Muhafazah

Look up muhafazah in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A muḥāfaẓah (Arabic: مُحَافَظَة [muˈħaːfaðˤa]; pl. مُحَافَظَات muḥāfaẓāt [muħafaˈðˤaːt]) is a first-level administrative division of many Arab countries, and a second-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia. The term is usually translated as "governorate", and occasionally as "province". It comes from the Arabic root ح-ا-ف-ظ ḥ-a-f-ẓ (verb: حافظ ḥafaẓa), which means to "keep" and "guard". The head of a muḥāfaẓah is the (مُحَافِظ) muḥāfiẓ .

Muhafazat in Arab countries

  • Governorates of Bahrain
  • Governorates of Egypt
  • Governorates of Iraq
  • Governorates of Jordan
  • Governorates of Kuwait
  • Governorates of Libya (historic)
  • Governorates of Lebanon
  • Governorates of Oman
  • Governorates of Palestine
  • Governorates of Saudi Arabia (2nd level)
  • Governorates of Syria
  • Governorates of Yemen

The governorates of Tunisia are wilāyah in Arabic.

  • v
  • t
  • e
First-level
  • Muhafazah (محافظة governorate)
  • Wilayah (ولاية province)
  • Mintaqah (منطقة region)
  • Mudiriyah (مديرية directorate)
  • Imarah (إمارة emirate)
  • Baladiyah (بلدية municipality)
  • Shabiyah (شعبية "popularate")
Second / third-level
City / township-level
  • Amanah (أمانة municipality)
  • Baladiyah (بلدية municipality)
  • Ḥai (حي neighborhood / quarter)
  • Mahallah (محلة)
  • Qarya (قرية)
  • Sheyakhah (شياخة "neighborhood subdivision")
  • Majlis Mahalliyy (مجلس محلي local council)
  • Majlis ʾIqlimiyy (مجلس اقليمي regional council)
English translations given are those most commonly used.


Stub icon

This government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e