Amarah (), also spelled Amara, is a city in south-eastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km (31 mi) from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates. It had a population of about 340,000 in 2002 and about 420,000 in 2005 and in 2020 they are about 1,100,000. Amarah is the seat of the Maysan Province. A major trading center for the surrounding agricultural area, the city is known for woven goods and silverware. The staple economic goods produced in northern Amarah are winter cereals such as wheat and barley, as well as animals such as sheep and horses. History The city was founded in the 1860s as an Ottoman military outpost from which the empire tried to control the warring Banu Lam and Al Bu Muhammad tribes. In 1915 Amarah was captured by the British. Before the revolution in 1958 Amarah was known for its feudal system with local estate-holders maintaining private militias. Abdul Rahim al-Rahmani founded the first bookstore in Amarah in 1922, and the city's first cinema in 1950. During the eight-year Iran–Iraq War, the eastern parts of the province became the site of several battles, notably Operation Before the Dawn launched by Iran. Since the Baghdad-Basra highway cut through the province, Iran targeted the area due to its strategic significance to the Iraqis. After the Persian Gulf War, Amarah was one of many sites during the 1991 uprisings in Iraq against Saddam Hussein. Many insurgents throughout Iraq retreated to safe havens in the Amarah area. Many were killed and crudely buried in a mass grave outside the city. Saddam Hussein also resorted to a crude tactic of draining the marshes surrounding Amarah. Furthermore, Saddam constructed a number of dams in an effort to cut off the water supply to the area. Throughout the 90's, the town's population swelled with refugees from the marshes. Saddam Hussein occasionally neglected service to the city in retribution for its role in the uprising. The city also supported the efforts of Moqtada al-Sadr, whose father was also killed by Saddam. In May 1999, Ba'ath party militias and units of the Special Republican Guard conducted operations in the region. Local resistance forces reportedly repelled the operation. Iraq War (2003–2011) During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the city made a final