or Meshed Hossein, a large and populous town of Irak Arabi, situated at the extremity of a very noble canal drawn from the Euphrates. This was called by the ancient geographers Vologesia, and is mentioned as an inconsiderable place. But since the death of Hossein, the son of Ali by Fatima, the daughter of the prophet, who was slain near this place, and is interred at it, it has greatly increased, from the numerous resort of pilgrims of the sect of Ali, who flock to it from all quarters, especially from Persia, to pay devotions at the shrine. It has five gates, a well-supplied bazar, and seven caravanserais. But the chief and the only ornaments of the city are, the tomb of Hossein, which is adorned with a lofty cupola, gilded by Nadir Shah; and a noble mosque, consecrated to the memory of Abbas, the half-brother of the Imam. The town is subject to the Turks, but the majority of the inhabitants are Persians. The environs of the town and borders of the canal are shaded by extensive plantations of palm trees; and the walls, which are upwards of two miles in circumference, were repaired some years ago, to secure the riches of the city against the incursions of the Wahabees, by whom it was plundered when that sect was more powerful. The canal of Kerbela, or Nahr Sares, though it now bears the name of Hossein, is more ancient than the days of Alexander. This place is fifty miles south-south-west of Baghdad.