Кербела: Священный город Ирака и место паломничества шиитов.

City in Karbala Governorate, Iraq

Karbala or Kerbala ('/k//ɑːr//b//ə//l//ə/ KARbələ, /USalso/,/k//ɑːr//b//ə/'/l//ɑː/ KARbəLAH; كَرْبَلَاء, ) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 711,530 people (2018). is considered a holy city for Shia Muslims. Tens of millions of Shi'ite Muslims visit the site twice a year. The martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali and Abbas ibn Ali
is commemorated annually by millions of Shi'ites. Up to 34 million pilgrims visit the city to observe ʿĀshūrāʾ (the tenth day of the month of Muharram), which marks the anniversary of Husayn's death, but the main event is the Arbaʿīn (the 40th day after 'Ashura'), where up to 40 million visit the graves. Most of the pilgrims travel on foot from all around Iraq and more than 56 countries.

There are many opinions among different investigators, as to the origin of the word Karbala. Some have pointed out that Karbala has a connection to the "Karbalato" language, while others attempt to derive the meaning of word by analyzing its spelling and language. They conclude that it originates from the "Kar Babel" group of ancient Babylonian villages that included Nainawa, Al Ghadiriyya, Karbella (or Karb Illu), Al Nawaweess, and Al Heer. This last name is today known as Al Hair and is where Husayn ibn Ali's grave is located. The investigator Yaqut al Hamawi had pointed out that the meaning of Karbala could have several explanations, one of which is that the place where Husayn ibn Ali was martyred is made of soft earth—. According to Shia's belief, the archangel Gabriel narrated the true meaning of the name Karbala to Muhammad: a combination of (كَرْب, "the land which will cause many agonies") and (بَلَاء, "afflictions").

Karbala experiences a hot desert climate (BWh in the Köppen climate classification) with extremely hot, long, dry summers and mild winters. Almost all of the yearly precipitation is received between November and April, though no month is wet.

[[File:Meso2mil English. JPG|thumb|A map of Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BCE, showing Nineveh (the township of Yunus)), Najaf, Karbala, Kadhimiyyah and Samarra, since the Monotheistic preachers Ibrāhīm (Abraham) and Lūṭ (Lot), who are regarded as Prophets in Islam, are believed to have lived in the ancient Iraqi city of Kutha Rabba, before going to "The Blessed Land". Aside from the story of Abraham and Lot in Polytheistic Mesopotamia, Babil ("Babylon") and Qaryat Yunus ("Town of Jonah").

Karbala FC is a football club based in Karbala. It plays in the top tier Iraq Stars League, the highest division of the Iraqi football league system. The Karbala Sports City located south of Karbala city, is a large sports complex housing the Karbala International Stadium with a capacity of 30,000 spectators, a smaller football stadium with a capacity of 2,000, as well as a football field for training, a swimming hall, and a hotel.

There are many references in books and films to Karbala, specifically referring to Imam Husayn's death at the Battle of Karbala. One such example is the Iranian film Hussein Who Said No. In paintings, Husayn is often depicted on a white horse impaled by arrows. A number of documentaries detailing the events of the Battle of Karbala have also been produced.

In the Indian subcontinent, Karbala, apart from meaning the city of Karbala (which is usually referred to as Karbala e Mualla meaning Karbala the exalted), also means local grounds where commemorative processions end and/or ta'zīya are buried during Ashura or Arba'een, usually such grounds will have shabeeh (copy) of Rauza or some other structures. In South Asia where ta'zīya refer to specifically to the miniature mausoleums used in processions held in Muharram. It all started from the fact that the great distance of India from Karbala prevented Indian Shi'is being buried near the tomb of Husayn or making frequent pilgrimages (ziyarat) to the tomb. This is the reason why Indian Shi'is established local karbalas on the subcontinent by bringing soil from Karbala and sprinkling it on lots designated as future cemeteries. Once the karbalas were established on the subcontinent, the next step was to bring Husayn's tomb shrine to India. This was established by building replicas of Husayn's mausoleum called ta'zīya to be carried in Muharram processions. Thousands of ta'zīyas in various shapes and sizes are made every year for the months of mourning of Muharram and Safar; and are carried in processions and may be buried at the end of Ashura or Arba'een.

thumb|Karbala at night. University of Karbala, which was inaugurated on March 1, 2002, is one of the top most universities in Iraq regarding academic administration, human resources, and scientific research. Ahl al Bayt University was founded in September 2003 by Dr. Mohsen Baqir Mohammed Salih Al Qazwini. The university has six major colleges: College of Law, Arts, Islamic Sciences, Medical & Health Technology, Pharmacy and Dentistry. Warith al Anbiya University in Karbala, sponsored by the Imam Husayn Holy Shrine, was established in 2017. It has the faculties of engineering, administration, economics, law and pathology. It received its first batch of students in the academic year 2017–2018.

The Hawza are Islamic education institutions that are administered under the guidance of a Grand Ayatollah or group of scholars to teach Shia Muslims and guide them through the rigorous journey of becoming an Alim (a religious scholar). Initially Karbala's hawza consisted mostly of Iranians and Turkish scholars. The death of Sharif ul Ulama Mazandarani in 1830 as well as the repression of the Shia population by the Ottomans in 1843 both played a significant role in the relocation of many scholars to the city of Najaf and thus Najaf subsequently became the center of Shia Islamic leadership and education. Today the Hawza Seminary still exists in Karbala (such as the School of Allamah Bin Fahd) but to a lesser extent in comparison to Najaf.

In February 2024, the Iraqi National Investment Commission (NIC) unveiled a project to construct an inter city high speed rail network connecting the cities of Karbala and Najaf. Once finished, it is set to accommodate up to 25,000 passengers per hour.