Iraq

3500 BC The world's first civilization developed in Sumer (now southeastern Iraq). This civilization is referred to as Mesopotamia.
539 BC Mesopotamia was conquered by the Persians.
331 BC Alexander the Great took the area from the Persians.
126 BC The Greek rule ended when the Parthians established control of Iraq.
226 AD The Persian Sassanid dynasty took control of Mesopotamia.
637 AD Arab Muslims conquered the Sassanids. They brought the Arabic language and the Islamic religion to Mesopotamia.
750 The Abbasid dynasty came to power. They founded Baghdad as their capital.
800 Baghdad had grown to a city with nearly a million people. It as the center of trade and culture.
1258 The Arab Empire was destroyed when the Mongols invaded Mesopotamia.
Early 1500s The Ottoman Empire gained control of the region.
1700s The Ottoman's power in Mesopotamia began to decline.
1800s The United Kingdom became involved with the Persian Gulf region. They wanted to protect their trade routes with India.
1914-1918 During World War I the United Kingdom became particularly interested in Mesopotamia and its oil resources.
1920 The League of Nations gave the United Kingdom a mandate to rule over Mesopotamia
1921 The British set up a new government in Mesopotamia. King Faisal I, and Arab, was chosen as the ruler.
1920s The British government continued to control the Iraqi government.
1930 The United Kingdom and Iraq signed a treaty which stated that the British government would provided military protection and eventual independence and Iraq would continue allow the United Kingdom to use the British air bases in Iraq.
1932 Iraq became an independent nation.
1933 Faisal died and Ghazi became the new ruler. Because of his week leadership tribal and ethnic rebellions broke out.
1936 Anti-British groups in the army seized control of the government. Ghazi was officially the king, but he acted as a puppet.
1939 Ghazi was killed in a car accident. His three-year-old son, Faisal II became king. Prince Abdul Ilah, his uncle ruled for him.
1940-1941 After World War II started the Iraqi government sought to form an alliance with Germany, Italy and Japan. They wanted to get rid of British influence in their country.
1941 The United Kingdom defeated Iraq. They expelled the pro-Axis leaders from the country.
1943 Iraq declared war on the Axis powers.
1945 Iraq helped to form the Arab League.
1948 The Arab League waged war against the newly formed Israel.
1950-1952 Iraq signed agreements with foreign oil companies. Iraq was to receive %50 of the profits from oil that would be drilled there.
1953 Faisal II turned 18 and took control of the government.
1950s Many Iraqis began to oppose the monarchy. They wanted a say in the government.
1955 Iraq signed the Baghdad Pact with Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. The treaty would provide them with British-supported mutual defense. Many Iraqis opposed this and other ties with the West. As a result the Pan-Arabism movement began to develop.
1958 Army officers overthrew the government and made Iraq a republic. During the coup King Faisal and Prince Abdul Ilah were killed. The army officers set up a three-man Sovereignty Council. The Council consisted of a Shiite Arab, a Kurd, and a Sunni Arab. General Abdul Karin Kassem became the premier of Iraq.
1961 The Kurds asked Kassem to give them complete autonomy in Iraq and a share of the oil revenues. Kassem rejected the plan. As a result the Kurds revolted against the government.
1963 Kassem was assassinated by army officers and members of the Baath Party. Abdul Salam Arif became president and Ahmed Hasan al-Bakr prime minister.
1963 Arif used the military to take complete control of the government and expel the Baath party.
1964 A cease-fire was declared with the Kurds
1966 Arif died. Abdul Rahman Arif, his brother, became the new president.
1968 Al-Bakr overthrew Arif and took control of the government. The Baath party was reestablished.
1970 A new constitution was adopted in Iraq.
1970 Al-Bakr signed an agreement with the Kurds ending all the fighting.
1973 All the foreign oil companies were taken over by the government.
1974 The Kurds and the Iraqis formed and agreement. The Kurds would be allowed to have self-rule and they were given several positions in the government.
1974 New fighting broke out with the Kurds after they rejected revisions to their previous agreement.
March 1975 The Kurds were defeated.
1979 Al-Bakr resigned the presidency. Saddam Hussein succeeded him.
September 1980 Iraq invaded Iran.
August 1988 A cease-fire was declared with Iran. During the eight year war it is estimated that 150,000 Iraqi soldiers died. The war also severely damaged the Iraqi economy
1987-1988 The Iraqi government lashed out against the Kurds for their support of Iran during the war.
August 1990 Hussein sent in Iraqi forces into Kuwait. He accused Kuwait of violating oil production limits set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), causing the price of oil to drop. The United Nations called for Iraq to withdraw.
November 1990 The UN Security Council approved the use of force to remove Iraqi troops from Kuwait if they did not leave by 15 January 1991.
15 January 1991 Iraq did not leave Kuwait.
17 January 1991 A coalition of 39 countries began bombing Iraq starting the Persian Gulf War.
24 February 1991 Land forces from the coalition entered Iraq.
27 February 1991 The Iraqi army was defeated.
March 1991 Shiite and Kurdish uprisings broke out in Iraq.
April 1991 The Iraqi troops put down most of the rebellions.
6 April 1991 Iraq agreed to a formal cease-fire.
11 April 1991 The UN Security Council declared the Persian Gulf War formally over. As part of the cease-fire agreement, Iraq was supposed to destroy all of its biological and chemical weapons and the facilities to produce those weapons.
August 1992 The allies imposed a ban on Iraqi military and civilian aircraft over southern Iraq to protect the Shiites.
1993 The Iraqi government began draining the swamplands, where the Shiites lived. This made it so they could not grow rice, which was an important source of food.
November 1994 Iraq formally recognized the independence of Kuwait.
1994 Fighting broke out in the safety zone between rival groups of Kurds.
August 1996 The Iraqi government sent troops into the safety zone in support of one of the Kurdish groups.
September 1996 The United states began bombing southern Iraq in response to the Iraqi government sending in troops into the safety zone.
December 1996 The UN began an "oil-for-food" program. The money produced from this effort was to be used for humanitarian items.
December 1998 The United Kingdom and the United States launched a series of air-raids on Iraq, because Iraq would not allow the UN to inspect suspected weapons sites.
1999 Air-raids continued on Iraq throughout the year.
17 December 1999 The UN Security Council voted to relieve the sanctions on Iraq.
August 2000 The Saddam International Airport in Baghdad reopened for the first time in 10 years.
September 2000 The UN Security Council agreed to reduce the amount of reparations that Iraq had to pay in half.
October 2000 Iraqi officials attended an Arab League summit for the first time in ten years.
October -November 2001 Iraq was suspected of being involved in bio-terrorist attacks which killed five Americans who had come in contact with Anthrax.
November 2001 United States President George W. Bush urged Saddam Hussein to allow UN weapons inspectors to return to Iraq.
2002 The United States began talks on the possiblitiy of invading Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from office and implement a democratic form of government.
November 2002 Iraq allowed weapons inspectors to return to the country.
January 2003 The Weapons inspectors found undocumented weapons.
February 2003 The United States went before the United Nations to give evidence of why they should take action against Iraq, or more particularly Saddam Hussein.
27 February 2003 Iraq agrees to disarm their Samoud II missiles.
17 March 2003 United States President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein an ultimatum. Either Saddam Hussein and his sons leave Iraq within 48 hours or the United States will pursue military action against Iraq.
19 March 2003 The United States and other coalition forces started Operation Iraqi Freedom in an effort to remove Saddam Hussein and his regime from power.
20 March 2003 The United States fired missiles at a bunker in Baghdad, where it was suspected that Saddam Hussein and other military officials were located. Later during the day Saddam Hussein appeared to be alive and Iraq fired six missiles into Kuwait. In the evening U.S> and British ground troops entered Iraq,while more targets were bombed in Baghdad.
1 May 2003 President George W. Bush announced that the conflict with Iraq was over. The country was occupied by U.S. and British soldiers. Retired U.S. General Jay Garner served as the interim leader until Iraq could form a democratic form of government.