Baghdad
Part of the Traveling the Silk Road exhibition.
The Scholarly City
The journey along the Silk Road has taken you thousands of miles from the imperial city of Xi'an, China. At last, here is its western rival: Baghdad, capital of the Islamic world. Founded in 762, this elegant metropolis is known as the City of Peace. Its gleaming palaces and fragrant gardens look down on Iraq's Tigris River; foreign goods arrive daily by ship as well as by camel caravan. An illustrious family of Islamic rulers holds court here. Under their patronage, Baghdad has blossomed into a remarkable center of learning-a meeting place for scholars, scientists and philosophers and a storehouse for knowledge from many lands.