Iraq Museum

The Iraq Museum contains precious relics from the Mesopotamian, Abbasid, and Persian civilizations. It was looted during and after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Despite international efforts, only some of the stolen artifacts have been returned. After being closed for many years while being refurbished, and rarely open for public viewing, the museum was officially reopened in February 2015. The collections of The Iraq Museum include art and artifacts from ancient Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations. The museum's collections are considered to be among the most important in the world, and it has a fine record of scholarship and display. It contains important artifacts from the over 5,000-year-long history of Mesopotamia in 28 galleries and vaults. The Nimrud gold collection features gold jewelry and figures of the precious stone that date to the 9th-century BCE. The collection of stone carvings and cuneiform tablets from Uruk are exceptional. It is located in Baghdad's Al-Ṣāliḥiyyah neighborhood in the Al-Karkh district on the east side of the Tigris River.