al-Anbar

الأنبار al-Anbar
Basic data
Country	Iraq
Capital	Ramadi
surface	138,501 km²
Residents	1,658,000 (as of 2009)
density	12 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	IQ-AN
	Districts of the governorate

33.82 41.549722222222Coordinates: 33 ° 49 ' N , 41 ° 33' E

Al-Anbar , Arabic الأنبار al-Anbār , is one of the 18 Iraqi governorates . The capital is Ramadi . With an area of 138,501 km² , al-Anbar is the largest governorate in Iraq. The population is 1,658,000 (as of 2009). It borders Syria to the north, Jordan to the westand Saudi Arabia to the south. Fallujah is one of the most famous cities in al-Anbar. The former name of this governorate was ad-Dulaim before 1962, after the Sunni tribe of the same name. From 1962 the governorate was called Ramadi. In 1970 the governorate al-Badiya al-Shamaliyya ("The Northern Desert") was added. From 1976 it received its current name. A large part of the Kerbela governorate was later incorporated.

The name

The name of the governorate is taken from a city that was originally located on its territory and the ruins of which can still be visited 5 kilometers northwest of Fallujah. This city al-Anbār (originally Peruz Shapur) was founded in the 3rd century by Shapur I and was the second largest city in Iraq before the Arab conquest in 634. It was abandoned in the 14th century after the Mongol invasion .

population

Most of the so-called Sunni triangle is in al-Anbar . Sunni resistance to the American military presence in Iraq after the Iraq war was greater in this province than in any other in the country. The Dulaimi clan dominates the province and was one of the main supporters of the old Baathre regime .

It is estimated that around 90 percent of the population are Sunni. The remaining ten percent are Shiites and Christians.

On October 15, 2005, 96.96% of 259,919 voters voted against and against the adoption of the new constitution.

Due to numerous riots attributed to al-Qaida , which resulted in many civilian casualties, the "Anbar Rescue Front", supported by the US Marines, was founded in September 2006 under the leadership of Sheikh Abd al-Sattar Abu Risha , the 42 Sunni tribes of the Belong to the province (as of September 2007).

Abu Risha, who was considered one of the United States' greatest allies in Iraq, was murdered on September 13, 2007 in an al-Qaida attack. His brother was named as his successor.

Districts

The province consists of the districts:

Villages and cities (selection)

literature

Michael P. Streck , AA Duri: al-Anbār. In: The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition Volume I, pp. 484b-485b.

Web links

Commons : Al-Anbar - collection of images, videos and audio files