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Al Kufa

Iraqcity

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Al Kufa

Total population

230,000

Elevation30 m
Coordinates32.03°, 44.40°

Demographic figures from Central Statistical Organization (Iraq). Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.

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City facts

Elevation
30 m

Facts from Wikidata (CC0).

Overview

Kufa, also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about 170 kilometres (110 mi) south of Baghdad, and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Najaf, Karbala, Mashhad, Kadhimiya, Samarra and Qom, Kufa is a holy city in Shia Islam.

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History & geography

History

After the Arabian hegemony and the fall of Persian Empire, and its geographic proximity to the imperial capital, Ctesiphon) at Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah in 636, Kufa was founded and given its name in 637–638 CE, about the same time as Basra. Kufa and Basra were the two amsar (garrison cities) of Iraq, serving as military bases and administrative centers. The Companion of the Prophet Saʻd ibn Abī Waqqas founded it as an encampment adjacent to the Lakhmid Arab city of Al-Hirah, and incorporated it as a city of seven divisions. Non-Arabs knew the city under alternate names: Hīrah and Aqulah, before the consolidations of ʻAbdu l-Mālik in 691. Umar, who assigned the land of the Jews in Arabia to his warriors, ordered the relocation of the Jews of Khaybar to a strip of land in Kufa, in 640. In the 640s, the Kufan commons were agitated that Umar's governor was distributing the spoils of war unfairly. In 642 ʻUmar summoned Saʻd to Medina with his accusers. Despite finding Sa'd to be innocent, Umar deposed him to avert ill feelings. At first, Umar appointed Ammar ibn Yasir and secondly Basra's first Governor Abū Mūsā al-Ashʻarī; but the Kufan instigators accepted neither. ʻUmar and the Kufans finally agreed on Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʻbah. The city was built in a circular plan according to the Partho-Sasanian architecture. Following Umar's death (644), his successor Uthman replaced Mughirah with Al-Walid ibn Uqba in 645. This happened while the Arabs were continuing their conquest of western Persia under Uthman ibn Abi al-As from Tawwaj, but late in the 640s, these forces suffered setbacks. Uthman in 650 reorganised the Iranian frontier; both Basra and Kufa received new governors (Sa'id ibn al-'As in Kufa's case), and the east came under Basra's command while north of that…

Geography

Kufa is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. It is south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf.

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Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).

Geography

Latitude
32.0344
Longitude
44.4031
Water area
—
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Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.

Climate

Air quality

Walkability

Amenities nearby

Wildlife & biodiversity

Earthquake history

Photos

Sights & places nearby

Notable people from here

People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.

Nearby places in Iraq

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Geography & sun

Avg solar (kWh/m²/day)
5.46
Annual solar (kWh/m²)
1,993

Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.

Nearby airports

Public attention

Wikipedia views (last 30 days)
7,178
Avg daily Wikipedia views
239
Attention level
Modest

Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.

Books about Al Kufa

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Recent natural events nearby

Ground air-quality sensors

Recently spotted species

Events

Sources

  • • Wikipedia
  • • Wikidata
  • • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
  • • Wikipedia Pageviews API
  • • Open Library