The capital of Iraq is located on which river?
And the answer: Tigris.
As the capital of Iraq, Baghdad is located on the Tigris River, in the heart of what was once ancient Mesopotamia. The Tigris River is one of the most important waterways in what's known as the Fertile Crescent, as it flows from the mountains of southeastern Turkey, through Syria and Iraq, and empties into the Persian Gulf.
The country we know as Iraq was only founded in 1958, yet the city at its heart was established over 1,200 years ago. At the time of its foundation, Baghdad was considered to be the greatest city in the Medieval Period. It is said that the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur himself travelled up the length of the Tigris to find the perfect place for his capital city in 762 CE, and ultimately landed in the region which would soon become Baghdad.
Over 100,000 workers from all over the Muslim Empire convened to build Al-Mansur's new capital city, which he designed himself. Al-Mansur laid plans for a circular city with one inner wall and two more outer walls, the farthest of which measuring in at around 80 feet wide. At 12 miles in diameter, the center of the city held the Golden Palace of the caliph and his family, as well as the Grand Mosque. In only 4 years, the city was completed. Al-Mansur named his city Madīnat al-Salām, or, "City of Peace."
Immigrants of all kinds came to settle in the new city. Soon, it began to spread outside its walls, and reached its height in 900-1200 CE with an estimated 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 residents. Beautiful parks, gardens, and villas decorated the city, with fresh water flowing to each home through the use of aqueducts. Colleges, hospitals, and libraries (including the largest library in the world at the time) began to crop up, and the city earned a cemented place of cultural significance on the world stage.
