Wasit

Wasit (Arabic: وَاسِط, romanized: Wāsiṭ, Syriac: ‎ܘܐܣܛ) was an early Islamic city in Iraq. It was founded in the 8th century by the Umayyad viceroy of Iraq, al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, to serve as the region's seat and as the garrison of the Syrian troops who enforced Umayyad rule there. It was situated between the two traditional administrative centers and garrisons of Iraq, Kufa and Basra, hence its name Wasit (lit. 'middle'). The city was abandoned centuries later and its ruins are located in the eponymous Wasit Governorate, southeast of Kut in southeastern Iraq.