KERBALA
Kerbala is considered as one of the ancient historical cities of Iraq which belongs to the Babylon age . Archaeologists found many traces of settlement nearby as the archaeological excavations in Al-Tar caves proved its existence since the late stone age . Historians disagreed about the etymology of " Kerbala" . Some of them said that it was derived from "Korr Babyl" which is a group of ancient Babylonian villages like Naynawa , Al- Ghadhirya , Kerbala (with dark /l/ ) and then Kerbala , Okre Babyl , Al-Nawaweese and Al-Ha'ere. Others said that it was derived from Al- kareb and Al -bala that means (anguish and ordeal) , and it is also named Al-Taf because of its location which is lied at the side of Al-Alkami river . About 105 Kms. Southwest of Baghdad , Kerbala has a unique geographical site , the importance of this city increased in the following periods as it was the centre of communications between Iraq and the Arab Peninsula . It was also a centre of supplying provisions for the Arab Tribes who lived in the western Desert . In the Islamic period , Kerbala gained its religious and commercial importance in that it was the burial place of Imam al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi-Talib and his brother al-Abbas "peace be upon them " (grandsons of prophet Mohammad ) with a group of their relatives and companions who scarified with their sacred blood for the sake of Islam and martyred in the catastrophe of al-Taf Battle (61A.H./680A.B.) , so that Kerbala is regarded as one of the most important holy cities of Iraq and the Islamic world