Dhi Qar Governorate

Dhi Qar Governorate Arabic: ذي قار
—  Governorate  —
Coordinates:
Country	Iraq
Capital	Nasiriyah
Area
- Total	12,900 km2 (4,980.7 sq mi)
Population (2003)
- Total	1,472,000
Main language(s)	Arabic

Dhi Qar Governorate (Arabic: ذي قار‎) is a governorate in southern Iraq. The provincial capital is Nasiriyah. Prior to 1976 the province was known as Muntafiq. Dhi Qar was the site of the ancient civilization of Sumer and the ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu are present here.

Contents 1 Ancient history 2 Provincial Government 3 Dhi Qar today 3.1 The cities of the governorate 3.2 An anti-Baath governorate 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Ancient history

Provincial Government

• Governor: Talebalhassan
• Deputy Governor: Ahmed al-Sheik Taha [1]
• Provincial Council Chairman (PCC): Ihsan Al-Taei [2]

Dhi Qar today

The cities of the governorate

Dhi Qar governorate includes the towns of al-Rifai, Qalat Sukkar, Ash Shatra, al-Gharraf, Suq al-Shuyouk and al-Chibayish

An anti-Baath governorate

The governorate was notorious in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's era of dictatorship as one of the most troublesome spots for the Baath government. In 1991 the governorate fell to Islamist groups as part of a wider uprising that failed to topple the Saddam Hussein government.

According to Ron Suskind, in the mid 1990s the governor was Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, who later became police chief of the country, and in 1999, director of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.^[1]

An Nasiriyah witnessed some of the heaviest fighting and some of the stiffest resistance against invading U.S. forces in 2003.

Dhi Qar was the second Iraqi province to be handed over to the Iraqi Security Forces, the first being Al Muthanna. The province achieved Provincial Iraqi Control on September 21, 2006 from Italian forces, in a ceremony presided by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. [3]

See also

• Sumer
• Cradle of civilization
• Battle of Dhi Qar

References

External links

• Iraq Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit Reports, Maps and Assessments of Iraq's Governorates from the UN Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit

1. ↑ excerpt from Suskind's book, on Suskind's webpage

Governorates of Iraq • (See also: Districts of Iraq) Al-Anbar • Arbil (Hewlêr)1 • Bābil • Baghdād • Al-Basrah • Dahuk (Dihok)1 • Dhī Qār • Diyālā • Karbalā' • Maysān • An-Najaf • Nīnawā • Al-Muthannā • Al-Qādisiyyah • Kirkūk • Salāh ad-Dīn • As Sulaymaniyah (Slêmanî)1 • Wāsit 1also part of Kurdistan Region

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