A Faculty Member at the University of Samarra Publishes a Book on the Economic Conditions of the Baghdad Province
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hadeel Faiz Hassan, a faculty member at the College of Arts, University of Samarra, has authored a book on modern history, published in mid-2026 by (Nour Houran for Studies, Publishing, and Heritage) in Damascus.
The book is titled \”The Baghdad Province in the Late Ottoman Era (1869–1914): A Study of Economic Conditions.\” It investigates the economic circumstances in the Baghdad Province during the years 1869–1914, the living conditions of its inhabitants, their economic activities, the factors influencing those activities, the obstacles that limited the development of certain aspects, and the extent to which Ottoman economic policy affected economic activities in the Baghdad Province.
The book comprises 229 pages divided into four chapters. The first chapter addresses agriculture, land ownership, agricultural production, the Land Law of 1859, the state\’s policy toward agriculture, in addition to the condition of peasants, crops, and livestock.
The second chapter covers topics related to industry and the factors affecting it, the achievements of Midhat Pasha such as the School of Arts and Crafts, artisanal industries (spinning, textiles, leather), as well as the beginning of modern industry, the establishment of factories such as \”Al-Abbakhanah,\” and the guild system and its structure.
In a related context, the author discusses in the third chapter the location of Baghdad and its commercial importance, land and river transport routes, and forms of trade exchanges.
The book concludes with the fourth chapter, which is dedicated to taxes and the monetary system, covering financial administration, types of taxes and their collection amounts, methods of tax collection, the monetary system and currency divisions, as well as types of Ottoman and foreign currencies, monetary crises, and how governors dealt with them.
In turn, the Department of Media and Government Communication at the Rectorship of the University of Samarra congratulates the faculty member of the College of Arts on her new scholarly output, which is considered an academic addition to the library of modern history studies, wishing her continued success in her academic and research career.
