Monument to the Unknown Soldier, Baghdad

Monument to the Unknown Soldier

نصب الجندي المجهول
33°18′31″N 44°23′20″E / 33.3085°N 44.3890°E / 33.3085; 44.3890
Designer	Khaled al-Rahal and Marcello D'Olivo
Material	Steel, copper, marble, glass, granite, reinforced concrete and acrylic
Width	Dome is 42 m (138 ft) (diameter) on a hill 250 m (820 ft) in diameter
Beginning date	1979
Opening date	1982
Dedicated to	Fallen Iraqi soldiers

The Monument to the Unknown Soldier (Arabic: نصب الجندي المجهول, romanized: naṣb al-jundiyyi al-majhūli) is a monument in central Baghdad built by Italian architect Marcello D'Olivo [it] based on a concept by Iraqi sculptor Khaled al-Rahal and constructed between 1979 and 1982. It was dedicated to the martyrs of the Iran–Iraq War. In 1986 the national square of Iraq, Great Celebrations square, was built near the monument, and two other monuments were built close to the square in memory of the martyrs. In 1983, the Al-Shaheed Monument on the River, was opened and in 1989 the newly built Victory Arch became the entrances to the square. The Unknown Soldier's Monument represents a traditional shield (dira'a) dropping from the dying grasp of an Iraqi warrior. The monument also houses an underground museum.