town, east-central Iraq. Located on the Diyālā River and on a road and a rail line between Baghdad and Iran, it is a regional trade centre for agricultural produce and livestock. The name comes from the Aramaic Bāya ʿqūbā, meaning “Jacob's house.” The town is located on the site of a settlement dating back to pre-Islāmic times. Under the ʿAbbāsid caliphate, it was a prosperous town known for its date and fruit orchards, and the surrounding country was populous and fertile with many villages. It was an important stop on the Baghdad-Khorasan road, part of the silk and spice route. Many Assyrian Christian refugees fled there during World War I. Pop. (2003 est.) 160,000.