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Basra (bŭs'ru) [key], Arabic al Basrah, city (1987 pop. 406,296), SE Iraq, on the Shatt al Arab. Basra is Iraq's second
largest city and principal port. Its commercially advantageous location, near oil fields and 75 mi (121 km) from the Persian
Gulf, has made it prosperous. Since 1948 many oil refineries have been built in the city. Petroleum products, grains, wool,
and dates are exported. Basra was founded (A.D. 636) by the caliph Umar I. It was a cultural center
under Harun ar-Rashid and declined with the decay of the Abbasid caliphate. Its possession was long contested by the Persians
and the Turks. The British occupied Basra during World War I and used its port; they remained there until 1930. After World
War I the construction of a rail line to Baghdad and the building of a modern harbor restored the city's importance. Due to
its location on the heavily contested Shatt al Arab waterway, Basra was hard hit by Iranian forces in the 1980s during the
Iran-Iraq War. The port was further bombed by western coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War (1991), primarily to thwart covert trade. Basra is the seat of a branch of
the Univ. of Baghdad. The name also appears as Bassora, Bussora, and Busra.
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