Baghdad

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Capital city and largest city of Iraq, and capital of the governorate of Baghdad, on the River Tigris; population (2002 est) 5,605,000 (urban area 6,508,200). The city is the home of most of the industrial, commercial, and financial activities of the country. Industries include oil refining, distilling, tanning, tobacco processing, and the manufacture of petrochemicals, iron and steel, textiles, clothing, electrical goods, and cement. Founded in 762, it became Iraq's capital in 1921. During the Gulf War in 1991 and the Iraq War in 2003, international coalition forces bombed it in repeated air raids.

History
A transportation hub from the earliest times, it was developed by the 8th-century caliph Harun al-Rashid, although little of the Arabian Nights city remains. It was overrun in 1258 by the Mongols, who destroyed the irrigation system. In 1639 it was taken by the Turks. During World War I it was part of the Turkish Empire until it was captured in March 1917 by General Frederick Maude (1864–1917).

The blue and white triband is based on the flag of the Central American Federation (CAF), a grouping of African states imposed by the British government in 1953. The stars represent the Federation's five original members. Effective date: 18 January 1949. >>