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At the eve of the seventh century when the Muslims arrived, the Church of Iraq had more Christians under its jurisdiction than the western churches It had reached its peak in learning and its members had a near monopoly in subjects like medicine, Greek language and philosophy. Under Umayyad and Abbasid rules the Christians were treated as Dhimmis i.e.. they had to pay a special tax (al-Jyzya) as a price of their protection since they were not conscripted in the army, and had to follow al-Dhimmi rules that ensured their treatment as second class citizens. These rules were not always enforced and Christians flourished during the first two centuries of Abbasid rule. They served as doctors and confidants to generations of Caliphs and were of vital importance to the emergence of their civilization. By translating the philosophical writings of the Greeks to Arabic, they contributed not only in making these works available to Muslim thinkers but also by assisting in the transmission of knowledge and the creation of lucid Arabic terminology.

A teaching tablet from Tikrit. Ninth Century Iraq Museum), from Amir Harra

It is with great sadness that whenever this great history is reviewed it has to be followed by its decline.

From the ninth century onwards the decline was gradual and by the tenth century, Christian centres such as Tikrit and Seleucia Ctesiphoe have disappeared.

Isolated and impoverished the Christians retreated to the mountains and were forgotten by the western church until after the crusades.

Contact with the Roman Catholic Church started from the thirteenth century, mainly in the Island of Cyprus to which the crusaders retreated after defeat by the Muslims. Catholic missionary activity led to the emergence of new churches in union with the Roman Catholic Church. The Chaldean Church was the result of union of some members of the Church of the East with Rome, while the Syrian Catholic Church emerged as a result of union of some members of the Syrian Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church. Protestant and Anglican missions also led to few Protestant denominations.

During Ottoman rule most of the Christians were in isolated mountainous areas where the Turkish gendarme could not reach so they led a free life next to Kurdish tribes, while in other areas where they were reached by the Wali they were usually oppressed as most Walis enforced the Dhimmi rules and followed a policy of extortion and oppression. In the early eighteenth century of Ottomans rule there was reorganization with an attempt to give minorities equal rights. Organized scientific and religious missions flooded the area and in Iraq, the Carmelites established themselves in Basra in 1721 and in Baghdad in 1722, while the Dominicans arrived in Mosul in 1750. 

The Dominican Church in Mosul 1866

They opened the first schools and clinics and the Dominicans had the first printing press. During World War I, massacres of Armenian and Syriac Christians led many to seek Iraq for refuge thus increasing its Christian population.