Karbala - Karbala (English spelling)

A city in central Iraq. The capital of Karbala Province. It is also called Kerbela. Population: 296,705 (1987 census), 572,300 (2003 estimate). It is located about 80 km south-southwest of Baghdad, on the right bank of the middle Euphrates River, with the Syrian Desert close to the west. It is the terminus of the branch line of the railway that connects Baghdad and Basra. It is known as the place where Muhammad's grandson and Shiite leader Hussein was killed in the battle between the Shiite and Sunni Muslims in 680. As a result, it is the most important holy site for Shiites, and the mosque that houses the tomb of Hussein and his family is a constant source of Shiite pilgrimages from Iran, Iraq, and other parts of the world. Many people also take the trouble to bring their bodies to be buried here. Pilgrimages to the holy cities of Najaf and Mecca also start here. It was not only a religious city, but also a center of trade with the interior of the Arabian Peninsula, where products from the surrounding rural areas were collected and distributed, and was called the "port of the desert." Date palms, wheat, wool, leather products, and religious implements were also widely traded.

[Ryuichi Hara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イラク中部の都市。カルバラー州の州都。ケルベラKerbelaともいう。人口29万6705（1987センサス）、57万2300（2003推計）。バグダードの南南西約80キロメートル、ユーフラテス川中流右岸に位置し、西はシリア砂漠が近くまで迫っている。バグダードとバスラを結ぶ鉄道の支線の終着点。680年のイスラム教シーア派とスンニー派の戦いで、ムハンマド（マホメット）の孫でシーア派の指導者フサインが殺害された地として知られる。そのためシーア派教徒のもっとも重要な聖地で、フサインと一族の墓廟(ぼびょう)のあるモスクには、イランやイラクをはじめ世界中のシーア派教徒の巡礼者が後を絶たない。またわざわざこの地に葬るべく遺体を運ぶ人も多い。聖地ナジャフやメッカへの巡礼もここを起点とする。宗教都市であるばかりでなく、周辺農村地帯の生産物が集散され、アラビア半島内部との交易の中心都市で「砂漠の港」とよばれる。ナツメヤシ、小麦、羊毛、皮革製品や宗教用具品も広く商われている。

［原　隆一］

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