Marsh Arabs in the context of Mesopotamian Arabic

The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in southern Iraq and southwestern Iran as well as partially in northern Kuwait. The marshes are primarily located on the floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers bound by the cities of Basra, Nasiriyah, Amarah and a portion of southwestern Iran and northern Kuwait (particularly Bubiyan Island). Historically the marshlands, mainly composed of the separate but adjacent Central, Hawizeh and Hammar Marshes, used to be the largest wetland ecosystem of western Eurasia. The unique wetland landscape is home to the Marsh people, who have developed a unique culture tightly coupled to the landscape – harvesting reeds and rice, fishing, and herding water buffalo.

Draining of portions of the marshes began in the 1950s and continued through the 1970s to reclaim land for agriculture and oil exploration. In the late 1980s and 1990s, during the presidency of Saddam Hussein, this work was expanded and accelerated to evict Marsh people from the marshes. Before 2003, the marshes were drained to 10% of their original size. Since the American overthrow of Hussein in 2003, the marshes have partially recovered. However, drought along with upstream dam construction and operation in Turkey, Syria, and Iran have hindered the process. The Mesopotamian marshes were listed as an UNESCO Heritage Site in 2016.

Abu Al-Khaseeb (sometimes spelled Abu Al-Khasib) is a town in Abu Al-Khaseeb District, Basra Governorate, southern Iraq. Its name means "The rich area - agricultural", referring to the fertile Shatt Al-Arab river. It is an agricultural town, well known for its date palm farms on the river. Its population is predominantly Shia Arab. Abu Al-Khaseeb has long been a traditional center for boat-building of the mashoof canoes that are widely used by the Marsh Arabs.

The Hawizeh Marshes are a complex of marshes that straddle the Iran–Iraq border. The marshes are fed by two branches of the Tigris River (the Al-Musharrah and Al-Kahla) in Iraq and the Karkheh River in Iran. The Hawizeh marsh is critical to the survival of the Central and Hammar marshes also make up the Mesopotamian Marshes, because they are a refuge for species that may recolonize or reproduce in other marshlands. Hawizeh Marshes are drained by the Al-Kassarah. This river plays a critical role in maintaining the marshes as a flow-through system and preventing it from becoming a closed saline basin.

Hawizeh Marshes have been populated for more than 5,000 years. They are fed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq and the Karkhen River in present-day Iran. The Marsh Arabs live in Iraq and Hawizeh people live in Iran. From the time of the Sumerians and Babylonians people lived in the marshes.