Baghdad | |
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State | Baghdad Governorate |
Country | Iraq |
Capital | |
Population | 7216040 |
Baghdad (; Arabic: بَغْدَاد [baɣˈdaːd] (listen)) is the capital of Iraq and one of the largest cities in the Arab world. Located along the Tigris, near the ruins of the Akkadian city of Babylon and the ancient Iranian capital of Ctesiphon, Baghdad was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center of the Muslim world. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as hosting a multiethnic and multireligious environment, garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Centre of Learning".
Baghdad was the largest city in the world for much of the Abbasid era during the Islamic Golden Age, peaking at a population of more than a million. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires.
Bratislava | |
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State | Region of Bratislava |
Country | Slovakia |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Bratislava (, also US:, Slovak: [ˈbracislaʋa] (listen); Hungarian: Pozsony; German: Pressburg, formerly Preßburg [ˈprɛsbʊrk] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the inhabitants of the city is about 430,000; however, it is estimated to be greater than 660,000 - approximately 150% of the official figures. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only federal capital that borders two autonomous states.The city's history was affected by people of many nations and religions, including Austrians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Serbs and Slovaks. It was the coronation site and legislative centre and capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 to 1783, eleven Hungarian kings and eight queens were crowned in St.