Arḍulfurātayni
"Land of the Euphrates", also translated as the "Land of The Two Rivers", was the national anthem of Iraq from 1981 to 2003, during the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein.
History
It was adopted in 1981, written by Shafiq al-Kamali with music by Walid Georges Gholmieh.The lyrics make mention of important people in Iraqi history, such as Saladin, Harun al-Rashid, and al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, with the last verse extolling Ba'athism.
In shortened performances, the chorus was played twice, preceded by an instrumental introduction. Other abridged performances had the chorus twice, then the first verse once, concluding with the chorus performed twice. In full performances, the chorus was sung first twice, then each verse once with the chorus repeated twice in between, then the chorus sung again twice at the end.
After the ousting of Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime in 2003, the former national anthem of Iraq from the late 1950s and early 1960s, "Mawtini" was reintroduced on a provisional basis. That was replaced in 2004 by the new Iraqi government with a new national anthem, also called "Mawtini", which is currently in use today.
Lyrics
| Arabic original | Romanization of Arabic | English translation |
كُورَال: ? وَطَنٌ مَدَّ عَلَى الْأُفْقِ جَنَاحَا وَارْتَدٰى مَجْدَ الْحَضَارَاتِ وِشَاحَا بُورِكَتْ أَرْضُ الْفُرَاتَيْنِ وَطَن عَبْقَرِي اَلْمَجْدِ عَزْمًا وَسَمَاحَا ? ? هٰذِهِ الْأَرْضُ لَهِيبٌ وَسَنَا وَشُمُوخٌ لَا تُدَانِيهِ سَمَا ? جَبَلٌ يَسْمُو عَلَى هَامِ الْدُّنَا وَسُهُولٌ جَسَّدَتْ فِينَا الْإِبَا بَابِلُ فِينَا وَآشُورُ لَنَا وَبِنَا الْتَّارِيخُ يَخْضَلُّ ضِيَا نَحْنُ فِي الْنَّاسِ جَمْعَنَا وَحْدَنَا غَضْبَةَ الْسَّيْفِ وَحِلْم اَلْأَنْبِيَاء ? حِينَ أَوْقَدْنَا رِمَال اَلْعُرْبِ ثَوْرَة وَحَمَلْنَا رَايَةَ الْتَّحْرِيرِ فِكْرَة ? مُنْذُ أَنْ لَزَّ مُثَنَّى الْخَيْلِ مُهْره وَصَلَاحُ الْدِّينِ غَطَاهَا رِمَاحَا كُورَال ? قَسَمًا بِالْسَّيْفِ وَالْقَوْلِ الْأَبِي وَصَهِيلِ الْخَيْلِ عِنْدَ الْطَّلَبِ ? إِنَّنَا سُورُ مَدَاهَا الْأَرْحَبِ وَهَدِيرُ الْشَّعْبَ يَوْم اَلنُّوَّبِ أَوْرَثَتْنَا الْبِيدُ رَايَات اَلْنَّبِي وَالْسَّجَايَا وَالْشُّمُوخ اَلْيَعْرُبِي مَجِّدِي، جَذْلَى، بِلَادَ الْعَرَبِ نَحْنُ أَشْرَقْنَا فَيَا شَمْس أُغْرُبِي ? اَلْجِبَاهُ الْسُّمْرُ بِشْرٌ وَمَحَبَّة وَصُمُودٌ شَقَّ لِلْإِنْسَانِ دَرْبَه ? أَيُّهَا الْقَائِدُ لِلْعَلْيَاءِ شَعْبَه اِجْعَلِ الآفَاقَ لِلْصَّوْلَاتِ سَاحَة كُورَال ? يَا سَرَايَا الْبَعْثِ يَا أُسْدَ الْعَرِين يَا شُمُوخ اَلْعِزِّ وَالْمَجْدِ الْتَّلِيد ? اِزْحَفِي كَالْهَوْلِ لِلْنَّصْرِ الْمُبِين وَبَعْثِي فِي أَرْضِنَا عَهْد اَلْرَّشِيد نَحْنُ جِيلُ الْبَذِل فَجْرُ الْكَادِحِين يَا رِحَاب اَلْمَجْدِ عُدْنَا مِنْ جَدِيد أُمَّةً تَبْنِي بِعَزْمٍ لَا يَلِين وَشَهِيدٍ يَقْتَفِي خَطْوَ شَهِيد ? شَعْبُنَا الْجَبَّارُ زَهْوٌ وَانْطِلَاق وَقِلَاعُ الْعِزِّ يَبْنِيهَا الْرِّفَاق ? دُمْتَ لِلْعُرْبِ مَلَاذًا يَا عِرَاق وَشُمُوسًا تَجْعَلُ الْلَّيْلَ صَبَاحَا كُورَال | ? Waṭanun madda ʿalā l-ufqi janāḥā, Wa-rtadā majda l-ḥaḍārāti wišāḥā, Būrikat ʾarḍu l-Furātayni waṭan, ʿAbqarī al-majdi ʿazman wa-samāḥā. ? ? Hāḏihi l-ʾarḍu lahībun wa-sanā Wa-šumūxun lā tudānīhi samā ? Jabalun yasmū ʿalā hāmi d-dunā Wa-suhūlun jassadat fīnā l-ʾibā Bābilu fīnā wa-ʾĀšūru lanā Wa-binā t-tārīxu yaxḍallu ḍiyā Naḥnu fī n-nāsi jamʿanā waḥdanā Ǧaḍbata s-sayfi wa-ḥilm al-ʾanbiyāʾ ? Ḥīna ʾawqadnā rimāl al-ʿurbi ṯawra Wa-ḥamalnā rāyata t-taḥrīri fikra ? Munḏu ʾan lazza Muṯannā l-xayli muhra Wa-Ṣalāḥu-d-Dīni ǧaṭā-hā rimāḥā Kūrāl ? Qasaman bi-s-sayfi wa-l-qawli l-ʾabī Wa-ṣahīli l-xayli ʿinda ṭ-ṭalabi ? Innanā sūru madā-hā l-ʾarḥabi Wa-hadīru š-šaʿba yawm an-nuwwabi ʾAwraṯatnā l-bīdu rāyāt an-nabī Wa-s-sajāyā wa-š-šumūx al-yaʿrubī Majjidī, jaḏlā, bilāda l-ʿarabi Naḥnu ʾašraqnā fa-yā šams ʾuǧrubī ? Al-jibāhu s-sumru bišrun wa-maḥabba Wa-ṣumūdun šaqqa li-l-ʾinsāni darba ? Ayyuhā l-qāʾidu li-l-ʿalyāʾi šaʿba Ijʿali l-ʾāfāqa li-ṣ-ṣawlāti sāḥa Kūrāl ? Yā sarāyā l-baʿṯi yā ʾusda l-ʿarīn Yā šumūx al-ʿizzi wa-l-majdi t-talīd ? Izḥafī ka-l-hawli li-n-naṣri l-mubīn Wa-baʿṯī fī ʾarḍinā ʿahd ar-Rašīd Naḥnu jīlu l-baḏil, fajru l-kadiḥīn Yā riḥāb al-majdi ʿudnā min jadīd ʾUmmatan tabnī bi-ʿazmin lā yalīn Wa-šahīdin yaqtafī xaṭwa šahīd ? Šaʿbunā l-jabbāru zahwun w-ānṭilāq Wa-qilāʿu l-ʿizzi yabnīhā r-rifāq ? Dumta li-l-ʿurbi malāḏan, yā ʿIrāq Wa-šumūsan tajʿalu l-layla ṣabāḥā Kūrāl | ? A fatherland has extended its wings over the horizon, And worn the glory of civilisations as a garment. Blessed be the land of the Euphrates, A homeland of glorious determination and tolerance. ? ? This homeland is made of flame and splendor And pride unmatched by the highest heaven. ? 'Tis a mountain that rises above the tops of the world, And a plain that embodies our pride. Babylon flows in our blood and Assyria is ours, And with us history itself radiates with light, We alone, from among mankind, combined in possession The anger of the sword and the patience of the prophets ? When we ignited the sands of Arabs into a revolution And bore the flag of liberty as an ideology ? Since al-Muthanna of Horses charged And Saladin covered it with spears! Chorus ? We pledge by sword and the speech of pride, And the neighing of horses when in duty. ? We are the wall of its limitless range And the roarings of people in days of war. We inherited the flags of the Prophet from the desert And Arabian nature and pride. Glorify well the Land of the Arabs We have risen; O Sun, set ? The tanned foreheads are filled with laughter and love And firmness that cruised for humans their way ? O Thou who is leading his people to supreme elevation, Make of the horizons our battlefields. Chorus ? O company of the Ba'ath, pride of lions, O pinnacle of pride and of inherited glory, ? Advance, like terror, to a certain victory And resurrect the time of al-Rashid in our land! We are a generation who give all and toil to the utmost. O expanse of glory, we have returned anew To a nation that we build with unyielding determination. And each martyr follows the footsteps of a former martyr. ? Our mighty nation is filled with pride and vigour And the comrades build the fortresses of glory. ? May Thou remain forever a refuge for all Arabs, O Iraq And be as suns that turn night into day! Chorus |