Az Zubayr
Encyclopedia
Az Zubayr is a town in Basra Governorate in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. It has a population of around 90,000.

The name is also sometimes written Az Zubair, Zubair, Zoubair, El Zubair, or Zobier.

Early history

The city was named al-Zubair due to the fact that one of the most prominent Sahaba
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...

, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, is buried there.

Recent history

In the 19th century, the city of Zubair witnessed a relatively large migration from Najd
Najd
Najd or Nejd , literally Highland, is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries :The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...

. Up until the 1970s and 1980s, the town was predominantly populated with people of Najdi origin. Now only a few families remain of the old inhabitants. Most of the old inhabitants moved back to their homeland Najd and other parts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Some also moved to Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

.

In the period when Najd
Najd
Najd or Nejd , literally Highland, is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries :The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...

is inhabited the city it was dominated by the Sunni denomination of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

. After they left the city this fact has probably changed .
In that period the city was a self-ruling emirate
Emirate
An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch styled emir.-Etymology:Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir ....

 within the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 ruled by an Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

(or Sheikh) (like al Zuhair, al Meshary, or al Ibrahim families) who used to pay for protection from the Ottomans and any dangers.

External links

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