- published: 12 May 2014
- views: 4235
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ or i/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
This is my final hour
I lay down my empire
Depose my arms
Renounce my throne and crown
These are my final words
Written with tears and blood
Sealed with a kiss
From this empoisoned lips
Close the gates
Caronte awaits
The bark has come for me
I'll cross the Styx
In a flaming trip
The journey of my life
The Antichrist is rising from fire, fear and lust
I'm facing my judgement day
My golden pyre is burning, I'm crumbling into dust
This is redemption time
Crawling before the infernal court
The trial to condemn my soul
I hear the hollow voices screaming to me:
"Blame and blasphemy"
Weak flesh, immoral living
These are my mortal sins
The veredict proclaims:
I shall burn in the eternal flames
Close the gates
Caronte awaits
The bark has come for me
The Antichrist is rising from fire, fear and lust
I'm facing my judgement day
My golden pyre is burning, I'm crumbling into dust
This is redemption time
Regard the dance of souls, twisting like a pale rag-
doll
With winding, stifling tongues, crackling flesh and
bones
Join in the deadly waltz
The Antichrist is rising from fire, fear and lust
I'm facing my judgement day
My golden pyre is burning, I'm crumbling into dust