Mesopotamian cuisine has a long history dating back 10,000 years to the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians. As some of the tablets found in ancient monuments in Iraq show recipes for preparing food that was prepared in temples during religious holidays. These tablets are considered among the first cookbooks in the ancient world. Iraq, or Mesopotamia, was the cradle of many highly developed and advanced civilizations in all parts of the world. Fields of knowledge including culinary arts. However, it was in the medieval era when Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate that Iraqi cuisine reached its zenith.. Today, the cuisine of Iraq reflects this rich inheritance as well as strong influences from the culinary traditions of neighboring countries such as Turkey, Iran and Syria in the region.