City in Basra, Iraq
Az Zubayr
(
Arabic
:
??????
) is a city in and the capital of
Al-Zubair District
, part of the
Basra Governorate
of
Iraq
. The city is just south of
Basra
. The name can also refer to the old
Emirate of Zubair
.
The name is also sometimes written
Al Zubayr
,
Al Zubair
,
Az Zubair
,
Zubair
,
Zoubair
,
El Zubair
, or
Zobier
.
History of Zubayr
[
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]
Early history
[
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]
The city was named al-Zubair because one of the
Sahaba
(companions) of Muhammad,
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
, was buried there.
Recent history
[
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]
During the
Ottoman
times, the city was a self-ruling
Sheikhdom
ruled by a Sheikh from
Najdi
families, such as Al Zuhair, Al Meshry, Al Rashed, and Al ibrahim families. Like other Sheikdoms under the
Ottoman Empire
, the Sheikdom of Zubair used to pay dues and receive protection from the Ottomans. In the 19th century, the city of Zubair witnessed relatively large migrations from
Najd
. Up until the 1970s and 1980s, the town was predominantly populated by people who moved from Najed. Now only a few families remain of the old inhabitants. Most of them moved back to Najd and other regions of
Saudi Arabia
. In the period of
Najdi
is inhabitance the city it was dominated by the
Sunni
denomination of
Islam
, unlike the
Shia
Basra
nearby.
21st century
[
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]
By 2008, the city of Zubair had a population of around 240,000 people and had grown to merge into the
Basra
metropolitan area with nearly 3 million inhabitants in total. As in Basra, the municipality of Zubair currently has a Shia majority and is barely distinguishable from Basra itself. But, contrary to Basra, Zubair is still home to a large Sunni minority. However, they have faced violence from Shia militants during the
Iraqi Civil War
, and many have fled to Gulf countries and Sunni areas of Iraq.
[2]
Climate
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]
Az Zubayr has a
hot desert climate
(
Koppen climate classification
BWh
). In winter there is more rainfall than in summer. The average annual temperature in Az Zubayr is 24.5 °C (76.1 °F). About 139 mm (5.47 in) of precipitation falls annually.
Climate data for Az Zubayr
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
17.5
(63.5)
|
19.9
(67.8)
|
24.8
(76.6)
|
31.1
(88.0)
|
37.2
(99.0)
|
40.9
(105.6)
|
43.1
(109.6)
|
43.6
(110.5)
|
41.0
(105.8)
|
35.4
(95.7)
|
26.7
(80.1)
|
19.4
(66.9)
|
31.7
(89.1)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
6.5
(43.7)
|
8.0
(46.4)
|
12.2
(54.0)
|
17.0
(62.6)
|
23.1
(73.6)
|
25.7
(78.3)
|
27.6
(81.7)
|
26.5
(79.7)
|
22.7
(72.9)
|
18.2
(64.8)
|
13.2
(55.8)
|
8.1
(46.6)
|
17.4
(63.3)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
26
(1.0)
|
18
(0.7)
|
17
(0.7)
|
15
(0.6)
|
6
(0.2)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
2
(0.1)
|
22
(0.9)
|
33
(1.3)
|
139
(5.5)
|
Source: Climate-Data.org,Climate data
|
References
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]
External links
[
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]