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Basra province, or Al Basrah province, is a province of Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, with an area of . One reported estimate of its 2003 population is 1,761,000. Its capital is Basra City
Basra

Al-Ba?rah is the capital of Basra Province, and had an estimated population of 1,052,200 as of 2003. Basra is also Iraq's main port. The city is the historic location of Sumer, the home of Sinbad the Sailor, and a proposed location of the Garden of Eden....
, perhaps Iraq's fourth or fifth largest city; other major cities include Corna (Eden)
Al-Qurnah

Al-Qurnah is a small village in southern Iraq about 74 km northwest of Basra, within the town of Nahairat. Qurna is located at the point where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers join to form the Shatt al-Arab....
, Az Zubayr
Az Zubayr

Az Zubayr is a Sunni town in Basra Governorate in Iraq. Some sources say it has a population of 184,900, others say 460,000 The coordinates are 30? 23' 21N, 47? 42' 29E....
, Umm Qasr
Umm Qasr

Umm Qasr , is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the Persian Gulf....
 and Abu Al Khaseeb. The province has international borders with Kuwait
Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
 to the south and Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
 to the east.


r defeating the Ottoman Empire in World War I
Aftermath of World War I

The fighting in World War I ended when an armistice took effect at 11:00 am Greenwich Mean Time on November 11, 1918. In the aftermath of World War I the political, cultural, and social order of the world was drastically changed in many places, even outside the areas directly involved in the war....
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 combined the old Ottoman provinces (vilayets) of Basra, Baghdad
Baghdad Province, Ottoman Empire

Baghdad Vilayet was a vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. The capital was Baghdad....
 and Mosul
Mosul Province, Ottoman Empire

In 1879 Mosul Vilayet was separated from Baghdad Province, Ottoman Empire. Arbil became a town within the sanjak of Shehrizor. On 11 November 1918 the Governorate of Arbil was established, and both towns of Koysanjaq and Rowanduz were annexed to it....
 to form the state of Iraq, which Britain controlled as a League of Nations
League of Nations

The League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919?1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members....
 mandate
League of Nations mandate

A League of Nations mandate refers to a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League....
.

oposal to join Basra with the neighbouring governorates of Dhi Qar and Maysan to form a southeastern state in an eventual Iraqi federation is under discussion.






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Encyclopedia


Basra province, or Al Basrah province, is a province of Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, with an area of . One reported estimate of its 2003 population is 1,761,000. Its capital is Basra City
Basra

Al-Ba?rah is the capital of Basra Province, and had an estimated population of 1,052,200 as of 2003. Basra is also Iraq's main port. The city is the historic location of Sumer, the home of Sinbad the Sailor, and a proposed location of the Garden of Eden....
, perhaps Iraq's fourth or fifth largest city; other major cities include Corna (Eden)
Al-Qurnah

Al-Qurnah is a small village in southern Iraq about 74 km northwest of Basra, within the town of Nahairat. Qurna is located at the point where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers join to form the Shatt al-Arab....
, Az Zubayr
Az Zubayr

Az Zubayr is a Sunni town in Basra Governorate in Iraq. Some sources say it has a population of 184,900, others say 460,000 The coordinates are 30? 23' 21N, 47? 42' 29E....
, Umm Qasr
Umm Qasr

Umm Qasr , is a port city in southern Iraq. It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the Persian Gulf....
 and Abu Al Khaseeb. The province has international borders with Kuwait
Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
 to the south and Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
 to the east.

Provincial Government

  • Governor: Muhammad Musbih al-Wa'ili
  • Deputy Governor: Luay al-Battat
  • Provincial Council Chairman (PCC): Muhammad Sa'doun al-Abadi


History


After World War I

After defeating the Ottoman Empire in World War I
Aftermath of World War I

The fighting in World War I ended when an armistice took effect at 11:00 am Greenwich Mean Time on November 11, 1918. In the aftermath of World War I the political, cultural, and social order of the world was drastically changed in many places, even outside the areas directly involved in the war....
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 combined the old Ottoman provinces (vilayets) of Basra, Baghdad
Baghdad Province, Ottoman Empire

Baghdad Vilayet was a vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. The capital was Baghdad....
 and Mosul
Mosul Province, Ottoman Empire

In 1879 Mosul Vilayet was separated from Baghdad Province, Ottoman Empire. Arbil became a town within the sanjak of Shehrizor. On 11 November 1918 the Governorate of Arbil was established, and both towns of Koysanjaq and Rowanduz were annexed to it....
 to form the state of Iraq, which Britain controlled as a League of Nations
League of Nations

The League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919?1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members....
 mandate
League of Nations mandate

A League of Nations mandate refers to a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League....
.

After the Baath regime

A proposal to join Basra with the neighbouring governorates of Dhi Qar and Maysan to form a southeastern state in an eventual Iraqi federation is under discussion. A new law, passed by the Iraqi Parliament in 2006, allows for the merger of two or more provinces as of April 2008. Currently, there is movement calling for a referendum on making Basra an autonomous region like the Kurdish Autonomous Region in northern Iraq.

On the 9th of December 2007, it was announced by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that control of the Basra Governorate would be handed over from Coalition forces to local Iraqi control. The province was formally transferred a week later, on the 16th of December 2007, making it the 9th such province to be transferred to full Iraqi control.

The Basra Governorate tried to gain autonomy through collecting signatures for an autonomy referendum in December 2008 and January 2009; however, the signatures did not reach 10% of eligible voters, and thus the referendum bid failed.