During the period that Iraq was ruled by a royal family, “The Royal Salute” was the official national anthem. Technically, it is fanfare that was to be played at the arrival of the King at public ceremonies, but it was also presented as the national anthem of this country during this time. The music, in the “Arab fanfare” style of anthem, was composed by Lieut. A. Chaffon, an Englishman who was the director of music for the Iraq Army Bands as the winning entry in a competition for a national anthem announced in 1924, while the kingdom was still under nominal British control.

Special thanks to: Muhammad Ihsan Bin Abdul Rahman for the music file.