Central river city on the Tigris linking northern and southern Iraq across key internal transport corridors

Massive urban population shaped by sectarian diversity, internal migration, and state-centered employment

National commercial and administrative core anchored by public finance, trade, and state institutions

Primary command city for Iraqi national security, militia influence, and regime protection architecture

Seat of Iraqi executive, legislative, and diplomatic power with outsized influence over national direction

Major center of Sunni and Shia religious life with deep symbolic value across Iraq and the wider region

Former Abbasid capital and one of the most historically significant cities in the Islamic world