The city of Baghdad was founded in AD762 by Abu Jafar al-Mansur on the west bank of the Tigris River. The capital was surrounded by a circular wall, and became known as the "Round City". Over the next five centuries, the city would become the world's center of education and culture. This period of glory has become known as the "Golden Age" of Islamic civilization, when scholars of the Muslim world made important contributions in both the sciences and humanities. The stories of Scheherazade as told in the Arabian Nights give an idea of life about 800 AD in the court of one of the most famous Abbasid rulers, Caliph Harun ar-Rashid. Baghdad became a famous center of learning in the Middle Ages, and by the tenth century was regarded as the intellectual center of the world. In the thirteenth century Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongolian Turks. Residents were massacred, 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.

Baghdad has a basically hot desert climate. The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 36.2°C (97.10°F). In winter the average daytime temperature is about 13°C (55°F), and the temperature occasionally drops below freezing. On January 11th, 2008 snow fell in Baghdad. This is not common, but happens on rare occasions. Rainfall is sparse (6 inches, or 150 mm, annually) and occurs mainly between December and April.

The Iraq War began on March 20, 2003 with U.S. air strikes against Baghdad. On April 9, the city fell to U.S. and Coalition forces. Looting of the Iraqi Museum in the immediate aftermath of the city's fall led to the loss of many archeological artifacts that testified to Baghdad's and the greater area's role in the development of world civilization.