Nasiriyah (Arabic: الناصرية; BGN: An Nāşirīyah; also spelled Nassiriya or Nasiriya) is a city in Iraq. It is on the Euphrates River about 225 miles (370 km) southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. It is the capital of the province of Dhi Qar. According to the 1987 census the city had a population of 265,937 people; the estimated population in 2003 was 560,200. Nasiriyah is Iraq's fourth most populated city after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul.
The population of Nasiriyah is nearly exclusively Shī‘a Muslims. It is made up of Shī‘a clans including the Shuwaili tribe led by the Khairallah sheikhs. After the failed uprising of 1991, many families were massacred by Saddam Hussein's forces whilst thousands fled from Iraq to other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Sweden.
Nasiriyah is the centre of a date-growing area, but many other agricultural products are produced here as well. The city's industries include boatbuilding, carpentry and silver working.
The old parts of the town are built mainly from sun-dried brick and this part of the town is still enclosed by a mud wall. The newer parts are dominated by standard Iraqi block buildings.
The city museum has a large collection of Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid artifacts. The ruins of the ancient cities of Ur and Larsa are located nearby.
The city was founded in 1840 by Sheikh Nasir Sadun of the Muntafiq tribal confederation, after whom it is named. During World War I the British conquered the city, controlled at the time by the Ottoman Empire, in July 1915. Some 400 British and Indian soldiers were killed in the battle for Nasiriyah, and up to 2,000 Turks.
Nasiriyah is where the Iraqi Communist Party was founded around 1932. It was mostly dominated by secular and leftist groups, and the founder of the Iraqi Baath Party, Foud al-Rikaby, was from Nasiriyah. During 1932-1963 the city was the center for liberal and progressive thinking. Some of the leading thinkers who grew up in that area were Aziz al-Syed Jasim, Aziz Abdul Sahab, Sadiq Atemish and many other poets (e.g., Ayniah al-Husewani, Aryan Syed Khalif, etc), singers (e.g., Hazery Abu Aziz, Taleb al-Qayraqwli, Hussein Nameh, etc) and artists (Huessien al-Halali, Majed al-Najar, etc.).
During 1940s the city was the chamber for oppositions to monarchy and to the feudal system. Students union, Peasants association, and workers played an important role in sensitizing people to the nature of corruption and abuses which were committed by the government in Baghdad and its supporters. These associations under the leadership of the Communist Party were instrumental in setting the stage for July 14, 1958 Revolution. Hassan al-atybai and Aziz Al-Syed Jasim along with many intellectuals led the public celebrations which took place in many part of the governorate immediately after the Revolution.
During the 1991 Gulf War, Nasiriyah marked the furthest point to which coalition forces penetrated Iraq, with the United States 82nd Airborne Division reaching the main road just outside the city. In March 1991, following the American withdrawal at the war's end, the Shia population of Nasiriyah took part in the revolt against the rule of Saddam Hussein. The revolt was violently subdued by the Iraqi military with heavy loss of life and much physical damage.
موضوع: al-Nasiriyah 
الأحد 31 مايو 2009, 2:37 pm
