What is the capital of Iraq?

The capital of Iraq is Baghdad.

Baghdad stands on the Tigris River in central Iraq and is the country’s largest city as well as its political center. Government ministries, diplomatic institutions, universities, museums, and major financial organizations are concentrated there. Its position along the Tigris helped make it an important crossroads between Mesopotamia, Iran, Syria, and the wider Arab world.

The Abbasid caliph al-Mansur founded Baghdad in AD 762. Its original circular plan became famous, and the city soon developed into the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. During the Islamic Golden Age, Baghdad was a major center of scholarship, translation, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. The House of Wisdom is especially associated with this intellectual flourishing.

A common mix-up is choosing Basra or Mosul, both historically important Iraqi cities. Basra is a major southern port near the Persian Gulf, while Mosul lies in the north on the Tigris. Erbil is also a prominent Iraqi city and the capital of the Kurdistan Region, but it is not the national capital. Baghdad has served as Iraq’s capital since the formation of the modern Iraqi state in the 20th century.