During the nineteenth century, Ottoman Iraq was the site of many epidemics. For much of that time, cholera, malaria, and plague were the biggest challenges in the region, prompting Ottoman authorities to combat these diseases through quarantine measures and general improvements in sanitation and flood control. However, during this time, influenza was also a threat to Iraq, as it had been to the Ottoman Empire more generally and the world at large. This paper examines the effects of the 1889-1893 influenza pandemic (the so-called “Russian” flu) on Ottoman Iraq. Focusing on the first wave of the pandemic, which came to Iraq in 1890, the paper highlights some of the main issues that those who observed the spread of the disease felt compelled to record. These included influenza’s mortality, the ecological factors governing the disease’s appearance, and the disease’s trajectory as it made its way to Iraq. The paper also argues that the Ottoman state’s tepid response to the spread of influenza in Iraq was less a reflection of a general Ottoman disinterest in the disease, which also affected other parts of the empire, and more a reflection of the priority that Ottoman authorities gave to mitigating the effects of other infectious diseases in Iraq. Finally, the paper also points to some continuities between the Ottoman state’s response to influenza and Britain’s response to the disease, when it appeared in Iraq in 1918. Ultimately, the paper seeks to integrate the Ottoman experience into broader global narratives of the 1889-1893 influenza pandemic by emphasizing the specificity of place.