History of Iraq

The Persian Sassanid dynasty took control of Mesopotamia

226

Arab Muslims conquer the Sassanids and Iraq

Jan 1, 633

The Ottoman Empire conquers the region

Mar 7, 1500

1914-1918 World War I

Jul 28, 1914

Saddam Hussein was born

Apr 28, 1937

1939-1945 World War 2 breaks out

Sep 1, 1939

End of 1939-1945 World War 2 and Iraq helps to form the Arab League

Sep 2, 1945

1950-1952 Iraq signs agreements with foreign oil companies and receives 50% of the oil profits

Period: Mar 7, 1950 to Mar 7, 1952

Faisal II became king of Iraq

Mar 7, 1953

The country nationalises the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC)

Mar 8, 1972

Saddam Hussein succeeds Al-Bakr as Iraqi President

Mar 8, 1979

Iraq invades Iran starting the Iran-Iraq war

Sep 4, 1980

Chemical attack on Kurds Iraq believed to have used chemical weapons against the Kurdish town of Halabjah

Mar 16, 1988

Iraq invades Kuwait

Aug 2, 1990

Iraq announces the merger of Iraq and Kuwait

Aug 8, 1990

A coalition of 39 countries begin bombing Iraq starting the Persian Gulf WarThe aerial bombing of Iraq is called "Operation Desert Storm"

Jan 17, 1991

Iraq accepts the terms of a ceasefire

Mar 3, 1991

US launch cruise missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad

Jun 27, 1993

Saddam Hussein becomes prime minister of Iraq

May 29, 1994

Iraq ends cooperation with UN Special Commission to Oversee the Destruction of Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (Unscom).

Oct 31, 1998

Operation Desert Fox - US and UK forces launch a bombing campaign, to destroy Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes

Dec 16, 1998

Saddam Hussein given 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war

Mar 17, 2003

Baghdad and the power of Saddam Hussein crumbles and the US lists 55 most-wanted members of former regime which is issued as packs of cards

Apr 9, 2003

Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay killed in gun battle in Mosul

Jul 8, 2003

Saddam Hussein captured in Tikrit.

Dec 14, 2003

Fighting continuesUS hands sovereignty to interim government headed by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi

Mar 8, 2004

Saddam Hussein transferred to Iraqi legal custody

Mar 8, 2004

Elections: The Shia United Iraqi Alliance win a majority

Jan 1, 2005

Parliament appoints the Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as president and Ibrahim Jaafari, a Shia, is named as prime minister

Mar 8, 2005

Saddam Hussein goes on trial

Oct 8, 2005

The Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is killed

Jun 7, 2006

American missiles hit targets in Baghdad and US and British ground troops enter Iraq

Mar 20, 2013