Arab Iraq

Arab Iraq or Arabian Iraq (Arabic: عراق العرب, romanized: ‘Irāq ul-‘Arab, lit. 'Iraq of the Arabs') was a historical geographical term used by medieval and early modern writers for the region of Iraq in Mesopotamia, often centered in Lower Mesopotamia.^[1] Its precise extent varied by author and period, and some sources describe Arab Iraq as corresponding roughly to much of modern Iraq.^[2]

The term "Arab Iraq" (Persian: عراق عرب, romanized: Irâq-e Arab) became commonly used in the Seljuk period (11th–12th centuries) as a way to distinguish the historical region of Mesopotamia (Iraq proper) from "Persian Iraq" (Persian: عراق عجم, romanized: Irâq-e Ajam),^[3] a region previously referred to as al-Jibal, associated with the historical region of Media.^[4] Persian Iraq and Arab Iraq were often referred to as "al-Iraqayn" (Arabic: العراقين) meaning "the two Iraqs" collectively.^[5] The mountainous region between them, comprising Kurdistan, Luristan, and Bakhtiyari, could fall under either region depending on the military situation, though it often maintained a high degree of autonomy.^[2]

Under Safavid rule, Arab Iraq consisted of the two provinces of Baghdad and Diyarbakr.^[6][7] Modern scholarship notes that Ottoman and Qajar geographical writings did not consistently distinguish Arab Iraq from al-Jazira, and that such terminology could reflect political claims, not just geography.^[8] During Nader Shah's campaign in Iraq in the Afsharid period, Mohammad Kazem Marvi (Nader Shah’s financial officer)^[9] used the term “Arab Iraq” in his chronicle ʿĀlam-ārā-ye Nāderī, referring to spoils taken from "Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, and others, in the land of Arab Iraq".^[10] In the late 19th century, Ahmet Rifat (in Lugat-i Tarihiyye ve Cografiyye) referred to Arab Iraq in relation to neighbouring regions such as Al-Jazira and Kurdistan.^[11]