At a glance
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Identifiers
- GeoNamesPleiades
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
Basra is a historic city in southern Iraq, surrounded by rivers and palm groves, famous for grammar, language, and libraries.
Basra is an ancient city in southern Iraq near the Shatt al-Arab, founded by Utba ibn Ghazwan (may God be pleased with him) under Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) in 14 AH. As the first garrison city established outside Arabia in Islam, it thrived through maritime commerce, emerging alongside Kufa as the cradle of Arabic grammar, literature, and jurisprudence.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
The earliest garrison city (misr) established by Muslims outside the Arabian Peninsula, founded in 14 AH (c. 636 CE) by Utba ibn Ghazwan (may God be pleased with him) under the instruction of Caliph Umar at the northern head of the Persian Gulf along the Shatt al-Arab. Evolving rapidly from a military base into a trans-regional maritime trade entrepôt linking the Middle East with the Indian Ocean, it emerged alongside Kufa as the preeminent intellectual cradle of Arabic linguistics. Basra gave birth to the prestigious Basran school of grammar codified by Sibawayh and al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, hosting luminaries in literature, philosophy, and sciences such as al-Jahiz and Ibn al-Haytham.
Overview
A port city in southern Iraq, founded as a garrison for the Muslims around the year 636 CE, and a centre of grammar, theology and trade.
Location
Its approximate coordinates are 30.5085 N and 47.7804 E 1.
In the museum
The museum's material on this place includes: people who lived here: 4.
People who lived here
What this page covers
This page gathers what the museum links to the place: events, people and buildings. It is not a full historical account of the place; a description of the place and its history from original sources will be added in later batches.
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Connections
- Birthplace of
- Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakra
- Place of death of
- Abu Ali b. Duwayra al-Basri
- Under the rule of
- Adi ibn Artat al-Fazari· Isa ibn Ja'far al-Abbasi· Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Abbasi· Sulayman ibn Ali al-Abbasi
- Home of
- Abu al-Hasan al-Basri· Anas ibn Malik· Buraydah ibn al-Husayb· Fil, Ziyad's Mawla· Samura ibn Jundab· Utba ibn Ghazwan
- Site of
- The Asawira's Settlement at Basra· The Basra Bathhouse Permissions· The Basrans' Cry to Abdallah ibn Ali· Building of al-Mughitha· The Bukharans' Settlement at Basra· The Basra Dar al-Imara Saga· Digging of Nahr Adi· Digging of the Ubulla Canal· Digging of Nahr Ibn Umar· Digging of the Ma'qil Canal· al-Hajjaj's Punishment of the Asawira· Ibn ʿAbbās quits Basra for Mecca (40 AH)· Muʿāwiya sends ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Ḥaḍramī to rally Basra (38 AH)· Storm and hail at Kufa and Basra, 285· The Marghab Canal Dispute· Mu'awiya's Marsh Grant· Nafi' ibn al-Harith's Walking Grant· Abu Tahir al-Janabi's entry into Basra, 311· Killing of the Sayabija Treasury Guards· Umar ibn Hubayra's Survey of the Grants· The Zanj Enter Basra and Lay It Waste· The Zutt Brigandage and Ujayf's War
- Contains
- Great Mosque of Basra· Qasr Qubadh / the Hajjaj palace at Basra
People and things also explored
زياد بن أبي سفيان· Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakra· Sulayman ibn Ali al-Abbasi· The Ansar· the Asawira· al-Ahnaf ibn Qays· al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi· The Basra Bathhouse Permissions
Sources
- GeoNames gazetteer
- al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Basra”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/basra/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-27.