Anbar Governorate
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Anbar Governorate محافظة الأنبار Anbar Province |
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|---|---|
| Governorate | |
 |
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| Coordinates: 32°54′N 41°36′E / 32.900°N 41.600°ECoordinates: 32°54′N 41°36′E / 32.900°N 41.600°E | |
| Country |
 Iraq
|
| Capital | Ramadi |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Suhaib al-Rawi |
| Area | |
| • Total | 138,501 km2 (53,476 sq mi) |
| Population (July 2011 estimate) | |
| • Total | 1,561,407 |
| • Density | 11/km2 (29/sq mi) |
Al Anbar Governorate (Arabic: محافظة الأنبار; muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The provincial capital is Ramadi; other important cities include Fallujah and Haditha.
The governorate was known as Ramadi up to 1976, when it was renamed Al Anbar Province, and it was known as Dulaim before 1962. Nearly all the inhabitants of the province are Sunni Muslims and most belong to the Dulaim tribe.
In early 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, with the assistance of local Sunni militia, launched a successful campaign to seize control of the province from the Iraqi government. Since then, numerous offensive actions have been undertaken by the Iraqi government to remove ISIL's occupation of the province.
The name of the governorate in Persian language means "warehouse" or "silo", from the verb, anbâshtan (to store, to warehouse). This was the last stop/warehouses on the old Silk Road toward Syria. The name is pre-Islamic. The name of the Governorate is taken over from a historic city that was originally located on its territory and whose ruins can still be seen 5 km northwest of Fallujah near the city of Saqlawiyah today. This city of Anbār (Persian: Peruz Shapur) was founded in the 3rd century by the Muntherids, and was before the Arab conquest in 634, the second largest city of Iraq. It was abandoned after the Mongol invasion in the 14th century. A pseudo-authentication is offered by proposing that the name is Arabic and stands for "granaries" in Arabic, further proposing the word Anbar (أنبار) to be the plural of Nbr (نبر) which meaning "grains". In reality, Nbr does not mean grain in classical or middle Arabic, nor commonly in modern Arabic. The name already in use in Pre-Islamic times during the Sasanian rule over Iraq long before any Arabic having introduced to an otherwise Aramaic speaking Iraq.
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Wikipedia