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61-477: Along with Samarra , Karbala , Kadhimiya and Najaf , Kufa is one of five Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shi'ite Muslims. The city was founded in 638 CE (17 Hijrah ) during the reign of the second Rashidun Caliph, Umar ibn Al-Khattab , and it was the final capital of the last Rashidun Caliph , Ali ibn Abi Talib . Kufa was also the founding capital of the Abbasid Caliphate . During

122-502: A Sunni school of thought, Abu Hanifa , was a Kufan who had supported the Zaydi Revolt in the 730s; and his jurisprudence was systematised and defended against non-Iraqi rivals (starting with Malikism ) by other Kufans, such as al-Shaybani . Shirazi 's " Tabaqat ", which Hallaq labels "an important early biographical work dedicated to jurists", covered 84 "towering figures" of Islamic jurisprudence; to which Kufa provided 20. It

183-671: A stele in the Walters Art Museum ) is insecurely identified with a fortified Assyrian site at al-Huwaysh on 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

244-467: A Persian palace and resembled the ceiling of a Byzantine church. Archeological excavations in the 20th century have revealed the presence of an even larger quadrangular structure, measuring 168.20 by 169.98 metres (551.8 ft × 557.7 ft), that was once attached to the south side of the mosque. This structure has been identified as the Palace of Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, which historical sources say

305-579: A century earlier than the founding of the town of Kufa, according to Moritz in the Encyclopaedia of Islam . The kufic script was derived from one of the four pre-Islamic Arabic scripts, the one called al-Hiri (used in Hirah ). (The other three were al-Anbari (from Anbar ), al-Makki (from Mecca ) and al-Madani (from Medina )). Ibn al-Nadim (died c.  999 ) the author of the famous Kitab al-Fihrist , an index of Arabic books, dedicates

366-516: A lesser extent Syria , in Iraq there was no unbroken Muslim or Ishmaelite population dating back to the prophet Muhammad 's time. Therefore, Maliki (and Awza'i ) appeals to the practice amal () of the community could not apply. Instead the people of Iraq relied upon those Companions of Muhammad who settled there, and upon such factions from the Hijaz whom they respected most. A primary founder of

427-422: A pioneer in the science of judicial precedent. Additionally, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and his son Jafar al-Sadiq made decisions from Medina that contributed to the law of Kufa; and to this day Shi‘ite law follows their example. Imam Abu Hanifa too learnt from al-Baqir and especially al-Sadiq. As a result, while Hanafi school is doctrinally Sunni, in practical terms Hanafi law is closer to Imami law than either

488-559: A rebellion among Kufans and they turned to Muhammad 's grandson Husayn for help and leadership. Yazid appointed Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad as the new Governor to put down the rebellion, and kill Husayn if he did not acknowledge his Caliphate, culminating in the Battle of Karbala . There was a period of relative calm during the short reign of Al-Mukhtar 's rulership, and the Umayyad-era Governorship of Al-Hajjaj . In 749,

549-534: A rival history, which became popular under Abbasid rule. This history does not survive but later historians like Tabari quoted from it extensively. Kufa is also where the kufic script was developed, the earliest script of the Arabic language . As the scholar al-Qalqashandi maintained, "The Arabic script [ khatt ] is the one which is now known as Kufic. From it evolved all the present hands." The angular script which later came to be known as Kufic had its origin about

610-537: A strip of land in Kufa, in 640. In the 640s, the Kufan commons were agitated that Umar's governor was distributing the spoils of war unfairly. In 642 ʻUmar summoned Saʻd to Medina with his accusers. Despite finding Sa'd to be innocent, Umar deposed him to avert ill feelings. At first, Umar appointed Ammar ibn Yasir and secondly Basra's first Governor Abū Mūsā al-Ashʻarī ; but the Kufan instigators accepted neither. ʻUmar and

671-483: A trading town. In the eighteenth century, one of 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 ,

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732-469: Is located in Kufa , Iraq and is one of the earliest surviving mosques in the world. The mosque, built in the 7th century, was home to Ali ibn Abi Talib , the 4th Rashidun caliph; and contains the shrine of Muslim ibn Aqeel , his companion Hani ibn Urwa , and the revolutionary, Al-Mukhtar . The mosque has been significantly rebuilt and restored multiple times in its history. The first main mosque of Kufa

793-551: Is located on the banks of the Euphrates River . It is 170 kilometres (110 mi) south of Baghdad , and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Najaf . The town has produced several Shi'ite Muslim scholars . It also contains several sites of importance to Shi'ites: Kufa is home to Al-Kufa SC , that plays in the second division of the Iraqi football league system, namely Iraqi Premier Division League . Its home stadium

854-683: Is the An-Najaf Stadium . Samarra Samarra ( Arabic : سَامَرَّاء , Sāmarrāʾ ) is a city in Iraq . It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate , 125 kilometers (78 mi) north of Baghdad . The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and military base. In 2003 the city had an estimated population of 348,700. During

915-473: Is the same as having performed one thousand prayers elsewhere, and performing one obligatory prayer here is equal to having performed an accepted Hajj The secretariat of Al-Kufa Mosque and its shrines describes the mosque as being one of the sole four dignified mosques to which Muslims must travel, and that it comes in third place after the Kaaba and the mosque of Prophet." Lastly, according to Shia belief, it

976-560: Is to the other schools of jurisprudence i.e. of Malik , Shafi‘i , and Ibn Hanbal . Kufa was also among the first centers of Qur'anic interpretation , which Kufans credited to the exegete Mujahid (until he escaped to Mecca in 702). It further recorded general traditions as Hadith ; in the 9th century, Yahya ibn ‘Abd al-Hamid al-Himmani compiled many of these into a Musnad . Given Kufa's opposition to Damascus , Kufan traditionists had their own take on Umayyad history. The historian Abu Mikhnaf al-Azdi (d. 774) compiled their accounts into

1037-555: The Maghariba ). Although quite often called Mamluk slave soldiers, their status 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

1098-603: The Abbasids under al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba took Kufa and made it their capital. In 762, they moved their seat to Baghdad . Under the Umayyad and early Abbasid decades, Kufa's importance gradually shifted from caliphal politics to Islamic theory and practice. The city was sacked by the Qarmatians in 905, 924, and 927 , and it never fully recovered from the destruction. Wael Hallaq notes that by contrast with Medina and to

1159-534: The Iraqi Civil War (2006-08), Samarra was in the " Sunni Triangle " of resistance. 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

1220-613: The Islamic Golden Age it was home to the grammarians of Kufa . Kufic script is named for the city. After the Arabian hegemony and the fall of Persian Empire, and its geographic proximity to the imperial capital, Ctesiphon) at Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah in 636, Kufa was founded and given its name in 637–638 CE, about the same time as Basra . Kufa and Basra were the two amsar (garrison cities) of Iraq, serving as military bases and administrative centers. The Companion of

1281-598: The New York Times the attackers were likely Sunnis linked to Al-Qaeda . The mosque compound 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,

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1342-653: The retreat of the army of Julian in 363 AD ( Ammianus Marcellinus XXV, 6, 4), and Syriac Sumra (Hoffmann, Auszüge , 188; Michael 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

1403-720: The type site for the Samarra culture . Since 1946, the notebooks, letters, unpublished excavation reports and photographs have been in 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

1464-404: The 12th century, when Kufa was already long past the peak of its fortunes, but the coins might have arrived at the far north at a much earlier time. Kufa began to come under constant attack in the 11th century and eventually shrank and lost its importance. Over the last century, the population of Kufa began to grow again. It continues to be an important pilgrimage site for Shi'ite Muslims. Kufa

1525-595: The Arabs were continuing their conquest of western Persia under Uthman ibn Abi al-As from Tawwaj , but late in the 640s, these forces suffered setbacks. Uthman in 650 reorganised the Iranian frontier; both Basra and Kufa received new governors ( Sa'id ibn al-'As in Kufa's case), and the east came under Basra's command while north of that remained under Kufa's. The few but noticeable trouble makers in Kufa sought in 654 and had Sa'id deposed and instead showed satisfaction with

1586-466: The Governor of Kufa, after Hasan 's A.S migration to Medina, which was a peace treaty which dictated he abdicate his right to caliphate to avoid an open war among Muslims. Some of Hasan's A.S followers, like Hujr ibn Adi , were unhappy with the peace treaty, and did not change their ways according to the edicts of the new Governor. This became increasingly noticeable, since it created a rebellion against

1647-658: 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

1708-585: The Kufans finally agreed on Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʻbah . It was also conquered for few years by the Thaqafids dynasty led by Mokhtar Al Thaqafi after conquering Basra and other parts of Iraq. The city was built in a circular plan according to the Partho-Sasanian architecture . Following Umar's death (644), his successor Uthman replaced Mughirah with Al-Walid ibn Uqba in 645. This happened while

1769-622: The Prophet Saʻd ibn Abī Waqqas founded it as an encampment adjacent to the Lakhmid Arab city of Al-Hirah , and incorporated it as a city of seven divisions. Non-Arabs knew the city under alternate names: Hīrah and Aqulah , before the consolidations of ʻAbdu l-Mālik in 691. Umar, who assigned the land of the Jews in Arabia to his warriors, ordered the relocation of the Jews of Khaybar to

1830-627: The Threshold ( Bāb al-Sudda ), Gate of Kinda ( Bāb Kinda ), Gate of al-Anmat ( Bāb al-Anmāṭ ), Gate of Hani ibn Urwa, and the Gate of the Snake ( Bāb al-Thu‘bān ) or Gate of the Elephant ( Bāb al-Fīl ). The historic mosque structure has similarities to the design of the palaces of pre-Islamic Persia. According to a description by Ibn al-Athir (d. 1233), its ceiling was taken from

1891-535: The a section of the first chapter to calligraphy. He was the first to use the word 'kufic' to characterize this script, which reached a state of decorative perfection in the 8th century, when surahs were used to decorate ceramics, for representations of nature were strictly forbidden under the Islamic regime. Al-Fihrist contains the biographies of many of the grammarian philologists from the school of Kufa and from its rival school of Basra . A third chapter treats of

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1952-693: 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

2013-408: The bombing. On June 13, 2007, Sunni insurgents attacked 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

2074-426: The building measures approximately 11,000 square metres (120,000 sq ft). The historic mosque has a quadrangular layout, measuring 110 by 112 by 109 by 112 metres (361 ft × 367 ft × 358 ft × 367 ft). It has semi-circular bastions along its outer walls, three circular (three-quarter-round) towers at its corners, and historically had one minaret , according to investigations of

2135-703: The city was attacked by 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

2196-434: The city was looted around this time. Its population probably decreased and 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

2257-533: The completion of this project, a commemorative tower (modern Burj al-Qa'im) 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

2318-684: The form of a regular octagon (modern Husn al-Qadisiyya), called al-Mubarak and abandoned unfinished in 796. In 836 CE , 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

2379-687: 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 . Great Mosque of Kufa The Great Mosque of Kufa ( Arabic : مَسْجِد ٱلْكُوفَة ٱلْمُعَظَّم/ٱلْأَعْظَم , romanized :  Masjid al-Muʿaẓẓam/al-ʾAʿaẓam ), or Masjid al-Kufa ,

2440-412: The grammarians from both schools. Kufan coins were among the numerous silver coins of various origins found in 1989 by the mouth of Dvina , right next to Arkhangelsk in the extreme north of Russia . The Kufan coins were the only non-European ones in the hoard, and testify to the very wide-ranging indirect trading links which Kufa had at one time. It is estimated the hoard was buried in the beginning of

2501-509: The large palace Bulkuwara. The Nestorian patriarch Sargis (860–72) moved 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

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2562-501: The mosque indicating the locations for where the court of Ali used to preside, where he performed miracles, and where Zayn al-Abidin and Ja'far al-Sadiq used to perform Salah . Additionally, Islamic traditions relate that it was the dwelling place of Nuh ( Noah ) and that this was the place where he built the Ark . According to Shia belief, it was from this mosque that the diluvium of Noah started submerging earth, as well as being

2623-467: The mosque's columns. The governor's palace, or Dar al-Imara , adjacent to the south side of mosque, was also rebuilt. Architectural excavations revealed that the mosque was built on top of much older foundations. It was in the Great Mosque of Kufa that the first Abbasid caliph was formally proclaimed in 749. By the 14th century, when Ibn Battuta visited the site, only the foundations of

2684-630: The murder of Uthman, factions developed. In an already emotionally charged atmosphere, Muawiyah's refusal to give allegiance to Ali as the Caliph without Ali avenging Uthman first eventually, led to war. While praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa , Ali was attacked by the Kharijite Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam . He was wounded by ibn Muljam's poison-coated sword while prostrating in the Fajr prayer. Muawiyah I appointed Ziyad ibn Abihi Al

2745-461: The old governor's palace still remained. The mosque underwent various other restorations throughout its history. The golden dome standing today over the tombs, as well as the surrounding tilework decoration, was added during the Safavid period in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1998, head of Dawoodi Bohra community, Mohammed Burhanuddin started reconstructing and renovating the mosque. Work

2806-436: The oldest layer of construction at the inner enclosure featured square towers that were rebuilt in rounded form over the first foundations. The inner enclosure, which was accessed via a main entrance on its north side, was filled with rooms and structures that were modified in several periods. Its main features included a central square courtyard from which a triple-arched entrance on each side led to other rooms. The entrance on

2867-427: The palace are still visible today but are not generally accessible and are threatened by underground water seeping into the site. The palace was composed of an outer enclosure wall (attached to the mosque) and an inner enclosure (measuring approximately 110 by 110 metres (360 ft × 360 ft). Like the mosque, the outer walls of these enclosures had semi-circular bastions and circular corner towers, although

2928-551: The place from where the water was re-absorbed —also marked within the Mosque. Ja'far al-Sadiq said that up to twelve miles of land in all directions from the mosque are blessed by its holiness. Ja'far al-Sadiq was also recorded as remarking that the "mosque in Kufa is superior to that of Jerusalem" and that "performing two prostrations of prayer here would be better for me than ten others at any mosque." There are also Shia traditions which state that performing one prayer in this mosque

2989-685: The return of Abu Musa , which Uthman approved seeking to please all. Kufa remained a source of instigations albeit from a minority. In 656 when the Egyptian instigators, in co-operation with those in Kufa, marched onto the Caliph Uthman in Medina , Abu Musa counselled the instigators to no avail. Upon Uthman's assassination by rebels, governor Abu Musa attempted to restore a non-violent atmosphere in Kufa. The Muslims in Medina and elsewhere supported

3050-543: The right of Ali ibn Abu Talib to the caliphate . In order to manage the military frontiers more efficiently, Ali shifted the capital from Medina to Kufa. The people of Syria and their governor, Muawiyah , who seized the Caliphate for himself and his family by using the confusion caused by the assassination of Caliph Uthman and being disturbed by the brutal assassination of the Caliph Uthman, demanded retribution. As Muawiyah mounted his campaign to hold Ali responsible for

3111-478: The ruler. However, Ziyad ibn Abihi was an equally keen strategist and politician, and was able to put down all challenges posed by the rebels against his rule. Throughout the Umayyad era, as was the case since the inception of the city by Umar ibn Khattab, there were those among Kufa's inhabitants who were rebellious to their rulers. Yazid I was declared as the Second Umayyad Caliph which led to

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3172-489: The site in the 20th century. The present-day mosque has four minarets. Small differences were found among the four walls of the mosque. The southern wall, which faced the Qibla, measured approximately 110 m in length. The back wall spanned 109 m, while the remaining two side walls measured 116 m each. These walls, towering in height, were reinforced by semi-circular towers on their exteriors. The mosque has five gates: Gate of

3233-468: The south side led to a quadrangular hall with an iwan -like or basilical layout divided by columns into three aisles. This led in turn to a large square chamber further south that was probably domed. The Great Mosque of Kufa was the place where Ali ibn Abi Talib was fatally wounded by a poison-coated sword while prostrating in the Fajr prayer. Also, the mosque contains the tombs of Muslim ibn Aqil, Hani ibn Urwa, and Al-Mukhtar . There are markers within

3294-584: The tombs of several Shi'i Imams, 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

3355-506: 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

3416-437: Was assassinated in the mosque in 661. The family members of the first Shi'ite imams and their early supporters were buried within the mosque, including Muslim ibn Aqil and Hani ibn Urwa . In 670, the governor of the city, Ziyad ibn Abihi , arranged for the mosque to be rebuilt in brick and expanded into a much more monumental form. Craftsmen from other regions were brought in and materials were imported from Ahwaz for

3477-424: Was built with the city's foundation in 638. The original mosque had a square layout and many entrances, and was built alongside a governor's palace ( Dar al-Imāra ). It featured a roofed colonnade and re-used columns from the nearby former Lakhmid capital of al-Hira and from former churches. The governor's palace likely served as both a residential building and an administrative center. Ali ibn Abi Talib

3538-558: Was completed in early 2010. The renovation included decorations with gold and silver, the mihrab being made with a gold zari , and the whole interior being surrounded with verse of the Quran. In addition, the courtyard is covered in white marble from Makrana , India. Today, the outer wall of the mosque, with semi-circular buttresses, probably still dates from the early period of the building's history. The building's floor level has also been raised from its earlier level. The area of

3599-627: Was created through the construction of 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

3660-425: Was originally built at the same time as the original mosque after the city's foundation (c. 638). Also known as the Qaṣr al-Imāra or Dar al-Imāra ('Palace of the Governor'), it was rebuilt by Ziyad ibn Abihi at the same time as the mosque in 670. Archeologists identified three main layers of construction at the site, which were often reconstructions along the same lines as the preceding layer. The remains of

3721-485: Was therefore a center surpassed only by Medina (22), although Basra came close (17). Kufans could claim that the more prominent of Muhammad's Companions had called that city home: not only Ibn Abu Waqqas, Abu Musa , and Ali ; but also Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud , Salman the Persian , Ammar ibn Yasir , and Huzayfa ibn Yaman. Among its jurists prior to Abu Hanifa, Hallaq singles out Sa'id ibn Jubayr , Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i, and Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman; and considers Amir al-Sha‘bi

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