KARBALA (Karbalāʾ), a city in Iraq, situated about 90 km southwest of Baghdad . It is one of the four Shiʿite shrine cities (with Najaf, Kāẓemayn, and Sāmarrāʾ) in Iraq known in Shʿite Islam as ʿatabāt-e ʿaliāt or ʿatabāt-e moqaddasa. The third Imam of the Shiʿites, Ḥosayn b. ʿAlī, and his half-brother ʿAbbās are buried there. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an area of 5034 km² and estimated Population about 1,012,356 million people.

The governorate of Kerbala is one of Iraq’s smallest governorates and is located in the south west of the country. Irrigated farmland stretches along the Euphrates River in the east of Kerbala, while the western parts of the governorate are made up of desert plains. The saline Razazah Lake is located a few kilometers to the west of the city of Kerbala, the governorate’s capital. Kerbala shares internal boundaries with the governorates of Anbar, Babil and Najaf. 

Kerbala has a typical dry, desert climate. The temperatures easily reach 40°C or more in summer, while rainfall is very limited and concentrated in the winter months. 

Shia Arabs are the dominant ethnic-religious group in Kerbala. A small Sunni community is also residing in the governorate. 

Kerbala is divided in three districts: Kerbala, Ain Al-Tamur and Al-Hindiya.

The economy of Kerbala is based around two main sectors: agriculture and (religious) tourism. Kerbala’s agricultural businesses grow a variety of fruits, vegetables and orchard produce. The shrine of Imam Hussain in Kerbala is one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims worldwide, and every year millions of pilgrims from inside and outside Iraq visit the governorate. Other religious and archeological sites, as well as natural attractions like the Razazah Lake, also attract tourists.