A Litany of Disasters

Abstract

Once Iraq, the land of the Euphrates and the Tigris, was one of the richest agricultural areas in the world. However, at the beginning of the 19th century almost nothing of that heritage was left. Already greatly in decline since the 9th century, from that time on the area was squashed between struggling and invading parties from the east, the west, the southwest and from inside the pashalik of Baghdad itself. The classical picture was changed profoundly by a number of factors: the Mongolian invasion, the long-term struggle between Ottomans and Persians, the incessant and growing incursions from Arabia, in addition to Kurdish raids and faction struggles.