Al-Ubulla is identified with the ancient city of Apologou mentioned in the Greek manuscript
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The city dates at least to the
Sasanian era (3rd–7th centuries CE), and possibly before. According to the 10th-century chronicler
Eutychius of Alexandria, it was founded by the Sasanian emperor
Ardashir I (). Toward the end of the Sasanian period, it typically formed part of the territories of the Empire's
al-Hira-based
Lakhmid vassals. During the
early Muslim conquests in the 630s, al-Ubulla was conquered by the Arab forces of
Utba ibn Ghazwan al-Mazini after the defeat of its 500-man Sasanian garrison. In fact the stubborn port city had to be conquered in two separate occasions by ʿUtba b. Ghazwān. In a letter attributed to Utba, he describes the city as the "port of
al-Bahrayn (eastern Arabia),
Uman, al-Hind (India) and al-Sin (China)". Following the foundation of the Arab garrison town of Basra further inland, al-Ubulla declined in strategic importance but remained a major trade port until the
Mongol invasion. As indicated by the medieval Arabic geographers, al-Ubulla continued to be a large town, more populous than Basra, throughout the
Abbasid era (750–1258).
Yaqut al-Hamawi praised the city and
Ibn Hawqal describes the border lands of the Nahr al-Ubulla as a single extensive garden. Al-Ubulla supplied Basra with fresh water and was noted for its linens and shipbuilding. In 942, the governor of Uman captured the city on his way to Basra during his conflict with its strongman
Abu'l-Husayn al-Baridi and his brother
Abu Abdallah al-Baridi. According to the historian J. H. Kramers, the events of its occupation demonstrate its weakness as "a bulwark for that city [Basra]". The 13th-century Mongol invasions brought about a decline of several places in this part of Iraq, including al-Ubulla. The 14th-century traveler
Ibn Batuta described it as a mere village and around this time it disappeared from the historical record. ==References==