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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 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, and Saudi Arabia. The population is mostly Sunni Muslims. The provincial capital is Ramadi; 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 tribe, all of which speak Arabic. In early 2014, the Islamic State, 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) The Western Anbar offensive (2017) was a military operation by the Iraqi Army against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in the western districts of the Province of Anbar and on the border with Syria. The offensive was concurrent another ...
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

The name of the governorate in Persian language 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 today. This city of Anbār or Peroz-Shapur was founded in the 3rd century by the Muntherids, 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" in Arabic, 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 rule over Iraq, long before Arabic replaced Aramaic as the main language of Iraq. Dulaim is the old name of the governorate due to the Dulaim 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 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 after Kufa to Baghdad where he built his palace in 145 AH. He built the road through the Euphrates River and the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, 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 wadis, including Wadi Hauran. 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, barley and maize (corn) are also commonly grown in the governorate. Al Anbar is also known for the production of phosphates and fertilizer. 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 and oil. 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 *
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 The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) (Persian:جمعیت انقلابی زنان افغانستان, ''Jamiʿat-e Enqelābi-ye Zanān-e Afghānestān'', Pashto:د افغانستان د ښڅو انقلابی جمعیت) ...
*
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 , 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 ...


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 Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the lim ...
* Provincial Council Chairman (PCC): Ahmed Hamid al-Alwani


Demographics

In the 1920s, the governorate had a population of 250,000, as did Baghdad, 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 (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 mosques, monuments, and shrines.


Notable people from Al Anbar Governorate

* Douglas Aziz (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 (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 Jamal Naser Delli Ahmed Al-Karboli (Arabic: جمال الكربولي, born October 10, 1965) is an Iraqi activist and politician, head of the National Movement for Development and Reform party and the Iraqi List coalition in the Council of Repr ...
(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

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, 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'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. 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 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 *
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 * Haditha * Anah *
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
* Al Waleed (Al Walid) * Sa'dah *
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 ...
*
Al Mamorha 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 ...
*
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 ...
* Rumana *
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 ...
*
Al Sujr 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 ...
* Al Jabhah *
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 ...
*
Al Furaat 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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
* Habbaniyah *
Al Garmah 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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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

*
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 * ...
*
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 ...
* Abdul Sattar Abu Risha * Anbar Awakening *
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 ...
* Operation Phantom Fury * Battle of Ramadi *
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