RAMADI, AR-

capital of al-Anbar muhafazah (governorate), central Iraq. It lies on the Euphrates River just northwest of Hawr (Lake) al-Habbaniyah. Ancient settlements existed in the vicinity, but ar-Ramadi was founded only in 1869 to encourage settlement by the nomadic Dulaym tribes, a goal that has been partially fulfilled. The town prospered after becoming the departure point of a trade route across the desert to Amman and Damascus. A military engagement occurred there in 1917, during World War I, when British forces defeated the Ottomans. A dam across the Euphrates there was completed in 1955. Pop. (1970 est.) 79,488.