Coordinates: 33°N 44°E / 33°N 44°E / 33; 44Iraq
(/ɪˈræk/, /ɪˈrÉ'Ë k/ (listen) or /aɪˈræk/; Arabic:
ٱلÙ'ع٠رَاق‎, al-Ê¿IrÄ q; Kurdish: عێراق‎ Êraq),
officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: ج٠مÙ'ه٠ور٠يَÙ'Ø©
ٱلÙ'ع٠رَاق‎ JumhÅ«riÄ«yah al-Ê¿IrÄ q; Kurdish: کۆماری
عێراق‎ Komarî Êraq), is a country in Western Asia, bordered
by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast,
Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the
west. The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. Iraq is home to
diverse ethnic groups including Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmen,
Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians, Sabians and
Kawliya. Around 99% of the country's 38 million citizens are Muslims,
with small minorities of Christians, Yarsans, Yezidis and Mandeans
also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and
Kurdish.Iraq has a coastline measuring 58 km (36 miles) on the
northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain,
the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part
of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run
south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf.
These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land.
The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known
as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It
was here that mankind first began to read, write, create laws and live
in cities under an organised governmentâ€"notably Uruk, from which
"Iraq" is derived. The area has been home to successive civilisations
since the 6th millennium BC. Iraq was the centre of the Akkadian,
Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires. It was also part of the
Median, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun,
Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Seljuk, Mongol, Timurid, Safavid, Afsharid
and Ottoman empires. Iraq Biography, Weight & Height, Age, Nationality & Ethnicity
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