Daesh is the Arabic acronym for al-Dawla al-Islamiyya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), widely used by Arabic speakers and adopted by governments wishing to avoid legitimising the organisation’s self-description as a “state.” The organisation is also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), ISIL, or simply IS. It emerged from Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after the 2003 American invasion, and developed its ideology — combining jihadist theology with an apocalyptic vision and a commitment to state-building — through the Iraqi insurgency. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dispatched operatives to Syria in 2011, establishing a presence under the name Jabhat al-Nusra. A public split with Jabhat al-Nusra in April 2013 produced two competing jihadist organisations. ISIS seized Raqqa in March 2013 and declared the caliphate on 29 June 2014 following the capture of Mosul. The caliphate attracted fighters from over 100 countries and controlled territory larger than the United Kingdom at its peak. It was militarily destroyed by American-led coalition airstrikes and Kurdish SDF ground forces, with the final territorial defeat at Baghuz in March 2019, though the organisation continues as an underground network.