istoryworld
Events relating to iraq
Nebuchadnezzar comes to the throne of Babylon, beginning a prosperous reign of more than forty years
The Jews, taken into captivity in Babylon, form the first community of the Diaspora
Nebuchadnezzar builds the hanging gardens of Babylon, supposedly to comfort a homesick wife
The synagogue, as a simple place of Jewish worship, develops during the Babylonian captivity
The optimistic concept of the Messiah is part of the Jewish response to captivity in Babylon
A Persian army captures Babylon and brings it into the empire of Cyrus the Great
Alexander, still only 33, dies in Babylon following a banquet
Seleucia is founded as a new capital on the Tigris, eclipsing Babylon and recycling much of the older city as building material
The Parthians develop the site of Ctesiphon, on the east bank of the Tigris opposite Seleucia
Khosrau I builds himself a superb new palace, of which the great vaulted Taq-e Kisra remains today at Ctesiphon
Khosrau I commissions a spectacular Spring Carpet for the floor of his hall of audience in Ctesiphon
The Byzantine emperor Heraclius recovers the True Cross from Ctesiphon
The Arabs defeat a Persian army at Kadisiya and then sack the city of Ctesiphon, effectively bringing to an end the Sassanian dynasty
Othman is assassinated, and Ali wins power as the fourth Muslim caliph - defeating Muhammad's widow Aisha at the 'battle of the camel' near Basra
Husayn, the son of Ali, dies at Karbala in a battle against rival Muslims and becomes the most holy of Shi'ite martyrs
Karaism, relying on scripture rather than rabbinical commentary, develops among the Jewish community in Babylon
The Abbasid caliphs create Baghdad as a new capital city on the Tigris
The use of zero, essential in practical mathematics, is now familiar in India and is adopted in Baghdad
Scholars in Baghdad begin translating Greek and Syriac texts into Arabic
The luxury of Baghdad, under the caliph Harun al-Rashid, is evident in the Thousand and One Nights
The ancient site of the city of Babylon is gradually abandoned and becomes covered in silt from the Euphrates, until archaelogical excavation begins in the 19th century
The caliphs in Baghdad begin to employ Turkish slaves, or Mamelukes, in their armies
The rulers of Baghdad harness homing pigeons as postmen.
Togrul Beg enters Baghdad and is granted by the caliph the title of sultan, which becomes hereditary in his Seljuk dynasty
Greek texts, translated by Arabic scholars in Baghdad, gradually make their way through the Muslim world to Christian Europe
