Thesis from 2005 in the field of Earth Sciences / Geography - Regional Geography, grade: 2.0, University of Hamburg, 69+29 online sources in the bibliography, language: German, abstract: The area of present-day Iraq, the fertile region around the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris, is one of the oldest cultural landscapes in the world. After the decline of the ancient Oriental high cultures and empires, it became the center of the Persian Empire and, from the eighth century, the core area of the Islamic world empire. Until 1918, it was part of the Ottoman Empire and, after the establishment of modern Iraq in 1921, was under British mandate rule. The oil-rich country could only achieve its full independence through great sacrifices. Constantly changing forms of government, coups, attempts at coups, interventions by external great powers, and ongoing conflicts have marked its history.