National Geographic Countries of the World: Iraq

All American students need to know about the land known historically as Mesopotamia, or the "Cradle of Civilization."

Mesopotamia's Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilizations produced much of the world's earliest writing, science, mathematics, legal systems and philosophy. The Republic of Iraq was established in 1919 and granted independence in 1932. Iraq's complex history took a new turn with the US-led invasion in 2003. The country's oil provides about 95% of its foreign exchange earnings.