Basra

Basra البصرة Al Baṣrah
Basra Location of Basra
Coordinates:
Country	Iraq
Governorate	Basra Governorate
Founded	AD 636
Population  (2003 Est)
• Total	1,700,000

Basra (البصرة; Al Baṣrah) is the third largest city of Iraq with a population of about 2,600,000 (2003). It is the country's main port. Baṣra played an important role in early Islamic history, and it was the first city built in Islam 14 A.H (after Hijra)

Overview

The city lies at the Shatt al-Arab waterway near the Persian Gulf, 55 kilometres (34 mi) from the Persian Gulf and 545 kilometres (339 mi) from Baghdad, Iraq's capital and largest city.

Bibliography

• Hawting, Gerald R. The First Dynasty of Islam. Routledge. 2nd ed, 2000
• Vincent, Stephen. Into The Red Zone: A Journey Into the Soul of Iraq. ISBN 1-890626-57-0.

Other websites

• 2003 Basra map (NIMA)
• Boomtown Basra Archived 2005-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
• Muhammad and the Spread of Islam by Sanderson Beck
• Theological Themes Archived 2007-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
• The Qadariyya, Mu'tazila, and Shi'a Archived 2009-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
• The Textual History of the Qur'an, Arthur Jeffery, 1946
• Codex of Abu Musa al-Ashari, Arthur Jeffery, 1936