Ar-Raqqah (Arabic: الرقة, also spelled Rakka), is a city in north central Syria located on the north bank of the Euphrates River, about 160 km east of Aleppo. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. It is the capital of the Ar Raqqah Governorate and one of the main cities of the historical Diyār Muḍar, the western part of the Jazīra. Ar Raqqah Governorate (مُحافظة الرقة is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces of Syria. For other uses see the disambiguation Jazira. Al-Jazira ( Arabic, الجزيرة is the traditional Arabic name for the modern-day regions of northwestern
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Hellenistic and Byzantine Kallinikos
The Seleucid king Seleucos II Kallinikos (reigned 246-225 BC) founded ar-Raqqah as the eponymous city of Callinicum or Kallinikos. The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i Seleucus II Callinicus or Pogon (the epithets meaning "beautiful victor" and "bearded" respectively was a ruler of the Hellenistic In the Byzantine period, the city was briefly named Leontupolis by the emperor Leo I (reigned 457-474 AD), but the name Kallinikos prevailed. In 542, the city was destroyed by the invasion of the Persian Sasanid Shahanshah Khusrau I Anushirvan (reigned 531-579), but was subsequently rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (reigned 527-565). The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire Khosrau I or Khosrow I ( Chosroes I in classical sources most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan, Persian انوشيروان meaning Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ( Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός; known in English as Justinian I or
In the 6th century, Kallinikos became a center of Syriac monasticism. Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. Deir Mār Zakkā, or the Saint Zacchaeus Monastery, sited on the tell just north of the city, today's Tall al-Bi'a, became renowned. Zacchaeus (Greek Ζακχαῖος Hebrew זכי which means pure) was a superintendent of customs a chief tax-gatherer (publicanus at Jericho ( Tell, tel or tall (تلّ tall, and תֵּל tel) meaning "hill" or "mound" is a type of archaeological A mosaic inscription there is dated to the year 509, presumably from the period of the foundation of the monastery. Deir Mār Zakkā is mentioned by various sources up to the 10th century. The second important monastery in the area was the Bīzūnā monastery or 'Dairā d-Esţunā', the 'monastery of the column'. In the 9th century, when ar-Raqqah served as capital of the western half of the Abbasid empire, this monastery became the seat of the Syriac Patriarch of Antioch. The Patriarch of Antioch is the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church; this is a list of primates who have held that office
Ar-Raqqah in the Early Islamic Period
In the year 18/639, the Muslim conqueror 'Iyāḍ ibn Ghanm took the Christian city Kallinikos by contract. Since then, it figured in Arabic sources as ar-Raqqah, but still in Syriac sources the name of Kallinikos remained. In 20/640-1, the earliest congregational mosque in the Jazira was build in the predominantly Christian city. many companions of the Prophet Muhammad used to live in ar-Raqqah. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics The strategic importance of ar-Raqqah grew during the wars at the end of the Umayyad period and the beginning of the 'Abbasid regime. Ar-Raqqah lay on the crossroads between Syria and Iraq and the road between Damascus, Tadmur (Palmyra), the temporary caliphal residence ar-Rusafa, ar-Ruha' (present day Urfa in Turkey) and the Byzantine and Caucasian theaters of raids and wars. Şanlıurfa (often simply known as Urfa in daily language formerly cited as Edessa or in Kurdish; Riha or Urhāy
In 771-2 the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur built a garrison city about 200 metres to the west of ar-Raqqah for a detachment of his Khorasanian Persian army. The Caliph is the Head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah Al-Mansur Almanzor or Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur (712&ndash775 Arabic: ابو جعفر عبدالله ابن محمد المنصور was the second It was named ar-Rāfiqah, "the companion". The strength of the Abbasid imperial military is still visible in the impressive city wall of ar-Rāfiqah.
Ar-Raqqah and ar-Rāfiqah merged into one urban complex, together larger than the former Umayyad capital Damascus. Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. In 796, the caliph Harun al-Rashid decided for ar-Raqqah/ar-Rafiqah as his imperial residence. Hārūn al-Rashīd (and Persian: هارون الرشيد) also spelled Harun ar-Rashid; English: Aaron the Upright, Aaron the For about thirteen years ar-Raqqah/ar-Rāfiqah was the capital of the Abbasid empire stretching from Northern Africa to Central Asia, while the main administrative body remained in Baghdad. Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous The palace area of ar-Raqqah covered an area of about 10 square kilometres north of the twin cities. One of the founding fathers of the Hanafi school of law, Muḥammad ash-Shaibānī, was chief qadi (judge) in ar-Raqqah. The Hanafi ( Arabic حنفي school is the oldest of the four schools of thought ( Madhhabs Qadi (also known as Qazi or Kazi or Kadi) (قاضي is a judge ruling in accordance with the Sharia, Islamic religious law The splendour of the court in ar-Raqqah is documented in several poems, collected by Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahāni in his "Book of Songs" (Kitāb al-Aghāni). `Ali ibn al-Husayn ul-Isbahānī (أبو الفرج الأصفهاني also known as Abu-l-Faraj or in the West as Abulfaraj (897-967 was an Iranian Kitab al-Aghani ( كتاب الأغاني, The Book of Songs is a collection of poems and songs with the stories of the composers and singers in many volumes Only the small, restored so called Eastern Palace at the fringes of the palace district gives an impression of Abbasid architecture. 8 km west of ar-Raqqah lay the unfinished victory monument called Heraqla from the period of Harun al-Rashid. It is said to commemorate the conquest of the Byzantine city Herakleia in Asia Minor. Other theories connect it with cosmological events. Both theories must not contradict each other. The monument is preserved in a substructure of a square building in the centre of a circular walled enclosure, 500 m in diameter. However, the upper part was never finished, because of the sudden death of Harun al-Rashid in Khorasan. After the return of the court to Baghdad in 809, ar-Raqqah/ar-Rāfiqah remained the capital of the western part of the empire including Egypt.
The Decline and Period of Bedouin Domination
Ar-Raqqah's fate declined in the late 9th century because of the continuous warfare between the Abbasids and the Tulunids and then with the Shii extremist movement, the Qarmatians. The Tulunids were the first independent dynasty in Islamic Egypt (868&ndash905 AD The Qarmatians, Arabic Qarāmita قرامطة (also spelled "Carmathians" "Qarmathians" "Karmathians" etc During the period of the Hamdānids in the 940s the city declined rapidly. The Hamdanid dynasty (حمدانيون was a Muslim Arab dynasty of northern Iraq ( Al-Jazirah) and Syria (890- 1004) At the end of the 10th century until the beginning of the 12th century, al-Raqqah was cantroled by Bedouin dynasties. The Banu Numayr had their pasture in the Diyār Muḍar and the 'Uqailids had their center in Qal'at Ja'bar. The ' Uqailid or ' Uqaylid Dynasty was a Muslim Arab dynasty with several lines that ruled in various parts of Al-Jazira, northern Syria
The Second Blossom of ar-Raqqah
Ar-Raqqah lived a second blossom, based on agriculture and industrial production, during the Zangid and Ayyubid period in the 12th and first half of the 13th century. The Zengid (or Zangid) dynasty was a Muslim Dynasty of Turkish origin which ruled parts of Northern Iraq and Syria during The Ayyubid or Ayyoubid Dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origins which ruled Egypt, Syria, Yemen (except for Most famous is the blue-glazed so called Raqqa ware, which can be seen in many Museums in the world. The still visible Bāb Baghdād (Baghdad Gate) and the so called Qasr al-Banāt (Castle of the Ladies) are splendid witnesses for this period. The famous ruler 'Imād ad-Dīn Zangī who was killed in 1146 was buried here initially. Ar-Raqqah was destroyed during the Mongol wars in the 1260s. There is a report about the killing of the last inhabitants of the urban ruin in 1288.
The Ottoman and Modern Period
In the 16th century, ar-Raqqah again entered the historical record as an Ottoman customs post on the Euphrates. The eyalet (province) ar-Raqqah (Ottoman form sometimes spelled as Rakka) was created, however the capital of this eyalet and seat of the vali was ar-Ruhā' (Edessa, present day Urfa in Turkey) about 200 km north of ar-Raqqah. The subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire were Administrative divisions of the State organisation of the Ottoman Empire based on military administration but In the 17th century the famous Ottoman traveller and author Evliyâ Çelebi only noticed Arab and Turkoman nomad tents in the vicinity of the ruins. The citadel was partially restored in 1683 and again housed a janissary detachment; over the next decades the province of Raqqah became the centre of the Ottoman Empire's tribal settlement (iskân) policy.
The city of ar-Raqqah was resettled from 1864 onwards, first as a military outpost, then as a settlement for former Bedouin Arabs and for Chechens, who came as refugees from the Caucasian war theaters in the middle of the 19th century. The Bedouin, (from the Arabic (ar بدوي pl badū) are a desert-dwelling Arab Nomadic pastoralist, or previously Chechens ( Chechen: Hохчи / Noxçi) constitute the largest native Ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region An administration-building was erected during the French Mandate. It houses nowadays the Museum of ar-Raqqah (ill. Museum of ar-Raqqah in 1981 was the opening of the archaeological museum tenderness and popular in the construction of the Saraya old and was ready for demolition It has Directorate 1). In the fifties of the twentieth century, in the wake of the Korean war, the world wide cotton boom stimulated an unpreceded growth of the city, and the recultivation of this part of the middle Euphrates area. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the Cotton is still the main agricultural product of the region. The growth of the city meant on the other hand a removal of the archaeological remains of the city's great past. The palace area is now almost covered with settlements, as well as the former area of the ancient ar-Raqqa (today Mishlab) and the former Abbasid industrial district (today al-Mukhtalţa). Only parts were archaeologically explored. The 12th-century citadel was removed in the 1950s (today Dawwār as-Sā'a, the clock-tower circle). In the 1980s rescue excavations in the palace area began as well as the conservation of the Abbasid city walls with the Bāb Baghdād and the two main monuments intra muros, the Abbasid mosque and the Qasr al-Banāt.
Modern population is about 190,000 (2000 estimate).
References
Michael Meinecke, Raqqa on the Euphrates. Recent Excavations at the Residence of Harun er-Rashid, in: Susanne Kerner (ed. ), The Near East in Antiquity. German Contributions to the Archaeology of Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt II, Amman 1991, pp. 17–32.
Michael Meinecke, Early Abbasid Stucco Decoration in Bilad al-Sham. In: Muhammad Adnan al-Bakhit – Robert Schick (edd. ): Bilad al-Sham During the 'Abbasid Period (132 A. H. /750A. D. –451 A. H. /1059A. D. ). Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference for the History of the Bilad al-Sham 7–11 Sha'ban 1410 A. H. /4–8 March, 1990, English and French Section, Amman 1412/1991, pp. 226–237.
Michael Meinecke, Forced Labor in Early Islamic Architecture: The Case of ar-Raqqa/ar-Rafiqa on the Euphrates. In: Ders. : Patterns and Stylistic Changes in Islamic Architecture. Local Traditions Versus Migrating Artists, New York, London 1996, pp. 5–30.
Michael Meinecke, Ar-Raqqa am Euphrat: Imperiale und religiöse Strukturen der islamischen Stadt, in: Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 128 (1996), pp. 157–172.
Stefan Heidemann, Die Renaissance der Städte in Nordsyrien und Nordmesopotamien. Städtische Entwicklung und wirtschaftliche Bedingungen in ar-Raqqa und Harran von der Zeit der beduinischen Vorherrschaft bis zu den Seldschuken (Islamic History and Civilization. Studies and Texts 40), Leiden u. a. (Brill) 2002.
Myriam Ababsa, Les mausolées invisibles: Raqqa, ville de pèlerinage ou pôle étatique en Jazîra syrienne? In: Annales de Géographie 622 (2002), pp. 647-664.
Stefan Heidemann - Andrea Becker (edd. ), Raqqa II – Die islamische Stadt, Mainz (Philipp von Zabern) 2003.
Verena Daiber - Andrea Becker (edd. ), Raqqa III - Baudenkmäler und Paläste I, Mainz (Philipp von Zabern) 2004.
Stefan Heidemann, The Citadel of al-Raqqa and Fortifications in the Middle Euphrates Area, in: Hugh Kennedy (ed. Hugh N Kennedy MA PhD (Cantab is Professor of Arabic in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures at School of Oriental and African Studies, London formerly professor of history ): Muslim Military Architecture in Greater Syria. From the Coming of Islam to the Ottoman Period (History of Warfare 35), Leiden 2005, pp. 122-150.
Stefan Heidemann, The History of the Industrial and Commercial Area of 'Abbasid al-Raqqa Called al-Raqqa al-Muhtariqa, in: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 69/1 (2006), pp. 32-52.
External links
Historical & Archeological
- The Citadel of ar-Raqqah - article in German
- Industrial Landscape Project - Nottingham University
- Raqqa II - Archaeological Publication on ar-Raqqah
Additional Pictures
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