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Basra
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008
Basra , Arabic al Basrah, city (1987 pop. 406,296), SE Iraq, on the Shatt al Arab. Basra is Iraq's second largest city and principal port. Its commercially advantageous location, near oil fields and 75 mi (121 km) from the Persian Gulf, has made it prosperous. Since 1948 many oil refineries have been built in the city. Petroleum products, grains, wool, and dates are exported. Basra was founded (AD 636) by the caliph Umar I. It was a cultural center under Harun ar-Rashid and declined with the decay of the Abbasid caliphate. Its possession was long contested by the Persians and the Turks. The British occupied Basra during World War I and used its port; they remained there until 1930. After World War I the construction of a rail line to Baghdad and the building of a modern harbor restored the city's importance. Due to its location on the heavily contested Shatt al Arab waterway, Basra was hard hit by Iranian forces in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War . The port was further bombed by western coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War (1991), primarily to thwart covert trade. Basra is the seat of a branch of the Univ. of Baghdad. The name also appears as Bassora, Bussora, and Busra.
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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press
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Patrolling the Gulf. (Persian Gulf)
National Review; 7/17/1987; 480 words
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The Washington Post; 2/4/1991; E.J. Dionne Jr.; 959 words
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Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service; 11/10/1993; 224 words
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Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses
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World Encyclopedia
Basra (Al-Basrah) City and chief port on Shatt al-Arab channel, s Iraq; capital of Basra province. An ancient centre of Arabic learning, it was captured ... century, large oilfields were discovered nearby, resulting in Basra's revival as a commercial and industrial centre. It suffered ...
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al- Hasan al-Basri
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
... born 642, Medina, Arabia—died 728, Basra, Iraq) Muslim ascetic and major figure ... as a young soldier. He then settled at Basra, and from 684 he was a popular preacher ... 714), but he afterward lived openly in Basra. He is considered a founder of the two ...
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Umm Qasr
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
town, Basra prov., S Iraq, S of Basra on the Kuwait border. Located on an arm of the Persian Gulf, it is Iraq's second largest port, with deepwater facilities.
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al- Kindi
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
(Abu Yusuf Yakub ibn Ishak al-Kindi) , 9th cent. Arab philosopher, b. Basra, Iraq. He studied at Basra and at Baghdad and is noted as one of the earliest scholars in the Middle East to become thoroughly versed ...
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Al Basrah
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
see Basra , Iraq.
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