Muthanna Governorate

Muthanna Governorate محافظة المثنى Al Muthanna Province
Governorate
Coordinates: 30°12′N 45°21′E
Country	Iraq
Capital	Samawah
Government
• Governor	Faleh al-Ziyadi
Area
• Total	51,740 km2 (19,980 sq mi)
Population  (2015)
• Total	770,500

Muthanna Governorate (Arabic: المثنى Al Muthannā) or Al Muthanna Province, is a province in Iraq, named after the 7th-century Arab general al-Muthanna ibn Haritha. It is in the south of the country, bordering Saudi Arabia. Its capital is the city of Samawah.

Before 1976 it was part of the Diwaniya Province, which included present-day Najaf Governorate and Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate.

Samawah is very close to the ancient Sumerian-Babylonian city of Uruk (Aramaic: Erech), which is possibly the source of the name Iraq. After the decline of Babylon following the Seleucid founding of Seleucia, Uruk became the largest city in southern Babylonia, and its name (Erech) came to replace Babili (Babylonia), as the city long outlived the former capital, surviving into the 7th century AD.

Provincial government

• Governor: Faleh al-Ziyadi
• Deputy Governor: Sami Al-Hassani
• Chairman of Al-Muthanna Provincial Council: Hakim Al Yasseri