istoryworld
Events relating to iraq
When Hulagu and his Mongol army reach Baghdad, in 1258, it is said that 800,000 of the inhabitants are killed - and the caliph is kicked to death
Mameluke power ends with their suppression in Baghdad, following a massacre in Cairo twenty years earlier
British archaeologist Henry Layard, in his first month of digging in Iraq, discovers the Assyrian city of Nimrud
Hormuzd Rassam discovers the magnficent lion-hunt reliefs in the palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh
A British force seizes the Turkish port of Basra, to safeguard the supply of Persian oil
A British and Indian force is defeated by the Turks at Ctesiphon, on the bank of the Tigris
Britain and France sign the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement, dividing up spheres of influence in the Middle East
The British garrison at Kut, on the Tigris, surrenders to the Turks after a five-month siege
The British commander Stanley Maude captures Baghdad from the Turks
League of Nations mandates give Britain responsibility for Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine
Faisal, having lost Syria, is given the throne in the British mandated territory of Iraq
British archaeologist Leonard Woolley discovers the treasures of the royal cemetery at Ur
The king of Iraq, Faisal II, is murdered in Baghdad in a coup led by Abdul Karim Qassim
Nationalist Kurds in the north of Iraq launch a guerrilla war against the new government in Baghdad
Ayatollah Khomeini, exiled by the shah from Iran, moves first to Turkey and then makes his base in Iraq
A military coup in Iraq brings to power a government composed mainly of Ba'thists
Saddam Hussein begins a reign of terror in Iraq, reading out at a meeting the names of fellow Ba'athists who are to be taken out and shot
Saddam Hussein invades Iran, beginning an 8-year war that will bring massive human cost
President Reagan's administration breaks a US embargo with secret arms sales to Iran in return for assistance in the release of US hostages in Lebanon
The Iran-Iraq war ends with the border between the countries unchanged and more than a million dead
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein uses chemical weapons against the Kurds of northern Iraq
Iraqi troops cross the border into Kuwait and are soon in control of the whole country and its oil wells
Saddam Hussein announces the annexation of Kuwait, claiming it to have been historically part of Iraq
The Gulf War begins when Iraq fails to meet the UN deadline for withdrawal from Kuwait
With all Iraqi troops expelled from Kuwait by Allied tanks, President Bush declares a ceasefire in the Gulf War
