The country of Iraq was formed out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. The League of Nations combined 3 provinces- Baghdad, Mosul and Basra into one country, combining Kurds, Shia and Shiite people along with several smaller minorities into one country. The country was officially granted Independence as the Kingdom of Irag in 1932. The first Iraqi dinar, pegged to the British pound, was introduced that year and featured King Faisal I. Like many banknotes of the region and time, they were printed in England.
Iraq has had a difficult history. In ancient times and into the Middle Ages, Iraq was considered a center of education and progress. It was a key part of the Persian empire and Islamic Caliphates for more than 1,000 years until around 1200AD, it was conquered by the Mongols. Iraq endured multiple occupations by other peoples until its independence. Even after independence, civil unrest and military coups plagued Iraq through World War II. Saddam Hussein became leader of Iraq in 1979 and became a symbol of Iraq to most of the rest of the world. He was present on banknotes from 1990 to 2003. The Iraqi banknotes from that time were printed in China and locally. Some people claim that Iraqi banknotes were printed on newspaper printing machines. As a result, the color, feel, durability and quality were pretty poor, so they were hard to authenticate. After Saddam Hussein was removed as leader of Iraq, new banknotes were printed. These were called the Bremer series, after Paul Bremer, the UN Provisional Coalition Administrator who led the country after the war. These banknotes had designs similar to those used in the 1970s and focused more on Iraqi landscapes and government buildings. The current banknotes in circulation are printed by DeLaRue and Giesecke & Devrient and include advanced security features and high-quality designs.
