Baghdad, in Iraq, has been an important city for Arabic culture for centuries. It was originally founded in 764 A.D. by second Abbasid caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur, and called Madinat as-Salam, or the City of Peace. It was built as a refuge village for Abu Jafar, where he could have a bodyguard force of 2,00 on hand at all times.

Under Harun al-Rashid, starting in 786 A.D, Baghdad was the ideal city in the middle east. Monarchs and rulers seeked advice, alliences, and riches from the caliph. Baghdad became a central trading point between Asia and Europe. The Abbasids intellectual interest made Baghdad a center of schooling. They excelled in the areas of medicine and mathematics.

In the thirteenth century Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongolian Turks.. Residents were masscred, the caliph was murdered, and the city was ransacked. It remained under Mongol control until 1508, when it became part of a new Persian empire. Power switched back and forth between empires (see politics). Through the power changes, Baghdad lost its wealth in knowledge, reputation and finances, but kept its accumulated culture. 2

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