BA'QUBAH

town, east-central Iraq. Located on the Diyala River and on a road and a rail line between Baghdad and Iran, it is a regional trade centre for agricultural produce and livestock. The name comes from the Aramaic Baya 'quba, meaning Jacob's house. The town is located on the site of a settlement dating back to pre-Islamic times. Under the 'Abbasid caliphate, it was a prosperous town known for its date and fruit orchards, and the surrounding country was populous and fertile with many villages. It was an important stop on the Baghdad-Khorasan road, part of the silk and spice route. Many Assyrian Christian refugees fled there during World War I. Pop. (1985 est.) 114,516.