Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest
governorate
A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...
in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, and
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. The population is mostly Sunni Muslims. The provincial capital is
Ramadi
Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate whi ...
; other important cities include
Fallujah
Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jew ...
and
Al-Qa'im.
The governorate was known as Ramadi up to 1976 when it was renamed Al Anbar Province, and it was known as Dulaim before 1962. A large majority of the inhabitants of the province are
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Muslims and most belong to the
Dulaim
Dulaim or Dulaimi or Al Duliam or Dulaym ( ar, الدليم) is an Arab royal tribe, with over seven million members. The tribe's history goes back to pre-Islamic times and members reside today in Iraq and neighboring countries such as Syria, ...
tribe, all of which speak
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
.
In early 2014, the
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
, with the assistance of some local Sunni militias, launched
a successful campaign to seize control of the province from the Iraqi government. Numerous offensive actions were undertaken by the Iraqi government, with the assistance of local Sunni tribes to remove ISIL's occupation of the province, especially in the
Anbar campaign (2015–16)
Anbar may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Iraq
* Anbar (town), near Iraqi capital Baghdad
* Al Anbar Governorate, a province of Iraq
Elsewhere
* Anbar, Iran (disambiguation)
* Anbar, Swabi, Pakistan
* Anbar, Kocaköy
Other uses
* Elec ...
, the
Western Anbar offensive (September 2017) and the
2017 Western Iraq campaign
The 2017 Western Iraq campaign was the final major military operation of the 2013–2017 war in Iraq, in the western province of Anbar, and on the border with Syria, with the goal of completely expelling ISIL forces from their last strongholds ...
. The area was effectively recaptured by the end of 2017 and has been at peace since then.
Etymology
![Ramadi Aerial Picture - April 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Ramadi_Aerial_Picture_-_April_2008.jpeg)
The name of the governorate in
Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
means "warehouse" or "silo". This was the last stop/warehouses on the old
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
toward Syria. The name is pre-Islamic. The name of the governorate is taken over from a historic city that was originally located on its territory and whose ruins can still be seen 5 km northwest of Fallujah near the city of
Saqlawiyah
As Saqlāwīyah ( ar, الصقلاوية, aṣ-Ṣaqlāwīyah) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, in central Iraq. It is located roughly 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the city of Fallujah.
Saqlawiyah is a rural city in between Habbaniyah and Falluja ...
today. This city of Anbār or
Peroz-Shapur was founded in the 3rd century by the
Muntherids
The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capital, ...
, and was before the Arab conquest in 634, the second-largest city of Iraq. It was abandoned after the
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
in the 14th century. A pseudo-authentication is offered by proposing that the name is Arabic and stands for "
granaries
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
" in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, further proposing the word Anbar (أنبار) to be the plural of Nbr (نبر) which meaning "
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s". The name was already in use in Pre-Islamic times during the
Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
rule over Iraq, long before Arabic replaced
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
as the main language of Iraq.
Dulaim is the old name of the governorate due to the
Dulaim
Dulaim or Dulaimi or Al Duliam or Dulaym ( ar, الدليم) is an Arab royal tribe, with over seven million members. The tribe's history goes back to pre-Islamic times and members reside today in Iraq and neighboring countries such as Syria, ...
tribe inhabiting the region. It was also called Liwa Al-Dulaim () in the Ottoman period and Sanjak Al-Dulaim in the seventeenth century.
History
Al Dulaim Tribe
Al Anbar was known as the Dulaim Province to the concentration of Dulaim Tribe in this region and before them, it was informally named as Sanjak Al Dulaim. During the
Ottoman period
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, the province of Dulaim was created, today known as Al Anbar Governorate. In 1706, Sheikh Itha bin Hamad was appointed as its ruler. But it came into its current form in the 1930s when Iraq was a monarchy.
King
Faisal I of Iraq
Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi ( ar, فيصل الأول بن الحسين بن علي الهاشمي, ''Faysal el-Evvel bin al-Ḥusayn bin Alī el-Hâşimî''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria ...
visited the province on July 31, 1921. He was received by Sheikh Ali Al Sulaimani, the ruler of the province, and 6,000 members of the tribe.
Abbasid Period
During the Abbasid era in the reign of Caliph Abu Abbas Muhammad in 134 AH, the second capital of the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
after
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
where he built his palace in 145 AH. He built the road through the Euphrates River and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
to the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
, so the armies entering and leaving Iraq are passing through this region.
Geography
Anbar is one of the driest governorates in Iraq's western desert climate. Some of Al Anbar is part of the
Syrian Desert
The Syrian Desert ( ar, بادية الشام ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of sou ...
, characterized by steppe and desert terrain. Most of Al Anbar is considered as a topographical continuation of the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
plateau region. It has some small hills and a number of
wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
s, including
Wadi Hauran
Wadi Hauran (also Wadi Houran, Wādī Ḩawrān ar, وادي حوران) is the longest Wadi in Iraq. Located in Al Anbar Governorate west of Iraq, at Latitude33.0333°, Longitude40.2500Wādī Ḩawrānis roughly midway between Damascus and Bag ...
. Given a decline in land preservation and a lack of natural vegetation, the land is often exposed to the elements and prone to severe erosion.
Among the most important agricultural crops are
Potatoes
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
, which are harvested in spring and fall.
Wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
and maize (corn) are also commonly grown in the governorate. Al Anbar is also known for the production of
phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
s and
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
. It is also rich in mineral such as
sulphur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
,
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
and
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. However, Anbar has not been extensively explored for oil.
Climate
The average rainfall in Al Anbar is 115 millimeters (4.53 in) per year. Summer temperatures may reach as high as 52°C (125°F) and may fall as low as 0°C (32°F) in the winter. The
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
River is the main water source for residents of the governorate. The river flows southeasterly through seven of Al Anbar's districts:
*
Al-Qa'im District
Al-Qa'im District () is a district in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq, on the border with Syria. It is centred on the town of Al-Qa'im. The Euphrates river flows through it. At its western end, in the city of Husaybah, is the Al-Qa'im border crossing ...
*
Anah District
Anah ( ar, قضاء عانة) is a district in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. It is centred on the town of Anah. As of 2018, it has an estimated population of 31,575.
Cities
* Anah
Anah or Ana ( ar, عانة, ''ʾĀna'', syr, ܐܢܐ), former ...
*
Haditha District
Haditha ( ar, قضاء حديثة) is a district in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. It is centred on the city of Haditha. There is a huge lake near the city and a dam in front of it called Haditha Dam, contains six hydroelectric stations, two dra ...
*
Hit District
Hīt ( ar, قضاء هيت) is a district in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. It is centred on the city of Hīt, this district has between 75,000 and 90,000 inhabitants.
Cities
*Hīt (35,000)
* Kabisa (10,000)
* Al Baghdadi (15,000)
* Al Furat (4 ...
*
Rawa District
*
Ramadi District
Ramadi ( ar, قضاء الرمادي) is a district in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. It is centred on the city of Ramadi.
Cities
*Ramadi
Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadi ...
*
Fallujah District
Fallujah ( ar, قضاء الفلوجة) is a district in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Its seat is the city of Fallujah.
Cities
*Fallujah (pop. 350,000)
*Saqulauiah
*Amiriyah Fallujah
* Al Karmah
* Al Enaimih
*Habbaniyah (pop. 80,000)
* Al ...
*
Rutba District
Government
* Governor:
Ali Farhan Hameed
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
s Admin Deputy Governor:
Ibrahim Al Asal
Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam.
For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam.
Ibrahim may also refer to:
* Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people w ...
While the admin. deputy is Mustafa Al Ersan
* Technical Governor's councilor :
Engineer Adil Bardan
* Provincial Council Chairman (PCC): Ahmed Hamid al-Alwani
Demographics
![Cities of Anbar (CIA 2003)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Cities_of_Anbar_%28CIA_2003%29.jpg)
In the 1920s, the governorate had a population of 250,000, as did
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, out of a total population of 2 million in Iraq. Today there are 9 million people living in Baghdad, among them a million Anbari people in the city and suburbs; their origins are the people of the Al-Anbar tribes that have moved to Baghdad during the past 500 years and their recent migrations there during the 1920s and 1930s.
Half of the residents in Anbar are living on the banks of the
Euphrates River
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
outside cities and the towns, there were between 1.9 million and 2 million inhabitants in the districts of Al Anbar. The largest cities are
Ramadi
Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate whi ...
(pop. 900,000) and Fallujah (700,000).
According to
UN estimate in 2003 the population of Al Anbar is 1,230,169.
There are no precise estimates of the population which include all of the cities and towns and villages in Anbar. According to a 2003 estimate by the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq, the population was 1,230,140.
It is estimated that around 90 percent of Anbar's inhabitants are adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam. The remaining ten percent are either Christians or other minorities.
Important mosques in Al Anbar Governorate
The governorate contains a lot of
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s,
monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
s, and
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
s.
Notable people from Al Anbar Governorate
*
Douglas Aziz
Douglas Aziz Shamasha Eshaya (; born 1 January 1942) is an Iraqi former football player and caretaker coach. He represented the Iraq national team, and is ethnically Assyrian.
Club career
He was a pillar for club and country during the late 19 ...
(footballer)
*
Jamal al-Dhari
Sheikh Jamal Abd al-Wahhab Khamis al-Dhari is one of the leaders of the al-Zoba tribe in Iraq, and is the nephew of the late Islamic Scholar and religious leader sheikh Harith al-Dhari.
Jamal al-Dhari was born in the Abu Ghraib district of Ir ...
(tribal leader)
*
Gewargis III
Mar Gewargis III ( syr, ܡܪܝ ܓܝܘܪܓܝܣ ܬܠܝܬܝܐ; born Warda Daniel Sliwa, syr, ܘܪܕܐ ܕܢܝܐܝܠ ܨܠܝܒܐ) served as the 121st Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. On 18 September 2015, the Holy Synod of the ...
(religious leader)
*
Mohamed al-Halbousi (politician)
*
Erfan al-Hiyali
Erfan al-Hiyali ( ar, عرفان الحيالي) was the Defence minister of Iraq, serving in the Cabinet of Haider al-Abadi. The Iraqi parliament
The Council of Representatives ( ar, مجلس النواب, Majlis an-Nuwwāb al-ʿIrāqiyy; k ...
(politician)
*
Jamal Al-Karboli (politician)
*
Fawzi Mutlaq al-Rawi
Fawzi Mutlaq al-Rawi ( ar, فوزي مطلق الراوي, 1940 – 28 June 2021), also known as Fawzi Isma'il al-Husayni al-Rawi, Abu Akram, or Abu Firas, was allegedly, according to the US, the leader of the Syrian led Ba'athist movement in Ira ...
(politician)
Governors Al Anbar Governorate (since 2003)
List of governors in post-Ba'athist Iraq:
* Abdul Karim Bujras al-Rawi
* Faisal Al Gaood (acting)
* Raja Nawaf Farhan al-Mahalawi
* Mamoon Sami Rashid al-Alawani
* Qasim Al-Fahadawi
* Ahmad Khalaf Muhammed al-Dulaimi
* Suhaib al-Rawi
* Mohammed Rikan Al Halbousi
* Ali Farhan Hameed
Anbar during U.S. occupation
![Abandoned Iraqi FT-7 in front of the Al Asad ATC Tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Abandoned_Iraqi_FT-7_in_front_of_the_Al_Asad_ATC_Tower.jpg)
The geographic challenge of the Anbar Governorate is demonstrated by two contrasting facts: while it is Iraq's largest governorate, it also is the most sparsely populated. For a governorate that is approximately the size of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, it is home to fewer than 1.8 million Iraqis. Most of the population lives in the major cities, like Ramadi and Fallujah, and almost everyone else lives within a short distance of the Euphrates River that snakes from Baghdad to the Syrian border near Al-Qa'im.
Its strategic challenge was demonstrated, in part, by casualty statistics. During the first four years of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Anbar Province was the deadliest province for American service members, claiming approximately one-third of American fatalities.
The Anbar Province was the Sunni stronghold that had long provided Saddam Hussein with the support he needed to remain in power.
During the early years of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it provided an important base for Al Qaeda and insurgent operations.
Part of its significance came from the fact that the Western Euphrates River Valley served as an important infiltration route for foreign fighters headed to Iraq's heartland.
''The New York Times'' compared this region to the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
's
Ho Chi Minh Trail, as foreign fighters and insurgents used the river valley to move in relative safety from the Syrian border to cities like Baghdad, Ramadi and Fallujah.
![Three marines patrol along the Euphrates River during Operation Iron Fist](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Three_marines_patrol_along_the_Euphrates_River_during_Operation_Iron_Fist.jpg)
The contrast between the fertile Euphrates River Valley and the rest of the province is striking. Along the Euphrates, groves of fruits and vegetables and acre after acre of date palms are surrounded by a lushness that paints the area a vivid green. Just a few miles from the Euphrates, however, the barren landscape turns brown. With the exception of an occasional Bedouin, the desert is essentially empty. Whether traveling by aircraft, vehicle, or on foot, the Anbar Governorate is vast. During a time when
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
roads became a strategy of choice for insurgents, the need to patrol and travel throughout the province became one of the Marine Corps’ greatest challenges. The threat of insurgent activity, when combined with the challenges that long-distance travel, choking dust, and stifling heat created, made the Anbar Province a difficult area of operation.
Cities and towns
*
Ramadi
Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate whi ...
*
Fallujah
Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jew ...
*
Al-Qaim
*
Hīt
Hīt, also spelled ''Heet'' ( ar, هيت), ancient name ''Is'', is an Iraqi city in Al-Anbar province. Hīt lies northwest of Ramadi, the provincial capital.
Straddling the Euphrates River, the city of Hīt was originally a small walled town su ...
*
Haditha
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = Inbound3292807512093856589نواعير حديثة.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption ...
*
Anah
Anah or Ana ( ar, عانة, ''ʾĀna'', syr, ܐܢܐ), formerly also known as Anna, is an Iraqi town on the Euphrates river, approximately midway between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Persian Gulf. Anah lies from west to east on the right bank ...
*
Rawah
Rawa ( ar, راوة) or Rawah is an Iraqi city on the Euphrates river. It lies on the north bank of the river, upstream by approx. 20 kilometers (12.5 mi) from the much larger town of Anah. People from this town are known by the appellation ''Raw ...
*
Kabisa
Kabisa or Kubaysah (Arabic: كبيسة) is an Iraqi city in the Hīt district of Al-Anbar province.
On 4 October 2014 it was captured by Islamic State forces.
On 25 March 2016 it was recaptured by Iraqi Security Forces
The Iraqi Security Force ...
*
Al Baghdadi
*
Al-Nukhaib
*
Akashat
Akashat ( ar, عكاشات) is a small town in the northwest of the Ar-Rutba District of the Al Anbar province of Iraq, on the road between the towns of Ar-Rutbah and Al-Qa'im. It has a population of around 5,000. It was built as an industria ...
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Tarbil
Trebil or Tarbil ( ar, طريبيل) is a border town in the Al Anbar Governorate of Iraq, on the Iraq-Jordan border. The Karameh Border Crossing near Trebil is the primary border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, impose ...
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Husaibah Al Sharqiah
Husaibah Al Sharqiah ( ar,
حصيبة الشرقية) is a city in the Al Anbar province of Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country ...
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Amiriyah Fallujah
Al-Amiriyah ( ar, العامرية ''al-ʻāmiriyyah'') or Amiriyah Fallujah, also Ameriyah, Amiriyyah, Ameriya, Amiriyat, Ameriyat and the like, is a city in the Fallujah District of Al Anbar province, about 30 km (18 mi) south of the city o ...
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Saqulauiah
As Saqlāwīyah ( ar, الصقلاوية, aṣ-Ṣaqlāwīyah) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, in central Iraq. It is located roughly 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the city of Fallujah.
Saqlawiyah is a rural city in between Habbaniyah and Falluja ...
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Al Sharqiah
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
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Al Waleed (Al Walid)
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Sa'dah
Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, translit=Ṣaʿda), a city and ancient capital in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the province of the same name, and the county seat of the county of the same name. The city is located in the ...
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Al Saqrh
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
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Al Mamorha
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Al Enaimih
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
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Rumana
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Al Asarjirah
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
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Al Sujr
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Al Jabhah
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Al Rihaniah
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
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Al Furaat
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Al Mhamady
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
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Al-Karābilah
Al-Karābilah ( ar, ناحية الكرابلة) is a subdistrict in the west of the Al Anbar Governorate of Iraq, beside the Syrian border in an area of high ground. Its seat is the city of the Al-Karābilah. Agriculture is the main industry in ...
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Al Ubaidi
Al Ubaidi (or Al Obaidi) is a town in the Al Anbar Governorate of Iraq.
It is an Iraqi city situated along the south side of Euphrates River near the Syrian border. It is a subdistrict of Al Qa'im and contains both New Ubaydi and Old Ubaydi a ...
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Baroana
Barwanah ( ar, بَرْوَانَة, Barwānah) is a town in Al-Anbar province in Iraq. The town was captured by ISIL
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to desc ...
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Al Khaldiya
Al-Khaldiya ( ar, الخالدية, also ''Al-Khalidiya, Khalidiya, Khalediya'') is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq on the southern banks of river Euphrates. It was founded in 1969 as a settlement for Assyrian peo ...
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Habbaniyah
Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya ( ar, ٱلْحَبَّانِيَّة, ''al-Ḥabbānīyah'') is a city 85 km (53 mi) west of Baghdad in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq. A military airfield, RAF Habbaniya, was the site of a battle in 1941, during Worl ...
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Al Garmah
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Al Haqlaniyah
Al-Haqlaniyah (Arabic: الحقلانية, al-Ḥaqlānīyah) is an Iraqi town on the Euphrates River in Al-Anbar province
Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the large ...
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Al Rahaliyah
Ar Rahaliyah ( ar, الرحالية, or Rahhaliyah, Rahaliya) is an Iraqi town in Al-Anbar Governorate, near the western shore of Lake Milh.
In 1921 Rahaliya, along with Shithathah, was noted for its "immense" groves for palm date
''Phoenix d ...
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Ar Rutba
, image_skyline = File:USMC-090101-M-0493G-066 (cropped).jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = A rooftop view of Ar-Rutbah on 1 January 2009
, image_map =
, pushpin_map = Iraq
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivisio ...
See also
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Anbar campaign (2013–14)
Anbar may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Iraq
* Anbar (town), near Iraqi capital Baghdad
* Al Anbar Governorate, a province of Iraq
Elsewhere
* Anbar, Iran (disambiguation)
* Anbar, Swabi, Pakistan
* Anbar, Kocaköy
Other uses
* ...
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2005 Al-Anbar governorate council election
The election for the governorate council of Iraq's Al Anbar Governorate were held on January 30, 2005, the same date as the Iraqi legislative election.
Election
The largely Sunni province was one of the most violent in Iraq during the Iraqi ins ...
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Abdul Sattar Abu Risha
Abdul Sattar Abu Risha ( ar, عبد الستار أبو ريشة) – Sheikh Abdul Sattar Eftikhan al-Rishawi الشيخ عبد الستار افتيخان الريشاوي – (born 1972 – 13 September 2007) was a high-profile Iraqi tribal she ...
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Anbar Awakening
The Sons of Iraq ( ar, أبناء العراق ''Abnāʼ al-ʻIrāq'') were coalitions between tribal sheikhs in the Al Anbar province in Iraq as well as former Saddam Hussein's Iraqi military officers that united in 2005 to maintain stability i ...
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First Battle of Fallujah
The First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an operation against militants in Fallujah as well as an attempt to apprehend or kill the perpetrators of the killing of four U.S. contractors in March 2004.
The chief ca ...
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Operation Phantom Fury
The Second Battle of Fallujah, codenamed Operation al-Fajr ( ar, الفجر, ) and Operation Phantom Fury, was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that lasted roughly 6 weeks, starting 7th November, 2004. Marking the highest point of the ...
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Battle of Ramadi
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Battle of Haditha
The Battle of Haditha was a battle fought between United States, U.S. forces and Ansar al-Sunna in early August 2005 on the outskirts of the town of Haditha, Iraq, which was one of the many towns that were under insurgent control in the Euphrate ...
References
External links
{{Authority control
Governorates of Iraq