Chronology of Iraq

Before the Current Era (BC)

58,000 - Neandertals lived in the area of current Northern Iraq. Many biblical historians and archeologists consider this area to be the site of the biblical Garden of Eden.

4,000 -  Originally called Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization, Iraq was the site of several important ancient civilizations, including the Sumerian, Babylonian, and Parthian cultures.

3000-2350 - Sumerian civilization establishes city states, irrigation systems, international trade, and develops a writing system.

2350-2112 - The Akkadian Empire

2112-2004 - The Empire of Ur III

2700 - Ruled by Gilgamesh the King of Uruk.

ca. 1950 -  Invasion of Sumer by Elamites and Amorites.

1792-1750 -  Ruled by King Hammurabi, famous for his code of law upon which all current systems of justice are based.

ca. 1000 - Arameans move into the Mesopotamian region.

669 -  Babylonia destroyed by the Assyrians.

629-539 -  New Babylonian kingdom under the Chaldeans.

331 -  Conquest by Alexander the Great.

312-64 -  Greek Seleucid Dynasty in Mesopotamia brings Greek cultural influence.

The Current Era (AD)

226 - The Sassanids take power in Iran and Iraq; many convert to Nestorian or Zorastrian Christianity.

637 - Muslim Arabs defeat the Sassanids and Mesopotamia.

680 - Battle at Karbala marks the beginning of schism between Sunnis and Shi'is.

683 - Unrest in the region. 762 The Caliphate establishes a new capital on the Tigris River, called Baghdad.

750-1258 - The Abassid Caliphate (Abassi family), established its capital at Baghdad, which became a frontier outpost on the Ottoman Empire.

1245-58 - Mongol Wars; Baghdad is destroyed, and Iraqi economy of Iraq suffers for centuries.

1533-34 -  Iraq is conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The ensuing peace brought a clear improvement to Iraqi economy, primarily in the agricultural sector. 17th century Increase of local power. Britain, the Netherlands, and Portugual gain a foothold in the regional trade.

1914 - To protect oil supplies from Germany, Britain invades southern Iraq.

1917 - British occupation of Baghdad.

April 1920 - Iraq becomes a British territory.

1932 - Declared independent. The Hashemite family, which also ruled Jordan, rules as a constitutional monarchy.

1945 - Iraq joined the United Nations and became a founding member of the Arab League.

1956 - The Baghdad Pact allied Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. Its headquarters were established in Baghdad. Gen. Abdul Karim Qasim ended Iraq's membership in the Baghdad Pact in 1959.

July 1958 - Qasim took power through a coup, during which King Faysal II and Prime Minister Nuri as-Said were killed.

February 1963 -  Qasim assassinated. The Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Ba'ath Party) took power under the leadership of Gen. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr as prime minister and Col. Abdul Salam Arif as president.

July 17, 1968 - A group of Ba'athists and military elements overthrew the Arif regime. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr reemerged as the President of Iraq and Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC).

July 1979 - Bakr resigned, and his chosen successor, Saddam Hussein, assumed both offices.

1980-88 - The Iran-Iraq War was fought, ostensibly over water rights.

August 1990 - Iraq invaded Kuwait. A U.S.-led coalition acting under United Nations resolutions and President George H. W. Bush, expelled Iraq from Kuwait in February 1991.

March 19 - April 11, 2003 -  U.S.-led coalition under President George W. Bush, son of former President George H. W. Bush, ousted the Ba'ath regime.

December 13, 2004 - Saddam Hussein was captured while hiding in a spider hole.

June 30, 2004 - Date currently set for the hand over of sovereignty from the US military forces to the Iraqi Governing Council.