Baghd?d - geography.

Baghd?d - geography. Baghd? d or Bagdad, capital of Iraq, in central Iraq, on the Tigris River. Baghd?d is the center of air, road, and railroad transportation in Iraq. It is the leading manufacturing city of the country, with oil refineries, food-processing plants, tanneries, and textile mills. Among the handcrafted wares produced in Baghd?d are cloth, household utensils, jewelry, leather goods, felt, and rugs, which may be purchased in the bazaars. Consisting of rows of small shops or stalls, these bazaars have long been a feature of the city. Educational institutions in the city include the University of Baghd?d (1957), al-Mustansiriyah University (1963), and the University of Technology (1974). Among the noteworthy historical structures of Baghd?d is the ruins of Bab al-Wastani, the last remaining of the famous gates of Baghd?d. Other notable buildings are the Abbasid Palace, which probably dates from 1179, the al-Mustansiriyah, a college founded in 1232 (both restored as museums), and the Mirjan Mosque, completed in 1358. A few miles north of Baghd?d is Kazimayn, notable for its magnificent gold-domed mosque (completed in the 19th century) and the tombs of religious leaders venerated by the Shia Muslims. Baghd? d was built by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 762 on the western bank of the Tigris River, opposite an old Iranian village also named Baghd?d. The original city was round, with three concentric walls. The innermost wall enclosed the palace of the caliph, the second wall defined the army quarters, and the homes of the people occupied the outermost enclosure. The merchants' quarters, or bazaars, were located outside the city walls. Within the next half century the city reached a peak of prosperity and influence under the caliph Harun ar-Rashid, whose reign is celebrated in the famous tales of the Arabian Nights. During this period the city expanded to the eastern bank of the Tigris, which later became the heart of Baghd?d. Although past its zenith after Harun's time, Baghd?d remained an important center of trade and culture for more than four centuries. The decline of Baghd?d began when Hulagu, the grandson of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, sacked the city in 1258, putting an end to the Abbasid caliphate. The Turkic conqueror Tamerlane sacked the city in 1401. Baghd? d was brought under Persian control in 1508. In 1534 it was captured by the Ottoman Empire. The Persians recaptured the city in 1623, holding it until 1638, when it was again annexed by the Ottoman Empire. For almost three centuries thereafter Baghd? d was ruled by Ottoman governors. In 1917 it was captured from the Ottomans by British forces. In 1921 Baghd?d was designated the capital of the newly created kingdom of Iraq, which became a republic in 1958. The city suffered damage from bombing during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and again during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (see U.S.-Iraq War). In mid-April 2003, as U.S.-led forces captured Baghd?d and overthrew the regime of Saddam Hussein, looters ransacked many stores, government buildings, and museums. Although U.S. forces guarded the government's Oil Ministry, they failed to intervene to prevent the looting, alienating many residents of Baghd?d in the process. The U.S. occupation sparked an insurgency that soon engulfed the city in violence. The largely Sunni Muslim-based insurgency clashed frequently with U.S. forces, as did some of the Shia-based militias that initially opposed the ongoing U.S. presence. As a Shia-dominated government formed under the U.S. occupation, sectarian fighting between Sunnis and Shias resulted in almost daily violence. Suicide bombings at first were directed mainly at newly formed Iraqi police and military units, but soon the attacks began to target Shia businesses and communities, killing and injuring thousands of civilians. Reprisal killings were carried out against Sunnis by Shialed death squads that reportedly operated out of the government's Interior Ministry. Corpses showing signs of torture were discovered on the streets of the city on an almost daily basis. By 2007 the sectarian fighting had become so severe that much of the city's middle class had fled the city. Entire neighborhoods where Shia and Sunni had once lived peacefully together were uprooted as militias took control of residential areas, forcing residents to move to Sunni-only or Shia-only areas. The city's infrastructure was heavily damaged in the fighting, as bridges became targets of insurgent attacks. Electrical power became sporadic as power plants were targeted by insurgents. Most areas of the city had access to electricity for only a few hours a day, unless residents organized to purchase and run their own generators. Electrical power failures also resulted in curtailing the operation of water-purification plants and shutting down water-pumping stations, lowering water supplies. In the summer of 2007 city officials warned that water shortages in Baghd?d had reached dangerous levels. Water became available in most areas for only a few hours a day, and despite the summer heat some areas of the city went without water. Population (2003 estimate) 5,620,000. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.