Basra
[key], Arabic al Basrah, city (2020 est. pop. 1,352,000),
SE Iraq, on the Shatt al Arab. Basra is Iraq's second largest city and
principal port. Its commercially advantageous location, near oil fields and
75 mi (121 km) from the Persian Gulf, has made it prosperous, and oil is
refined in the city. Petroleum products, grains, wool, and dates are
exported. Basra was founded
by
the caliph Umar I, at the site
of modern Az Zabair. It was a cultural center under Harun ar-Rashid and declined with the
decay of the Abbasid caliphate. Its possession was long contested by the
Persians and the Turks. Largely in ruins by the mid-14 cent., Basra was
subsequently re-established on its present site. The British occupied Basra
during World War I and used its port; they remained there until 1930. After
World War I the construction of a rail line to Baghdad and the building of a
modern harbor restored the city's importance. Due to its location on the
heavily contested Shatt al Arab waterway, Basra was hard-hit by Iranian
forces in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War. The port was further
bombed by western coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War (1991), primarily to
thwart covert trade. Basra is the seat of a branch of the Univ. of Baghdad.
The name also appears as Bassora, Bussora, and Busra.
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