Dhi Qar Governorate ( ar, ذي قار, translit=Thi Qār, ) is a

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 southern

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 ...

. The provincial capital is

Nasiriyah Nasiriyah ( ar, ٱلنَّاصِرِيَّة; United States Board on Geographic Names, BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates River, Euphrates, about south-southeas ...

. Prior to 1976 the governorate was known as Muntafiq Governorate. Thi Qar was the heartland of the ancient Iraqi civilization of

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 ...

, and includes the ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash, Larsa,

Girsu Girsu ( Sumerian ; cuneiform ) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. History Girsu was possibly inhabited in the Ubaid period (5300-4800 BC), but sign ...

, Umma, and Bad-tibira. The southern area of the governorate is covered by

Mesopotamian Marshes The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in Southern Iraq and in southwestern Iran. The marshes are primarily located on the floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers bound by the cities of Basra, ...

History

Ancient history

Battle of Dhi Qar

Government

*Governor: Yahia Nasseri *Deputy Governor: Ahmed al-Sheik Tah

*Governorate Council Chairman (GCC): Ihsan Al-Tae

Modern Dhi Qar

The governorate includes the towns of Al-Rifa'i District, al-Rifai,

Qalat Sukkar Qalat Sukkar ( ar, قلعة سكر, Qal`at es Sikar, lit=Sugar Castle) is a town in the Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, located on the Gharraf Canal. Demographics Qalat Sukkar has a population of 110,000. World Gazetteer, accessed 19 February 2009 ...

Ash Shatrah Al-Shatrah (also known as Shatrat al-Muntafiq) is a town in southern Iraq, located northeast of Nasiriyah. It is the administrative capital of the al-Shatrah District, a part of the Dhi Qar Governorate. Al-Shatrah is situated along the Gharraf Can ...

, al-Gharraf, Suq al-Shuyouk,

Khamisiyah Khamisiyah ( ar, الخميسية ') is an area in southern Iraq located approximately 350 km (217 mi) south-east of Baghdad, 200 km (124 mi) north-west of Kuwait City and 270 km (168 mi) north of Al Qaysumah. Khamisiyah is under the ...

and al-Chibayish In the mid 1990s the governor was Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, who later became police chief of the country, and in 1999, director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

Demographics

The population is approximately 2,000,000, predominantly

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

. The southern marshes have traditionally been home to many

Marsh Arabs The Marsh Arabs ( ar, عرب الأهوار ''ʻArab al-Ahwār'' "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as the Maʻdān ( ar, معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog (Iraqi ar, شروق, "those from the east")—the latter two often ...

. As of 2007, the area is very poor, with an unemployment rate of 31% and poverty rate of 32%.

Districts

* Al-Chibayish * Al-Rifa'i * Shatrah *

* Suq Al-Shuykh

References

External links

Iraq Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit
Reports, Maps and Assessments of Iraq's Governorates from the UN Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit Governorates of Iraq 1976 establishments in Iraq States and territories established in 1976 {{Iraq-geo-stub