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 states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is often used in translation from ...

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; BGN: ''An Nāşirīyah''; also spelled ''Nassiriya'' or ''Nasiriya'') is a city in Iraq. It is on the lower Euphrates, about south-southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. ...

. 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 ...

, and includes the ruins of Ur,

Eridu Eridu (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic language, Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was l ...

Lagash Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...

Larsa Larsa ( Sumerian logogram: UD.UNUGKI, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossos and connected with the biblical Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the cult ...

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 ...

Umma Umma ( sux, ; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, formerly also called Gishban) was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell J ...

, 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 Ca ...

, al-Gharraf,

Suq al-Shuyouk A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the ...

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 branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

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