Dhi Qar Governorate

Dhi Qar Governorate ذي قار Dhi Qar Province
—  Province  —
Coordinates: 31°14′N 46°19′E / 31.233°N 46.317°E / 31.233; 46.317Coordinates: 31°14′N 46°19′E / 31.233°N 46.317°E / 31.233; 46.317
Country	Iraq
Capital	Nasiriyah
Area
- Total	12,900 km2 (4,980.7 sq mi)
Population (2003)
- Total	1,472,000

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

Ancient history

Further information: Sumer

Provincial Government

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

Dhi Qar today

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

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.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Sumer
• Cradle of civilization
• Battle of Dhi Qar

References

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

External links

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