Member State of the Arab League
134-725: The Iraqi Transitional Government was the government of Iraq from May 3, 2005, when it replaced the Iraqi Interim Government , until May 20, 2006, when it was replaced by a permanent government . On April 28 it was approved by the transitional Iraqi National Assembly , which had been elected in January 2005 . It operated under the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period , and its main functions were to draft
268-700: A coalition of Ba'athist and Sunni militants launched an offensive against the government, initiating full-scale war in Iraq . The climax of the campaign was an offensive in Northern Iraq by the Islamic State (ISIS) that marked the beginning of the rapid territorial expansion by the group, prompting an American-led intervention . By the end of 2017, ISIS had lost all its territory in Iraq. Iran has also intervened and expanded its influence through sectarian Khomeinist militias. In 2014, Sunni insurgents belonging to
402-399: A democratic , federal parliamentary republic . The federal government is composed of the executive , legislative , and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions. Aside from the federal government, there are regions (made of one or more governorates), governorates, and districts within Iraq with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law. The president is
536-509: A mandate over Syria . In Iraq, under British mandate, tensions were rising as local forces increasingly resisted foreign control. A rebellion erupted , challenging British authority, and the need for a new strategy became clear. In 1921, the Cairo Conference , led by British officials including Winston Churchill and T.E. Lawrence , decided that Faisal, now exiled in London , would become
670-475: A 100-hour-long ground assault against Iraqi forces in southern Iraq and Kuwait. Iraq also attempted to invade Saudi Arabia and attacked Israel. Iraq's armed forces were devastated during the war. Sanctions were imposed on Iraq, following the invasion of Kuwait, which resulted economic decline. After the end of the war in 1991, Iraqi Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims in northern and southern Iraq, led several uprisings against Saddam's regime , but these were repressed. It
804-633: A 1475 manuscript. During the 16th century, timekeepers became more refined and sophisticated, so that by 1577 the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe was able to obtain the first of four clocks that measured in seconds, and in Nuremberg, the German clockmaker Peter Henlein was paid for making what is thought to have been the earliest example of a watch , made in 1524. By 1500, the use of the foliot in clocks had begun to decline. The oldest surviving spring-driven clock
938-604: A bearded, old man. The English word clock first appeared in Middle English as clok , cloke , or clokke . The origin of the word is not known for certain; it may be a borrowing from French or Dutch , and can perhaps be traced to the post-classical Latin clocca ('bell'). 7th century Irish and 9th century Germanic sources recorded clock as meaning 'bell'. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all had times set aside for prayer, although Christians alone were expected to attend prayers at specific hours of
1072-584: A calendar) made in Isfahan by al‐Farisi is the earliest surviving machine with its gears still intact. Openings on the back of the astrolabe depict the lunar phases and gives the Moon's age; within a zodiacal scale are two concentric rings that show the relative positions of the Sun and the Moon. Muslim astronomers constructed a variety of highly accurate astronomical clocks for use in their mosques and observatories , such as
1206-662: A century. This mistake was noticed only in 164 BC, when the Roman censor came to check and adjusted for the appropriate latitude. According to the German historian of astronomy Ernst Zinner , sundials were developed during the 13th century with scales that showed equal hours. The first based on polar time appeared in Germany c. 1400 ; an alternative theory proposes that a Damascus sundial measuring in polar time can be dated to 1372. European treatises on sundial design appeared c. 1500 . An Egyptian method of determining
1340-583: A chain that turns a gear in the mechanism. The 12th-century Jayrun Water Clock at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus was constructed by Muhammad al-Sa'ati, and was later described by his son Ridwan ibn al-Sa'ati in his On the Construction of Clocks and their Use (1203). A sophisticated water-powered astronomical clock was described by Al-Jazari in his treatise on machines, written in 1206. This castle clock
1474-564: A chamber clock made for Philip the Good in c. 1430. Leonardo da Vinci , who produced the earliest known drawings of a pendulum in 1493–1494, illustrated a fusee in c. 1500, a quarter of a century after the coiled spring first appeared. Clock towers in Western Europe in the Middle Ages struck the time. Early clock dials showed hours; a clock with a minutes dial is mentioned in
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#17328512738211608-584: A clepsydra, or water clock , is from the tomb inscription of an early 18th Dynasty ( c. 1500 BC) Egyptian court official named Amenemhet, who is identified as its inventor. It is assumed that the object described on the inscription is a bowl with markings to indicate the time. The oldest surviving water clock was found in the tomb of pharaoh Amenhotep III ( c. 1417–1379 BC). There are no recognised examples in existence of outflowing water clocks from ancient Mesopotamia , but written references have survived. The introduction of
1742-672: A coastline measuring 58 km (36 miles) on the northern Persian Gulf . Further north, but below the main headwaters only, the country easily encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain . Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates , run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab , thence the Persian Gulf. Broadly flanking this estuary (known as arvandrūd : اروندرود among Iranians) are marshlands, semi-agricultural. Flanking and between
1876-702: A day. For the next 300 years, all the improvements in timekeeping were essentially developments based on the principles of de Vick's clock. Between 1348 and 1364, Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio , the son of Jacopo Dondi , built a complex astrarium in Florence. During the 14th century, striking clocks appeared with increasing frequency in public spaces, first in Italy, slightly later in France and England—between 1371 and 1380, public clocks were introduced in over 70 European cites. Salisbury Cathedral clock , dating from about 1386,
2010-553: A decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. Since its independence, Iraq has experienced spells of significant economic and military growth alongside periods instability and conflict . The region remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I, after which Mandatory Iraq was established by the British Empire in 1921. It gained indepdence as
2144-560: A disk etched with one or more grooves, into which incense was placed. The length of the trail of incense, directly related to the size of the seal, was the primary factor in determining how long the clock would last; to burn 12 hours an incense path of around 20 metres (66 ft) has been estimated. The gradual introduction of metal disks, most likely beginning during the Song dynasty, allowed craftsmen to more easily create seals of different sizes, design and decorate them more aesthetically, and vary
2278-578: A few billionths of a second per year and are used to calibrate other clocks and timekeeping instruments. Ancient civilizations observed astronomical bodies , often the Sun and Moon , to determine time. According to the historian Eric Bruton, Stonehenge is likely to have been the Stone Age equivalent of an astronomical observatory , used for seasonal and annual events such as equinoxes or solstices . As megalithic civilizations left no recorded history, little
2412-819: A few citizens and having the state redistribute the land. In 1959, Abd al-Wahab al-Shawaf led an uprising in Mosul against Qasim. The uprising was crushed by the government forces. He claimed Kuwait as part of Iraq, when it the former was granted independence in 1961. The United Kingdom deployed its army on Iraq–Kuwait border , which forced Qasim to back down. He was overthrown by the Ba'ath Party in February 1963 coup . However internal division with Ba'athist factions caused another coup in November, which brought Colonel Abdul Salam Arif to power. The new regime recognized Kuwait's independence. After
2546-403: A flame, the clocks were safe for indoor use. To mark different hours, differently scented incenses (made from different recipes) were used. The incense sticks used could be straight or spiralled; the spiralled ones were intended for long periods of use, and often hung from the roofs of homes and temples. Some clocks were designed to drop weights at even intervals. Incense seal clocks had
2680-410: A foliot. The foliot, which cannot vibrate freely, swings back and forth, which allows a wheel to rotate one tooth at a time. Although the verge and foliot was an advancement on previous timekeepers, it was impossible to avoid fluctuations in the beat caused by changes in the applied forces—the earliest mechanical clocks were regularly reset using a sundial. At around the same time as the invention of
2814-505: A hot arid climate with subtropical influence. Summer temperatures average above 40 °C (104 °F) for most of the country and frequently exceed 48 °C (118.4 °F). Winter temperatures infrequently exceed 15 °C (59.0 °F) with maxima roughly 5 to 10 °C (41.0 to 50.0 °F) and night-time lows 1 to 5 °C (33.8 to 41.0 °F). Typically, precipitation is low; most places receive less than 250 mm (9.8 in) annually, with maximum rainfall occurring during
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#17328512738212948-475: A member of the League of Nations . Faisal's reign was marked by his efforts to balance the pressures of external influence and internal demands for sovereignty. He was admired for his diplomatic skill and his commitment to steering Iraq toward self-determination. Untimely, he died from a heart attack on 8 September 1933, leaving his son Ghazi to inherit the throne. King Ghazi’s reign was brief and turbulent, as Iraq
3082-594: A million and 1.5 million people. Kuwait's refusal to waive Iraq's debt and reducing oil prices pushed Saddam to take military action against it. On 2 August 1990, the Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait as its 19th governorate , starting the Gulf War . This led to military intervention by the United States-led alliance . The coalition forces proceeded with a bombing campaign targeting military targets and then launched
3216-795: A one-sided referendum was held in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region regarding Kurdish independence , which resulted in 92% (of those participating in the region) voting in favor of independence. The referendum was rejected by the federal government and regarded as illegal by the Federal Supreme Court . Following this, an armed conflict ensued between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government which resulted in Kurdish defeat and capitulation; Kurdistan Region subsequently lost territory it had previously occupied, and
3350-512: A peace treaty was signed between Saddam and Barzani, granting autonomy to Kurds . He introduced free healthcare and education, nationalized oil, promoted women's rights and developed infrastructure. Within few years, Iraq became one of the most developed countries in the world. In 1974, the second Iraqi–Kurdish war began and border clashes with Iran took place on Shatt al-Arab . Iran supported Kurdish militants. The Algiers Agreement signed in 1975, by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Saddam solved
3484-621: A permanent Constitution of Iraq and to form a transitional government. Although the President is the chief of military and head of state, the Prime Minister is the head of government who exercises most executive powers. The President and both deputies (collective the Presidency Council of Iraq ) are elected by the Assembly with a two-thirds majority. They then propose the Prime Minister from
3618-399: A purely mechanical clock (i.e. only driven by gravity) during this period. Such clocks were a synthesis of earlier ideas derived from European and Islamic science, such as gearing systems, weight drives, and striking mechanisms. In 1250, the artist Villard de Honnecourt illustrated a device that was the step towards the development of the escapement . Another forerunner of the escapement
3752-506: A railway and an oil pipeline to the Mediterranean . Although Faisal succeeded in securing greater autonomy for Iraq, British influence remained strong, particularly in the country’s oil industry. In 1930, Iraq signed a treaty with Britain that gave the country a measure of political independence while maintaining British control over key aspects, including military presence and oil rights. By 1932, Iraq gained formal independence, becoming
3886-520: A referendum with a 78% overall majority, although the percentage of support varied widely between the country's territories. The new constitution was backed by the Shia and Kurdish communities, but was rejected by Arab Sunnis. Under the terms of the constitution, the country conducted fresh nationwide parliamentary elections on 15 December 2005. All three major ethnic groups in Iraq voted along ethnic lines, as did Assyrian and Turcoman minorities. Law no. 188 of
4020-546: A steady rate. Devices and methods for keeping time have improved continuously through a long series of new inventions and ideas. The first devices used for measuring the position of the Sun were shadow clocks , which later developed into the sundial . The oldest known sundial dates back to c. 1200 BC (during the 19th Dynasty ), and was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 2013. Obelisks could indicate whether it
4154-484: A valuable military tool during the Boer War , became popular after World War I, in variations including non-magnetic, battery-driven, and solar powered, with quartz, transistors and plastic parts all introduced. Since the early 2010s, smartphones and smartwatches have become the most common timekeeping devices. The most accurate timekeeping devices in practical use today are atomic clocks , which can be accurate to
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4288-414: A weight-driven clock with a verge-and-foliot escapement, a striking train of gears, an alarm, and a representation of the Moon's phases in his book The Brightest Stars for the Construction of Mechanical Clocks ( Al-Kawākib al-durriyya fī wadh' al-bankāmat al-dawriyya ), written around 1565. Jesuit missionaries brought the first European clocks to China as gifts. The Italian polymath Galileo Galilei
4422-502: Is a device made by Bohemian Jacob Zech [ cs ] in 1525. The first person to suggest travelling with a clock to determine longitude , in 1530, was the Dutch instrument maker Gemma Frisius . The clock would be set to the local time of a starting point whose longitude was known, and the longitude of any other place could be determined by comparing its local time with the clock time. The Ottoman engineer Taqi ad-Din described
4556-489: Is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz. A clay tablet from the late Babylonian period describes the lengths of shadows at different times of the year. The Babylonian writer Berossos ( fl. 3rd century BC )
4690-400: Is among global centers for oil and gas industry . In addition, the country has been popular for its agriculture and tourism. Since its independence, it has experienced spells of significant economic and military growth alongside periods instability and conflict . The country is putting efforts to rebuild after the war with foreign support . There are several suggested origins for
4824-460: Is at risk of desertification . Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year". However, in 2023, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that government was working on a wider "Iraqi vision for climate action". The plan would include promoting clean and renewable energy, new irrigation and water treatment projects and reduced industrial gas flaring, he said. Sudani said Iraq
4958-449: Is based on French civil law as well as Sunni and Jafari ( Shi'ite ) interpretations of Sharia. History of timekeeping devices The history of timekeeping devices dates back to when ancient civilizations first observed astronomical bodies as they moved across the sky. Devices and methods for keeping time have gradually improved through a series of new inventions, starting with measuring time by continuous processes, such as
5092-494: Is credited by the Greeks with the invention of a hemispherical sundial hollowed out of stone; the path of the shadow was divided into 12 parts to mark the time. Greek sundials evolved to become highly sophisticated— Ptolemy 's Analemma , written in the 2nd century AD, used an early form of trigonometry to derive the position of the Sun from data such as the hour of day and the geographical latitude . The Romans inherited
5226-769: Is either / ɪ ˈ r ɑː k / (the only pronunciation listed in the Oxford English Dictionary and the first one in Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary ) or / ɪ ˈ r æ k / (listed first by MQD ), the American Heritage Dictionary , and the Random House Dictionary . When the British established the Hashemite king on 23 August 1921, Faisal I of Iraq , the official English name of
5360-652: Is estimated that as many as 100,000 people, including many civilians were killed. During the uprisings, the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey and France, claiming authority under UNSC Resolution 688 , established the Iraqi no-fly zones to protect Kurdish population from attacks and autonomy was given to Kurds. raq was also affected by the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War from 1994 to 1997. Around 40,000 fighters and civilians were killed. Between 2001 and 2003,
5494-534: Is known of their timekeeping methods. The Warren Field calender monument is currently considered to be the oldest lunisolar calendar yet found. Mesoamericans modified their usual vigesimal (base-20) counting system when dealing with calendars to produce a 360-day year. Aboriginal Australians understood the movement of objects in the sky well, and used their knowledge to construct calendars and aid navigation; most Aboriginal cultures had seasons that were well-defined and determined by natural changes throughout
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5628-512: Is one of the oldest working clocks in the world, and may be the oldest; it still has most of its original parts. The Wells Cathedral clock , built in 1392, is unique in that it still has its original medieval face. Above the clock are figures which hit the bells, and a set of jousting knights who revolve around a track every 15 minutes. The invention of the mainspring in the early 15th century—a device first used in locks and for flintlocks in guns— allowed small clocks to be built for
5762-714: Is strong evidence that the 1st century BC Tower of the Winds in Athens once had a water clock, and a wind vane, as well as the nine vertical sundials still visible on the outside. In Greek tradition, clepsydrae were used in court , a practise later adopted by the Ancient Romans . Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi in medieval Al-Andalus described a water clock that employed both segmental and epicyclic gearing . Islamic water clocks, which used complex gear trains and included arrays of automata , were unrivalled in their sophistication until
5896-445: Is supposed to have invented an alarm clock that used lead balls cascading noisily onto a copper platter to wake his students. A problem with most clepsydrae was the variation in the flow of water due to the change in fluid pressure, which was addressed from 100 BC when the clock's water container was given a conical shape. They became more sophisticated when innovations such as gongs and moving mechanisms were included. There
6030-462: Is the first carillon clock as it plays music simultaneously with a person blinking his eyes, surprised by the singing birds. The Archimedes clock works with a system of four weights, counterweights, and strings regulated by a system of floats in a water container with siphons that regulate the automatic continuation of the clock. The principles of this type of clock are described by the mathematician and physicist Hero, who says that some of them work with
6164-485: Is thought to have first realized that the pendulum could be used as an accurate timekeeper after watching the motion of suspended lamps at Pisa Cathedral . In 1582, he investigated the regular swing of the pendulum , and discovered that this was only dependent on its length. Galileo never constructed a clock based on his discovery, but prior to his death he dictated instructions for building a pendulum clock to his son, Vincenzo . The first accurate timekeepers depended on
6298-502: The 14 July Revolution in 1958 was led by the Brigadier General and nationalist Abd al-Karim Qasim . This revolt was strongly anti-imperial and anti-monarchical in nature and had strong socialist elements. King Faysal II , Prince Abd al-Ilah , and Nuri al-Sa'id , along with the royal family were killed brutally. Qasim controlled Iraq through military rule and in 1958 he began a process of forcibly reducing surplus land owned by
6432-407: The 6th millennium BC , the fertile alluvial plains between Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, referred to as the region of Mesopotamia , gave rise to some of the world's earliest cities , civilizations , and empires . It was known as a " Cradle of Civilisation " that saw the inventions of a writing system , mathematics , timekeeping , a calendar , astrology , and a law code . Following
6566-487: The Fragile States Index , Iraq was the world's 31st most politically unstable country. Transparency International ranks Iraq's government as the 23rd most corrupt government in the world. Under Saddam, the government employed 1 million employees, but this increased to around 7 million in 2016. In combination with decreased oil prices, the government budget deficit is near 25% of GDP as of 2016 . In September 2017,
6700-615: The Iraqi National Alliance . The Iraqi National Movement is led by Iyad Allawi , a secular Shia widely supported by Sunnis. The party has a more consistent anti-sectarian perspective than most of its rivals. The Kurdistan List is dominated by two parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Masood Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headed by Jalal Talabani . Baghdad is Iraq's capital, home to
6834-422: The Islamic State group seized control of large swathes of land including several major cities, like Tikrit , Fallujah and Mosul , creating hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons amid reports of atrocities by ISIL fighters. An estimated 500,000 civilians fled from Mosul. Around 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the genocide by ISIS, as a part of the war. With the help of US-led intervention in Iraq ,
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#17328512738216968-515: The Kingdom of Iraq in 1932. Following a coup d'état in 1958 , Iraq became a republic, led by Abdul Karim Qasim followed by Abdul Salam Arif and then Abdul Rahman Arif. The Ba'ath Party came to power in the 1968 and ruled as one-party state , under the leadership of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr , followed by Saddam Hussein , who started major wars against Iran and Kuwait . In 2003, the Iraq War started after
7102-619: The Kurdistan Regional Government and Ansar al-Islam engaged in conflict, which would merge with the upcoming war. After the September 11 attacks , George W. Bush began planning the overthrow of Saddam in what is now widely regarded as a false pretense . Saddam's Iraq was included in Bush's " axis of evil ". The United States Congress passed joint resolution , which authorized the use of armed force against Iraq. In November 2002. The UN Security Council passed resolution 1441 . On 20 March 2003,
7236-698: The Muslim conquest , Baghdad became the capital and the largest city of the Abbasid Caliphate . During the time of the Islamic Golden Age , the city evolved into a significant cultural and intellectual center, and garnered a worldwide reputation for its academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom . It was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258 during the siege of Baghdad , resulting in
7370-765: The Neo-Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great , who declared himself the " King of Babylon ." The city of Babylon , the ancient seat of Babylonian power, became one of the key capitals of the Achaemenid Empire. Ancient Iraq, known as the Mesopotamia, is home to world's first Jewish diaspora community, which emerged during the Babylonian exile. The Babylonians were defeated by
7504-615: The Republic of Iraq , is a country in West Asia and a core country in the geopolitical region known as the Middle East . With a population exceeding 46 million, it is the 35th-most populous country. It consists of 18 governorates . The country is bordered by Turkey to the north , Saudi Arabia to the south , Iran to the east , the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast , Jordan to
7638-520: The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 , after which governments offered a prize to anyone who could discover a way to determine longitude, Harrison built a succession of accurate timepieces, introducing the term chronometer . The electric clock, invented in 1840, was used to control the most accurate pendulum clocks until the 1940s, when quartz timers became the basis for the precise measurement of time and frequency. The wristwatch , which had been recognised as
7772-530: The Sharif of Makkah , the European powers had different plans for the region. Following the British withdrawal of support for a unified Arab state , Hussein's son, Faisal , briefly declared the Kingdom of Syria in 1920, encompassing parts of what are now Lebanon , Palestine , Jordan , and Syria . However, the kingdom was short-lived, crushed by local opposition and the military might of France, which had been granted
7906-440: The Umayyads in 661. Karbala is considered as one of the holiest cities in Shia Islam, following the Battle of Karbala , which took place in 680. With the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate in the mid-8th century, Iraq became the center of Islamic rule, with Baghdad , founded in 762, serving as the capital. Baghdad flourished during the Islamic Golden Age , becoming a global center for culture, science, and intellectualism. However,
8040-412: The alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. As an Arabic word, عراق ʿirāq means "hem", "shore", "bank", or "edge", so that the name by folk etymology came to be interpreted as "the escarpment ", such as at the south and east of the Jazira Plateau, which forms the northern and western edge of the "al-Iraq arabi" area. The Arabic pronunciation is [ʕiˈrɑːq] . In English, it
8174-452: The compass as an aid to navigation. The earliest unambiguous evidence of the use an hourglass appears in the painting Allegory of Good Government , by the Italian artist Ambrogio Lorenzetti , from 1338. The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan used 18 hourglasses on each ship during his circumnavigation of the globe in 1522. Though used in China, the hourglass's history there is unknown, but does not seem to have been used before
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#17328512738218308-410: The king of Iraq . This decision was seen as a way to maintain British influence in the region while placating local demands for leadership. Upon his coronation, he focused on unifying a land formerly divided into three Ottoman provinces — Mosul , Baghdad , and Basra . He worked hard to gain the support of Iraq's diverse population, including both Sunnis and Shiites , and paid special attention to
8442-415: The water clock to China , perhaps from Mesopotamia, occurred as far back as the 2nd millennium BC, during the Shang dynasty , and at the latest by the 1st millennium BC. Around 550 AD, Yin Kui (殷蘷) was the first in China to write of the overflow or constant-level tank in his book "Lou ke fa (漏刻法)". Around 610, two Sui dynasty inventors, Geng Xun ( 耿詢 ) and Yuwen Kai ( 宇文愷 ), created
8576-430: The withdrawal of US troops in 2011, the occupation ceased and war ended. The war in Iraq has resulted in between 151,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis being killed . The subsequent efforts to rebuild the country amidst sectarian violence and the rise of the Islamic State began after the war. Iraq was galvanized by the civil war in Syria. Continuing discontent over Nouri al-Maliki 's government led to protests , after which
8710-426: The 2003–2011, flow is restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover. Iraqi corals are some of the most extreme heat-tolerant as the seawater in this area ranges between 14 and 34 °C. Aquatic or semi-aquatic wildlife occurs in and around these, the major lakes are Lake Habbaniyah , Lake Milh , Lake Qadisiyah and Lake Tharthar . The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution as
8844-445: The 6th century. In the medieval period, Islamic water clocks were unrivalled in their sophistication until the mid-14th century. The hourglass , invented in Europe, was one of the few reliable methods of measuring time at sea. In medieval Europe, purely mechanical clocks were developed after the invention of the bell-striking alarm, used to signal the correct time to ring monastic bells. The weight-driven mechanical clock controlled by
8978-447: The Ba'ath Army and expelling Ba'athists from the new government. The insurgents fought against the coalition forces and the newly installed government. Saddam was captured and executed. The Shia–Sunni civil war took place from 2006 to 2008. The coalition forces were criticized for war crimes such as the Abu Ghraib torture , the Fallujah massacre , the Mahmudiyah rape and killings and the Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre . Following
9112-400: The Bible, in 2 Kings 20 :9–11, when Hezekiah , king of Judea during the 8th century BC, is recorded as being healed by the prophet Isaiah and asks for a sign that he would recover: And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It
9246-442: The Great , king of Wessex (r. 871–889), who used six candles marked at intervals of one inch (25 mm), each made from 12 pennyweights of wax, and made to be 12 centimetres (4.7 in) high and of a uniform thickness. The 12th century Muslim inventor Al-Jazari described four different designs for a candle clock in his book Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices . His so-called "scribe" candle clock
9380-476: The Iraqi forces successfully defeated ISIS. The war officially ended in 2017, with the Iraqi government declaring victory over ISIS. In October 2022, Abdul Latif Rashid was elected president after winning the parliamentary election. In 2022, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became Prime Minister . The electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand. Corruption remains endemic throughout Iraqi governance while
9514-411: The Mamluk regime and reimposed their direct control over Iraq. Iraq's modern history began in the wake of World War I, as the region emerged from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Arab forces, inspired by the promise of independence, had helped dismantle the Ottoman hold on the Middle East, but the dream of a united, sovereign Arab state was soon dashed. Despite agreements made with Hussein ibn Ali ,
9648-619: The Persian Empire, under the leadership of Cyrus the Great . Following the fall of Babylon, the Achaemenid Empire took control of the Mesopotamian region. Enslaved Jews were freed from the Babylonian captivity, though many remained in the land and thus the Jewish community grew in the region. Iraq is the location of numerous Jewish sites, which are also revered by the Muslims and Christians. In
9782-484: The United States-endorsed sectarian political system has driven increased levels of violent terrorism and sectarian conflicts. Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts while water reserves are rapidly depleting. The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021. Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates are down 30-40%. Half
9916-462: The United States-led coalition forces invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam. The war subsequently turned into an insurgency and sectarian civil war , with American troops withdrawing in 2011. Between 2013 and 2017, Iraq was once more in a state of war, with the rise and subsequent fall of Islamic State . Today post-war conflict in Iraq continues at a lower scale, which has been an obstacle to
10050-566: The United States-led coalition invaded Iraq, as part of global war on terror . Within weeks, coalition forces occupied much of Iraq, with the Iraqi Army adopting guerrilla tactics to confront coalition forces. Following the fall of Baghdad in the first week of April, Saddam's regime had completely lost control of Iraq. A statue of Saddam was toppled in Baghdad, symbolizing the end of his rule. The Coalition Provisional Authority began disbanding
10184-632: The accuracy of the hourglass and the water clock occurred in the 10th century, when attempts were made to slow their rate of flow using friction or the force of gravity. The earliest depiction of a clock powered by a hanging weight is from the Bible of St Louis , an illuminated manuscript made between 1226 and 1234 that shows a clock being slowed by water acting on a wheel. The illustration seems to show that weight-driven clocks were invented in western Europe. A treatise written by Robertus Anglicus in 1271 shows that medieval craftsmen were attempting to design
10318-430: The action of a verge and foliot was a synthesis of earlier ideas from European and Islamic science. Mechanical clocks were a major breakthrough, one notably designed and built by Henry de Vick in c. 1360 , which established basic clock design for the next 300 years. Minor developments were added, such as the invention of the mainspring in the early 15th century, which allowed small clocks to be built for
10452-514: The astrolabic clock by Ibn al-Shatir in the early 14th century. One of the earliest references to a candle clock is in a Chinese poem , written in 520 by You Jianfu, who wrote of the graduated candle being a means of determining time at night. Similar candles were used in Japan until the early 10th century. The invention of the candle clock was attributed by the Anglo-Saxons to Alfred
10586-507: The bell directly. The tower clock of Norwich Cathedral constructed c. 1273 (reference to a payment for a mechanical clock dated to this year) is the earliest such large clock known. The clock has not survived. The first clock known to strike regularly on the hour, a clock with a verge and foliot mechanism, is recorded in Milan in 1336. By 1341, clocks driven by weights were familiar enough to be able to be adapted for grain mills , and by 1344
10720-632: The city's prosperity declined following the Buwayhid and Seljuq invasions in the 10th century and suffered further with the Mongol invasion of 1258. Iraq later came under the control of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. During the years 1747–1831, Iraq was ruled by a Mamluk dynasty of Georgian origin, who succeeded in obtaining autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. In 1831, the Ottomans managed to overthrow
10854-466: The clock in London's Old St Paul's Cathedral had been replaced by one with an escapement. The foliot was first illustrated by Dondi in 1364, and mentioned by the court historian Jean Froissart in 1369. The most famous example of a timekeeping device during the medieval period was a clock designed and built by the clockmaker Henry de Vick in c. 1360, which was said to have varied by up to two hours
10988-507: The country changed from Mesopotamia to the endonymic Iraq . Since January 1992, the official name of the state is "Republic of Iraq" ( Jumhūriyyat al-ʿIrāq ), reaffirmed in the 2005 Constitution . Iraq largely coincides with the ancient region of Mesopotamia , often referred to as the cradle of civilization . The history of Mesopotamia extends back to the Lower Paleolithic period, with significant developments continuing through
11122-569: The country's Shiite communities, symbolically choosing the date of his coronation to coincide with Eid al-Ghadeer , a key day for Shiite Muslims. His reign laid the foundations of modern Iraq. Faisal worked to establish key state institutions and fostered a sense of national identity. His education reforms included the founding of Ahl al-Bayt University in Baghdad, and he encouraged the migration of Syrian exiles to Iraq to serve as doctors and educators. Faisal also envisioned infrastructural links between Iraq, Syria, and Jordan , including plans for
11256-411: The country's capacity to produce energy with four oil, gas and renewables projects. According to experts, the project will "accelerate Iraq’s path to energy self-sufficiency and advance Iraq’s collective climate change objectives". The wildlife of Iraq includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats . Iraq has multiple and diverse biomes which include the mountainous region in the north to
11390-408: The country's farmland is at risk of desertification . Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year." Iraq lies between latitudes 29° and 38° N , and longitudes 39° and 49° E (a small area lies west of 39°). Spanning 437,072 km (168,754 sq mi), it is the 58th-largest country in the world. It has
11524-690: The country's stability. A federal parliamentary republic country, Iraq is considered an emerging middle power . It is a founding member of the United Nations , the OPEC as well as of the Arab League , the Organization of Islamic Cooperation , Non-Aligned Movement , and the International Monetary Fund . With a strategic location, the country has one of the largest oil reserves in the world and
11658-417: The day and night—what the historian Jo Ellen Barnett describes as "a rigid adherence to repetitive prayers said many times a day". The bell-striking alarms warned the monk on duty to toll the monastic bell. His alarm was a timer that used a form of escapement to ring a small bell. This mechanism was the forerunner of the escapement device found in the mechanical clock. The first innovations to improve on
11792-624: The dispute and Iran withdrew support for the Kurds, resulting their defeat in the war. In 1973, Iraq participated in the Yom Kippur War against Israel, alongside Syria and Egypt . An attempt to ban an annual pilgrimage Karbala caused an uprising by Shia Muslims across Iraq . Another Shia uprising took place from 1979 to 1980, as a followup to the Islamic Revolution in Iran. On 16 July 1979, Saddam
11926-635: The eastern part of the Syrian Desert . Rocky deserts cover about 40 percent of Iraq. Another 30 percent is mountainous with bitterly cold winters. The north of the country is mostly composed of mountains; the highest point being at 3,611 m (11,847 ft). Iraq is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: Zagros Mountains forest steppe , Middle East steppe , Mesopotamian Marshes , Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests , Arabian Desert , Mesopotamian shrub desert , and South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert . Much of Iraq has
12060-664: The escapement, the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri used clock imagery to depict the souls of the blessed in Paradiso , the third part of the Divine Comedy , written in the early part of the 14th century. It may be the first known literary description of a mechanical clock. There are references to house clocks from 1314 onwards; by 1325 the development of the mechanical clock can be assumed to have occurred. Large mechanical clocks were built that were mounted in towers so as to ring
12194-533: The establishment of the Caliphate in the late 7th century AD, after which the region became known as Iraq. Within its borders lies the ancient land of Sumer , which emerged between 6000 and 5000 BC during the Neolithic Ubaid period . Sumer is recognized as the world's earliest civilization, marking the beginning of urban development, written language, and monumental architecture. Iraq's territory also includes
12328-482: The federal government has been severely punishing it both politically and economically. In gradual steps, the federal government has consistently weakened Kurdistan Region’s ability to administer its own affairs by revoking crucial authorities that had previously defined its autonomy. Furthermore, since it won a pivotal ICC arbitration case, the federal government has also been refusing Kurdistan Region access to its most important source of income, namely, oil exports, and
12462-446: The first balance clepsydra, with standard positions for the steelyard balance . In 721 the mathematician Yi Xing and government official Liang Lingzan regulated the power of the water driving an astronomical clock , dividing the power into unit impulses so that motion of the planets and stars could be duplicated. In 976, the Song dynasty astronomer Zhang Sixun addressed the problem of
12596-501: The first time. The next major improvement in clock building, from the 17th century, was the discovery that clocks could be controlled by harmonic oscillators . Leonardo da Vinci had produced the earliest known drawings of a pendulum in 1493–1494, and in 1582 Galileo Galilei had investigated the regular swing of the pendulum, discovering that frequency was only dependent on length, not weight. The pendulum clock , designed and built by Dutch polymath Christiaan Huygens in 1656,
12730-415: The first time. The need for an escapement mechanism that steadily controlled the release of the stored energy, led to the development of two devices, the stackfreed (which although invented in the 15th century can be documented no earlier than c. 1535) and the fusee , which first originated from medieval weapons such as the crossbow . There is a fusee in the earliest surviving spring-driven clock,
12864-587: The flow of liquid in water clocks , to mechanical clocks, and eventually repetitive, oscillatory processes, such as the swing of pendulums . Oscillating timekeepers are used in modern timepieces. Sundials and water clocks were first used in ancient Egypt c. 1200 BC (or equally acceptable BCE ) and later by the Babylonians , the Greeks and the Chinese . Incense clocks were being used in China by
12998-458: The following centuries, the regions constituting modern Iraq came under the control of several empires, including the Greeks , Parthians , and Romans , establishing new centers like Seleucia and Ctesiphon . By the 3rd century AD, the region fell under Persian control through the Sasanian Empire , during which time Arab tribes from South Arabia migrated into Lower Mesopotamia, leading to
13132-642: The formation of the Sassanid-aligned Lakhmid kingdom . The Arabic name al-ʿIrāq likely originated during this period. The Sasanian Empire was eventually conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century, bringing Iraq under Islamic rule after the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in 636. The city of Kufa , founded shortly thereafter, became a central hub for the Rashidun dynasty until their overthrow by
13266-527: The head of state, the prime minister is the head of government, and the constitution provides for two deliberative bodies, the Council of Representatives and the Council of Union. The judiciary is free and independent of the executive and the legislature. The National Alliance is the main Shia parliamentary bloc, and was established as a result of a merger of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law Coalition and
13400-605: The heartlands of the Akkadian , Neo-Sumerian , Babylonian , Neo-Assyrian , and Neo-Babylonian empires, which dominated Mesopotamia and much of the Ancient Near East during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Iraq was a center of innovation in antiquity, producing early written languages , literary works , and significant advancements in astronomy , mathematics , law , and philosophy . This era of indigenous rule ended in 539 BC when
13534-452: The largest party, who must also be approved by a two-thirds majority; the Prime Minister then proposes the Council of Ministers , who must be approved with a two-thirds majority. The current Council of Ministers was sworn in on May 3 but several key posts were left vacant. Six new ministers were approved to fill vacant positions on 8 May, one of whom rejected his position saying he had not been consulted. Iraq Iraq , officially
13668-454: The latter has had no other option but to concede. Some have argued that this signals the Iraqi government’s intention to abandon federalism and return to a centralized political system , and in a leaked letter sent in 2023 to the U.S president, the prime minister of Kurdistan region wrote of an impending collapse of Kurdistan Region. In October 2005, the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in
13802-592: The latter's death in 1966, he was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif . Under his rule, Iraq participated in the Six Day War in 1967. Arif was overthrown in the 17 July Revolution in 1968. The Ba'ath Party came to power, with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the president of Iraq. However, the government gradually came under the control of Saddam Hussein , Iraq's then vice-president. Saddam sought to achieve stability between Iraq's ethnic and religious groups. The first Iraqi–Kurdish war ended in 1970, after which
13936-454: The mid-14th century. Liquid-driven mechanisms (using heavy floats and a constant-head system) were developed that enabled water clocks to work at a slower rate. Some have argued that the first known geared clock was rather invented by the great mathematician, physicist, and engineer Archimedes during the 3rd century BC. Archimedes created his astronomical clock, which was also a cuckoo clock with birds singing and moving every hour. It
14070-510: The mid-16th century, as the hourglass implies the use of glassblowing , then an entirely European and Western art. From the 15th century onwards, hourglasses were used in a wide range of applications at sea, in churches, in industry, and in cooking; they were the first dependable, reusable, reasonably accurate, and easily constructed time-measurement devices. The hourglass took on symbolic meanings, such as that of death, temperance , opportunity, and Father Time , usually represented as
14204-550: The name. One dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin. Another possible etymology for the name is from the Middle Persian word erāq , meaning "lowlands." An Arabic folk etymology for the name is "deeply rooted, well-watered; fertile ". During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī ("Arabian Iraq") for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿAjamī ("Persian Iraq"), for
14338-506: The nation remained divided. Iraq's Sunni-dominated monarchy struggled to reconcile the diverse ethnic and religious groups, particularly the Shiite, Assyrian, Jewish and Kurdish populations, who felt marginalized. In 1958, these tensions culminated in a military coup, inspired by the revolutionary wave sweeping across the Arab world, particularly the 1952 Egyptian Revolution . A coup d'état known as
14472-585: The next six years Iran was on the offensive. The Sunni-led Arab countries and the United States supported Iraq throughout the war . In 1981, Israel destroyed a nuclear reactor of Iraq. In midst of the war, between 1983 to 1986, Kurds led rebellion against the regime . In retaliation, the government coordinated Anfal campaign , led to the killing of 50,000–100,000 civilians. During the war, Saddam extensively used chemical weapons against Iranians. The war, which ended in stalemate in 1988, killed between half
14606-536: The paths of the grooves, to allow for the changing length of the days in the year. As smaller seals became available, incense seal clocks grew in popularity and were often given as gifts. Sophisticated timekeeping astrolabes with geared mechanisms were made in Persia. Examples include those built by the polymath Abū Rayhān Bīrūnī in the 11th century and the astronomer Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al‐Farisi in c. 1221. A brass and silver astrolabe (which also acts as
14740-406: The phenomenon known as harmonic motion , in which the restoring force acting on an object moved away from its equilibrium position—such as a pendulum or an extended spring—acts to return the object to that position, and causes it to oscillate . Harmonic oscillators can be used as accurate timekeepers as the period of oscillation does not depend on the amplitude of the motion—and so it always takes
14874-404: The political system has exacerbated sectarian conflict. Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts across the country while water reserves are rapidly depleting. The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021. Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates are down between 30 and 40%. Half of the country's farmland
15008-474: The president of Kurdistan Region officially resigned, and finally, the regional government announced that it would respect the Federal Supreme Court's ruling that no Iraqi province is allowed to secede, effectively abandoning the referendum. According to a report published by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy , a U.S-based think tank, since Kurdistan Region’s failed bid to gain independence,
15142-403: The process of developing a form of mechanical clock. The invention of the verge and foliot escapement in c. 1275 was one of the most important inventions in both the history of the clock and the history of technology . It was the first type of regulator in horology . A verge, or vertical shaft, is forced to rotate by a weight-driven crown wheel, but is stopped from rotating freely by
15276-510: The region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the plain south of the Hamrin Mountains and did not include the northernmost and westernmost parts of the modern territory of Iraq. Prior to the middle of the 19th century, the term Eyraca Arabica was commonly used to describe Iraq. The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of
15410-563: The seat of government. Located in the Green Zone , which contains governmental headquarters and the army, in addition to containing the headquarters of the American embassy and the headquarters of foreign organizations and agencies for other countries. According to the 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Iraq was the third most electoral democratic country in the Middle East . In 2023, according to
15544-601: The southwest , and Syria to the west . The capital and largest city is Baghdad . Iraqi people are diverse; mostly Arabs , as well as Kurds , Turkmen , Yazidis , Assyrians , Armenians , Mandaeans , Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife . Most Iraqis are Muslims – minority faiths include Christianity , Yazidism , Zoroastrianism , Mandaeism , Yarsanism and Judaism . The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish ; others also recognized in specific regions are Assyrian , Turkish , and Armenian . Starting as early as
15678-537: The subsequent Anglo-Iraqi War , the United Kingdom invaded Iraq for fear that the government might cut oil supplies to Western nations because of its links to the Axis powers . The war started on 2 May, and the British, together with loyal Assyrian Levies , defeated the forces of Al-Gaylani, forcing an armistice on 31 May. Regency of King Faisal II began in 1953. The hopes for Iraq’s future under Faisal II were high, but
15812-600: The sundial from the Greeks. The first sundial in Rome arrived in 264 BC, looted from Catania in Sicily . This sundial offered the innovation of the hours of the "horologium" throughout the day where before the Romans simply split the day into early morning and forenoon ( mane and ante merididiem). Still, there were unexpected astronomical challenges; this clock gave the incorrect time for
15946-629: The time during the night, used from at least 600 BC, was a type of plumb-line called a merkhet . A north–south meridian was created using two merkhets aligned with Polaris , the north pole star . The time was determined by observing particular stars as they crossed the meridian. The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur built in 1727 by Jai Singh II includes the Vrihat Samrat Yantra, 88 feet (27 m) tall sundial . It can tell local time to an accuracy of about two seconds. The oldest description of
16080-461: The two major rivers are fertile alluvial plains , as the rivers carry about 60,000,000 m (78,477,037 cu yd) of silt annually to the delta . The central part of the south, which slightly tapers in favour of other countries, is natural vegetation marsh mixed with rice paddies and is humid, relative to the rest of the plains. Iraq has the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and
16214-453: The water in clepsydrae freezing in cold weather when he replaced the water with liquid mercury . A water-powered astronomical clock tower was built by the polymath Su Song in 1088, which featured the first known endless power-transmitting chain drive . The Greek philosophers Anaxagoras and Empedocles both referred to water clocks that were used to enforce time limits or measure the passing of time. The Athenian philosopher Plato
16348-468: The wet marshlands along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, while western part of the country comprises mainly desert and some semi-arid regions. Many of Iraq's bird species were endangered, including seven of Iraq's mammal species and 12 of its bird species. The Mesopotamian marches in the middle and south are home to approximately 50 species of birds, and rare species of fish. At risk are some 50% of
16482-665: The winter months. Rainfall during the summer is rare, except in northern parts of the country. The northern mountainous regions have cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding. Iraq is highly vulnerable to climate change . The country is subject to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, and suffers from increasing water scarcity for a human population that rose tenfold between 1890 and 2010 and continues to rise. The country's electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand. Corruption remains endemic throughout all levels of Iraqi governance while
16616-464: The world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 60% of the world's population of Basra reed-warbler . The Asiatic lion , in the present-day extinct in the region, has remained a prominent symbol of the country throughout history. Draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes , during the time of Saddam's government, caused there a significant drop in biological life. Since
16750-474: The year 1959 (Personal Status Law) made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16. Article 1 of Civil Code also identifies Islamic law as a formal source of law. Iraq had no Sharia courts but civil courts used Sharia for issues of personal status including marriage and divorce. In 1995 Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offences. The code
16884-486: The year, including celestial events. Lunar phases were used to mark shorter periods of time; the Yaraldi of South Australia being one of the few people recorded as having a way to measure time during the day, which was divided into seven parts using the position of the Sun. All timekeepers before the 13th century relied upon methods that used something that moved continuously. No early method of keeping time changed at
17018-420: Was "moving forward to conclude contracts for constructing renewable energy power plants to provide one-third of our electricity demand by 2030". In addition, Iraq will plant 5 million trees across the country and will create green belts around cities to act as windbreaks against dust storms. In the same year, Iraq and TotalEnergies signed a $ 27 billion energy deal that aims to increase oil production and boost
17152-734: Was about 11 feet (3.4 m) high. In 1235, a water-powered clock that "announced the appointed hours of prayer and the time both by day and by night" stood in the entrance hall of the Mustansiriya Madrasah in Baghdad . Incense clocks were first used in China around the 6th century, mainly for religious purposes, but also for social gatherings or by scholars. Due to their frequent use of Devanagari characters, American sinologist Edward H. Schafer has speculated that incense clocks were invented in India. As incense burns evenly and without
17286-596: Was acceded to the presidency and chairmanship of the supreme executive body in July 1979. Following months of cross-border raids with Iran, Saddam declared war on Iran in September 1980, initiating the Iran–Iraq War (or First Persian Gulf War). Taking advantage of the post- Iranian Revolution chaos in Iran, Iraq captured some territories in southwest Iran, but Iran recaptured all of the lost territories within two years, and for
17420-494: Was impacted by numerous coup attempts. He died in a motor accident in 1939, passing the throne to his young son, Faisal II , who ascended to the throne at just 3 years old. Faisal II’s uncle, Crown Prince Abdullah , assumed regency until the young king came of age. On 1 April 1941, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and members of the Golden Square staged a coup d'état and installed a pro-German and pro-Italian government. During
17554-420: Was invented to mark the passing of 14 hours of equal length: a precisely engineered mechanism caused a candle of specific dimensions to be slowly pushed upwards, which caused an indicator to move along a scale. The hourglass was one of the few reliable methods of measuring time at sea, and it has been speculated that it was used on board ships as far back as the 11th century, when it would have complemented
17688-410: Was morning or afternoon, as well as the summer and winter solstices . A kind of shadow clock was developed c. 500 BC that was similar in shape to a bent T-square . It measured the passage of time by the shadow cast by its crossbar, and was oriented eastward in the mornings, and turned around at noon, so it could cast its shadow in the opposite direction. A sundial is referred to in
17822-504: Was so much more accurate than other kinds of mechanical timekeepers that few verge and foliot mechanisms have survived. Other innovations in timekeeping during this period include inventions for striking clocks, the repeating clock and the deadbeat escapement . Error factors in early pendulum clocks included temperature variation, a problem tackled during the 18th century by the English clockmakers John Harrison and George Graham . Following
17956-427: Was the horologia nocturna , which used an early kind of verge mechanism to operate a knocker that continuously struck a bell. The weight-driven clock was probably a Western European invention, as a picture of a clock shows a weight pulling an axle around, its motion slowed by a system of holes that slowly released water. In 1271, the English astronomer Robertus Anglicus wrote of his contemporaries that they were in
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