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Iraq is a nationality not ethnicity
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{{Infobox Ethnic group
| group = Iraqi people<br />'''الشعب العراقي'''<br />''{{transl|Arabic|Irāqīyūn}}''
| image = [[File:Izdubar.png|50px|Gilgamesh]][[File:Sargon_of_Akkad.jpg|50px|Sargon the Great]][[File:Hammurabi_bas-relief_in_the_U.S._House_of_Representatives_chamber.jpg|65px|Hammurabi]]<br />[[File:Nebukadnessar II.jpg|65px|Nebuchadnezzar II]][[File:Esarhaddon.jpg|65px|Esarhaddon]][[File:Kinadshburn.JPG|61px|Ashurbanipal]]<br />[[File:Mola_Ali.jpg|64px|Haydar Ali]][[File:Святой_Або_Тбилисский.jpg|65px|Abo of Tiflis]][[File:Ibn_al-Haytham.png|68px|Alhazen]][[File:Saladin2.jpg|66px|Saladin]][[File:Rashid_Ali_Al-Gaylani.jpg|63px|Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]][[File:Karim01_small.jpg|65px|Abd al-Karim Qasim]]<br/>[[File:Mohammad_Baqir_al-Sadr.jpg|63px|Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr]][[File:Patriarch.jpg|65px|Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly]][[File:Ammobabaasheadcoach.jpg|65px|Ammo Baba]][[File:Kazem Main.jpg|65px|Kathem&nbsp;Al-Saher]][[File:MBashir.jpg|65px|Munir Bashir]][[File:NASEER_in_IMA_5.4.08.JPG|65px|Naseer Shamma]]<br /><br /><div style="background-color:#fee8ab">1st row: [[Gilgamesh]]{{·}}[[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon the Great]]{{·}}[[Hammurabi]]<br/>2nd row: [[Nebuchadnezzar II]]{{·}}[[Esarhaddon]]{{·}}[[Ashurbanipal]]<br/>3nd row: [[Ali|Haydar Ali]]{{·}}[[Abo of Tiflis]]{{·}}[[Alhazen]]<br/>4nd row: [[Saladin]]{{·}}[[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]]{{·}}[[Abd al-Karim Qasim]]<br/>5nd row: [[Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr]]{{·}}[[Emmanuel III Delly]]{{·}}[[Ammo Baba]]<br/>6nd row: [[Kathem Al Saher|Kathem&nbsp;Al-Saher]]{{·}}[[Munir Bashir]]{{·}}[[Naseer Shamma]]</div>
| population = 37,000,000+
| region1 = {{flag|Iraq}}
| pop1 = 31,234,000
| ref1 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=433&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=83&pr.y=17|title=Iraq|publisher=International Monetary Fund|accessdate=2009-04-27}}</ref>
| region2 = {{flag|Syria}}
| pop2 = 2 million+
| ref2 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.offlinebaghdad.org/m-n-s-g|title=NGO's claim Iraqis have hit 2 million in Syria|accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
| region3 = {{flag|Jordan}}
| pop3 = 1-2 million
| ref3 = {{lower| }}
| region4 = {{flag|Iran}}
| pop4 = 500,000+
| ref4 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netnative.com/news/01/may/1003.html|title=500,000 Iraqis in Iran|accessdate=2010-12-10}}</ref>
| region5 = {{flag|Turkey}}
| pop5 = 500,000+
| ref5 = <ref name='JP'>{{cite web|url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=TU|title=Ethnic groups of Turkey|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[Joshua Project]]}}</ref>
| region6 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| pop6 = 450,000+
| ref6 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_IRAQ.pdf|title=The Iraqi Embassy estimates that the Iraqi population is around 350,000-450,000|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[International Organization for Migration]]}}</ref>
| region7 = {{flag|Brazil}}
| pop7 = 340,000+
| ref7 =
| region8 = {{flag|Egypt}}
| pop8 = 150,000+
| ref8 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/backgrounder/refugees/iraq0407/4.htm|title=Iraqis In Egypt|accessdate=2007-08-18|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch|HRW]]}}</ref>
| region9 = {{flag|Germany}}
| pop9 = 150,000+
| ref9 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecre.org/positions/Iraq_Quest_Summary_Apr04.shtml|title=Population pressures|accessdate=2007-08-19|publisher=[[European Council on Refugees and Exiles|ECRE]]|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070807230323/http://www.ecre.org/positions/Iraq_Quest_Summary_Apr04.shtml|archivedate=2007-08-07}}</ref>
| region10 = {{flagcountry|United States}}
| pop10 = 140,000+
| ref10 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aaiusa.org/pages/demographics|title=Arab American Demographics|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[Arab American Institute]]}}</ref>
| region11 = {{flag|Sweden}}
| pop11 = 120,000+
| ref11 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ssd.scb.se/databaser/makro/produkt.asp?produktid=BE0101&lang=2|title=Statistics Sweden|accessdate=2010-12-15|publisher=[[Statistics Sweden]]}}</ref>
| region12 = {{flag|Kuwait}}
| pop12 = 100,000+
| ref12 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=KU|title=Ethnic groups of Kuwait|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[Joshua Project]]}}</ref>
| region13 = {{flag|Lebanon}}
| pop13 = 100,000+
| ref13 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/news/2007049133807.htm|title=Iraqis in Lebanon|accessdate=2007-08-15|publisher=aina.org|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070929084017/http://www.aina.org/news/2007049133807.htm|archivedate=2007-09-29}}</ref>
| region14 = {{flag|UAE}}
| pop14 = 100,000+
| ref14 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buzzflash.com/mediawatch/05/01/wmw05009.html|title=More than 100,000 Iraqis living in the UAE|accessdate=2010-12-10}}</ref>
| region15 = {{flag|Yemen}}
| pop15 = 100,000+
| ref15 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/jordan1106/8.htm|title=Iraqis In Yemen|accessdate=2007-09-08|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch|HRW]]}}</ref>
| region16 = {{flag|Australia}}
| pop16 = 80,000+
| ref16 = <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Fear-checks-turnout-for-Iraq-poll/2005/01/21/1106110948104.html|title=Australian Iraqi population estimated to be as high as 80,000|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=2005-01-22}}</ref>
| region17 = {{flag|Netherlands}}
| pop17 = 60,000+
| ref17 =
| region18 = {{flag|Cuba}}
| pop18 = 40,000+
| ref18 =
| region19 = {{flag|Greece}}
| pop19 = 5,000–40,000+
| ref19 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/reports/aoticig.pdf|title=Iraqi community in Greece|accessdate=2007-08-14|publisher=[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]]}}</ref>
| region20 = .
| pop20 = '''[[Iraqi diaspora|more countries]]'''
| ref20 =
| languages = [[Iraqi Arabic|Arabic]] (79%), [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] (17%)<br/>[[Neo-Aramaic languages|Aramaic]] (3%), [[South Azeri language|Turkmen]] (1%)<br/>'''Ancient languages'''<br/>[[Sumerian language|Sumerian]], [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]
| religions = [[Islam]] (95%)<br/>'''Others'''<br/>[[Christianity]], [[Mandaeism]], [[Judaism]], and [[Religion in Iraq|others]]
| related = [[Arab people|Arabs]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Bahrani people|Bahranis]], [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasians]], [[Egyptian people|Egyptians]], [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]], [[Kurdish people|Kurds]], [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], [[Palestinian people|Palestinians]], [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Syrian people|Syrians]], [[Turkish people|Turks]]<br /><small>[[Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA)|Y-DNA Haplogroup J2]] originated in northern Iraq <ref name='Zahery'>{{cite web|url=http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/Al_Zahery.pdf|title=N. Al-Zahery et al. "Y-chromosome and mtDNA polymorphisms in Iraq, a crossroad of the early human dispersal and of post-Neolithic migrations" (2003)|accessdate=2010-12-10}}</ref></small>}}
 
The '''Iraqi people''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: الشعب العراقي ''al-shaab al-ʿIrāqī'', [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]: گه‌لی عیراق ''gelê Îraqê'', {{lang-syr|ܥܡܐ ܥܝܪܩܝܐ}} ''ʿmma ʿIrāqāyā'') or '''Mesopotamian people''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: شعب بلاد ما بين النهرين) are natives or inhabitants of the country of '''[[Iraq]]''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/iraqi|title=Iraqi – a native or inhabitant of Iraq|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[Reference.com]]}}</ref> known since antiquity as ''[[Mesopotamia]]'' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: بلاد الرافدين), with a [[Iraqi diaspora|large diaspora]] throughout the [[Arab World]], [[Europe]], the [[Americas]], and [[Australasia]]. From late [[Assyria]]n and [[Babylonia]]n times until the early [[Islam]]ic era, the Iraqi people spoke [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] but also witnessed a minority [[Arab people|Arab]] presence, like [[Bani Assad]], [[Taghlib]], [[Banu Tamim]] and [[Lakhmids|Lakhmid]] tribes among others.<ref name='AP'>{{cite book|last=Ramirez-Faria|first=Carlos|title=Concise Encyclopaedia of World History|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|year=2007|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gGKsS-9h4BYC|page=33|isbn=8126907754}}</ref><ref name='EB'>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31522/Araba|title=Araba (ancient state, Iraq)|publisher=[[Britannica]]|accessdate=2010-11-23}}</ref>
 
[[Arabic language|Arabic]] had been a minority language in Iraq since the 8th century BC,<ref name='AP' /><ref name='UCM'>{{cite journal|author=Blázquez Martínez, José María|authorlink=:es:José María Blázquez Martínez|year=2006|title=Arabia, the Arabs and the Persian Gulf. A Dissertation of Ancient Sources|journal=Gerión|volume=24|issue=2|pages=7–20|publisher=[[Complutense University of Madrid]]|issn=0213-0181|url=http://europa.sim.ucm.es/compludoc/AA?articuloId=692288&donde=castellano&zfr=0|accessdate=2011-03-15}}</ref> it was spoken in [[Kingdom of Araba|Hatra]] in the 1st and 2nd centuries,<ref name='EB'/> and by [[Lakhmids|Iraqi Christians]] in [[Al-Hirah]] from the 3rd century,<ref name='EB2'>{{cite web | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/328265/Lakhmid-dynasty | title = Lakhmid Dynasty (Arabian dynasty) | publisher = [[Britannica]] | accessdate = 2010-11-23 }}</ref> and from the 8th century following the [[Muslim_conquest_of_Persia#First_conquest_of_Mesopotamia_.28633.29|Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia]] it became the common language of Iraqi Muslims, due to Arabic being the language of the [[Qur'an]] and the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Caliphate]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=John Morris|authorlink=John Roberts (historian)|title=History of the World|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1993|page=265}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rodinson|first=Maxime|authorlink=Maxime Rodinson|title=The Arabs|year=1981|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=0709903774|page=56}}</ref> This change was facilitated by the fact that Arabic being a [[Semitic languages|Semitic language]], shared a close resemblance to Iraq's traditional languages of [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] and [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]. Some of Iraq's Christians and Mandaeans retained dialects of Aramaic, since it remained the liturgical language of their faiths. [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]-speaking Iraqis live in the mountainous [[Zagros Mountains|Zagros]] region of northeast Iraq to the east of the upper [[Tigris]]. The Kurds and Arabs of Mesopotamia have interacted and intermarried for well over a millennium. Modern genetic studies indicate that Iraqi Arabs and Kurds are very closely related.<ref name='CS'>Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi, Alberto Piazza, The History and Geography of Human Genes, p. 242</ref><ref name='Genetic'>{{cite web|url=http://www.atour.com/health/images/genetics.gif|title=Cavalli-Sforza et al. Genetic tree of West Asia|accessdate=2010-12-10}}</ref> Arabic and Kurdish are Iraq's national languages.
 
==Cultural history==
{{main|History of Iraq|Culture of Iraq}}
The Iraqi people have an ancient cultural history and civilization. In ancient and medieval times Mesopotamia was the political and cultural centre of many great empires. The ancient Iraqi civilization of [[Sumer]] is the oldest known [[civilization]] in the world, and thus Iraq is widely known as the [[cradle of civilization]]. Iraq remained an important centre of civilization for millennia, up until the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] (of which [[Baghdad]] was the [[Capital city|capital]]), which was the most advanced empire of the [[Middle Ages|medieval world]] (see [[Islamic Golden Age]]).
 
Further information on Iraq's civilization and cultural history can be found in the following chronology of Iraqi history:
 
*[[Jarmo]] (7000 – 5000 BC)
*[[Sumer]] (6500 – 1940 BC)
:*[[Ubaid period]] (6500 – 4000 BC)
:*[[Uruk period]] (4000 – 3000 BC)
:*[[History_of_Sumer#Early_Dynastic_period|Early Dynastic period]] (3000 – 2334 BC)
:*[[Akkadian Empire]] (2334 – 2218 BC)
:*[[Gutian dynasty of Sumer|Gutian dynasty]] (2218 – 2047 BC)
:*[[Third Dynasty of Ur|Neo-Sumerian Empire]] (2047 – 1940 BC)
*[[Babylonia|Sumer and Akkad]] (1900 – 539 BC)
:*[[Assyria]] (1900 – 609 BC)
:*[[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (745 – 626 BC)
:*[[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] (626 – 539 BC)
*[[Achaemenid Empire]] (539 – 330 BC)
:*[[Achaemenid Assyria]] (539 – 330 BC)
*[[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid Babylonia]] (331 – 141 BC)
*[[Parthian Empire|Parthian Babylonia]] (141 BC – 224)
:*[[Kingdom of Araba|Araba]] (100 BC – 240)
:*[[Adiabene]] (15 – 116)
*[[Sassanid Empire]] (224 – 638)
:*[[Asuristan]] (224 – 638)
:*[[Lakhmids]] (266 – 633)
*[[Islamic Golden Age]] (632 – 1258)
:*[[Rashidun Caliphate]] (638 – 661)
:*[[Umayyad Caliphate]] (661 – 750)
:*[[Abbasid Caliphate]] (750 – 1258)
*[[Ilkhanate]] (1258 – 1335)
*[[History_of_Mesopotamia#Middle_Ages_to_Early_Modern_Period|Turkic dynasties]] (1335 – 1501)
:*[[Jalayirids|Jalayirid Sultanate]] (1335 – 1410)
:*[[Kara Koyunlu]] (1410 – 1468)
:*[[Ak Koyunlu]] (1468 – 1501)
*[[Safavid dynasty]] (1501 – 1533)
*[[Ottoman Iraq|Ottoman Empire]] (1533 – 1918)
:*[[Mamluk rule in Iraq|Mamluk dynasty]] (1747 – 1831)
*[[British Mandate of Mesopotamia]] (1920 – 1932)
*[[Kingdom of Iraq]] (1932 – 1958)
*[[Iraq|Republic of Iraq]] (1958 –)
 
==Historical names==
*'''Iraqis''', from [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: {{lang|ar|عراقيين}} ''{{transl|Arabic|ʻIrāqīyīn}}''; from {{lang|ar|العراق}} ''{{transl|Arabic|al-ʿIrāq}}'', from [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]: ''[[Uruk|Erech]]''. The contemporary name comes from the Aramaic name of [[Uruk]] (''Erech''), which became the designation for [[Babylonia]] some time after the decline of [[Babylon]] under the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] and [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] occupations. This name rendered as العراق ''{{transl|Arabic|al-ʿIrāq}}'' in Arabic, became established during the [[Islamic Golden Age|Islamic period]] as the designation for Babylonia.<ref name=MTB>{{cite book|last=Bernhardsson|first=Magnus Thorkell|title=Reclaiming a Plundered Past: Archaeology and Nation Building in Modern Iraq|year=2005|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|isbn=0292709471|pages=98; 97}}</ref> Over the last millennium its usage by governors and geographers increasingly came to comprehend upper Mesopotamia (ancient [[Assyria]] / contemporary [[Iraq|northern Iraq]] and [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]).<ref name=RV>{{cite journal|last=Visser|first=Reidar|title=Proto-political conceptions of ‘Iraq’ in late Ottoman times|journal=International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies|year=2009|month=Nov.|volume=3|issue=2|pages=143–154|url=http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/abs/10.1386/ijcis.3.2.143/1?journalCode=jcis}}</ref>
 
*'''Mesopotamians''', from [[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Μεσοποτάμιοι}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Mesopotάmioi}}''; from {{lang|grc|Μεσοποταμία}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Mesopotamίa}}'' (''"Land between [the] rivers"''). This was the [[Classical antiquity|classical]] name used by the [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] after the 4th century BC.<ref name='JNES'>{{cite journal|last=Finkelstein|first=J. J.|title=Mesopotamia|journal=[[Journal of Near Eastern Studies]]|year=1962|month=Apr.|volume=21|issue=2|pages=73–92}}</ref> It is derived from the [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]: ''[[Beth Nahrain]]'' ([[Neo-Aramaic languages|Neo-Aramaic]]: ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ) (''"House of [the] rivers"'') which is attested since the 10th century BC as a designation for upper Mesopotamia.<ref name='JNES'/> The name was used briefly after [[World War I]] during the [[British Mandate of Mesopotamia]], as it was the common name in [[Europe]] by which the region was known.<ref name=MTB/> It would probably be in use today however the name became tarnished by [[colonialism]] during the [[British Mandate of Mesopotamia|British occupation]], and the Iraqi state therefore decided to use the [[Exonym and endonym|endonym]] ''Iraq'' (العراق al-ʻIrāq) as the official name.
 
*'''Anbāṭ''', In the early Islamic period, the [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian Arabs]] referred to the people of Iraq as ''al-Anbāṭ'' (sg. ''Nabaṭ'') (''Nabataean'').<ref name='MM'>{{cite book|last=Morony|first=Michael G.|authorlink=Michael G. Morony|title=Iraq after the Muslim conquest|year=2005|publisher=[[Gorgias Press|Gorgias Press LLC]]|isbn=1593333153|pages=<sup>a</sup>169–170; <sup>b</sup>169–170; <sup>c</sup>176; <sup>d</sup>176–180; <sup>e</sup>176–180}}</ref> They also referred to the people of [[Greater Syria|Syria]] by the same name.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Clifford Edmund|authorlink=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|title=The Mediaeval Islamic Underworld|year=1976|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|isbn=9004045023|page=255}}</ref> Analogous to how the [[Egyptians]] were referred to as ''Copts'' ({{lang|ar|قبط}} ''{{transl|Arabic|qubṭ}}'') by the Arabs.
 
==Genetics==
{{cquote|The Iraqi population is without doubt much the same today as it was in Sumerian and Babylonian times.|20px||Professor of Anthropology [[Carleton S. Coon]]|[[The Races of Europe (Coon)|The Races of Europe]].<ref name=CSC>{{cite book|last=Coon|first=Carleton S.|authorlink=Carleton S. Coon|title=[[The Races of Europe (Coon)|The Races of Europe]]|year=1972|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood Press]]|isbn=9780837163284|page=413}}</ref>}}
The Iraqi people are a light skinned [[Caucasian race|Caucasian]] people. It has been found that [[Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA)|Y-DNA Haplogroup J2]] originated in northern Iraq.<ref name='Zahery' /> In spite of the importance of this region, genetic studies on the Iraqi people are limited and generally restricted to analysis of classical markers due to Iraq's modern political instability,<ref name='Zahery' /> although there have been several published studies displaying the genealogical connection between all Iraqi people and the neighbouring countries, across religious and linguistic barriers. One such study reveals a close genetic relationship between [[Iraq]]is, [[Kurdish people|Kurds]], [[Caspian languages|Caspian Iranians]] and [[Svan people|Svani]] [[Georgians]].<ref name=CS/>
 
Many historians and anthropologists provide strong circumstantial evidence to posit that Iraq's [[Marsh Arabs|Maʻdān]] people share very strong links to the ancient Sumerians - the most ancient inhabitants of southern Iraq, and that Iraq's [[Mandaeans]] share the strongest links to the Babylonians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.simplysharing.com/sumerians.htm|title=Iraq's Marsh Arabs|accessdate=2010-12-10}}</ref> The Beni Delphi (sons of Delphi) tribe of Iraq is believed to have [[Greeks|Greek]] origins, from the Macedonian soldiers of [[Alexander the Great]] and the colonists of the [[Seleucid Empire]].
 
The [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] Christian population are closely related to other [[Iraq]]is,<ref name=Genetic/> and also to [[Jordan]]ians, yet due to religious [[endogamy]] have a distinct genetic profile that distinguishes their population.<ref name="ReferenceA">Dr. Joel J. Elias, Emeritus, University of California, The Genetics of Modern Assyrians and their Relationship to Other People of the Middle East</ref> "The Assyrians are a fairly homogeneous group of people, believed to originate from the land of old Assyria in northern Iraq", and "they are Christians and are bona fide descendants of their namesakes."<ref>Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi, Alberto Piazza, The History and Geography of Human Genes, p. 243</ref>
 
Studies have reported that most [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[British people|Britons]] are descendants of farmers who left modern day [[Iraq]] and [[Syria]] 10,000 years ago.<ref name='Neolithic'>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1244654/Study-finds-Britons-descended-farmers-left-Iraq-Syria-10-000-years-ago.html|title=Most Britons descended from male farmers who left Iraq and Syria 10,000 years ago|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[Daily Mail]]|location=London|first=David|last=Derbyshire|date=2010-01-20}}</ref> Genetic researchers say they have found compelling evidence that four out of five (80% of) [[White people|white]] [[Europe]]ans can trace their roots to the [[Near East]].<ref name=Neolithic/> In another study, scientists analysed [[DNA]] from the 8,000 year-old remains of early farmers found at an ancient graveyard in [[Germany]]. They compared the genetic signatures to those of modern populations and found similarities with the DNA of people living in today's [[Turkey]] and [[Iraq]].<ref name='BBC'>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11729813|title=Migrants from the Near East 'brought farming to Europe'|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=2010-11-10}}</ref>
 
==Identity==
{{Main|Iraqi nationalism}}
The single identity and heritage of the Iraqi people is most commonly seen in the [[Iraqi cuisine]]. Iraqi cuisine has changed and evolved since the time of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Abbasids; however several traditional Iraqi dishes have already been traced back to antiquity <ref>{{cite book|last=Nasrallah|first=Nawal|title=Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine|year=2003|publisher=[[AuthorHouse|1stBooks]]|isbn=140334793X}}</ref> such as Iraq's national dish [[Masgouf]] and Iraq's national cookie [[Kleicha]], which can be traced back to Sumerian times.<ref>{{cite book|last=Marks|first=Gil|authorlink=Gil Marks|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|year=2010|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=0470391308|page=317|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ojc4Uker_V0C&pg=PA317&lpg=PA317#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>
 
Nowadays, the demonym "Iraqi" includes all minorities in the country, such as the [[Kurds]] and [[Iraqi Turkmens|Turkmen]] (although these groups often specify their ethnicity by adding a suffix such as "Iraqi Kurdish" or "Iraqi Turkmen").
 
Swiss-Iraqi author [[Salim Matar]] writes that Iraqi people claim that:
{{cquote|We are Iraqis. We go back to the ancient [[Mesopotamia]]ns.|20px|}}
 
==Language==
===Contemporary===
Iraq's national languages are [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]. Arabic is spoken as a first language by around 79 percent of Iraqi people, and Kurdish by around 17 percent. The two main regional dialects of Arabic spoken by the Iraqi people are [[Iraqi Arabic|Mesopotamian Arabic]] (spoken by approximately 18.1 million Iraqis) and [[North Mesopotamian Arabic]] (spoken by approximately 7.8 million Iraqis in Iraq's north around the city of [[Mosul]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_profiles/2004-2005/Iraq.html|title=Country Profile: Iraq|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[Mongabay]]}}</ref> The two main dialects of Kurdish spoken by Kurdish Iraqis are [[Soranî]] (spoken in the cities of [[Arbil]] and [[Sulaymaniyah]])<ref name='KRG'>{{cite web|url=http://www.krg.org/articles/detail.asp?lngnr=12&smap=03010500&rnr=142&anr=18694|title=The Kurdish language|publisher=[[Kurdistan Regional Government|KRG]]|accessdate=2010-12-12}}</ref> and [[Kurmanji]] (spoken in [[Duhok, Iraq|Duhok]]).<ref name='KRG' /> In addition to Arabic, most Christian Iraqis ([[Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people|Assyrians/Chaldeans]]) and some [[Mandaeism|Mandaean Iraqis]] speak [[Neo-Aramaic languages|Neo-Aramaic]] dialects, and around 1 percent of Iraqi people speak [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[South Azeri language|Turkmen]] respectively.
 
The vast majority of [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] and [[Neo-Aramaic languages|Aramaic]]–speaking Iraqis also speak [[Iraqi Arabic]].<ref name='KRG'/>
 
===Linguistic history===
[[File:Cuneiform script.jpg|thumb|right|A 6th century BC [[Babylonia]]n [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] inscription. The Akkadian language was in written use in Iraq until the 1st century AD]]
At the time of the [[Muslim_conquest_of_Persia#First_conquest_of_Mesopotamia_.28633.29|Islamic conquest]] in the 7th century, the majority of Iraqis spoke [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]],<ref name='MM'/> having adopted this language in the early to mid 1st millennium BC during the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] and [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonian]] empires. Prior to this adoption of Aramaic, Iraqis had spoken [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] since the late 3rd millennium BC, and [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] for millennia prior to that. The Sumerian and Akkadian languages remained in written use in Iraq until the late 1st century AD.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kipfer|first=Barbara Ann|authorlink=Barbara Ann Kipfer|title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology|year=2000|publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]|isbn=9780306461583|page=542}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hooker|first=J. T.|title=Reading the Past: Ancient Writing from Cuneiform to the Alphabet|year=1990|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=9780520074316|page=27}}</ref>
 
Akkadian and Aramaic are both [[Semitic language]]s closely related to the [[Arabic language]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=De Laet|first1=Sigfried J.|last2=Dani|first2=Ahmad Hasan|authorlink2=Ahmad Hasan Dani|title=History of Humanity: From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century B.C.|year=1996|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|isbn=9789231028113|page=230}}</ref> while Sumerian is a [[language isolate]].
 
Small numbers of Arabic-speakers had been settling in Iraq since the early 1st millennium BC,<ref name='MM'/> however they usually became Aramaicized after a few generations in the country.<ref name='MM'/> Though there were a few Arabic-speaking cities during the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] and [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanian]] eras, such as [[Kingdom of Araba|Hatra]] and [[Lakhmids|Al-Hirah]] respectively.<ref name='EB'/><ref name='EB2'/>
 
Shortly following the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun]] Islamic conquest, the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] was established in 661 AD. At the end of the 7th century, the fifth [[Umayyad family tree|Umayyad]] [[Caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] ([[Reign|r.]] 685–705) established [[Arabic language|Arabic]] as the [[official language]] of the state.<ref>{{cite book|last=Phillips|first=Douglas A.|title=Syria (Modern World Nations)|year=2010|publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]]|isbn=9781604136173|page=34}}</ref> Over the next couple of centuries, most people in the empire including most Iraqis, became [[Arabization|Arabicized]]. By the end of the 8th or 9th century, Arabic had largely replaced Aramaic in Iraq. An Aramaic [[vernacular]] was retained only by small minorities who didn't convert to the popular [[Islam]]ic faith. There were also small numbers of [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian]]s who settled in Iraq during this time, and many Iraqis became affiliated with [[Arab tribes in Iraq|Arab tribes]], as was customary.
 
The point at which Aramaicization (whereby Arabs settling in Iraq became Aramaicized) gave way to Arabicization seems to have been around the mid eighth century,<ref name='MM'/> around the time of the establishment of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] in [[Baghdad]], and shortly after [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] [[Caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] had made Arabic the official language of the state.
 
Notwithstanding their historical [[Language shift|adoption]] of Arabic during the [[Caliphate]], the majority of Iraqis are distinctly aware of their [[Babylonia]]n and [[Assyria]]n descent, and are highly proud of their ancient and ancestral [[Mesopotamia|pre-Islamic]] heritage, as they are of their medieval [[Islamic Golden Age|Islamic]] heritage. Analogous to the modern [[Egyptians]] who were also Arabicized during the Caliphate.
 
In addition, since the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid era]] in the mid 1st millennium BC, through the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanian era]] in the mid 1st millennium AD, and to the present time, there has been a small [[Persian people|Persian]] minority and a bilingual [[Persian language|Persian]]-speaking minority in Iraq.<ref name='EI'>{{cite web|last=Morony|first=Michael G|authorlink=Michael G. Morony|title=IRAQ i. IN THE LATE SASANID AND EARLY ISLAMIC ERAS|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iraq-i-late-sasanid-early-islamic|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]|accessdate=2011-09-03}}</ref> During the Sassanian era (224–638), Iraq was the core of the empire,<ref name='EI'/> and many urban Iraqis were conversant in [[Middle Persian|Persian]] as a [[second language]].<ref name='EI'/>
 
Linguistic chronology of the Iraqi people:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
| <small>'''[[Language isolate|Isolate]]'''</small>
| <small>'''[[East Semitic languages|Semitic]]'''</small>
| <small>'''[[Central Semitic languages|Semitic]]'''</small>
| <small>'''[[Central Semitic languages|Semitic]]'''</small>
|-
| [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]
| [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]
| [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]]
| [[Arabic language|Arabic]]
|-
| 3500 BC<small><sup>1</sup></small> →
| 2200 BC →
| 700 BC →
| 800 AD →
|}
<small><sup>1</sup>First attestation.</small>
 
==Religion==
[[File:ImamAliMosqueNajafIraq.JPG|thumb|200px|The [[Imam Ali Mosque|Imām ‘Alī Mosque]] in [[Najaf]], [[Iraq]]]]
Iraq has many devout followers of its religions. In 1968 the Iraqi constitution established [[Islam]] as the official religion of the state as the majority of Iraqis (97%) are Muslim (both [[Shia Islam|Shīʻah]] and [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]).
 
In addition to Islam, many Iraqi people are Christians belonging to various Christian denominations, some of which are the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] ([[Chaldean Christians]]), the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], and the [[Assyrian Church of the East]]. Their numbers inside Iraq have dwindled considerably and range between 500,000 and 800,000; around 2% of the population.
 
Other religious groups include [[Mandaeism|Mandaeans]], [[Shabak people|Shabaks]], [[Yazidi]]s and followers of other [[minority religion]]s. Furthermore, [[History of the Jews in Iraq|Jews]] had also been present in Iraq in significant numbers historically, but their population dwindled, after virtually all of them [[Operation Ezra and Nehemiah|fled to Israel]] between 1949 to 1952.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/world/middleeast/01babylon.html|title=Baghdad Jews Have Become a Fearful Few|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|first=Stephen|last=Farrell|date=2008-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1647740,00.html|title=The Last Jews of Baghdad|date=2007-07-27|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|accessdate=2010-12-15|first=David|last=Van Biema}}</ref>
 
==Diaspora==
{{Main|Iraqi diaspora|Refugees of Iraq}}
The Iraqi diaspora is not a sudden exodus but one that has grown exponentially through the 20th century as each generation faced some form of radical transition or political conflict. From 1950 to 1952 Iraq saw a great exodus of roughly 120,000 - 130,000 of its Jewish population under the Israel-led "[[Operation Ezra and Nehemiah]]". There were at least two large waves of expatriation of both Christians and Muslims alike. A great number of Iraqis left the country during the regime of [[Saddam Hussein]] and large numbers have left during the [[Second Gulf War]] and its aftermath. The [[United Nations]] estimates that roughly 40% of Iraq's remaining and formerly strong middle-class have fled the country following the [[U.S.]]-led invasion in 2003.
 
As a consequence of eight years of [[United States|U.S.]]-led military occupation and massive terrorism introduced by the occupation, Iraqis currently form the second largest refugee group in the world numbering over 1.8 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html|title=Iraqis are the second largest refugee group in the world, with an estimated 1.8 million seeking refuge primarily in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[UNHCR]]}}</ref> The [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]] estimates that over 4.7 million Iraqis have been displaced during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html|title=UNHCR – Iraq|accessdate=2010-12-10|publisher=[[UNHCR]]}}</ref>
 
==See also==
*[[Demographics of Iraq]]
*[[List of Iraqis]]
 
==External links==
*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8213001278676327450# History of the Iraqi people]
*[http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/nov/10/ancient-world-mesopotamia Mesopotamia: Birthplace of civilisation]
*[http://www.irisprojects.umd.edu/ppc_ideas/Iraq_Assessment/Secure/full_paper.pdf Iraqi identity - Forces for Integration/ Divisiveness]
*[http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/Al_Zahery.pdf Y-chromosome and mtDNA polymorphisms in Iraq]
*[http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Iraq/default.aspx The Iraq DNA project]
 
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
<br />
{{Iraq topics}}
{{Iraqi diaspora}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iraqi People}}
[[Category:Iraqi people| ]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Fertile Crescent]]
[[Category:Muslim communities]]
 
[[ar:عراقيون]]
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