BAGHDAD. The foremost city of Mesopotamia and the capital of modern Iraq is situated in lat. 33° 20' N. and long. 24' E. on the Tigris at the point where that river and the Euphrates approach their closest approximation—to 25 miles. The city was originally built on the west bank of the river, but for over i,000 years the greater part of the town has been on the E. bank. Today there is, however, a large and growing suburb, including a railway station on the west side, the two banks being connected by a bridge of boats. Baghdad is described by a traveller who visited it in 1583 as being "a towne not very greate but very populous and of greate trafficke of strangers for that is the way to Persia, Turkie and Arabia, and from thence doe goe Caravans for these and other places." Though the town has grown since that description was written, in other respects the words are still true and caravans, today by motor car and aero plane, still run to Persia and "Turkie." Baghdad lies at a central point in the Middle East and there has been from Sumerian times an important town either on this very spot or close at hand. In early Sumerian times the ancient capital lay at Kish on the Euphrates and when that river changed its course Babylon succeeded to Kish. In later tunes Ctesiphon and subsequently SeIeucia on the west bank of the Tigris opposite Ctesiphon succeeded to the supremacy. Baghdad itself, although on a site which has been occupied since very early times and still preserves the name which it has held for at least 4,000 years, did not rise to the position of a city of the first rank until the founda tion of the Arab town on the west bank in the latter half of the 8th century A.D. Since that time the Abode of Peace although it has enjoyed very varying fortunes has always been the most important city of Mesopotamia. Various factors have contributed to these changes, geographical, political and, as always in Meso potamia, religious. Baghdad forms the meeting point of the land routes of S.W. Asia. Until the discovery by the seafaring nations of Western Europe of a sea route to the Far East, Baghdad was the nodal point in the caravan routes between East and West. It commanded the two waterways of the Tigris and Euphrates and was close to the limit of navigation upwards of the former stream. it was the natural centre for the roads through the upland coun try to the north, for the ways through the gap of Khurasan, and for the practicable routes across the desert both to the Mediter ranean and to the Holy Cities of Islam. Its commercial position was therefore unrivalled. The more stable condition of the Tigris, which is less given to moving its course than the Euphrates, makes the site, in spite of the constant danger from floods, more favour able to the continued existence of a city than the alternative Kish or Babylon.
So long as Mesopotamia remained a fertile land of gardens, whose fruitfulness could excite the wonder of all who visited her, Baghdad was truly the abode of peace and plenty. At the height of her fame during the early years of the 9th century Baghdad was the home of wealthy merchants and learned scholars who flourished under the shadow of an enlightened Caliphate. Under Mamun, the successor of Harun-al-Raschid it rose to be the centre of Islam at a time when Islam represented the highest civiliza tion of the West. Renowned for learning, famous for silks, and for gorgeous tiled buildings, Baghdad became the city of the Arabian Nights and seemed certain, so favoured was its geo graphical situation, to enjoy a long period of prosperity. But political circumstances were destined to prevent the realization of this dream. For nearly two generations in the middle of the 9th century the city was deserted in favour of Samarra and, when the central power did return to Baghdad, the Commanders of the Faithful had degenerated to the position of mere shadow kings in the hands of the Turkish bodyguard which their predecessors had founded. Mesopotamia however still remained the fruitful coun try which it had been in antiquity, and Baghdad, though shorn of her former splendours, was still an important centre to which merchants and pilgrims resorted.
The real downfall of Baghdad did not come till 1258 when Hulaku the Mongol and his hordes overran Mesopotamia. They destroyed the Arab civilization and, by systematically breaking down the irrigation system, converted what had formerly been an agricultural land into a waste of steppe suited only to pastoral nomadism. A period of political instability ensued. Both these factors contributed to the downfall of Baghdad. She depended for her position on a continuation of a prosperous trade which in an unsettled and devastated country was impossible. Further a new situation had arisen. From the coming of the Mongols until the loth century apart from short intervals Baghdad was never an independent capital. She was dependent first on the Mongol Emperor of Persia, then she became the southern capital of a smaller Mongol state. At the beginning of the 15th century she fell under Turkoman domination and a century later became part of the Persian kingdom. A prey to the warring factions of Turks and Persians the city was more than once put to the sword but relapsed into comparative obscurity after its final capture by the Sultan Murad IV. An independent Pashalik, attacked by Nadir Shah, and then once more at the beginning of the 19th century restored to full Turkish control, Baghdad remained a remote town far from the centres of political importance but often the unfor tunate victim of political ambition. But the ancient fame and commercial possibilities of the country led at the end of the 19th century to the idea of a Baghdad railway, to connect Central Europe with the Middle East. Finally, in the readjustment of frontiers which followed the War of 1914-18 Baghdad was made once more the capital of an independent Arab state. It is signifi cant that this restoration of the city to her old position should be associated with a supreme effort to undo the work of the Mon gols and to convert the steppe once more into agricultural land.
This changing political position has coincided with far-reaching developments in methods of transport which have restored to Baghdad much of its former importance on the trade-routes. Be fore 1914 Baghdad lay outside these, and the railway was built only as far north as Shergat and therefore served no useful pur pose. Apart from the uncertainty of river routes Baghdad re mained isolated. Since this time a line has been built down the Euphrates to Basra—the Tigris line was merely a war-time meas ure. Of greater importance however has been the establishment of a big aerodrome at Hinaidi, a suburb of Baghdad and the de velopment of aircraft services to Cairo and Basra. Further than this the old desert roads are now used at regular intervals by motorcars so that the journey from London to Baghdad can now be made in a week. To the E. railways and caravan routes are being developed and it is proposed to unite Mosul and Baghdad by a new railway (see IRAQ). Such a line would be of the great est importance as at present the connection between Baghdad and Mosul is poor.
Owing no doubt to the improvement in communications Bagh dad is beginning once more to regain her rightful place as the great market of the Middle East. The principal exports are car pets, wool, gum, hides and dates. A considerable import trade is carried on, especially in cotton and tea, most of which is re-ex ported. The Persian trade is once more becoming of value and Mosul looks to Baghdad as the natural channel through which to sell her grain.
The traveller who wishes to see a purely eastern city will not find it in Baghdad except in the byways and in the few old mosques which remain. Hilla has preserved better its purely ori ental character and recalls many of the features which character ized Baghdad before it was westernized. During the last few years changes have taken place in the city itself which have altered it out of all recognition. Some of the main roads have been straightened and a macadam surface laid down, so that a great part of the city is available for motor traffic. There are a telephone and taxi-cab service ; a modern water system replaces the old canals and insanitary methods of drawing water from the Tigris and its subsidiary channels, and there has consequently been considerable improvement of public health though, in spite of registration, statistics are not yet reliable. It is estimated that the population is about 250,000, but this figure is considered by many to be too small. Inside the town itself, although the old covered bazaars still survive, there are numerous stores on western lines, a hospital and modern hotels. Near the race-course what is practically a garden suburb is rapidly developing and there is an other large settlement growing up round the aerodrome at Hinaidi. Not the least interesting feature of the new regime is the estab lishment of a museum of Mesopotamian antiquities—largely through the energy and enthusiasm of Miss Gertrude Bell (q.v.). It receives a share of all the antiquities excavated in Iraq.
Capture of Baghdad, 1917.—For an account of the military operations which culminated in the capture of Baghdad on March II, 1917, by the British under General Maude (q.v.) see MESO POTAMIA, OPERATIONS IN.