Iraq The People

35 Pages·2010·7.352 MB·English

by  April Fast

A Bobbie
Kalman Book

IR A Q
the people
April Fast
A Bobbie Kalman Book
The Lands, Peoples, and Cultures Series
Crabtree Publishing Company
www.crabtreebooks.com
The Lands, Peoples, and
Cultures Series
Photographs
AFP: Ahmad Al- Rubaye p. 5 (top); Sabah Arar:
p. 26 (bottom)
Created by Bobbie Kalman AP Photo: CP/ Laurent Rebours: p. 17; Ali Haider: p. 18 (top),
p. 29; Jassim Mohammed: p. 31 (left); Alexander
Zemlianichenko: p. 21 (right)
Author: April Fast Art Archive: Musée du Louvre Paris/Dagli Orti: p. 7 (right),
p.30 (bottom)
Third edition: Q2AMedia Art Directors: Ask Images: p. 25 (bottom); Jane Sweeney: p. 10
Editor:Adrianna Morganelli (left), p. 27 (right), p. 31 (right);
Associated Media Group: Peter Langer: title page, p. 25 (top)
Content and Photo editor: Kokila Manchanda Atlas Geographic: Fatih Pinar: p. 20 (left)
British Museum, London, UK: Bridgeman Art Library: p. 6,
Editorial director:Kathy Middleton
p. 10 (right); Ancient Art and Architecture Collection Ltd./
Production coordinator: Margaret Salter Bridgeman Art Library: p. 8 (top)
Corbis: Maher Attar/Magma: p. 23; Bettmann/ Magma:
Prepress technician: Margaret Salter
p.11 (left), p. 13 (right); Magma: p.12 (left), p. 16 (left);
Project manager:Kumar Kanul Gianni Dagli Orti/Magma: p. 7 (left); Araldo de
Luca/Magma: p. 9; Liz Hafalia/San Francisco
First and second editions Chronicle/Magma: p. 21 (left); Thomas Hartwell/ Magma: p.
Coordinating editor: Ellen Rodger 4 (right); Hulton-Deutsch Collection/ Magma: p. 12 (right), p.
Project editor: Rachel Eagen 13 (left); Charles & Josette Lenars/Magma: p. 3, p. 8
Production coordinator:Rosie Gowsell (bottom); Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle/Magma:
Project development:First Folio Resource Group, Inc. p. 24 (bottom); Jehad Nga/Magma: p. 30 (top); Jacques
Photo research: Maria DeCambra Pavlovsky/Magma: p. 15; Patrick Robert/Magma: p. 16
Consultants: Thabit Abdullah, Department of History, (right); David Turnley/Magma: p. 26 (top right); Michael S.
York University; Majid Aziza Yamashita/ Magma: p. 28 (right); Dean Conger: p. 19 (left);
Cover: A woman prepares wool for knitting a carpet in Michel Setboun: p. 19 (right); Michael S. Yamashita: p. 22
CP/Ron Cortes/KRT/ABACA: p. 24 (top)
Baghdad’s Sadr city.
Getty Images: Joseph Barrak/ AFP : p. 20 (right); Central Press:
Title page:A young man carefully balances a platter of breads p. 14; General Photographic Agency: p. 11 (right); Mario
covered with sesame seeds on his head. Tama: p. 4 (left)
Ivy Images: Nik Wheeler: p. 5 (bottom), p. 27 (left)
Icon:The Ma’dan, or Marsh Arabs, live in Iraq’s southern Photolibrary: Richard Ashworth: p. 18 (bottom)
marshlands. They traditionally use the marshes’ reeds to build Reuters: Kareem Raheem: cover; Nuhad Hussin: p. 28 (top)
homes with columns, arches, and vaulted roofs.
Illustrations
Back cover:Carp swim in almost every stream, river, and lake Dianne Eastman: icon
in Iraq, and they are raised on fish farms. Most carp caught in David Wysotski, Allure Illustrations: back cover
Iraq are eaten locally.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fast, April, 1968- Fast, April, 1968-
Iraq : the people / April Fast. -- Rev. ed. Iraq, the people / April Fast. -- Rev. ed.
p. cm. -- (The lands, peoples, and cultures series)
(Lands, peoples, and cultures series) "A Bobbie Kalman Book."
Includes index. Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-7787-9280-2 (bound).--ISBN 978-0-7787-9650-3 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-7787-9650-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-7787-9280-2 (reinforced
library binding : alk. paper)
1. Iraq--Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.
1. Iraq--Social conditions--Juvenile literature.
I. Title. II. Series: Lands, peoples, and cultures series DS70.62.F37 2010
956.7--dc22
HN670.A8F38 2010 j956.7 C2009-905131-1 2009034654
Crabtree Publishing Company
Printed in China/122009/CT20090915
www.crabtreebooks.com 1-800-387-7650
Copyright © 2010 CRABTREE PUBLISHING COMPANY. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
Crabtree Publishing Company. In Canada: We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry
Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities.
Published in Canada Published in the United States Published in the United Kingdom Published in Australia
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Contents
4 Living in an ancient land
6 The first settlements
9 Ruled by invaders
11 A country is born
15 Iraq under Saddam Hussein
18 The people of Iraq
22 Country life, city life
25 A bite of history
28 Off to school
30 Nasreen’s day
32 Glossary and Index
3
Living in an ancient land
A Kurdish girl wears brightly colored clothing and
a headdress to a traditional wedding celebration.
An ethnic mix
Many peoples from different ethnic and
religious backgrounds came together when the
country of Iraq was formed. Most people were
Arabs who followed the religion of Islam. There
was also a large group of Kurds who lived in
the mountains of the north. They followed
Islam, too. Communities of Christians,
Mandaeans, and others were also part of the
new country. Over time, these peoples came
together to create a united country, despite
periods of tension between groups.
The country of Iraq was created in 1921, but
people have lived on this ancient land for tens
of thousands of years. Iraq lies in the area known
as the Middle East, which borders the southern
and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
The country’s two main rivers, the Tigris and
Euphrates, have long provided the people living
there with water for transportation, fishing,
farming, and everyday living.
Many civilizations built cities on the banks
of the Tigris and Euphrates. Some cities were
destroyed by invading armies, while others
were abandoned and buried by floods and
sandstorms. New cities were built around and
even on top of the cities that came before them. Crowds of people shop at a busy street market
These newer cities are where the people of Iraq in Baghdad, where goods such as spices, rugs,
live today. jewelry, copperware, and antiques are sold.
4
Life in Iraq
Iraq’s people have suffered harsh treatment In the midst of a turbulent past and an
from governments they opposed, and they have unknown future, the people of Iraq strive to
endured wars with their neighbors and other maintain stability in their cities and countryside.
countries. These wars have devastated the Community and family define Iraqis’ lives
country with economic hardships and loss and help bring together the people of this
of lives. historic land.
(above) The Ma’dan, or Marsh Arabs, travel through their villages in boats made of tall grasses called reeds.
(top) This man heads to the mosque, a Muslim house of worship, to pray. Muslims pray five times a day:
before sunrise, in the early afternoon, in the late afternoon, after sunset, and at night.
5
The first settlements
Sumerians
This wooden panel, made with shells and a stone
called lapis lazuli, depicts life in the ancient
Sumerians settled in southern Mesopotamia
Sumerian kingdom, including a royal banquet
around 3500 B.C., in a region that became
and servants carrying gifts of livestock and fish
known as Sumer. They established the first cities
to the king.
along the Tigris and Euphrates. Soon, the cities
grew into larger areas called city-states, which
The area now known as Iraq was once called included neighboring towns, farmlands, and
Mesopotamia, which means “land between the palm groves. Kings ruled each city-state and
rivers” in Greek. People in this region, which often tried to take over other kings’ territory.
lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,
built ships, used wheeled wagons and carts, Most Sumerians farmed, fished, raised livestock,
invented writing, and made discoveries in and harvested date palms. Skilled craftspeople
medicine, science, and mathematics that are made sculptures and pottery, wove textiles,
still important today. madebaskets out of tall grasses called reeds,
andbuilt ships. To help them with their work,
Toward settlement
Sumerians invented the wheeled cart, the potter’s
About 10,000 years ago, nomadic peoples wheel, and other tools. They also developed a
traveled with their animals through counting system, a calendar, and the first form
Mesopotamia, searching for food and water. ofwriting, called cuneiform. Symbols and
They began setting up permanent villages in patterns were made by pressing a reed with
the northern foothills. Several families lived a wedge-shaped tip into clay. Sumerians also
together in the villages, growing crops and developed cylinder seals to sign documents
raising livestock. In clay ovens, they baked and mark personal property. Cylinder seals were
bread, fired pottery, and made tools, which long,narrow stones with patterns carved into
they traded with traveling merchants for them. They left a distinctive pattern when rolled
metals and precious stones. over clay.
6
Akkadians
The Akkadians lived north of the Sumerians.
Their capital was the city of Akkad, or Agade.
Around 2300 B.C., the Akkadian ruler King
Sargon I conquered most of Sumer and brought
many city-states under his rule. His dynasty
lasted until about 2200 B.C., when it was
weakened because of war. The Akkadian Empire
fell and, for the next hundred years, various
peoples struggled for control of the land.
The return of Sumerian rule
In 2100 B.C., Ur-Nammu, king of the
Sumerian city Ur, gained power over southern
Mesopotamia. The rules he established for his
kingdom became one of the world’s earliest
collections of laws, known today as the Code
of Ur-Nammu. After Ur-Nammu died, his King Hammurabi’s laws, which became known as
descendants expanded his empire. Their rule the Code of Hammurabi, were carved on stones
became known as the Third Dynasty of Ur. and placed in temples throughout Babylonia.
Over time, the dynasty began to lose power,
Babylonians
and the land was split into four kingdoms.
The rulers of those kingdoms fought with The four kingdoms of southern Mesopotamia
one another for control of the land. were unified once again in 1792 B.C. by the
Babylonian king Hammurabi. He made the city
of Babylon the capital of his empire, Babylonia,
which extended north to the region of Assyria.
Hammurabi organized great construction
projects, including temples, city walls, public
buildings, and canals, which are manmade
waterways. He also created his own set of laws
based on those of Ur-Nammu. The Babylonian
Empire remained strong until Hammurabi died
in 1750 B.C.
Hittites and Kassites
In 1595 B.C., Babylonia was raided by the Hittites,
a people from Anatolia, the land that is now
eastern Turkey. Around 1500 B.C., the Kassites
gained control. The Kassites, who are thought to
have come from the mountains east of Babylonia,
ruled for about 400 years. During their reign,
much of Babylonia was divided into large estates
that the king gave to his most loyal supporters.
Stone reliefs from the Hittite period depicted
The boundaries of the estates were recorded on
scenes from everyday life. In this relief, two
large stones called kudurrus, along with images
people play with a spinning top.
of the gods who watched over the land.
7
The Assyrian Empire
Assyria was an empire in northern
Mesopotamia that reached the height of its
power in 883 B.C. During that time, kings such
as Sargon II and Ashurbanipal sent out armies
to conquer new lands. Eventually, the Assyrian
Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf in the
east to Egypt and Palestine in the west. The
great Assyrian Empire came to an end in
612 B.C. when the Medes, who lived in
present-day Iran, and the Chaldeans, a
Babylonian people, fought each other for
control of the land. The main cities of the
Assyrian Empire were destroyed in these battles.
The Chaldean Empire
King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled from 605 to
562 B.C., was the most famous Chaldean king.
In his capital of Babylon, he built an enormous
palace that was protected by the Ishtar Gate,
named for the Babylonian goddess of fertility,
love, and war. He also built the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon on the ledges of a ziggurat. Plants
andtrees from all parts of his empire were
planted on the outer ledges of the terraced
The Assyrians were known as vicious warriors. ziggurat, creating multileveled rooftop gardens.
Their battles were carved in stone reliefs that The gardens were planted for the king’s wife,
decorated palaces in their main cities, such as who was homesick forthe mountains and
Nimrud and Nineveh. greenery of her homeland,Media.
Under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon became the site of new temples and palaces, such as
the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar.
8