tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post197218890544374649..comments2024-02-29T12:38:32.191-08:00Comments on MUSINGS ON IRAQ: Iraq Is Not A “Made-Up” CountryJoel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-52040000364396322582011-02-14T19:03:58.232-08:002011-02-14T19:03:58.232-08:00Joel:
These essential political administrative bo...Joel:<br /><br />These essential political administrative boundaries trace directly back to the Persian "satraps" conquered by Alexander the Great and (later) assigned to Perdikkas following the death of Alexander (323 BC), and (still later) occupied as Roman "provinces".<br /><br />http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Diadochi_satraps_babylon.png<br /><br />The interesting differences between the older periods in Iraq and (Greece, too) was the emphasis on "places" (cities and the places surrounding them---City-States), while the later periods emphasize "spaces" (colonies, province, districts) contained and controlled within Empires.<br /><br />Once imperial "spaces" became the dominant paradigm for societal organization in the Mesopotamian Plain (Greek for the "Land Between Two Rivers"), or the Tigris-Euphrates River Plan, the importance of once-heralded City-States, and their respective cities (Babylon, Ctesiphon, Arrapha (Kirkuk), Hatra) wained in importance.<br /><br />Nonetheless, the deep-rooted City-State tradition, embedded in Iraqi DNA, continues to resurface, whether in the Tikriti (Saddam) Era, or the current issues in Mosul, Irbil, Baghdad, and Basra. <br /><br />Iraq's peoples know where Iraq is, and was far back into the past, but city-states and regions remain the pronounced differentiation for many internal matters.Steve Donnelly, AICPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11707306512563808960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-55664112910990459922011-02-14T15:43:07.582-08:002011-02-14T15:43:07.582-08:00Unfortunately true. Almost every time I look at co...Unfortunately true. Almost every time I look at comments on other people's blogs or newspaper articles the idea of Iraq being a "made-up" country comes upJoel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-35015970112870535692011-02-14T11:31:52.609-08:002011-02-14T11:31:52.609-08:00That's good work Joel. The notion that the Mid...That's good work Joel. The notion that the Middle East was created willy nilly by the Brits is pretty widespread. Gospel even.Mauryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08155413912838430846noreply@blogger.com