Basra (or Basrah or Busra)
Principal city in southeast Iraq, 97 km/60 mi from the Gulf; population (2002 est) 1,337,600. Basra lies at the head of the tidal Shatt al-Arab waterway (formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). Founded in the 7th century and now Iraq's main port on the Shatt-al-Arab River, exports include wool, oil, cereal, and dates. It can be reached by large ocean-going vessels, though it lies 120 km/75 mi from the Gulf. Aerial bombing by international coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq War severely damaged the city's infrastructure.
History
There was a town in this vicinity in ancient times, but the Arab town was founded by Caliph Omar in
AD 631 to serve as a base for further campaigns, the desert behind being security for the retreat of the Bedouin Arabs in case of need. The town was some 14 km/9 mi southwest of the modern city. Under the Ommiad caliphs the governor of Basra administered Khorasan (North Persia) through a deputy; this shows its importance. Under the early Abbassid caliphs it was a lively centre of literary life and its position made it the emporium of trade with east Asia. In 1534 it was occupied by the Turks. In the 17th century a local leader made himself an independent ruler and opened the port to European ships: first Portuguese, then Dutch, and then British. The last independent ruler had to take refuge in Persia; the Turks and Persians fought for the town till 1779 when the Turks won. During World War I Basra was equipped as a modern port to take ocean-going ships. The modern port, Maquil, dates from 1914, when the British were in occupation. The university dates from 1967. A Shiite rebellion in Basra was crushed by the Iraqi army in March 1991, causing death and destruction.
Basra suffered severe damage to its buildings and its large oil refinery, both during the Iran–Iraq War of 1980–90, when Iranian forces advaced to within 10 km/6 mi of the city, and during the Gulf War of 1991. Considerable rebuilding has taken place since then, though, with government restrictions on oil exports, the oil refinery has not been fully redeveloped.
Basra (or Busra or Basrah)
| Governorate of Iraq; area 19,070 sq km/7,363 sq mi; population (1991 est) 1,168,800. Basra was formerly a Turkish vilayet (administrative division) of Mesopotamia. The main products are wool, grain, and dates. |
