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Amarah
Amarah Amarah's location inside Iraq
Coordinates: 32°0′N 47°0′E / 32, 47
Country	Iraq
Governorate	Maysan
Population (2005)
- Total	420,000

Amarah (Arabic: العمارة; BGN: Al ‘Amārah; also spelled Amara), is a city in southeastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates.^[1] Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Red_pog. ... Maysan is one of the governorates of Iraq. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing languages such as Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and others. ... The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is an American federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government. ... The Tigris is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... For the song River Euphrates by the Pixies, see Surfer Rosa. ...

Predominantly Shiite, it had a population of about 340,000 as of 2002 and about 420,000 as of 2005.^[2] It is the administrative capital of the Maysan province. A major trading center for the surrounding agricultural area, it is known for woven goods and silverware. Shī‘a Islam, also Shi‘ite Islam, or Shi‘ism (Arabic ) is the second largest denomination of the Islamic faith. ... Categories: Stub | Provinces of Iraq ...

History

The city was founded in the 1860s as an Ottoman military outpost from which the empire tried to control the warring Banu Lam and Al Bu Muhammad tribes.^[1] Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1683, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–1365) Edirne (1365–1453) Ä°stanbul (1453–1922) Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 (first) Osman I  - 1918–22 (last) Mehmed VI Grand Viziers  - 1320...

In 1915 Amarah was captured by the British.^[3] Before the revolution in 1958 Amarah was known for its feudal system with local estate-holders maintaining private militias.^[2] Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Jan. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste Feudalism, a term first used in the late modern period (17th century), in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval European political system comprised of a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the...

During the eight year Iran-Iraq War, Amarah and the surrounding province became the sight of several battles, notably Operation Before the Dawn launched by Iran. Since the Baghdad-Basra highway cut through the province, Iran targeted the area due to its strategic significance to the Iraqis. Belligerents Iran Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Iraq Peoples Mujahedin of Iran Soldiers and volunteers from different Arab countries. ... Combatants  Iraq  Iran Strength 200,000 Operation Before the Dawn was the first of the three costly human-wave attackes of 1983. ...

After the Persian Gulf War, Amarah was one of many sites during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq against Saddam Hussein. Many insurgents throughout Iraq retreated to safe havens in the Amarah area. Many were killed and crudely buried in a mass grave outside the city. Saddam Hussein also resorted to a crude tactic of draining the marshes surrounding Amarah. Furthermore, Saddam constructed a number of dams in an effort to cut off the water supply to the area. See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... The 1991 uprisings in Iraq were rebellions in Southern and Northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War. ... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. ...

Throughout the 90's, the town's population swelled with refugees from the marshes. Saddam Hussein occasionally neglected service to the city in retribution for its role in the uprising. The city also supported the efforts of Moqtada al-Sadr, whose father was also killed by Saddam. In May of 1999, Ba'ath party militias and units of the Special Republican Guard conducted operations in the region. Local resistance forces reportedly repelled the operation. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. ... Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr (Arabic: مقتدى الصدر, also transliterated as Moqtada Alsadr) (b. ... Baath Party flag The Ba‘ath Parties (also spelled Baath or Ba‘th; Arabic: اﻟﺒﻌﺚ) comprise political parties representing the political face of the Ba‘ath movement. ... The Special Republican Guard was formed from the Iraqi Republican Guard founded in either 1992 or 1995 in the nation of Iraq. ...

Iraq War (2003-present)

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the city made a final stand as a center of resistance to Saddam Hussein. The city was soon occupied by British forces, which set up two camps. Local residents hired diggers to unearth the bodies in the mass grave after twelve years. However, in June of 2003, citizens of Amarah took up arms against patrolling British forces, killing six soldiers each in two separate attacks. The British bases frequently experienced mortar attacks afterward. The book "Sniper One" by Sergeant Daniel Mills is a very good account on the events in Al Amarah during this period This article is about the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ...

After the British handed power over to the Iraqi government, a power struggle erupted between Shi'ite loyalists of the Mahdi Army and Badr Brigades. A number of assassinations occurred in the city between the rival factions. After the brother of a Mahdi army commander was captured, the Mahdi Army captured least three police stations and other state facilities on October 20, 2006, resulting in at twenty-two deaths, three of which were children. Iraqi Army and British advisers arrived from Basra the next day to secure a truce with Sadr representatives. Members parade in Sadr City The Mahdi Army, also known as the Mahdi Militia, Mehdi Army or Jaish al Mahdi (Arabic جيش المهدي) , is a militia force created by the Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June of 2003. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On June 18th 2008, the Iraqi Army launched a major operation in Amarah to wrest the city from the control of militias loyal to Moqtada al Sadr and to reduce the flow of weapons and Shiite militants transiting through the city from nearby Iran. The operation, codenamed Promise of Peace, follows successful Iraqi Army operations in Basra, the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, and Mosul in the first half of 2008. ^[4] The Iraqi Army is the land force of Iraq, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I. Today, it is a component of the Iraqi Security Forces tasked with assuming responsibility for all Iraqi land-based military operations... Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr (Arabic: مقتدى الصدر, also transliterated as Moqtada Alsadr) (b. ... This article is about the city of Basra. ... // Overhead view of Sadr City Sadr City (Arabic: مدينة الصدر) is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Mosul (Arabic: , Kurdish: موصل Mûsil, Syriac: NînÄ›wâ, Turkish: Musul) is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate. ...

See also

• Operation Before the Dawn
• Battle of Amarah

Combatants  Iraq  Iran Strength 200,000 Operation Before the Dawn was the first of the three costly human-wave attackes of 1983. ... Combatants Iraqi Security Forces New Iraqi Army Mahdi Army Commanders unknown Muqtada al-Sadr Strength unknown 800 Casualties 10 killed [1] 6 wounded [2] 2 civilians killed [3] 22 civilians wounded [4] 15 killed [5] 90 wounded [6] The Battle of Amarah took place from October 19 to October 20...

Bibliography

• Inside The Resistance: The Iraqi Insurgency and the Future of the Middle East, Zaki Chehab, Nation Books, 2005

References

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... ... is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Marsh - GlobalSecurity.org
• Amarah - GlobalSecurity.org
• Semple, Kirk. "Attack on Iraqi City Shows Militia’s Power", New York Times, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on 2006-10-20. 
• Hauser, Christine. "Shiite Militia Seizes Control of Iraqi City", New York Times, 2006-10-20. 
• Iraq: Sorting Out Events in Amarah - Jeff Severns Guntzel - Google Groups

Coordinates: 31°50′N 47°09′E / 31.833, 47.15 Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...