Basra
Sign in to saveBasra () or Basrah is a port city in southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq border, the city is situated along the banks of the Shatt al-Arab that empties into the Persian Gulf. It is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding .
AI overview
Basra is a major port city in southern Iraq, located on the Shatt al-Arab waterway near the Persian Gulf and the Iran-Iraq border, making it an important center for trade and commerce. As Iraq's third-largest city and the capital of Basra Governorate, it is a significant urban center in the country, though it is known for being exceptionally hot during summer months.
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Key facts
- Settlement.official_name
- Basra
- Settlement.other_name
- Basrah
- Settlement.native_name
- ٱلْبَصْرَة
- Settlement.native_name_lang
- ar
- Settlement.nickname
- Venice of the East
- Settlement.settlement_type
- Metropolis
- Settlement.image_caption
- Basra along Shatt al-Arab, Al-Ashar River, Basrah Museum, Ottoman Viceroy House and Basra International Hotel
- Settlement.image_size
- 275
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Iraq#Near East
- Settlement.pushpin_label_position
- left
- Settlement.pushpin_relief
- yes
- Settlement.pushpin_map_caption
- Location of Basra within Iraq
Article
28 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Foundation by the Rashidun Caliphate (636–661)
- Umayyad Caliphate: 661–750
- Abbasid Caliphate and its Golden Age: 750–1258
- Mongol rule and thereafter: 1258–1500s
- Ottoman and British rule
- Modern era: 1921–2003
- Post-Saddam period: 2003–present
- Geography
- Climate
- Effect of climate change
- Demographics
- Religion
- Genetics
- Urban Landscape
- Economy
- Transport
- Seaport
- Sports
- Notable people
- Twin towns and sister cities
- In fiction
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Basra () or Basrah is a port city in southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq border, the city is situated along the banks of the Shatt al-Arab that empties into the Persian Gulf. It is consistently one of the hottest cities in Iraq, with summer temperatures regularly exceeding .
Built in 636 as a military camp, Basra played an important role as a regional hub of knowledge, trade and commerce during the Islamic Golden Age and is home to the first mosque built outside the Arabian Peninsula. It was a center of the slave trade in Mesopotamia, until the Zanj rebellion in 871. Historically, Basra is one of the ports from which the fictional Sinbad the Sailor embarked on his journeys. It has experienced numerous ruling shifts. In 1258, the city was sacked by the Mongols. Basra came under Portuguese control in 1526 and later fell under the control of the Ottomans as part of the Basra Eyalet, one of the provinces comprising Ottoman Iraq. During World War I, British forces captured Basra in 1914. It was incorporated into Mandatory Iraq, under the framework Mandate for Mesopotamia after 1921, which later became the independent Kingdom of Iraq in 1932.