Iraq consists largely of most of ancient Mesopotamia, the native land of the indigenous Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian civilizations, which was subsequently conquered, invaded and ruled by foreigners for centuries after the fall of the indigenous Mesopotamian empires. As a direct consequence of this long history, the contemporary Iraqi population comprises a significant number of different ethnicities.[31] However, recent studies indicate that the different ethno-religious groups of Iraq (Mesopotamia) share significant similarities in genetics, likely due to centuries of assimilation between invading populations and the indigenous ethnic groups.[32]
The daily language of the majority of Iraqis is Mesopotamian Arabic, and has been ever since the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia and the replacement of various Eastern Aramaic languages, most notably during the Abbasid Caliphate during which Baghdad became the capital of the caliphate and the center of Islamic Golden Age. However, Mesopotamian Arabic is considered to be the most Aramaic-influenced dialect of Arabic, due to Aramaic having originated in Mesopotamia, and spread throughout the Fertile Crescent during the Neo-Assyrian period, eventually becoming the lingua franca of the entire region prior to the Islamic invasions of Mesopotamia. [33][34][35][36] In addition, Kurdish, Turkish (Turkmen), Neo-Aramaic and Mandaic are other languages spoken by Iraqis and recognized by Iraq's constitution.[37]
One study found that Haplogroup J-M172 originated in northern Iraq.[41] 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,[41] although there have been several published studies displaying a genealogical connection between all Iraqi peoples and the neighboring countries, across religious, ethnic and linguistic barriers. Studies indicate that the different ethno-religious groups of Iraq (Mesopotamia) share significant similarities in genetics and that Mesopotamian Arabs, who make up the majority of Iraqis, are more genetically similar to Iraqi Kurds than other Arab populations in the Middle East and Arabia.[42]
No significant differences in Y-DNA variation were observed among Iraqi Mesopotamian Arabs, Assyrians, or Kurds.[41] Modern genetic studies indicate that Iraqi Arabs and Iraqi Kurds are distantly related, though Iraqi Mesopotamian Arabs are more related to Iraqi-Assyrians than they are to Iraqi Kurds.[43][44]
For both mtDNA and Y-DNA variation, the large majority of the haplogroups observed in the Iraqi population (H, J, T, and U for the mtDNA, J-M172 and J-M267 for the Y-DNA) are those considered to have originated in Western Asia and to have later spread mainly in West Asia.[41] The Eurasian haplogroups R1b and R1a represent the second most frequent component of the Iraqi Y-chromosome gene pool, the latter suggests that the population movements from Central Asia into modern Iran also influenced Iraq.[41]
Many historians and anthropologists provide strong circumstantial evidence to posit that Iraq's Marsh Arabs share very strong links to the ancient Sumerians[40][45]—the oldest human civilization in the world and most ancient inhabitants of central-southern Iraq.
The Iraqi-Assyrian population was found to be significantly related to other Iraqis, especially Mesopotamian Arabs,[44][40] likely due to the assimilation of indigenous Assyrians with other people groups who occupied and settled Mesopotamia after the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.[46]
Studies have reported that most Irish and Britons have ancestry to Neolithic farmers who left ancient Mesopotamia over 10,000 years ago. Genetic researchers say they have found compelling evidence that, on average, four out of five (80%) Europeans can trace their Y chromosome to the ancient Near East. In another study, scientists analyzed 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.[47]
According to Dogan et. al (2017), the most prevalent lineages among north Iraqis are J1 (17.98%), R1b (12.81%), R1a (12.40%) and J2a1b (12.19%) but distributions vary according to ethnicity. 14 different haplogroups were observed in Iraqi Arabs, with the three most common being J1 (38.61%), R1a (12.87%) and T (8.91%). The high prevalence of J1 is indicative of the indigeneity of Iraqi Arabs, which is similarly observed in Marsh Arabs. Prevalence of R and J macrohaplogroups is also attributed to pre-Last Glacial Maximum events in the Near East. Meanwhile, 15 different haplogroups were observed in Kurds, with the three most common being J2a1b (20.20%), J1 / R1a (17.17%) and E1b1b (13.13%). 10 different haplogroups were observed in Syriacs, with the three most common being R1b (30.23%), T (17.44%) and J2a1b (15.12%). 16 different haplogroups were observed in Turkmens, with the three most common being E1b1b (17.53%), J1 / J2a1b / R1a (12.37%) and G2a (10.31%). 11 different haplogroups were observed in Yazidis, with the three most common being R1b (20.79%), L (11.88%) and G2a / J2a1x J2a1b/h (10.89%).[31]
Iraq's population was estimated to be 39,650,145 in 2021 (residing in Iraq).[50] Arabs are the majority ethnic group in Iraq, at around 80%.[51] The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority. Turkmens are the third largest ethnic group in the country. This is followed by Assyrians and Armenians (500,000), Yazidis (500,000), Marsh Arabs, and Shabaks, Persians (500,000) (250,000). Other minorities include Mandaeans (6,000), Roma (50,000) and Circassians (2,000). The most spoken language is Mesopotamian Arabic, followed by Kurdish, Iraqi Turkmen dialects and Syriac. The percentages of different ethno-religious groups residing in Iraq vary from source to source due to the last Iraqi census having taken place over 30 years ago. A new census of Iraq was planned to take place in 2020.[52][28][29][30][53]
Religion
Iraqis are diverse in their faiths. Over 95% of Iraqis are Muslim, divided between 55% Shias and 40% Sunnis.[54] In 1968 the Iraqi constitution established Islam as the official religion of the state.
Other religious groups include Mandaeans, Shabaks, Yazidis and followers of other minority religions. Furthermore, Jews had also been present in Iraq in significant numbers historically, and Iraq had the largest Jewish population in the Middle East, but their population dwindled, after virtually all of them migrated to Israel between 1949 and 1952. From 1949 to 1951, 104,000 Jews were evacuated from Iraq in Operations Ezra and Nechemia (named after the Jewish leaders who took their people back to Jerusalem from exile in Babylonia beginning in 597 B.C.E.); another 20,000 were smuggled out through Iran.[57][58][59]
The Iraqi diaspora is not a sudden exodus but one that has grown rapidly 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 Iraq war and its aftermath.
^Aramaic was the medium of everyday writing, and it provided scripts for writing. (1997). Humanism, Culture, and Language in the Near East : Studies in Honor of Georg Krotkoff. Krotkoff, Georg., Afsaruddin, Asma, 1958-, Zahniser, A. H. Mathias, 1938-. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns. ISBN9781575065083. OCLC747412055. [verification needed]
^Tradition and modernity in Arabic language and literature. Smart, J. R., Shaban Memorial Conference (2nd : 1994 : University of Exeter). Richmond, Surrey, U.K. 16 December 2013. p. 253. ISBN9781136788123. OCLC865579151.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)[verification needed]
^ abMcIntosh, Jane (2005). Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. p. 313. ISBN978-1-57607-965-2. Iraqis have always been proud of their heritage and of their unique position as guardians of the Cradle of Civilization.
^Spencer, William (2000). Iraq: Old Land, New Nation in Conflict. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 13. ISBN978-0-7613-1356-4. The Iraqi heritage is a proud one. Iraqi ancestors made such contributions to our modern world as a written language, agriculture and the growing of food crops, the building of cities and the urban environment, basic systems of government, and a religious structure centered on gods and goddesses guiding human affairs.
