Timeline Of Iraq: 
 5000 - 3000 B.C.   2350-2305 B.C.   c. 1950 B.C.   c. 1600 B.C.   c. 1168 B.C.   c. 900-669 B.C.   c. 629- 539 B.C.   539 B.C.   330 B.C.   64 B.C.   634 A.D.   762   1258   1405 - 1508   1534   1914   1932   1948   1958   1963   1966   1968   1979   1980 - 1988   1988   1990   1991   1992   1995   1998   Early 2002   Late 2002  
                                                               
Use scrollbar
to advance
 Sumerian civilization emerges in Mesopotamia. The Sumerians are one of the oldest known civilizations. This largely agrarian culture developed systems of irrigation, trade, and writing (cuneiform).   Akkadians conquer Sumerians. Establish city of Babylon (then called "Akkad") on the Euphrates River.   Invasion by Elamites and Amorites. Amorite ruler Hammurabi creates code of laws (Code of Hammurabi,) one of the first instances of codified law.   Hittites and later Kassites invade and capture most of Mesopotamia. The Hittites were one of the first cultures to use iron.   Kassites are driven out of power by the Elamites.   Assyrians gain control of most of Mesopotamia.   New Babylonian kingdom under the Chaldeans - Hanging Gardens of Babylon built.   Mesopotamian region conquered by the Persians under the control of Cyrus the Great.   Alexander the Great conquers region, Greek Seleucid dynasty begins.   Persians again control Mesopotamia under the Arsacid and Sassanid dynasties.   Arab Muslims wrest control of the region from the Persians, who are weak from 10 years of fighting Byzantine invaders.   Baghdad is founded on the Tigris River. The city becomes the new capital for the caliph, or leader of Islam.   Mongols destroy Baghdad, massacring its citizens and executing the caliph.   Turco-Mongol invaders from Anatolia conquer Iraq. The Turks and Iranian Safavids vie for control of the country.   Iraq is conquered by the Ottoman Empire.   British forces invade southern Iraq as part of World War I and occupy the country.   Iraq is declared an independent kingdom. However Britain maintains a great deal of influence through World War II.   After Israel declares independence, Iraq joins the Arab states in attacks on the new country.   The Iraqi king, crown prince and prime minister are killed in a military coup led by Gen. Abd-al-Karim Kassem. Kassem becomes the new prime minister.   Kassem is overthrown by a group of officers, mainly from the Ba'th Party. Abdul Salam Arif becomes the new president.   President Arif dies. His brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, succeeds him as president.   Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr becomes the new president.   President Al-Bakr is put under house arrest. Vice-President Saddam Hussein becomes new president.   Approximately 300,000 Iraqis die in the Iran-Iraq war.   Iraq allegedly uses chemical weapons against Kurds in northern Iraq.   Iraq invades and occupies Kuwait. United Nations demands Iraqi withdrawal by Jan. 15, 1991.   The Gulf War begins on Jan. 16. The Iraqi army is driven from Kuwait by international coalition forces. A March ceasefire ends the conflict. In April, Saddam Hussein puts down rebellions in Iraq's northern and southern provinces.   The United States and Great Britain establish and begin patrolling "no-fly zones" in northern and southern Iraq. The patrols are occasionally fired upon or threatened by the Iraqi military, resulting in attacks from the patrolling aircraft.   The United Nations allows limited "oil-for-food" trade with Iraq for humanitarian goods.   Iraq ceases cooperation with U.N. inspectors charged with ensuring Iraq has eliminated weapons of mass destruction. The United States and Great Britain launch "Desert Fox," a bombing campaign aimed at destroying Iraq's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.   President George W. Bush says during his State of the Union address that Iraq, Iran and North Korea make up "an Axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world." The United States and Britain begin making the case for an invasion of Iraq to destroy its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs and to remove Saddam Hussein from power.   In November, the United Nations Security Council passes a resolution demanding that Iraq submit to unfettered weapons inspections. Iraq complies with the resolution and inspections resume. In December, Iraq releases a declaration of its weapons programs that states the country has no weapons of mass destruction. Both the United States and Britain say the arms declaration falls short of the U.N. resolution.