Samarra

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Samarra
Samarra is located in the east of Tigris
Samarra is located in the east of Tigris
Coordinate34°11′54″N 43°52′27″E / 34.19833°N 43.87417°E / 34.19833; 43.87417
CountryIraq
ProvinceSalah al-Din
Total population300,000
LanguageArabic
Old nameSurr-a man ra'a
Year of foundation221/835


Samarra, the Shrine of Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-'Askari (a) which was destroyed by terrorists on Muharram 23, 1427/February 22, 2006.
Islam
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Sāmarrā (Arabic: سامرّا), after Najaf, Karbala, and al-Kadhimiya is the fourth city for pilgrimage in Iraq. The city is located in Salah al-Din province between Tikrit and Baghdad. Samarra became capital of Mu'tasim the Abbasid caliph in 221/836. The city is famous because of the shrine of two Imams (a), Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a). The last Imam was born in Samarra.

Name

It has been mentioned that the city was built before Islamic era, in the time of Ashkanid and Sassanid dynasty by the Shapur II. Yaqut al-Hamawi says: Samarra was built by Sam b. Nuh and it is called "Sam Rah" which means path of Sam b. Nuh.[1] Ibn Batuta also indicates that the name of city comes from "Sam Ra" which means that the city is for Sam. There is another idea that states the original name was "Sham Rah" which means the way of Sham (Syria) and people called it "Sham Rah" because it is located on the way from Iraq to Syria.[2] Some of writers claim that the word Samarra is derived from the ancient Roman word "Sumira." According to historical texts in the time of Sassanid dynasty, the city was under Iranian government and people of the city were obliged to pay taxes to Iranian government and therefore some of Historians claimed that the city was called "Sa' mara" which means the place of calculation.[3] Samarra has other names like: Samarrah, Samirah, Sara', Surra Man Ra'a, Surur Man Ra'a, Sa'a Man Ra'a, 'Askar, and Tirhan.[4]

Geographical Situation

Samarra is located in the east of Tigris River in the north of Iraq. The city is capital of Salah al-Din province 124 kilometers from Baghdad. Samarra is bounded in the east to Karkuk, in the north to Naynawa, in the west to sl-Anbar province and in the south to Baghdad.

History

Al-Mu'tasim al-Abbasi, son of Harun al-Rashid, decided to translocate capital from Baghdad to Samarra in 221/836 and Samarra became capital until 276/889. This decision was made because of numerous Turk armies that al-Mu'tasim gathered in Baghdad and since Baghdad was not capable of hosting that large number of armies and people were annoyed by the presence of the armies, al-Mu'tasim chose Samarra and improved the city and moved the armies to Samarra and called it the new capital. In the time of al-Mu'tasim, Samarra reached its highest extent of power and flourishing and some palaces, promenades, shopping centers, mosques and huge buildings were created in that time. This glory and greatness lasted until the time of al-Mu'tamid al-'Abbasi who chose Baghdad as capital.[5]

Presence of Two Shiite Imams (a)

In 233/847, al-Mutawakkil decided to take Imam al-Hadi (a) from Medina to Samarra, because he had received reports about people's tendencies towards the Imam (a).[6] Al-Mutawakkil moved the Imam (a) from Medina to Baghdad and from there to Samarra. Imam al-Hadi (a) resided there for 20 years and 9 months until he was poisoned and martyred in the period of al-Mu'tazz and was buried there.[7]

Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) was also taken to Samarra together with his father in 233/847 and lived there throughout his life. Imam al-'Askari (a) contracted a disease on Rabi' I 1, 260/December 25, 873 and died at the age of 28 in Samarra on Rabi' I 8/January 5, 874. He was buried in the house where his father was buried. According to al-Tabrisi (d. 548/1153-4): the majority of Shiite scholars believe that Imam al-'Askari (a) was poisoned.[8]

Foundation of the Islamic Seminary of Samarra

Main article: Islamic Seminary of Samarra

In Sha'ban, 1290/1873, Mirza Shirazi, a Shiite authority, migrated to Samarra and founded an Islamic seminary there. Prominent scholars, such as al-Sayyid Hasan al-Sadr, al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin, Muhammad Jawad al-Balaghi, and Agha Buzurg Tihrani, attended the Islamic seminary of Samarra. The fatwa of Tobacco Prohibition was issued during Mirza Shirazi's stay in Samarra.

Shiite Exit

When Mirza Shirazi died in Samarra in 1312/1895, the Shi'as moved out of Samarra and migrated to other Shiite cities, particularly in the south of Iraq, such as Karbala and Najaf. Thus, Samarra turned into a Sunni city. Decades after the Ba'ath government, there were almost no Shi'as in Samarra.

Abbasid Rulers of Samarra

The Holy Shrine of al-'Askariyyayn (a).Photo is taken by British Air Force in 1335/1917 during World War I.

In more than a half of century, eight Abbasid caliphs have ruled in Samarra:

Historical Monuments

Malwiya minaret in the northern side of Masjid al-Jami' in Samarra.
The Holy Shrine of 'Askariyyayn is being reconstructed by Iranians after it was destroyed by terrorists in 1427/2006.
  • Masjid al-Jami' (Congregational Mosque) of Samarra known as Jami' al-Mutawakkil, this mosque is one of the oldest in the Iraq which was built in the time of Mutiwakkil al-'Abbasi.
  • Malwiya minaret in the northern side of Masjid al-Jami'. This minaret still exists and it can be seen from long distance.
  • Mutawakkiliyya, which is a city that was built by al-Mutawakkil and its ruins nowadays is in the north of Samarra.
  • Jami' Abi Dulaf which is a mosque named after Abu Dulaf Qasim b. 'Isa who was one of the commanders of Abbasid army and was shi'a.
  • Palaces which were built by Abbasid caliphs and today just some of their walls and pillars are remained.[9]

Pilgrimage

Shrine of Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-'Askari (a) is the most important place for pilgrimage in Samarra.

Buried Figures

Notes

  1. ↑ Ḥamawī, Muʿjam al-buldān, vol. 3, p. 174.
  2. ↑ Ibn Baṭūṭa, al-Raḥla, vol. 1, p. 78.
  3. ↑ Ḥamawī, Muʿjam al-buldān, vol. 3, p. 173.
  4. ↑ Ḥamawī, Muʿjam al-buldān, vol. 3, p. 173.
  5. ↑ Maḥallātī, Maʾthar al-kubrā, vol. 1, p. 39.
  6. ↑ Al-Jawzī, Tadhkirat al-khawāṣ, vol. 2, p. 322.
  7. ↑ Khaṭīb Baghdādī, Tārīkh-i Baghdād, vol. 12, p. 56.
  8. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Iʿlām al-warā, vol. 2, p. 131-132.
  9. ↑ Amākin-i zīyāratī wa sīyāḥatī-yi Irāq, p. 73-75.
  10. ↑ Ṣiḥatī Sardrūdī, Guzīda-yi sīmā-yi Sāmarra sīnā-yi si Mūsā, p. 116.
  11. ↑ ʿAtabāt-i ālīyāt-i ʿIrāq.
  12. ↑ Bābawayh, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, p. 496.
  13. ↑ Ibn Ḥazm, Jamharat ansāb al-ʿarab, p. 61.
  14. ↑ Muqaddas, Rāhnamā-yi amākin-i zīyāratī wa sīyāḥatī dar ʿIrāq, p. 312.

References

  • Ibn Ḥazm al-Andulīsī, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. Saʿīd. Jamharat ansāb al-ʿarab. Beirut: 1403 AH-1983.
  • Ibn Baṭūṭa, Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Raḥla Ibn Baṭūṭa. Edited by ʿAbd al-Hādī Tāzī. Rabat: Ākādimīyya al-Mamlikat al-Maghribīyya, 1417 AH.
  • Jaʿfarīyān, Rasūl. Ḥayāt-i fikrī wa sīyāsī-yi Imāmān-i Shīʿa. Qom: Anṣārīyān, 1381 Sh.
  • Khaṭīb Baghdādī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. Tārīkh-i Baghdād. Edited by Musṭafā ʿAbd al-Qādir ʿAṭā. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1417 AH.
  • Muqaddas, Iḥsān. Rāhnamā-yi amākin-i zīyāratī wa sīyāḥatī dar ʿIrāq. Tehran: Mashʿar, [n.d].
  • Maḥallātī, Ḍhabīḥ Allāh. Maʾthar al-kubrā fī tārīkh Sāmarrāʾ. Qom: Maktabat al-Ḥaydarīyya, 1384 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā. Qom: 1426 AH.
  • Sibṭ b. al-Jawzī, Yūsuf b. Qazāwughlī. Tadhkirat al-khawāṣ. Qom: al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, 1418 AH.
  • Ṣiḥatī Sardrūdī, Muḥammad. Guzīda-yi sīmā-yi Sāmarra: sīnā-yi si Mūsā. Tehran: Mashʿar, 1388 Sh.
  • Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī. Muʿjam al-buldān. Second edition. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1995.
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