<P> In the later 11th century, Iraq fell under the rule of the Khwarazmian dynasty . Both Turkic secular rule and Abassid caliphate came to an end with the Mongol invasions of the 13th century . The Mongols under Genghis Khan had conquered Khwarezmia by 1221, but Iraq proper gained a respite due to the death of Genghis Khan in 1227 and the subsequent power struggles . Möngke Khan from 1251 began a renewed expansion of the Mongol Empire, and when caliph al - Mustasim refused to submit to the Mongols, Baghdad was besieged and captured by Hulagu Khan in 1258 . With the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate, Hulagu had an open route to Syria and moved against the other Muslim powers in the region . </P> <P> Iraq now became a province on the southwestern fringes of the Ilkhanate and Baghdad would never regain its former importance . </P> <P> The Jalayirids were a Mongol Jalayir dynasty which ruled over Iraq and western Persia after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s . The Jalayirid sultanate lasted about fifty years, until disrupted by Tamerlane's conquests and the revolts of the "Black Sheep Turks" or Qara Qoyunlu Turkmen . After Tamerlane's death in 1405, there was a brief attempt to re-establish the sultanate in southern Iraq and Khuzistan . The Jalayirids were finally eliminated by Kara Koyunlu in 1432 . </P> <P> During the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the Black Sheep Turkmen ruled the area now known as Iraq . In 1466, the White Sheep Turkmen defeated the Black Sheep and took control . In the 16th century, most of the territory of present - day Iraq came under the control of Ottoman Empire as the pashalik of Baghdad . Throughout most of the period of Ottoman rule (1533 - 1918) the territory of present - day Iraq was a battle zone between the rival regional empires and tribal alliances . Iraq was divided into three vilayets: </P>

When did the country iraq become established and who has been its rulers