Population - An estimated 5 million.

Baghdad sprawls 40 miles by 20 miles, with the Tigris River snaking through it.

A six-lane highway rings the city and links it to other provinces. A spoke of the ring road leads into downtown, site of government offices and Saddam's power centers. Flush with oil money in the 1970s, Baghdad was transformed into a thoroughly modern metropolis with the some of the best universities and hospitals in the Arab world. Older parts were torn down and replaced by elevated highways and modern apartment buildings. But years of war and economic sanctions have left Baghdad a moldering Middle Eastern capital.

Palaces - The "Old Palace" compound is Saddam's principal palace and the official seat of government, stretching for 1.7 miles on the west bank of the Tigris River in the heart of the city. The compound includes a Republican Guard camp and the offices of the prime minister's staff, the Cabinet and other presidential units. It has been bombed repeatedly by coalition forces.

Other Landmarks - Baghdad is dotted by numerous Saddam statues and billboard-sized portraits. More traditional landmarks include the 9th Century Great Shrine of al-Mutawakkil just outside the city. Mosques and Islamic tombs and shrines are more recent, but still date back 1,000 years or more. Baghdad is also home to Ctesiphon, the world's widest single-span arch of unreinforced brickwork. The Iraqi Museum is the largest in the Middle East.

History - Baghdad was founded in 732 by Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur as the capital for his rising Muslim Abbasid empire. Al-Mansur's engineers liked the site because of its location at a point where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near each other and a stretch of desert providing natural protective features. "The site is excellent as a military camp," al-Mansur declared after touring the area, calling it "a "city of peace." Baghdad has since been invaded by Arabs, Mongols, Persians, Ottomans and the British. U.S. forces now stand poised to invade the city.

Other Major Cities:
• Basra
• Mosul
• Karbala
• Arbil
• Ar Rutbah
• Al-Salman