Asia
Middle East
Iraq

Southern Iraq

Southern Iraq stretches south of the of to . It is also referred to as Lower Mesopotamia or the Cradle of Civilization. The largest religious group in the area is Shia Islam.
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Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Babylon and Basra.

Photo: Edwin Long, Public domain.
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in , today only ruins; it was once one of the most prominent cities of Ancient Mesopotamia. Alexander the Great chose to be the capital of the great empire he had created, and died there while planning further conquests; for several centuries after that it was a major center of the Seleucid Empire founded by one of his generals.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 2.5.
is a port city in Southern , close to the border with and . It is Iraq's third largest city with a population of 2,150,000.

Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of . With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, is the second largest city in central Iraq, after .

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Najaf and Nasiriyah.

Photo: Wessm, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is the capital city of the eponymous in central , about 160 km south of . Its estimated population in 2024 was about 1.41 million people.

Photo: Mohamad.bagher.nasery, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a city in Southern . It is the closest major settlement to the prehistoric city of Ur.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 3.0.
is in Southern Iraq. is the nearest city to the ruins of , which are 5 km north of the city. It is the capital of Babylon Province and has a population of about 456,000.

Photo: Alihaseep, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is a city with about 1.2 million inhabitants in Southern Iraq and the capital of Maysan province.

Photo: OXML.IO, CC BY-SA 4.0.
, also spelt Diwaniya, is the capital city of 's . In 2014 the population was estimated at 700,000.

Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
is a port city in southern . It stands on the canalised Khawr az-Zubayr, part of the Khawr Abd Allah estuary which leads to the .

Southern Iraq

Latitude of center
31.18° or 31° 10′ 48″ north
Longitude of center
47.02° or 47° 1′ 12″ east
Wiki­data ID
Q14223170
This page is based on Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
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Satellite Map

Discover Southern Iraq from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Arabic to Venetian—“Southern Iraq” goes by many names.
  • Arabic: “بلاد الرافدين السفلى”
  • Arabic: “بلاد الرافدين”
  • Azerbaijani: “Cənubi Mesopotamiya”
  • Catalan: “Baixa Mesopotàmia”
  • Dutch: “Beneden Mesopotamië”
  • Greek: “Κάτω Μεσοποταμία”
  • Indonesian: “Irak Selatan”
  • Indonesian: “Mesopotamia Hilir”
  • Italian: “Bassa Mesopotamia”
  • Persian: “بین‌النهرین پایین”
  • Persian: “بین‌النهرین سفلی”
  • Portuguese: “Baixa Mesopotâmia”
  • Portuguese: “Mesopotâmia Inferior”
  • Slovenian: “Spodnja Mezopotamija”
  • Spanish: “Mesopotamia Inferior”
  • Tamil: “கீழ் மெசொப்பொத்தேமியா”
  • Turkish: “Aşağı Mezopotamya”
  • Urdu: “نچلا میسوپوٹیمیا”
  • Uzbek: “Quyi Mesopotamiya”
  • Venetian: “Basa Mezopotàmia”

Iraq: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into Baghdad, Mosul, Erbil, and Sulemania Governorate.

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Southern Iraq”. Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.