Muthanna Governorate ( ar, المثنى ''Al Muthannā'') or Al Muthanna Province, is a
province in
Iraq, named after the 7th-century Arab general
al-Muthanna ibn Haritha. It is in the south of the country, bordering
Saudi Arabia And
Kuwait. Its capital is the city of
Samawah.
History
Before 1976 it was part of the
Diwaniya Province
The dewaniya or diwaniya was the reception area where a Middle Eastern man received his business colleagues and male guests. Today the term refers both to a reception hall and the gathering held in it, and visiting or hosting a dewaniya is an impor ...
, which included present-day
Najaf Governorate and
al-Qādisiyyah Governorate.
Samawah is very close to the ancient
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian-
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
n city of
Uruk (
Aramaic: ''Erech''), which is possibly the source of the name
Iraq. After the decline of
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
following the
Seleucid founding of
Seleucia
Seleucia (; grc-gre, Σελεύκεια), also known as or , was a major Mesopotamian city of the Seleucid empire. It stood on the west bank of the Tigris River, within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq.
Name
Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σ ...
, Uruk became the largest city in southern Babylonia, and its name (''Erech'') came to replace ''Babili'' (Babylonia), as the city long outlived the former capital, surviving into the 7th century AD.
In February 1991 it was the location of one of the largest tank battles in history during the
Persian Gulf War, the
Battle of Norfolk.
Demographics
Provincial government
*Governor: Mohammed Ali Al-Hassani
*Deputy Governor: Sami Al-Hassani
*Chairman of Al-Muthanna Provincial Council: Abdul Latif Al-Hassani
References
Governorates of Iraq
{{Iraq-geo-stub