Sūq aš-Šuyūḵ

Suq al-Shuyukh, the "market of the sheikhs", stands on the right bank of the Euphrates near the western end of the Hammar marshes. Date gardens surround the town, whose market served the Muntafiq tribal confederation of southern Iraq. The name recalls the sheikhs of the Saadun family, who held a leading position among the Muntafiq.

During the eighteenth century the market developed into a settled centre associated with these rulers. By the end of the century it was described as a small town with a mosque and earthen walls. Its merchants traded with Basra and beyond the Gulf, while the river connected it to the cultivated lands and marshes of the lower Euphrates. Suq al-Shuyukh served as an important Saadun seat before the foundation of Nasiriyah farther upstream in a later era.