| Anbar الأنبار פירוז שבור |
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Anbar
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| Country | Iraq |
| Governorate | Al Anbar |
Anbar (الأنبار) was a town in Iraq, at lat. 33 deg. 22' N., long. 43 deg. 49' E, on the east bank of the Euphrates, just south of the Nahr 'Isa, or Sakhlawieh canal, the northernmost of the canals connecting that river with the Tigris.
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Anbar was originally called Firuz Shapur (Firuz Shabur; Aramic: פירוז שבור), or Perisapora and was founded circa 350 AD by Shapur II, Sassanid king of Persia. Perisapora was captured and destroyed by Emperor Julian in 363, but speedily rebuilt. The town became a refuge for the Arab, Christian, and Jewish colonies of that region.[1] Anbar was adjacent or identical to the Babylonian Jewish center of Nehardea (Hebrew: נהרדעא), and lies a short distance from the present-day town of Fallujah, formerly the Babylonian Jewish center of Pumbeditha (Hebrew: פומבדיתא).
The name of the town was then changed to Anbar ("granaries"). Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah, the founder of the Abbasid caliphate, made it his capital, and such it remained until the founding of Baghdad in 762. It continued to be a place of much importance throughout the Abbasid period.[1]
It is now it is entirely deserted, occupied only by ruin mounds. The great number of these indicates the former importance of the city.[1]