Al 'Amarah, or Amara, is the capital of Maysan province. The city was founded in the 1860's as a military outpost of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans tried to control the long-standing warfare between two local tribes, the Banu Lam and the Al Bu Muhammad, from Al 'Amarah and the city became the administrative capital of the Ottoman province of Al 'Amarah (later Maysan). The city was built in a modern way with wide streets and soon developed into a large market town and refueling station for steamers on the Tigris.

In 1915, British forces forced the Ottoman army out of Al 'Amarah and after Iraq was formed, it came under Iraqi control.

Al 'Amarah sits on the northernmost tip of a 16,000 km² (6000 sq miles) large triangle of marshlands where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet, about 50 km (30 miles) from the border with Iran. Its economy is largely based on farm products, including rice, dates and sheep. During the 1980's the Iraqi government built new docks at Al 'Amarah, as well as a Japanese-funded hospital. Roads connect Al 'Amarah with other major Iraqi cities.

During the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, Al 'Amarah was bombed by the allied forces under United States command and many of the city's bridges leading to Baghdad and Al Basrah were destroyed. In March 1991, the largely Shiite Muslim population rebelled against the government of Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqi government quashed the uprising later that month. Thousands of the city's residents fled to the nearby marshes and into Iran, but fighting between the army and local tribes continued through 1992. Also, in that year, most of the bridges destroyed in the fighting had been rebuilt.

Al 'Amarah is in southeastern Iraq, some 305 km southeast of Baghdad. Accommodation is available in town.