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78-572: The archeological site of Samarra still retains much of the historic city's original plan, architecture and artistic relics. In 2007, UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site . The remains of prehistoric Samarra were first excavated between 1911 and 1914 by the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld . Samarra became the type site for the Samarra culture . Since 1946, the notebooks, letters, unpublished excavation reports and photographs have been in

156-529: A marginal role in the Islamic world , were deeply unpopular among the residents of Baghdad, and violent incidents had repeatedly broken out between the soldiers and Baghdadis. Al-Mu'tasim therefore resolved in ca. 835 to depart from Baghdad, the usual seat of the Abbasid caliphs since 762, and create a new capital city of his choosing. Following a period of searching for an ideal spot, al-Mu'tasim settled on

234-634: A new city in a previously uninhabited area, al-Mu'tasim could reward his followers with land and commercial opportunities without cost to himself and free from any constraints, unlike Baghdad with its established interest groups. In fact, the sale of land seems to have produced considerable profit for the treasury: as Hugh Kennedy writes, it was "a sort of gigantic property speculation in which both government and its followers could expect to benefit". After al-Mu'tasim's death, his successor al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) remained in Samarra. His decision to stay convinced

312-455: A prison for prominent persons; al-Mu'tazz, al-Mu'ayyad, al-Muwaffaq , al-Muhtadi, and al-Mu'tamid all were incarcerated there at various points in time. On the northern side of the Dar al-Khalifa was a walled cantonment area. This site has been identified as the area allotted by al-Mu'tasim to Khaqan 'Urtuj and his followers, who were said to be segregated from the general populace. At some point,

390-472: A residence for himself, and on the caliph's orders, he also constructed a small market, as well as mosques and baths . Following the execution of al-Afshin in 841, al-Matira was granted to the Turkish general Wasif by al-Wathiq. During the reign of al-Mutawakkil, his son al-Mu'ayyad took up residence there. Al-Matira survived the abandonment of Samarra by the caliphs, and remained occupied at least until

468-548: A site approximately 80 mi (130 km) north of Baghdad on the east side of the Tigris, near the head of the Nahrawan Canal . After sending men to buy up the local properties, including a Christian monastery , the caliph had his engineers survey the most suitable places for development. By 836, buildings had been erected at the site and al-Mu'tasim moved into the new city. From the start, construction at Samarra

546-558: A unique style of Islamic architecture, evident in their large dimensions and unique minarets (criteria iv). Ottoman%E2%80%93Persian War (1730%E2%80%9335) Persian victory [REDACTED] Ottoman Empire Khorasan Campaign Afghan Campaigns Safavid restoration First Ottoman War Indian Campaign Central Asian Campaign Dagestan Campaign Persian Gulf Campaign Second Ottoman War Rebellions & Civil War The Ottoman–Persian War of 1730–1735 or Ottoman–Iranian War of 1730–1735

624-521: A very short time. Al-Mutawakkil took up residence in al-Ja'fari in 860 and transferred the government bureaucracies ( diwan s ) from Samarra, but following his assassination in December 861, his son and successor al-Muntasir ordered a return to Samarra and took up residence in the Jawsaq palace instead. Al-Musharrahat was a complex in the vicinity of Qadisiyya, to the south of Samarra. On the north side

702-630: Is a city in central Iraq , which served as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate from 836 to 892. Founded by the caliph al-Mu'tasim , Samarra was briefly a major metropolis that stretched dozens of kilometers along the east bank of the Tigris , but was largely abandoned in the latter half of the 9th century, especially following the return of the caliphs to Baghdad . Due to the relatively short period of occupation, extensive ruins of Abbasid Samarra have survived into modern times. The layout of

780-403: Is identified with al-Ma'shuq, which was built by al-Mu'tamid and served as his residence for part of his caliphate. Qubbat al-Sulaybiyya is a small octagonal building to the south of Qasr al-'Ashiq. An inner octagonal structure that featured a dome was reached by ramps ascending on four sides. Restoration work in the 1970s included the rebuilding of the dome. Originally built circa 862, it

858-563: Is the oldest surviving example of a domed tomb in Islamic architecture . Ernst Herzfeld , a German archeologist of the twentieth century, conducted a large-scale excavation at the Main Caliphal Palace of Samarra in 1911–13. Herzfeld obtained boards of carved stucco, marble, cermanic decoractive elements, and other materials from his exploration. In Herzfeld's publications, he identifies three styles of carved ornament. Those styles being: First Style (which he referred to as

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936-701: The Abbasid Caliph Al-Mu'tasim founded a new capital at the banks of the Tigris. Here he built extensive palace complexes surrounded by garrison settlements for his guards, mostly drawn from Central Asia and Iran (most famously the Turks , as well as the Khurasani Ishtakhaniyya , Faraghina and Ushrusaniyya regiments) or North Africa (like the Maghariba ). Although quite often called Mamluk slave soldiers, their status

1014-709: The Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The civilization flourished alongside the Ubaid period , as one of the first town states in the Near East . It lasted from 5,500 BCE and eventually collapsed in 3,900 BCE. A city of Sur-marrati (refounded by Sennacherib in 690 BC according to a stele in the Walters Art Museum ) is insecurely identified with a fortified Assyrian site at al-Huwaysh on

1092-676: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as part of the Northern Iraq offensive . ISIL forces captured the municipality building and university, but were later repulsed by the Iraqi army and SWAT forces. The nearby Imam Dur Mausoleum , a historic mausoleum dedicated to Muslim ibn Quraysh , a Shi'i ruler, was destroyed by ISIL in 2014. Samarra has a hot desert climate ( Köppen climate classification BWh ). Most rain falls in

1170-664: The Ottomans and regained most of the territory lost during the collapse of the Safavid government in the late 1720s. The Abdali Afghans which had been subdued in an earlier campaign rebelled and besieged Mashhad , forcing Nader to suspend his campaign and save his brother, Ebrahim who was trapped in Mashhad. It took Nader fourteen months to defeat the Abdali Afghans, who put up fierce resistance. Relations between Nader and

1248-619: The Samarra Barrage , which was built in order to prevent the frequent flooding of Baghdad. Many local people were displaced by the dam, resulting in an increase in Samarra's population. Samarra is a key city in Saladin Governorate, a major part of the so-called Sunni Triangle where insurgents were active during the Iraq War . Though Samarra is famous for its Shi'i holy sites, including the tombs of several Shi'i Imams,

1326-557: The 13th century. Al-Hayr was a massive hunting reserve to the east of Samarra. Surrounding it was a wall of coursed earth, enclosing an area of 114 km (44 sq mi). The western portion of the wall bordering the central city was repeatedly demolished and rebuilt to make way for new construction, including that of the Great Mosque. Within al-Hayr were a series of racecourses, with each track measuring several kilometers in length. The layout of these racecourses varied; one

1404-572: The 13th century. On the northern end of central Samarra was the Palace of the Caliph ( dar al-khalifa ). This site served as the official seat of government during the reigns of al-Mu'tasim, al-Muntasir, al-Musta'in, al-Mu'tazz, al-Muhtadi and al-Mu'tamid. The palace complex consisted of two primary buildings. The larger one has been identified as the Dar al-'Amma (Public Palace), where the caliph sat in audience and conducted official business, and where

1482-834: The Beveled Style), the Second Style, and the Third Style. While his classification of these styles were generally accepted by his successors, research in this field now contests the source and timeline of these proclaimed styles. The first pattern that Herzfeld observes, appears on fragments of marble that were extracted from the Audience Hall Complex. This pattern is made up of horseshoe shapes which repeat in rows. The next two patterns that he observes are on marble wall and consist of trefoil motifs and petal-shaped symbols. The last motif Herzfeld observes

1560-654: The Iraqi football league system, namely Iraqi Premier Division League . Its ground is the Samarra Stadium . The metaphor of "Having an appointment in Samarra", signifying death, is a literary reference to an ancient Babylonian myth recorded in the Babylonian Talmud and transcribed by W. Somerset Maugham , in which Death narrates a man's futile attempt to escape him by fleeing from Baghdad to Samarra. The story "The Appointment in Samarra" subsequently formed

1638-466: The Jawsaq palace was entrusted by al-Mu'tasim to the Turk Khaqan 'Urtuj, the father of al-Fath ibn Khaqan and Muzahim ibn Khaqan . It was located within an enclosure wall, and on the eastern side was a maydan or square which overlooked the beginning of a racecourse in al-Hayr. During the violent period following the death of al-Mutawakkil, the Jawsaq palace is frequently mentioned as serving as

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1716-400: The Jawsaq palace, but was eventually dissuaded after his advisers informed him of the high costs of the plan. On its own, Samarra had little to incentivize residents to stay; the water supply was problematic and the city seems to have been heavily dependent on supplies from elsewhere. As long as the caliphs were willing to pour vast sums of money into the city, it continued to survive; with

1794-625: The Malwiya, is 52 m (171 ft) high and still stands in the rear of the mosque. Al-Matira was a cantonment located to the south of central Samarra. It was established two farsakh s (12 km) south of the initial city construction, at the site of a preexisting village. Al-Matira was first allotted by al-Mu'tasim to the Ushrusanan general al-Afshin , together with the Ushrusaniyya and others in his service. Al-Afshin built

1872-576: The Ottomans an ultimatum to withdraw, which the Ottomans chose to ignore. A series of campaigns followed, with each side gaining the upper hand in a succession of tumultuous events that spanned half a decade. Finally, the Persian victory at Yeghevard made the Ottomans sue for peace and recognize Persian territorial integrity and Persian hegemony over the Caucasus . In the spring of 1730, Nader attacked

1950-646: The Ottomans. Nader scored a great victory over a superior Ottoman force at the Battle of Yeghevārd and by the summer of 1735, Armenia and Georgia were his again. In March 1735, he signed a treaty with the Russians in Ganja by which the latter agreed to withdraw all of their troops from Persian territory. The success of Nader's campaigns were such that his prestige swayed many of the Persian elites, and he capitalised on

2028-485: The Shah had declined as the latter grew jealous of his general's military successes. While Nader was absent in the east, Tahmasp tried to assert himself by launching a foolhardy campaign to recapture Yerevan . He ended up losing all of Nader's recent gains to the Ottomans, and signed a treaty ceding Georgia and Armenia in exchange for Tabriz . Nader saw that the moment had come to ease Tahmasp from power. He denounced

2106-530: The Syrian , III, 88), described as a village. The possibility of a larger population was offered by the opening of the Qatul al-Kisrawi, the northern extension of the Nahrawan Canal which drew water from the Tigris in the region of Samarra, attributed by Yaqut al-Hamawi ( Muʿjam , see under "Qatul") to Khosrau I (531–578). To celebrate the completion of this project, a commemorative tower (modern Burj al-Qa'im)

2184-572: The Tigris opposite modern Samarra. The State Archives of Assyria Online identifies Surimarrat as the modern site of Samarra. Ancient place names for Samarra noted by the Samarra Archaeological Survey are Greek Souma ( Ptolemy V.19, Zosimus III, 30), Latin Sumere , a fort mentioned during the retreat of the army of Julian in 363 AD ( Ammianus Marcellinus XXV, 6, 4), and Syriac Sumra (Hoffmann, Auszüge , 188; Michael

2262-430: The Tigris, several buildings were also constructed on the west bank. Al-Mu'tasim built a bridge across the Tigris and founded developments, orchards and gardens on the west side. Al-Istablat was a large walled structure located to the south of Samarra. The northern part consisted of a palace that overlooked the Tigris, while the southern area contained a number of housing units. A long outer wall enclosing al-Istablat and

2340-564: The Turks, Faraghina , Ushrusaniyya , Maghariba , Ishtakhaniyya , Jund , Shakiriyya , Arabs and Khurasanis . Several bureaucrats, Abbasid princes and other personages also had allotments along the avenues. Besides residences, a number of other buildings were located in this area, including the public and private stables, the office of the Bureau of the Land Tax ( diwan al-kharaj ), and

2418-470: The Waziri palace built by Abu al-Wazir . Like the cantonment of Khaqan 'Urtuj, it may have served as housing for the caliphal servants. Al-Karkh and al-Dur were two cantonments located several kilometers to the north of Samarra proper. Built during the reign of al-Mu'tasim, both areas seem to have housed Turkish regiments and are frequently mentioned together. Al-Karkh (sometimes called Karkh Samarra in

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2496-416: The avenues were a great number of smaller streets and housing blocks, together with several larger buildings. The residents of this section of the city were a mixture of civilians and military personnel. In some cases, the cantonments of the troops were explicitly segregated from the rest of the populace. Numerous army commanders, together with their regiments, were granted allotments here, including those of

2574-691: The belief of the Twelver or Shias . This has made it an important pilgrimage centre for the Imami Shias. In addition, Hakimah and Narjis , female relatives of the Prophet Muhammad and the Imams, held in high esteem by Muslims, are buried there, making this mosque one of the most significant sites of worship. Samarra is home to the Samarra SC , that plays in the second highest division of

2652-428: The caliph agreed to abdicate. His two successors, al-Mu'tazz (r. 866–869) and al-Muhtadi (r. 869–870), were similarly overthrown by the army. Samarra is solitude now, hugely abandoned to change: ruins; a frog that calls; dismemberment's muffled cry. The city died, is dead like an elephant being untusked. Poem composed by the Abbasid prince Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz , who was born in Samarra, regarding

2730-525: The caliphate of his father al-Mutawakkil. Built during al-Mutawakkil's reign, the palace overlooked the Tigris and was surrounded by two enclosure walls, with the outer wall measuring 1,165 m × 1,171 m (3,822 ft × 3,842 ft) and the inner measuring 464 m × 575 m (1,522 ft × 1,886 ft). Excavation work undertaken in the early 20th century revealed decorative elements consisting of stucco , frescoes , colored glass windows and niches . Al-Mutawakkiliyya

2808-410: The cantonment appears to have housed the servants who worked in the caliphal palace. A smaller palace (possibly the 'Umari palace built by Khaqan 'Urtuj) and storehouses were located here, and al-Hayr marked the eastern boundary of the area. Immediately to the north of the cantonment of Khaqan 'Urtuj was a second, diamond-shaped area. This cantonment is tentatively identified as al-Waziriyya, containing

2886-569: The capital was frequently beset by palace coups and troop riots. Al-Mutawakkil's son al-Muntasir (r. 861–862) abandoned al-Ja'fari and moved back to the Jawsaq palace, which remained the residence of his successors. Al-Musta'in (r. 862–866), finding it impossible to control the Samarran regiments, left the city and attempted to establish himself in Baghdad in 865, but the Turks and other troops responded by deposing him and besieging Baghdad until

2964-491: The city can still be seen via aerial photography , revealing a vast network of planned streets, houses, palaces and mosques. Studies comparing the archeological evidence with information provided by Muslim historians have resulted in the identification of many of the toponyms within the former city. The archeological site of Samarra was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2007, calling it "the best-preserved plan of an ancient large city." The modern city bearing

3042-409: The city declined, but it remained an important market center. From the tenth century onward it turned into an important pilgrimage site. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the river's course to the south of the city shifted further east. As a result, the main road between Baghdad and Mosul was moved to the west bank and Samarra lost its importance as a trading town. In the eighteenth century, one of

3120-574: The city's residents; it was eventually demolished by al-Mutawakkil, who replaced it by building the Great Mosque of Samarra in the vicinity of al-Hayr. This mosque, the largest in the world at the time, measured 239 m × 156 m (784 ft × 512 ft) and had 17 aisles in the prayer hall. An enclosure wall measuring 443 m × 374 m (1,453 ft × 1,227 ft) featured covered porticoes to accommodate additional worshippers. The spiral minaret , also known as

3198-408: The decline of the city. Al-Mu'tamid (r. 870–892) undertook the last known building projects in Samarra, but in the later period of his reign, he appears to have spent less time in the city. After his death, al-Mu'tadid (r. 892–902) formally returned to Baghdad, thus bringing an end to the Samarran interlude. Al-Muktafi (r. 902–908) at one point considered moving back to Samarra and encamped in

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3276-459: The establishment of a new regime, while allowing the court to be "at a distance from the populace of Baghdad and protected by a new guard of foreign troops, and amid a new royal culture revolving around sprawling palatial grounds, public spectacle and a seemingly ceaseless quest for leisurely indulgence" (T. El-Hibri), an arrangement compared by Oleg Grabar to the relationship between Paris and Versailles after Louis XIV . In addition, by creating

3354-526: The germ of a novel of the same name by John O'Hara . The original story was retold in verse by F. L. Lucas in his poem "The Destined Hour" in From Many Times and Lands (1953). In the 1968 film Targets , Byron Orlok, an aging horror film star played by Boris Karloff , tells Maugham's version of the story to his younger colleagues. The story is told in " The Six Thatchers ", a 2017 episode of Sherlock . Abbasid Samarra Samarra

3432-504: The great prison. The markets, as laid out by al-Mu'tasim, are described as having broad rows, with each type of merchandise sold in a separate section. Near the markets was the gibbet from which the rebel Babak Khorramdin was hanged ( khashabat Babak ), and which served as a place for displaying executed persons. On the Tigris were a great number of wharves, where provisions from Mosul and other cities were unloaded. The original mosque, laid out by al-Mu'tasim, soon became too small for

3510-528: The lost provinces, but his plan went badly amiss when his army was routed by the Ottoman general Topal Osman Pasha near the city in 1733. Nader decided he needed to regain the initiative as soon as possible to save his position because revolts were already breaking out in Persia. He faced Topal again and defeated and killed him. He then besieged Ganja in the northern provinces, earning a Russian alliance against

3588-507: The mosque again and destroyed the two minarets that flanked the dome's ruins. On July 12, 2007, the clock tower was blown up. No fatalities were reported. Shiʿi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for peaceful demonstrations and three days of mourning. He stated that he believed no Sunni Arab could have been behind the attack, though according to the New York Times the attackers were likely Sunnis linked to Al-Qaeda . The mosque compound

3666-470: The most violent battles of the 1730–1735 Ottoman–Persian War , the Battle of Samarra , took place, where over 50,000 Turks and Persians became casualties. The engagement decided the fate of Ottoman Iraq and kept it under Istanbul's suzerainty until the First World War . During the 1950s, Samarra gained new importance when a permanent lake, Lake Tharthar , was created through the construction of

3744-462: The new city of al-Mutawakkiliyya to the north of Samarra. Included in the new area was the palace of al-Ja'fari (Ja'far being his given name), which he moved into in 860. In the following year, however, he was assassinated, and al-Mutawakkiliyya was abandoned soon after. The decade following al-Mutawakkil's assassination was a turbulent period, sometimes known as the Anarchy at Samarra , during which

3822-420: The new city, but this project failed and the canal never functioned properly. The building al-Mutawakkiliyya marked the high point of the expansion of Samarra; al-Ya'qubi reports that there was continuous development between al-Ja'fari and Balkuwara, extending a length of seven farsakh s (42 km). Despite the significant amount of money spent to construct it, however, al-Mutawakkiliyya was occupied for only

3900-538: The only remaining Islamic capital that retains its original plan, architecture, and carvings. The site fulfilled several of UNESCO's criteria for the list. Though poorly preserved, the city's historic mosques, urban planning, architectural ornaments, and ceramic industries are uniquely representative of a particular architectural stage in the Abbasid Caliphate, which extended from Tunisia to Central Asia (criteria ii and iii). Its historic mosques present

3978-505: The patriarchal seat of the Church of the East from Baghdad to Samarra, and one or two of his immediate successors may also have sat in Samarra so as to be close to the seat of power. Samarra remained the residence of the caliph until 892, when al-Mu'tadid returned the capital to Baghdad. Historical sources report that the city was looted around this time. Its population probably decreased and

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4056-430: The period leading up to World War I . Aerial photographs were taken between 1924 and 1961, which preserved portions of the site that have since been overrun by new development. The Directorate-General of Antiquities of Iraq restarted excavations between 1936 and 1940, and continued in the 1960s and 1970s. Excavation and restoration work took place between 1980 and 1990. Around the same time, Alastair Northedge surveyed

4134-473: The public treasury ( bayt al-mal ) was housed. On the western side of the palace was the Bab al-'Amma (Public Gate), whose triple iwan still survives. The Bab al-'Amma was often used as a location for public executions and displaying the remains of those killed. The smaller building to the north has been identified as the Jawsaq al-Khaqani, which served as the private residence of the caliph. Construction of

4212-473: The reign of al-Mu'tasim, with further development taking place under al-Wathiq and al-Mutawakkil. The street layout of this area was dominated by a series of long, broad avenues which ran north-to-south and northwest-to-southeast. These avenues are described in detail by the Muslim historian and geographer al-Ya'qubi , who lists the various buildings and allotments which were located along each one. In between

4290-419: The residences for the general populace. Markets, mosques and baths for the people were built, together with a number of palaces for the caliph and other prominent individuals. Materials and laborers were shipped in from various parts of the Muslim world to help with the work; iron-workers, carpenters, marble sculptors and artisans all assisted in the construction. Founding a new capital was a public statement of

4368-598: The residents of the new city's permanence and a fresh round of construction began during his reign. Al-Wathiq himself built a new palace, the Haruni (al-Wathiq's given name was Harun) on the bank of the Tigris, which became his new residence. Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) aggressively pursued new construction, extending the central city to the east and building the Great Mosque of Samarra , the cantonment of Balkuwara and numerous palaces. After moving to Damascus in 858, he returned to Iraq and undertook his most ambitious project,

4446-418: The return of the caliphs to Baghdad, this investment dried up and soon much of the city was abandoned. In the following centuries, a few isolated settlements survived within the ruins, but the vast portion of the city soon became uninhabited. The known remains of Samarra occupy an area of approximately 58 km (22 sq mi), mostly on the east side of the Tigris. Out of 6,314 registered buildings at

4524-643: The same name lies within the Abbasid ruins. The toponym Samarra is known to have existed prior to the Islamic period. Classical authors mention the name in various forms, including the Greek Suma ( Σουμᾶ ), the Latin Sumere and the Syriac Šumara. The formal name of the Abbasid city was Surra Man Ra'ā ( Arabic : سُرَّ مَنْ رَأَى ), meaning "he who sees it is delighted". This name appeared on coins and

4602-520: The settlement of al-Dur, to the north of al-Karkh, are less well known, but it is clear that Turks were settled in this area as well. Al-Ya'qubi describes the building of mosques, baths and markets in al-Karkh and al-Dur. Both areas continued to be populated following the abandonment of Samarra and seem to have been considered as suburbs of Samarra proper; the tenth-century geographer al-Muqaddasi , for example, refers to both localities as dependencies of Samarra. They appear to have survived until at least

4680-426: The site (as of 1991), only nine still have any components of significant height; the vast majority of the ruins consist of collapsed mounds of rammed earth and scattered debris. At ground level, the remains are mostly unimpressive; when viewed from the air, however, the entire plan of the Abbasid city, with its buildings and street pattern, can clearly be seen. The core area of the city was initially constructed in

4758-582: The site, including in 2005 when a bomb was detonated at the top of the minaret of the Great Mosque. The palace complex of Sur Ashinas was the site of fighting between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the Iraqi Army and tribal militias during the ISIL offensive in Iraq in 2015. The Samarra Archaeological City was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007. The agency regards Samarra as

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4836-406: The sources) was built near a preexisting settlement, Shaykh Wali. It was allotted to the Turkish general Ashinas , with strict orders that no strangers (i.e., non-Turks) were to be allowed to live there, and that his followers were not to associate with people of Arab culture. Ashinas built a palace which contained a mosque; after his death, this building was given to al-Fath ibn Khaqan. Details of

4914-407: The surrounding area was also built. Al-Istablat is believed to be al-'Arus, one of the palaces built by al-Mutawakkil. Qasr al-'Ashiq was a palace located opposite al-Haruni and the Dar al-Khalifa. It is the best-preserved of the Samarran palaces and the main building was nearly completely restored in the late 20th century. The plan of the palace appears to have been based on that of the Jawsaq. It

4992-491: The surviving portions of the city, and has since published several works on the subject. Despite these projects, an estimated 80% of the site was still unexcavated around the beginning of the 21st century. Developments in the 20th century, including the completion of the Samarra Barrage in the 1950s and growth of the modern city of Samarra, have resulted in parts of the ruins being overrun by new construction and cultivation. The Iraq War (2003–2011) also caused damage to

5070-557: The town was traditionally and until very recently, dominated by Sunni Arabs . Tensions arose between Sunnis and the Shi'a during the Iraq War. On February 22, 2006, the golden dome of the al-Askari Mosque was bombed by Al-Qaeda in Iraq , setting off a period of rioting and reprisal attacks across the country which claimed hundreds of lives. No organization claimed responsibility for the bombing. On June 13, 2007, Sunni insurgents attacked

5148-491: The treaty, seeking popular support for a war against the Ottomans. In Isfahan, Nader got Tahmasp drunk then showed him to the courtiers, asking if a man in such a state was fit to rule. In 1732 he forced Tahmasp to abdicate in favor of the Shah's baby son, Abbas III , to whom Nader became regent. Nader decided he could win back the territory in Armenia and Georgia by seizing Ottoman Baghdad and then offering it in exchange for

5226-599: The western side of the avenue was the Abu Dulaf Mosque . Like the Great Mosque of Samarra, the Abu Dulaf Mosque included a spiral minaret, measuring 34 m (112 ft) high. The avenue ultimately led to the Ja'fari palace, which served as al-Mutawakkil's new residence. It was located in the north of al-Mutawakkiliyya and separated from the rest of the city by a wall. A canal was also dug to supply water to

5304-506: The winter. The average annual temperature in Samarra is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). About 171 mm (6.73 in) of precipitation falls annually. The city is also home to al-Askari Shrine , containing the mausolea of the Imams Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari , the tenth and eleventh Shiʿi Imams , respectively, as well as the place from where Muhammad al-Mahdi , known as the "Hidden Imam", reportedly went into The Occultation in

5382-593: Was a conflict between the forces of Safavid Iran and those of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1735. After Ottoman support had failed to keep the Ghilzai Afghan invaders on the Persian throne, the Ottoman possessions in western Persia, which were granted to them by the Hotaki dynasty, came under risk of re-incorporation into the newly resurgent Persian Empire. The talented Safavid general, Nader , gave

5460-402: Was a palace, and on the east and west sides were housing units. A large trapezoidal enclosure branched out from the complex and extended several kilometers to the north into al-Hayr. The site, which evidently served as a hunting palace, is identified with al-Shah, probably built during the reign of al-Mutawakkil. Although the majority of the development in Samarra was located on the east side of

5538-510: Was adopted by some medieval writers. Other contemporary sources, however, used Sāmarrā (سَامَرَّا) or Sāmarrā' (سَامَرَّاء) as variants of the pre-Islamic name, and the latter form eventually became the standard spelling. Samarra was founded by the eighth Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842) in 836. Al-Mu'tasim's immediate motivation for the decision was a need to find housing for his newly formed Turkic and other army regiments. These troops, who were from groups that had previously held only

5616-580: Was built at the southern inlet south of Samarra, and a palace with a "paradise" or walled hunting park was constructed at the northern inlet (modern Nahr ar-Rasasi) near ad-Dawr . A supplementary canal, the Qatul Abi al-Jund, excavated by the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid , was commemorated by a planned city laid out in the form of a regular octagon (modern Husn al-Qadisiyya), called al-Mubarak and abandoned unfinished in 796. In 836 CE ,

5694-460: Was closed after the 2006 bombing and a indefinite curfew was placed on the city by the Iraqi police at the time. In 2009, the mosque reopened while restoration was ongoing. Ever since the end of Iraqi civil war in 2007, the Shia population of the holy city has increased exponentially. However, violence has continued, with bombings taking place in 2011 and 2013 . In June 2014, the city was attacked by

5772-470: Was made of a five-lobed leaf pattern which were representative of palmettes . The source of inspiration in architectural ornament was found in plants, such as in stems, branches that were overlapping or entangled, leaves that were in twos or threes, or from palm leaves and fruits. Samarra first drew the attention of archeologists around the turn of the 20th century, and excavation work was conducted by Henri Viollet , Friedrich Sarre , and Ernst Herzfeld in

5850-422: Was parachute-shaped, another bottle-shaped, and a third shaped as a cloverleaf. Al-Haruni was a palace built by Harun al-Wathiq on the Tigris. Al-Wathiq resided here during his reign, as did al-Mutawakkil prior to the construction of al-Ja'fariyya in 859. Balkuwara was a cantonment located to the south of al-Matira. A major feature of this site was the palace, which served as the residence of al-Mu'tazz during

5928-431: Was quite elevated; some of their commanders bore Sogdian titles of nobility. The city was further developed under Caliph al-Mutawakkil , who sponsored the construction of lavish palace complexes, such as al-Mutawakkiliyya, and the Great Mosque of Samarra with its famous spiral minaret or Malwiya, built-in 847. For his son al-Mu'tazz he built the large palace Bulkuwara. The Nestorian patriarch Sargis (860–72) moved

6006-402: Was the largest building project of the caliph Ja'far al-Mutawakkil, who ordered the construction of a new city on the northern border of al-Dur in 859. This city, which was built in the vicinity of the settlement of al-Mahuza, was intended to replace Samarra as the residence of the caliphs. Al-Mutawakkiliyya consisted of an unwalled area, through the center of which ran a north–south avenue. On

6084-427: Was undertaken on a massive scale. Space was no object; land was plentiful and cheap, with little in the way of preexisting settlements to hinder expansion. Al-Mu'tasim marked out various allotments in the new city and granted these spaces to various elites of the army and administration for them to develop. Numerous cantonments were established for the army regiments, who in many cases were intentionally segregated from

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