July 14: Republic Day in Iraq
Prayer Idea
Pray for the people and government of Iraq.
Map by Peter Hermes Furian / Shutterstock.com.
History Note
The modern country of Iraq in the Middle East is the region known in Greek as Mesopotamia, “The Land Between the Rivers”. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers played a pivotal role in the development of the ancient civilizations of Sumer and Babylon.
The Biblical patriarch Abraham lived in the city of Ur in what is now southern Iraq. Jewish people were taken to Babylon as captives after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. According to tradition, the apostles Thomas and Thaddeus brought the gospel to Mesopotamia in the first century AD.
Persian empires controlled the area for several hundred years, with a brief period of control by the Romans. Arab Muslims conquered the region in the seventh century, followed by the Mongols in the 13th century, and the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century.
The British took control of the region during World War I. After the war, the British gradually turned over control to local leadership under King Faisal. Iraq became an independent member of the League of Nations in 1932.
When Faisal died in 1933, his son Ghazi became king. Ghazi died in a car accident in 1939. Ghazi’s son was not quite four years old, but he became King Faisal II with his uncle as regent.
A revolutionary group plotted the overthrow of the monarchy. On July 14, 1958, they captured the capital and executed the king and members of the royal family. They declared Iraq to be a republic, and July 14 is observed in Iraq as Republic Day.
In 1968 the Baath political party took control of the government. Saddam Hussein emerged as the leader in 1979 and ruled until 2003.
Iraq fought a long, costly war with Iran in the 1980s. It then invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1990. This led to the Persian Gulf War when the United States and its allies defeated Iraqi forces and liberated Kuwait.
In 2003 the United States led an effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Saddam was captured and executed for crimes against humanity.
People in Iraq have struggled to create a stable, unified government. The U.S. military operation from 2003 to 2011 had some successes and many challenges. Violence during this period led to many thousands of civilian casualties. Kurdish people in northern Iraq have advocated for greater autonomy or even independence. Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims have had disputes. And though Islam is the official religion of Iraq, the government has fought the Islamic State, a group which has sought to impose its own vision in the region.
This stamp commemorates the first anniversary of the July 14 revolution that created the Republic of Iraq. Photo by World of Stamps / Shutterstock.com.
Learn More
This newsreel describes the 1958 revolution in Iraq from a British perspective in the context of the Cold War.
Find other resources at Homeschool History.
