Al-Rumaitha
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Al-Rumaitha | |
|---|---|
City | |
  Al-Rumaitha | |
| Coordinates: 31°31′15″N 45°12′06″E / 31.5209300°N 45.2016870°E | |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Governorates | Al Muthanna Governorate |
| Established | 1820 |
| Elevation | 9 m (30 ft) |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 115,431 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
Al-Rumaitha City is a city in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. It is the capital of Al-Rumaitha District. Its population in 2014 was 115,431. The economy is predominantly agricultural, specializing in the production of date palms and grains.
Name[edit]
Al-Rumaitha is named after the saxaul plant, al-ramth in Arabic. It has had other names in the past. It was called al-'Auja (العوجة, crooked) due to the way the river distorts the shape of the city, and al-Abyad (الاأبيض, white) due to the supposed presence of the white lion in its environs.
History[edit]
The city contains 35 archaeological sites, pertaining to different time periods from the Babylonian to the Islamic eras.
During the British occupation of Iraq, the British used al-Rumaitha, at that time a small village, as a military camp to support the supply and transportation of British forces moving from Basra and Nasiriya to Baghdad. In 1920, the Iraqi revolt against the British began in al-Rumaitha on 30 June, after the British arrested Sheikh Shaalan Abu al-Jun of the al-Dhuwalim tribe.[1] Members of his tribe mounted a raid on the government holding facility and freed him. The city also supported the anti-British 1941 Iraqi coup d'état and participated in the anti-British Al-Wathbah uprising of 1948.
King Faisal I visited the city in 1922, as did Ghazi in 1937 and Faisal II in 1948, accompanied by 'Abd al-Ilah and Nuri al-Said.
Geography[edit]
Rumaitha is located beside one of the branches of the Euphrates River. It is approximately 25 kilometers north of Samawah, and several roads link the two cities.
References[edit]
- ^ Abbas Kadhim (1 November 2012). Reclaiming Iraq: The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State. University of Texas Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-292-73924-6.
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