In 1920 the League of Nations mandated Iraq to Britain. This heralded what could be said to be the modern era of Iraq.

A Hashemite monarchy under the rule of Emir Faisal bin Hussain was set in place by the British. It was also around this time that there was a major discovery of oilfields in Iraq which changed the geopolitical importance of Iraq. It now acquired economic significance in addition to hitherto political importance. In 1932 the British mandate was terminated, but the monarchy generally remained loyal to the British.

In 1936 Iraq experienced its first military coup led by General Bakr Sidqi who himself was later murdered by a military group in August 1937. The Hashemite monarchy was finally overthrown on July 14, 1958, under the leadership of Brigadier Abdul Karim Qasim and Colonel Abdul Salaam Arif.

Iraq was proclaimed a republic. Qasim was assassinated in February 1963 and Ba’ath Arab Socialist Party members took power under the leadership of Gen. Ahmed Hasan al-Bakr and Col. Abdul Salaam Arif. In July 1979 Saddam Hussein replaced President Ahmed Hasan Al-Bakr.

Then came probably one of the most devastating wars amongst two Muslim nations in the form of the Iran-Iraq War, which began in September 1980. This war of no consequence lasted for eight years during which period an estimated one million lives were lost. The losses were not only in terms of men and material of both combating countries but the hostility by proxy affected the population of many Muslim countries.

As if this tragedy was not enough, soon after the cessation of hostilities Iraq was once more plunged into war with the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. The allied forces retaliation in the shape of Operation “Desert Storm” started on January 17, 1991. This war, although a high tech war, resulted in huge casualties of Iraqi soldiers and civilians.

And now the convulsions of post-Saddam Iraq are in progress with the allied forces all over Iraq. The above snapshot of six millennium of history can hardly accommodate the details of countless rise and fall of empires and dynasties, but can give some idea of the trend of events.

Iraq seems to have always attracted people from outside, either because of fertility of its soil, fertility of its intellectual development, or fertility of the soil to produce oil. These invasions often resulted in the evolution of great cultures and civilizations. At the same time they also often resulted in deaths and destructions of a horrendous magnitude. - sharafain@aol.com