The architecture of Iraq encompasses the buildings of various architectural styles that exist in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Mesopotamian

Islamic

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...

would flourish during the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ottoman periods.

Early Caliphate

Under Early Caliphs buildings and Mosques were built. The city of

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

was founded by caliph

Omar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

. Kufa was also founded by Omar and given its name in 637–638 CE, about the same time as Basra. The region of Iraq was the important Military base of early Caliphate

Umayyad architecture

Umayyad architecture developed in the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

between 661 and 750, primarily in its heartlands of Syria,

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

and

. The Umayyad caliphate was established in 661, when Caliph Hasan

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

to Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, founder of the

Umayyad dynasty Umayyad dynasty ( ar, بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, Banū Umayya, Sons of Umayya) or Umayyads ( ar, الأمويون, al-Umawiyyūn) were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In the ...

Muawiyah I Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...

, governor of Syria, became the first Umayyad caliph. Under the Umayyads the

Arab empire A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

continued to expand, eventually extending to Central Asia and the borders of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

in the east, Yemen in the south, the Atlantic coast of what is now

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

and the

Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

in the west. The Umayyads built new cities, often unfortified military camps that provided bases for further conquests.

Wasit Wasit ( ar, وَاسِط, Wāsiṭ, syr, ‎ܘܐܣܛ) is an ancient city in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq. History The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the his ...

was the most important of these, and included a square Friday mosque with a

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or und ...

roof.

Abbasid architecture

In the mid 8th century, the

Round city of Baghdad The Round City of Baghdad is the original core of Baghdad, built by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur in 762–766 CE as the official residence of the Abbasid court. Its official name in Abbasid times was City of Peace ( ar, مدينة السلام, M ...

was founded as the Abbasid capital, following the Abbasid victory over the Umayyad caliphate. While the Umayyads had typically reused pre-Islamic buildings in the cities they had conquered, by the Abbasid era many of these structures required replacement. Abbasids founded many cities throughout the Empire. In 836

Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...

was founded. The core area of the city was initially constructed in the reign of

al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd ( ar, أبو إسحاق محمد بن هارون الرشيد; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling ...

, with further development taking place under

al-Wathiq Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad ( ar, أبو جعفر هارون بن محمد المعتصم; 17 April 812 – 10 August 847), better known by his regnal name al-Wāthiq bi’llāh (, ), was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 842 until 847 ...

and

al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was ...

Ottoman

The

Al-Wazeer Mosque The Al-Wazeer Mosque () is an old Sunni Islam, Sunni mosque in Baghdad, Iraq, which is considered a cultural heritage building. The mosque was built by the Vizier, Wazir of Baghdad Hassan Pasha in 1599 during the Ottoman Iraq, Ottoman era. Later ...

Al-Maqam Mosque , native_name_lang = ara , image = جامع المقام.jpg , image_upright = 1.4 , alt = , caption = , map_type = Iraq , map_size = 240 , map_alt ...

, are examples of

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine a ...

in Iraq.

Modern

Kingdom of Iraq

In the 1950s, as Iraq became wealthier due to oil revenue during the reign of King Faisal II, several important projects were commissioned. Numerous foreign architects, including Walter Groupius and

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

were invited to Iraq to design various public buildings during this period. Among these was American architect

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

, who drew up the

Plan for Greater Baghdad The Plan for Greater Baghdad was a project done by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for a cultural center, opera house, and university on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, in 1957–58. The most thoroughly developed aspects of the plan were the ...

, which would include a cultural center, opera house, and university on the outskirts of Baghdad. However, it was never built due to the collapse of the monarchy in 1958.

Post 1958

During his tenure as President,

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

oversaw the construction of several monuments and palaces, including the

Victory Arch The Victory Arch ( ar, قوس النصر ''Qaws an-Naṣr''), officially known as the ''Swords of Qādisīyah''، and popularly called the ''Hands of Victory'' or the ''Crossed Swords'', are a pair of triumphal arches in central Baghdad, Iraq. E ...

and

al Faw Palace The Al Faw Palace (also known as the ''Water Palace'') is located in Baghdad approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) from the Baghdad International Airport, Iraq. Saddam Hussein commissioned its construction in the 1990s to commemorate the Iraqi forces' r ...

. Many of these have been described as

tacky Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with t ...

, and unrepresentative of actual Iraqi architectural tradition.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Asia in topic, Architecture of, state= Architecture in Iraq