An-Nu'maniyah is named after
al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir who ruled the region. The city hosts the tomb of
Al-Mutanabbi. Nu'maniyah was an important town during the Middle Ages. It lay on the western bank of the Tigris, across from the town of
Jabbul, and was the capital of the Upper Zab district. It had a
Friday mosque in its marketplace.
Ibn Rustah commented that Nu'maniyah was renowned for its
carpets, which resembled those made at
al-Hirah. In the 1300s,
Hamdallah Mustawfi described Nu'maniyah as a prosperous town surrounded by
date palm groves. Near the town, there was a monastery called Dayr Hizqil, where the monks looked after the mentally ill. == An-Numaniyah Airfield==