Basra

Basrah (Arabic: البصرة‎ al-Baṣrah), is the second largest city of Iraq, with a population of approximately 3,800,200 inhabitants in 2009. It is the main port of the country, located near the Persian Gulf and 545 km south of the capital, Baghdad. Founded in 636, Basra played an important role in early Islamic history.

It has an international airport, from which Iraqi Airways, the country's largest airline, has recently restored a connection to Baghdad. It is located in a fertile agricultural region, whose main products are rice, corn, rye, wheat and dates. Likewise, oil resources are important. Its refinery produces about 140,000 barrels per day (22,300 m³).

Muslims in the area belong mainly to the Jafari sect of Shi'ism. There are also many Sunnis, as well as a small group of Christians. Mandeanism survives in the area formerly called Suk esh-Sheikh.

The network of canals that run through it gave it the nickname 'the Venice of the Middle East'.

In The Thousand and One Nights it is the port from which Sinbad the Sailor departs.

Etymology

The city has been called by many names throughout its history, Basra being the most common. In Arabic, the word baṣrah means "one who watches," which could have been an allusion to the origin of the city as an Arab military base against the Sassanids. Others have argued that the name is derived from the Aramaic word basratha, meaning "place of huts, settlement". Other sources claim the name originates from the Persian word Bas-rāh or Bassorāh meaning "where many forms come together".

History

During the first few years after the city's establishment, Basra's governors oversaw the surrounding areas through small garrisons where tax collectors were also stationed. During the Umayyad period, the farthest Iranian regions of Fars, Sistan, Khorasan and the parts of Media that are called Māh al-Baṣra were usually part of the administrative responsibility of Basra, whose governor administered them through sub-governors. At various points during the Umayyad period, the governorship of Basra was combined with that of its sister city of Kufa in central Iraq (which, like Basra, had large areas of Iran under its administrative control) in the hands of a single governor., as was the case with Abd al-Málik's powerful viceroy, Hayyach ibn Yusuf.

Rashidun Caliphate (632–661)

The city was founded in the early Islamic era in 636 and began as a garrison camp for Arab tribesmen who were part of the armies of the Rashid Caliph Úmar. A tell a few kilometers south of the current city still marks the original location, which was a military site. While defeating the forces of the Sasanian Empire at this location, the Muslim commander Utbah ibn Ghazwan erected his camp on the site of an old Persian military settlement called Vaheštābād Ardašīr, which had been destroyed by the Arabs. It was given the name Al-Basrah.

In 639, Úmar established this camp as a city with five districts and appointed Abu Musa al-Ashari as its first governor. The city was built on a circular plan in keeping with Parthian-Sasanian architecture. Abu Musa led the conquest of Khuzestan from 639 to 642, and was given orders by Umar to help Uthman ibn Abi al-As, who was then fighting against Iran. from a new miṣr further east in the medieval city of Tawwaj. In 650, Caliph Rashidun Uthman reorganized the Persian border, appointing Abdullah ibn Amir as governor of Basra, and placing the southern wing of the army under Basra's control. Ibn Amir led his forces to final victory over Yazdgerd III, the Sassanid Shah.

In 656, Uthman was assassinated and Ali was made caliph. Ali first appointed Uthman ibn Hanif as governor of Basra, who was followed by Abdullah ibn Abbas. These men held the city for Ali until the latter's death in 661.

Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)

Sufjanids (661–684)

The Sufjanids (i.e., Muawiyah I, Yazid I and Muawiyah II) maintained control over Basra until the death of Yazid I in 683. The first Sufjanid ruler was Umayyad Abdullah, a famous military leader, who demanded loyalty and demands Kerbala's finances, but he was a bad governor. In 664, Muawiya I replaced him with Ziyad ibn Abi Sufn, often called "ibn Abihi" (& # 34; son of his own father & # 34;), who became famous for his draconian rules on public order. On Ziyad's death in 673, his son Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad became the governor. In 680, Yazid I ordered Ubaydullah to maintain order in Kufa in reaction to the popularity of Husain ibn Ali as a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ubaydullah assumed control of Kufa. Husain sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil as ambassador to the people of Kufa, but Ubaydullah executed him for fear of rebellion. Ubaydullah assembled an army of thousands of soldiers and attacked Husain and his guard, consisting of approximately 70 men, in the battle of Kerbala, near Kufa, where they were heading. Ubaydullah's army was victorious, and Husain and his followers were killed and his heads were sent to Yazid as evidence.

Ibn al-Harith spent his year in office as governor of Basra trying to put down Nafi' ibn al-Azraq's Khariji uprising in Khuzestan. In 685, Ibn al-Zubayr, needing a practical governor, appointed Umar ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Ma'mar. Ibn al-Zubayr later appointed his own brother Mus'ab al-Zubayr. In 686, the revolutionary Mukhtar al-Thaqafi led an insurrection in Kufa and killed Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad near Mosul. In 687, Musʿab al-Zubayr defeated Mukhtar with the help of the Kufans whom Mukhtar had exiled.

Abd al-Malik (685–705)

Abd al-Málik ibn Marwan recaptured Basra for the Umayyad Caliphate in 691, appointing Al-Hayyach ibn Yusuf as joint governor of Kufa and Basra. Basra remained loyal to al-Hayyach during the mutiny of Ibn Ash'ath (699-702). However, Basra supported Yazid ibn al-Muhallab's rebellion against Yazid II during the 720s.

Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258)

In the 740s, Basra fell to as-Saffah of the Abbasid Caliphate. During the time of the Abbasids, Basra became an intellectual center and home to the Basra Grammar School, the rival and sister school of the Kufa Grammar School. Several of the leading intellectuals of the time were from Basra: the Arab polymath Alhacen, the Arabic literary colossus al-Jahiz, and the Sufi mystic Rabia Basri. The Zanj rebellion of lowland agricultural slaves affected the area. In 871, the Zanj sacked Basra. In 923, the Carmatians, an extremist Muslim sect, invaded and devastated Basra.

Buyid Dynasty (945-1055)

From 945 to 1055, a Buyid dynasty ruled Baghdad and most of Iraq. Abu al Qasim al-Baridis, who still controlled Basra and Wasit, was defeated and his lands taken by the Buyids in 947. Adud al-Dawla and his sons Diya al-Dawla and Samsam al-Dawla were Buyid rulers of Basra for decades. from 970, 980 and 990. Sanad al-Dawla al-Habashi (ca. 921-977), brother of the emir of Iraq Izz al-Dawla, was governor of Basra and built a library of 15,000 books.

Seljuk Dynasty (1055-1194)

The Oguz Turk Tugrïl Beg was the leader of the Seljuks, and he ousted the Buyid Shiite dynasty. He was the first Seljuk ruler to call himself sultan and protector of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Islamic Golden Age

The Great Friday Mosque was built in Basra. In 1122, Zengi received Basra as a fief. In 1126, Zengi put down a revolt, and in 1129 Dabis looted the Basra state funds. A map from the year 1200 "on the eve of the Mongol invasions" it shows the Abbasid Caliphate ruling lower Iraq and, presumably, Basra.

The assassin Rashid-ad-Din-Sinan was born in Basra between 1131 and 1135.

In 1258, the Mongols led by Hulegu Khan sacked Baghdad and ended Abbasid rule. According to some accounts, Basra capitulated to the Mongols to prevent a massacre. The map of the Bahri Mamluk dynasty (1250-1382) shows Basra under their control area, and the map of the Ilkhanate (1300-1405) shows Basra under their control.

In 1290, according to Buscarello de Ghizolfi, fighting broke out between the Genoese in the Persian Gulf port of Basra, between the Guelph and Ghibelline factions.

Ibn Battuta visited Basra in the 14th century, noting that "it was known throughout the world, spacious in area and elegant in its courtyards, notable for its numerous orchards and its select fruits, since it is the meeting place of the two seas, the salty and the sweet." Ibn Battuta also noted that Basra consisted of three sections: the Hudayl quarter, the Banu Haram quarter, and the Iranian quarter (mahallat al-Ajam). Fred Donner adds:" If the first two reveal that Basra was still predominantly an Arab city, the existence of an Iranian neighborhood clearly reveals the legacy of long centuries of intimate contact between Basra and the Iranian plateau."

15th and 16th centuries

Basra was of particular geopolitical importance in the 16th and XVII, being located on the border between the rival Ottoman (Sunni) and Safavid (Shia) empires, on the border of the Arabian desert, and also playing a fundamental role in the growth of trade on the Indian Ocean (being the only Ottoman port with access to this ocean). As a result, the Ottomans and the Safavids disputed the possession of Basra. Although the two empires claimed jurisdiction over the city on several occasions, their authority was mostly in name only, while de facto control rested with local governors ruling under their Safavid or Ottoman suzerainty.. During this period, much of present-day Iraq was rendered insecure by the ravages of the "fiercely independent" semi-nomadic Arab (in the south) and Kurdish (in the north) tribes, who attacked moving caravans. Likewise, the climate in the south, in Sawad, was unhealthy and brought plagues and deadly epidemics that contributed to several turbulent periods in Basra's history. Nevertheless, Basra had become a major traffic hub for the Persian Gulf area, both for merchants and for pilgrims on their way to Mecca and Medina.

The Bedouin Arab tribe of Al-Mughamis, a branch of the Banu'l-Muntafiq tribe that inhabited the area between Kufa and Basra, seized control of Basra in the early 20th century XV. Between 1436 and 1508 de facto control passed into the hands of the Moshasha, a tribal confederation of radical Shiites who it was found mainly on the edges of the swamps on the border of the Safavid province of Arabestan (present-day Khuzestan), but was promptly lost to the Kara Koyunlu and the Ak Koyunlu successively. In 1508, during the reign of the Shah Ismail I (r. 1501-1524), the first Safavid king, Basra and the Moshasha became part of the Safavid Empire. This was the first time Basra had come under Safavid suzerainty. The Moshasha proved to be valuable allies to the Safavids, often acting as their proxies in campaigns against the Arabs of southern Iraq and Basra, commanded by a Safavid-appointed governor. Although they were officially Safavid subjects, they enjoyed broad autonomy, and their territory served as a neutral zone between the Safavids and the Ottomans.

In 1524, after the death of Ismail I, Basra's local ruling dynasty, the Al-Mughamis, retook effective control of the city. Twelve years later, in 1536, during the Ottoman-Safavid War, the Basra's Bedouin ruler, Rashid ibn Mughamis, recognized Suleiman the Magnificent as his suzerain, who in turn confirmed him as governor of Basra. The Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire exercised great independence, often even raising their own troops. Although Basra had submitted to the Ottomans, Ottoman control over Basra was initially weak. This would change a decade later, in 1546, when, following a tribal fight involving the Moshasha and the local ruler of Zakiya (near Basra), the Ottomans sent a garrison to Basra. This resulted in tighter (but still in name) Ottoman control over Basra.

Although they had been replaced by the Ottomans as rulers of Iraq, the Safavids never gave up their claim, at least in their legal rhetoric. In reality, most of Iraq was foreign territory for the Safavids, despite the fact that the south was inhabited by many Shiites. In the words of modern historian Rudi Matthee:

The area was difficult to defend, as it was isolated from the central Persian plateau by the Zagros mountain range. Sawad, the Mesopotamia alluvial plain, was warm, wet and unhealthy, and a frequent incubator of deadly epidemics. The flat and semi-desert land was an inhospitable terrain for the qizilbash warriors, accustomed to the high plains and the mountains in the center of Persia and East Anatolia. Their preference for guerrilla tactics, ambushes and rapid races followed by a retreat to the mountains, in contrast to the confrontations opened in the battlefield, was not good for them in Iraq, with their alluvial plains and swamps.

Portuguese Empire

Basra at the end of the centuryXVI

The Portuguese empire had made a strong presence in the Persian Gulf since the early 16th century century. In 1523, the Portuguese under the command of António Tenreiro (1485-1560/1565) crossed into Basra from Aleppo. In 1550, the local kingdom of Basra and tribal rulers supported the Portuguese against the Ottomans, and thereafter the Portuguese threatened to conquer Basra several times. From 1595 the Portuguese acted as Basra's military protectors, and in 1624 the Portuguese helped the Pasha of Basra repel a Persian invasion. The Portuguese were granted a share of customs and toll exemption. From then on, the territory of Xatalárabe (Shatt al-Arab), as the Portuguese called it, became an allied territory of the Portuguese empire. Thanks to this alliance, the Augustinians managed to found a convent in Basra, which answered to Goa. In the early 17th century, parts of the city and rivers of Basra were designed by the Portuguese.

17th-19th centuries

In 1596, the Ottoman governor sold Basra to one Afrasiyab, a local magnate descended from the Sunni Seljuk dynasty. From then until 1668, Basra was considered a hereditary ejalate under the control of the Afrasiyab family. During this During this period, the Safavid Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588-1629) made several attempts to capture Basra, which was a major rival to his trading port city of Bandar Abbas, and was also a base for Portuguese traders in the region. Safavid attempts made in 1624, 1625, and 1628-1629 during the 1623-1639 War proved unsuccessful, thanks to a combination of Portuguese interference, pressing concerns on other fronts, and eventually Abbas's death.

Although the Safavids recognized Ottoman rule over Iraq in the Treaty of Zuhab (1639), they were occasionally tempted to try to recapture it, for example after the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Kahlenberg in 1683. However, more factions cautious and conservative, mindful of the declining military power of the Safavids, prevailed against these ideas. Relations remained strained in Basra due to the continued harassment of Iranian pilgrims by the Ottoman authorities, so the Safavids arrived even to ban pilgrims on several occasions. In addition, unrest in southern Iraq continued to spread across the border into Safavid territory. Thus, in 1667, when Husayn Pasha of the Afrasiyab dynasty refused to recognize the Sultan's suzerainty and the Ottomans sent a punitive expedition against him, Husayn Pasha evacuated the entire population to Safavid territory while offering the city to the Safavids. Shah Suleiman I (r. 1666–1694), however, refused Husayn Pasha's pleas as he did not want to antagonize the Ottomans, and in 1668, the Ottoman governor of Baghdad established direct control over Basra.

Basra's interest in the Safavids also occurred for economic reasons: in the mid-to-late 17th century, coins Safavid abbasi and panj shahi were the most widely used currencies in Basra. Under Suleiman I's successor Husayn (r. 1694-1722), Safavid policy regarding the recovery of Iraq did not change. According to Matthee, "this is not surprising", given that the Safavid army was weak at the time and the Shah himself was notorious for his insecure nature. Unlike most of his predecessors, Sultan Husayn encouraged He actively encouraged pilgrims to visit Shia holy shrines in Iraq, which they did in unprecedented numbers. Husayn was also willing to spend Safavid state resources for the upkeep of the shrines in Iraq.

During the early 18th century century, the Safavids again gained power in southern Iraq. In 1690, An outbreak of plague and famine sparked tribal conflicts within the Al-Muntafiq tribe in southern Iraq. Led by Sheikh Mane ibn Mughamis, the Muntafiq Arabs revolted against the Ottomans. The Ottoman government launched another punitive campaign, but failed to put down Shaykh Mane's revolt. In 1695, Sheikh Mane captured Basra with the help of the local population and overthrew the Ottoman governor and troops. During his brief tenure as Basra's ruler, he was considered relatively benevolent. The Safavids were not particularly happy with this change of events. The rebels had not only seized control of a major city on the Safavid border, but had also looted several pilgrim caravans near Basra during their capture of the city. To the Safavids, this demonstrated that Sheikh Mane had expansionist ambitions and could pose a danger to their interests. The vali ("viceroy", "governor") Safavid from the neighboring province of Arabestan, Farajollah Khan was also concerned about the links between the Moshasha and Sheikh Mane. Some 5,000 dissatisfied members of the Moshasha, followers of his nephew Sayyed Mahmud, had assisted Sheikh Mane in the capture of Basra in 1695. Just two years later, in 1697, Farajollah Khan and his Moshasha loyalists clashed with the Sheikh Mane and his sympathizers among the Moshasha. Farajollah Khan and his Moshasha were victorious and captured Basra on behalf of the Safavid shah, causing Sheikh Mane to flee.

When the Safavids realized that Sheikh Mane and his tribesmen were eager to retake Basra, and even wanted to attack Hoveyzeh, the provincial capital of Arabestan province, Shah Husayn issued a firmam (decree), ordering the Safavid army of Lorestan Province, commanded by Ali Mardan Khan, chief of the Fayli tribe and governor of Kohgiluyeh, to advance towards Basra. On March 26, 1697, Safavid troops took control of the city, and Ali Mardan Khan was appointed governor. This marked the beginning of the second period of Safavid control of Basra. Later that year, Ali Mardan Khan was succeeded by Ebrahim Khan, the governor of Dawraq (present-day Shadegan, Khuzestan).

Although the Safavids had taken control of Basra, they refrained from making a "full and final claim" over the city. Sultan Husayn's government was still concerned not to disturb the peace with the Ottomans. In addition, they were aware of Iran's military weakness at the time and realized that it would be "difficult to hold on to a city located in an extremely volatile region." The activities of Kurdish rebel Suleiman Baba, who had The captured city of Ardalan and the fortress of Urmia near the Ottoman border in the same year reinforced his concerns. In late 1697, Sheikh Mane, having made peace with his old enemy Farajollah Khan, and aided by deserters of the Moshasha, he defeated a large Safavid force near the fortress of Khurma (Khorma) and captured its general. This forced Sultan Husayn to offer Basra to the Ottomans. Sultan Husayn had keys made of pure gold and sent Rostam Khan Zanganeh as ambassador to Constantinople, to deliver them to Ottoman Sultan Mustafa II (r. 1695–1703), in a symbolic gesture offering the city to Ottoman control. However, although the Safavids continued to show their willingness to return Basra to the Ottomans and maintained an Ottoman embassy in Isfahan between December 1698 and April 1699, Basra would remain in Ottoman hands. the Safavids until 1701.

In the early 1700s, Sheikh Mane reappeared before the city of Basra and demanded a payment of 500 tomans from its Safavid governor, Ebrahim Khan. The governor, who was short on troops, he convinced Sheikh Mane with a payment of 300 tomans and received 6,000 reinforcements from Kohgiluyeh province. Arab forces continued to press the city, leading the Shah to remove Ebrahim Khan later that year and replace him with Davud Khan, the former governor of Al-Qurna. The Arabs subsequently blockaded Basra, causing a famine. This situation continued into 1701. In February of that year, the Safavid garrison of 6,000 men, demoralized by non-payment and the news that a massive Ottoman army was moving towards Basra, revolted against the Safavid governor and looted numerous properties in Basra. The Ottoman army arrived in Basra on 9 March 1701, demanding the surrender of the Safavids. Davud Khan and the Safavid troops in Basra left the city and boarded ships that they had kept ready. On March 10, 1701, the newly appointed Ottoman governor, Ali Pasha, entered Basra accompanied by the Ottoman governors of Baghdad, Sivas and Kirkuk, as well as some 30,000 Ottoman soldiers.

Basra at the end of the centuryXIX

The Zand dynasty during the reign of Mohammad Karim Khan briefly occupied Basra after a long siege between 1775 and 1779. The Zands tried to introduce the Usulli form of Shi'ism to Basra's mainly Shia Akhbari people. The brevity of Zand's rule made this untenable.

20th century

Basra during the First World War

In 1911, the Encyclopaedia Britannica reported that "about 4,000 Jews and perhaps 6,000 Christians" lived in Basra, but no Turks except Ottoman officials. In 1884, the Ottomans responded to local pressure from southern Shiites by separating the southern districts of the Baghdad Valiat, thus creating the new Basra Valiat.

Geography

Basrah lies on the Shatt-Al-Arab waterway, downstream of which is the Persian Gulf. The Shatt-Al-Arab and Basra waterways determine Basra's eastern and western borders, respectively. The city is crossed by a complex network of canals and streams, vital for irrigation and other agricultural uses. These canals were once used to transport goods and people throughout the city, but for the past two decades, pollution and a continual drop in water levels have made river navigation in the canals impossible. Basra is located approximately 110 km (68 miles) from the Persian Gulf.

Climate

Basra has a hot arid climate (Köppen climate classification, BWh), like the rest of the surrounding region, although it receives slightly more precipitation compared to places inland thanks to its location near the coast. During the summer months of June through August, Basra is one of the hottest cities on the planet, with temperatures regularly exceeding 50°C (122°F) in July and August. In winter, Basra experiences a temperate climate with temperatures around 14 °C (57 °F) on average. On some winter nights, minimum temperatures are below 0 °C (32 °F). High humidity, sometimes over 90%, is common due to the proximity to the swampy Persian Gulf.

The all-time high was recorded on July 22, 2016, when daytime readings spiked to 53.8 °C (128.8 °F). This is one of the hottest temperatures ever measured on the entire planet. The following night, the overnight minimum temperature was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F), which was one of the highest single-day minimum temperatures, second only to Khasab, Oman, and Death Valley. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Basra was −4.7 °C (23.5 °F) on January 22, 1964.

Demographics

In Basra, the vast majority of the population is made up of ethnic Arabs from the Adnanite or Qahtanite tribes. Tribes located in Basra include the tribes of Al-Emarah, Bani Mansour, Dulaim, Shammar, Jubur, Bani Tamim, Bani Malik, Zubaid, Al-shwelat, Suwa'id, Al-bo Mohammed, Al-Badr, Al -Ubadi, and Ruba'ah Sayyid (all descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) and other Arab tribes.

In addition to the Arabs, there is also a community of Afro-Iraqi peoples, known as the Zanj. The Zanj are a Muslim ethnic group living in Iraq and are a mix of African peoples taken from the coastal area of present-day Kenya as slaves in the 1990s. They number around 200,000 in Iraq.

Religion

Basrah is one of the main Shi'a cities, and the old Akhbari Shi'ism is progressively outnumbered by the Usulli Shi'ism. The Sunni population is small, and its percentage is declining as more Iraqi Shiites move to Basra in search of various job opportunities or social assistance. The satellite town of Az Zubayr heading towards Kuwait used to be a Sunni town, but Basra's burgeoning population has spread to Zubair, making it an extension of Basra with also a slight Shiite majority.

Assyrian Christians were registered in the Ottoman census as early as 1911, and a small number of them live in Basra. However, a significant number of the modern community is made up of refugees fleeing persecution by the Islamic State in the Nineveh Plains, Mosul and northern Iraq. Since Iraq was freed from this threat, many of these Christians have returned to their native places on the Nineveh plains. By 2018 there were a few thousand Christians in Basra. One of the largest communities of pre-Islamic Mandaeans lives in the city, whose headquarters were located in the area formerly called Suk esh-Sheikh.

Economy

The city is located along the Shatt al-Arab waterway, 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the Persian Gulf and 545 kilometers (339 miles) from Baghdad, Iraq's capital and largest city. Its economy is heavily dependent on the oil industry. Iraq has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world, estimated at more than 115 billion barrels (18.3 × 109 m³). Some of Iraq's largest oil fields are located in the province, and most of Iraq's oil exports leave from the Al Basrah Oil Terminal. The South Oil Company has its headquarters in the city.

Substantial economic activity in Basra is centered on the petrochemical industry, which includes the Southern Fertilizer Company and the State Company of Petrochemical Industries (SCPI). The Southern Fertilizer Company produces a solution of ammonia, urea, and nitrogen gas, while SCPI focuses on products such as ethylene, caustic/chlorine, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene low density and high density polyethylene.

Basrah is located in a fertile agricultural region, with major products such as rice, maize, barley, pearl millet, wheat, dates, and cattle. For a long time, Basra was known for the superior quality of its dates. Basra became known in the 1960s for its sugar market.

Shipping, logistics and transportation are also important industries in Basra. Basra is home to all six of Iraq's ports. Umm Qasr is the main deep-water port with 22 platforms, some of which are dedicated to specific products (such as sulfur, seeds, lubricating oil, etc.). The other five ports are smaller in scale and more specialized. Fishing was a big business before the oil boom. The city also has an international airport, with service to Baghdad with Iraqi Airways, the national carrier.

Twinned cities

• Baku, Azerbaijan
• Venice, Italy

Notable people