Iraq
Iraq is a country in the Middle East whose territory is analogous to Babylonia and more broadly to the ancient cultural region known as Mesopotamia.
History[edit | edit source]
Origins[edit | edit source]
The modern state of Iraq emerged out of colonialism as the British and French partitioned the Ottoman Empire amongst themselves against promises of a united Arab state.[1][2][3][4] Despite this, the contemporary boundaries correspond roughly to those of older territorial entities, such as the province of Iraq under the Abbasid Caliphate,[5] the ancient kingdom of Babylonia, and the city-states of Sumer, all of which were situated in the fertile plains between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.[6][7]
Medieval period[edit | edit source]
When the Abbasids overthrew the reigning Umayyads in the mid-8th century, the new regime moved the capital from Damascus in the Levant to Baghdad in Iraq to be closer to the Persian allies who facilitated their victory.[8] Baghdad greatly grew to become an international hub of commerce, education, culture, and finance so that by the 9th century,[9] it was a cosmopolitan city at the forefront of the world's scientific and literary advances.[10][11][12][13]
By the mid-9th century, both the Hidden Ones and their sworn rivals, the Order of the Ancients, had spread their influence to Baghdad, with the latter infiltrating the Abbasid Caliphate's highest levels of power and corrupting the city's administration. The Ancients held control over Baghdad's trade,[14] military,[15] and government,[16] and used their vast resources to set up excavation sites around the city to find Isu ruins and the artifacts they housed.[17][18] The Order even held sway over the caliph al-Mutawakkil,[19] whose concubine Qabiha secretly led the organization as its Ra's Al-Af'a.[20]
During the Anarchy at Samarra, a period of extreme instability caused by the succession crisis following al-Mutawakkil's sudden death in 861, the Hidden Ones worked to diminish the Order's influence over the Caliphate. Basim Ibn Ishaq assassinated the Ancients operating in Baghdad, gradually removing the Order's corruption,[21] but also inadvertently leading to a civil war between the reigning caliph, al-Musta'in, who was supported by the Turkic Army, and his cousin Abu 'Abdallah, who challenged his claim to the throne.[16][22]
The Caliphate's rule continued to be turbulent throughout the following centuries, and the Abbasid period eventually came to an end in 1258. The Mongol Empire's Sack of Baghdad, which targeted much of the city's intellectual institutions like the House of Wisdom,[23] was the death-knell to the already weakened Abbasids and led to a decline that lasted many centuries. [citation needed]
Modern times[edit | edit source]
In 1936,[24] a group of archaeologists in an Iraqi digging site uncovered an Isu artifact they named the Baghdad Battery, though its function would remain a mystery for many decades.[25]
In 2003, as part of the greater "War on Terror", the United States invaded Iraq. The Templars had planned the Iraq War as early as December 2000 and expected their puppet, President George W. Bush, would restart U.S-Iraq animosities and, therefore, provide work for Dick Cheney's military contractors.[26] The war toppled Saddam Hussein's government, and American occupation lasted until 2011.[27]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
 This list is incomplete. You can help the Assassin's Creed Wiki by expanding it.
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- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only)
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage – A Soar of Eagles
