ANBAR (originally Firuz Shapur or Perisopora), a ruined town on the left bank of the Euphrates in N., 50' E., below the modern Ramadi (q.v.) and between 4o and 5om. from Baghdad. The town lies just south of the Sakhlawiye canal, the most northerly of the canals which link with the Tigris. It was originally founded in A.D. 350 by Shapur II., was destroyed by Julian, but rebuilt and became a Christian and Jewish centre; and it is said to have had 90,00o Jews at the time of its capture by Ali in A.D. 657. It was the original capital of the Abbasid caliphate until the founding of Baghdad. It continued to be an important centre and even had a Christian governor under Caliph Mu'tadid.