Basra

Basra (bŭs`rə), Arabic al Basrah, city (1987 pop. 406,296), SE Iraq, on the Shatt al Arab. Basra is Iraq's second largest city and principal port. Its commercially advantageous location, near oil fields and 75 mi (121 km) from the Persian Gulf, has made it prosperous. Since 1948 many oil refineries have been built in the city. Petroleum products, grains, wool, and dates are exported. Basra was founded (A.D. 636) by the caliph Umar I. It was a cultural center under Harun ar-Rashid and declined with the decay of the Abbasid caliphate. Its possession was long contested by the Persians and the Turks. The British occupied Basra during World War I and used its port; they remained there until 1930. After World War I the construction of a rail line to Baghdad and the building of a modern harbor restored the city's importance. Due to its location on the heavily contested Shatt al Arab waterway, Basra was hard hit by Iranian forces in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq War. The port was further bombed by western coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War (1991), primarily to thwart covert trade. Basra is the seat of a branch of the Univ. of Baghdad. The name also appears as Bassora, Bussora, and Busra.

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Basrah, Al-

 or Basra

Port and city (pop., 2003 est.: 1,400,000), southeastern Iraq. It lies at the head of the Shatt al-Arab, about 70 mi (110 km) upstream from the Persian Gulf. Founded in AD 638, it became famous under the 'Abbasid dynasty; in The Thousand and One Nights it was the city from which Sindbad the Sailor set sail. In the 17th–18th centuries it became a trading centre. Occupied by the British in World War I (1914–18), the town and port underwent many improvements and grew in importance. After World War II (1939–45), the growth of Iraq's petroleum industry turned Al-Basrah into a major refining centre. It suffered heavy damage in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–90) and the Persian Gulf War (1990–91), and in the early 21st century it was a scene of fighting during the Iraq War.

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Basra, Basrah, Busra, Busrah

a port in SE Iraq, on the Shatt-al-Arab. Pop.: 1 187 000 (2005 est.)