It was situated between the two traditional administrative centers and garrisons of Iraq, Kufa and Basra, hence its name Wasit (lit. 'middle').

The city was abandoned centuries later and its ruins are located in the eponymous Wasit Governorate, southeast of Kut in southeastern Iraq.

A building known as the minaret was excavated, including a tomb and a school dating back to the seventh hijri century, a residence district was also cleared out in the late 1930s.

Ibn Battuta visited during his travels, noting "It has fine quarters and an abundance of orchards and fruit trees, and is famed for its notable men, the living teachers among whom furnish lessons for meditation."

The Zutts used their knowledge of the terrain to stage raids and resist Abbasid authority, resulting in the Capture of Wasit in 834 CE during their rebellion.