Following the Assyrians, power was held by the Babylonians, Greeks, Parthians, Romans, and Persians. Persian rule was overthrown by the Muslim invasions of the 7th century AD. In time, Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphs became for four centuries the richest, most powerful, most learned and most beautiful city in the world.
All this was destroyed by the Mongol invasion of 1258AD when at least 200,000 of the city's inhabitants were slain - the first of many mass-murders in that city. In the footsteps of the Mongols came the Turks, who ruled the predominantly Arab population from 1533 to 1918.
In the breakup of the Ottoman Empire following the First World War, Iraq was granted as a mandate to Great Britain, whose rule was marked by multiple revolts and the use of modern weapons to suppress ill-armed tribesmen.
Britain granted Iraq independence in 1932, though retained much power. As elsewhere, Britain made the mistake of putting power almost exclusively in the hands of one part of the population - in this case the Sunni Muslim elites - ignoring the claims of the majority Shia population.
A corrupt monarchy gave way to a succession to a variety of inept and venal dictatorships, leading to takeover by the Baath Party in 1968. By 1979 the Baath Party, and hence Iraq, was firmly under the control of Saddam Hussein.
The Shi'ite Islamic Revolution in neighbouring Iran was seen as a very threatening example for Iraq's restive Shia majority and this led to war with Iran in 1980. During this war Saddam's forces attacked Iranian soldiers and civilians with chemical weapons. In time, members of the Kurdish minority and other dissenters in Iraq would also face chemical weapons.
The Iran war was an economic disaster for Iraq, and in order to boost the economy and restore prestige, in 1990 Saddam invaded the neighbouring rich state of Kuwait. This led directly to the first Gulf War, when western forces invaded much of Iraq. Sanctions and pressure on Saddam, and suspicion of his supposed desire for nuclear weapons, led to the second Gulf War of 2003, when Saddam and his regime was destroyed.
This however has not led to peace for Iraq. Weak successor governments have been unable to curb inter-communal violence, with almost daily bombings and many innocent victims. Thousands of Iraqis have fled abroad.
The Kurdish minority in the north and Shia Arabs in the south both want independence, whilst Sunni and Shia militias vie for power in central Iraq.
Economically, this fertile country with significant oil wealth has been improversheed by decades of mis-management. With western help progress is being made, but very slowly.
Most Iraqis long only for peace, and look fearfully at the growing influence of Islamic radicalism which threatens the long-established way of life of cosmopolitan Baghdad.
Christians in Iraq
Iraq has historically been home to many ancient Christian communities who have survived many vicissitudes since New Testament times. In the mid-20th century, Assyrian Christians of various rites probably accounted for 10% of Iraq's population, though that may have declined to 2% today.
In November 2010, many Christians were killed by suicide bombers who had taken a cathedral congregation hostage. This was followed by a statement from Al Qaeda that all Christians should leave Iraq or be killed, and the acceptance by an influential Syrian Orthodox Bishop that this may be the only choice for Iraq's Christians.
