This richly illustrated and researched publication heralds Baghdad as a resplendent capital of culture within the Islamic world, from its heritage as the locus of the great Abbasid caliphs (750–1258 CE) to its renewed period of prosperity during the 20th century after the discovery of oil in the land. Published in conjunction with an exhibition at Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art, takes readers on an imaginary tour across centuries, highlighting Baghdad's role as a city of power, scholarship and riches, and examining the city's social fabric—its numerous traditions and cosmopolitan population—which have enabled the city to thrive, despite war and destruction. Displaying objects on loan from 22 institutions such as the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Benaki Museum, the Vatican and the Barrel Foundation, the compendium presents a vast array of artworks and artifacts.