Samarra
34.19722222222243.872222222222Koordinaten: 34 ° 12 ' N, 43 ° 52 ' E
Samarra (Arabic سامراء, DMG Samarra ʾ ) is a city in Iraq, north of Baghdad, with 158 968 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2005), British archaeologist archaeological site and one of the most important pilgrimage places of Shiites. The city is located in the province of Salah ad-Din.
Prehistory
Main article: Samarra culture
History
At the site of today's Samarra was once one of the largest cities of Mesopotamia, which was further established by the Sassanids. This pre-Islamic (then existing only in ruins ) city was replaced 833 by Caliph Al- Mutasim by the current Samarra, and is just as large parts of the early Islamic city plant by Ernst Herzfeld 1911-1914 has been exposed.
The historical name of the city is Surra Man Ra'a which means " Pleased who she saw ." It was completed in the eighth Caliph al - Mu'tasim Billah of the Abbasids, for its türkmenischen soldiers in his nine-year term caliphate in 833 and was for 59 years (up to 892 ) as the capital of the Abbasid.
Samarra as capital
Al- Mu'tasims successor, al - Wathiq, Samarra developed into a commercial center, under Caliph Al- Mutawakkil, the city experienced on the upper Tigris their heyday. The latter financed in 847 the construction of the Great Mosque of Samarra with its Malwiya. He allowed just create parks and build a palace for his son al- Mu'tazz. Though Samarra was only temporary residence of the Abbasid caliphs, the scientific achievements of this city in the history of Islam to the present day are legendary.
Modern History
From 1911 to 1913, the German orientalist, archaeologist and inscription researcher Ernst Herzfeld research in Samarra and thereby gained international renown, as he found here 8000 years old ( 6th millennium BC) painted ceramic ware, the so-called Samarra goods. The archaeological finds of the German Samarra expedition, of which there are areas in the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin are documented in the international project Samarra Finds and made available to the general public.
Other objects from the excavations reached among others in the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, the collection of the French Archaeological Institute in Damascus, the Museum of Applied Arts in Copenhagen, the Louvre in Paris, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art All excavation reports, drawings and photographs are now in the archives of the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC.
In February 2006, the Iraqi journalist and reporter Atwar Bahjat was during their coverage of the attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra kidnapped and murdered for the TV station Al -Arabiya.
Culture and sights
Samarra has ruins of many palaces and other buildings Caliph. The Great Mosque of Samarra was a spiral minaret resembling an ancient Mesopotamian ziggurat. This famous minaret of Samarra is located in the east of the present town. The slightly smaller and younger Abu Dulaf mosque received a replica. 2007 UNESCO declared the ruins and archaeological sites to the World Heritage Site. At the same time she wore them on the red list of endangered world heritage.
Today, much smaller city of Samarra is located amidst the sprawling ruins district on the east bank of the Tigris, about 125 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Importance for Shiites
For Shiite Samarra is of great importance because here the tenth and eleventh Imam ʿ Alī al - Hādī are buried on - Naqi and Ḥasan al - ʿ Askari, and also the twelfth Imam Muhammad al -Mahdi should be entered here in concealment.
The Al -Askari shrine, where the tombs of the tenth and eleventh imam and several of their relatives are, is one of the most important pilgrimage sites of the Shiites. The building was known for its golden dome from 1905, which was destroyed on 22 February 2006 by a stroke of extremists. On 13 June 2007, the two remaining minarets were blown up in an attack.
A second shrine marks the place where Imam Muhammad al -Mahdi went into concealment according to Twelver Shiite idea. The shrine has a dome and is known for its decoration with blue tiles, including the Sardab ( "Keller " ), where the imam allegedly disappeared.
Exhibition
- 2013: Samarra - center of the world. Museum of Islamic Art (Berlin ), Berlin.
Economy
About 70 % of all men of the city between 18 and 35 years were unemployed in 2003. The main reason for high unemployment in the country was the precarious security situation.
Gallery
Location of Samarra
The golden dome
Drawing the Malwiyya of Samarra
Children in Samarra, November 2004