Wasit

For other uses, see Wasit (disambiguation).

Wasit
وَاسِط (Arabic)
Gate of Sharabai School in Wasit
Location within Iraq
32.188°N 46.298°E / 32.188; 46.298
Cultures	Islamic Caliphate (Islamic Golden Age)
Location	Iraq
Region	Wasit Governorate

Wasit (Arabic: وَاسِط, romanized: Wāsiṭ, Syriac: ‎ܘܐܣܛ) was an early Islamic city in Iraq. It was founded in the 8th century by the Umayyad viceroy of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to serve as the region's seat of power for the Umayyad governor and as the garrison of Umayyad troops to enforce Umayyad rule there. It was situated between the two traditional administrative centers and garrisons of Iraq, Kufa and Basra, hence its name Wasit (lit. 'middle'). The city was abandoned centuries later and its ruins are located in the eponymous Wasit Governorate, southeast of Kut in southeastern Iraq.