Sāmarrā سامَراء Samarra
Map showing Samarra near Baghdad
Country	Iraq
Province
Population (2003 est)
- Total	300,000

Sāmarrā (Arabic,سامَرّاء) is a town in Iraq. Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad Din Governorate, 125 kilometers (78 mi) north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 300,000. The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Salah ad Din, Salâh-ad-Dîn, or Salahuddin ( Arabic: صلاح الدين is a Governorate in Iraq, north of Baghdad Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous ^[1]

Medieval Islamic writers believed that the name “Samarra” is derived from the Arabic phrase, “Sarr min ra’a” "سر من رأى" which translates to “A joy for all who see”. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language

In 2007, UNESCO named Samarra one of its World Heritage Sites. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex ^[2]

Ancient Samarra

Female statuette, Samarra, 6000 BCE.

Though the present archaeological site covered by mudbrick ruins is vast, the site of Samarra was only lightly occupied in ancient times, apart from the Chalcolithic Samarran Culture (ca 5500–4800 BC) identified at the rich site of Tell Sawwan, where evidence of irrigation—including flax— establishes the presence of a prosperous settled culture with a highly organized social structure. The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos ' Copper stone' period or Copper Age period known as the '''Eneolithic''' ('''Æneolithic''' is a Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum The culture is primarily known by its finely-made pottery decorated against dark-fired backgrounds with stylized figures of animals and birds and geometric designs. This widely-exported type of pottery, one of the first widespread, relatively uniform pottery styles in the Ancient Near East, was first recognized at Samarra. The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq The Samarran Culture was the precursor to the Mesopotamian culture of the Ubaid period. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The Tell (mound of Ubaid (عبيد near Ur in southern Iraq has given its name to the Prehistoric Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic

A city of Sur-marrati, refounded by Sennacherib in 690 BC according to a stele in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, is insecurely identified with a fortified Assyrian site of Assyrian at al-Huwaysh, on the Tigris opposite to modern Samarra. Sennacherib ( Akkadian Sîn-ahhe-eriba "(moon god Sîn has replaced (lost brothers for me" was the son of Sargon II, whom he A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela The Walters Art Museum located in Baltimore Maryland 's Mount Vernon neighborhood is a public art museum founded in 1934 Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture

Ancient toponyms for Samarra noted by the Samarra Archaeological Survey are: Greek: Souma (Ptolemy V. Claudius Ptolemaeus ( Greek: Klaúdios Ptolemaîos; after 83 &ndash ca 19, Zosimus III, 30), Latin: Sumere, a fort mentioned during the retreat of the army of Julian the Apostate in 364 AD (Ammianus Marcellinus XXV, 6, 4), and Syriac Sumra (Hoffmann, Auszüge, 188; Michael the Syrian, III, 88), described as a village. Zosimus ( ''fl'' 490s-510s was a Byzantine historian who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate (331 or 332 to 26 June 363) was Roman Emperor (Caesar Amiricanus Gambilinus (325/330-after 391 was a fourth-century Roman historian. See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language Michael the Syrian (also known as Michael the Great; or Michael Syrus) (d

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 (Mu`jam see under "Qatul") to the Sassanid king Khosrau I Anushirvan (531–578). The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern Yaqut ibn-'Abdullah al-Rumi al-Hamawi) (1179-1229 (ياقوت الحموي الرومي was a Syrian Biographer and Geographer. 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 To celebrate 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 al-Rasasi) near to al-Daur. For the musical genre see Dawr. Ad-Dawr' ( الدور) is a small agricultural town near the Iraqi town of Tikrit 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. Hārūn al-Rashīd (and Persian: هارون الرشيد) also spelled Harun ar-Rashid; English: Aaron the Upright, Aaron the

Abbasid capital

A U. S. soldier descends a spiral minaret in Samarra, Iraq.

In 836 the Abbasid caliphate's Turkic and Armenian slave soldiers -known as Mamluk- agitated the citizens of Baghdad, provoking riots. A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) is the political leadership of the Muslim community in classical and medieval Islamic history The Turkic peoples are Eurasian peoples residing in northern central and western Eurasia who speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family The Armenians (Հայեր Hayer) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands A large Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous The capital of the Caliphate was moved from Baghdad to the new city of Samarra later that year by Caliph Al-Mu'tasim. 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 Abu Ishaq al-Mu'tasim ibn Harun (أبو إسحاق المعتصم بن هارون ʾAbū ʾIsḥāq al-Muʿtaṣim ibn Hārūn 794 &ndash January 5, 842) was an

During this time the original pre-Islamic settlement was replaced with a new city established in 833. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Samara would remain the capital of the Muslim world until 892 when it was returned to Baghdad by al-Mu'tamid. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion This article is about the Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tamid of Baghdad Al-Mu'tasim's successor, al-Wathiq, developed Samara into a commercial city, and it was further developed under Caliph Al-Mutawakkil. Al-Wathiq ibn Mutasim ( Arabic الواثق (died 847 was an Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 842 until 847 AD (227-232 AH in the Islamic calendar Al-Mutawakkil ˤAlā Allāh Jaˤfar ibn al-Muˤtasim ( Arabic المتوكل على الله جعفر بن المعتصم; March 821 &ndash December 861 was an

The latter sponsored the construction of the Great Mosque of Samarra with its spiral minaret or malwiyah, built in 847. The Great Mosque of Samarra is a Mosque located in the Iraqi city of Samarra and was built in the 9th century For the mountain formation see Minarets (California. Minarets ( Arabic manara (lighthouse منارة but more usually مئذنة He also laid out parks and a palace for his son Al-Mu'tazz. Al-Mu'tazz (المعتز (d 869 was the title of the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 866 to 869 Under the rule of Al-Mu'tadid, the Abbassid capital was shifted back to Baghdad and Samarra entered a prolonged decline, which accelerated after the 13th century when the course of the Tigris shifted. Al-Mu'tadid (857-902 (المعتضد بالله was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 892 to 902

Islamic significance

The two Shiite mosques in Samarra

The city is also home to the Al-Askari Mosque, containing the mausoleums of the Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, respectively, as well as the shrine of Muhammad al-Mahdi, known as the "Hidden Imam", who is the twelfth and final Imam of the Shia of the Ja'farī Madhhab. This article is about the Iraqi mosque For the medieval Egyptian capital please see Al-Askar. Imam Ali al-Hadi (الإمام علي الهادي also known as Imam Ali al-Naqi ( September 8, 828 &ndash July 1, 868) was Hasan al- Askari (الإمام الحسن بن علي العسكري (Eighth of Rabi' al-thani 232 AH – Eighth of Rabi' al-awwal 260 AH Imāmah (إمامة is the Shī‘ah doctrine of religious spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. According to Twelver Shi'as Imam Hujjat al-Mahdī ( ar المهدى) (or Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn Ali is the twelfth Imam and the This has made it an important pilgrimage centre for Ja'farī Shia Muslims. In addition, Hakimah Khatun and Narjis Khatun, female relatives of the Prophet Mohammed and the Shia Imams, held in high esteem by Shia and Sunni Muslims, are buried there, making this mosque one of the most significant sites of worship for Shia and a venerated location for Sunni Muslims. The people of Samarra belong to tribes that are known to descendents of Al-Hussein (son of Ali). While the vast majority of Samarra's native citizens are Sunnis and the Sunnis do not share the same religious practices that the Ja'farī Madhhab Shia of Iraq do, they consider these to be the grave sites of their forefathers and the pillars of Islam (Ali Al-Hadi and Hasan Al-Askari). Sunnis have been respectful and very protective of their ancestors and the mosques that are their mausoleums.

The Sunnis also pray in the mosques similar to the Shiites; they also (even as far as from South Asia) conduct pilgrimages to these sites, but they do not believe this to be obligatory, simply an affair of spiritual blessings.

Modern era

During the 20th century, Samarra gained new importance when a permanent lake (Lake Tharthar) was created near the town by damming the river in order to end the frequent flooding of Baghdad downstream. See also Shi'a Islam Twelver Shi'ism ( ar اثنا عشرية Ithnāˤashariyyah) is the largest branch of Shi'a branch of Islam Tharthar also the wife of Stilgar, Naib of Sietch Tabr in the hit book Dune by Frank Herbert Many local people were displaced by the dam, resulting in a big increase in Samarra's population.

Samarra is a key city in Salahuddin province, a major part of the so-called Sunni Triangle where insurgents have been active since shortly after 2003 invasion by the United States of America. Salah ad Din, Salâh-ad-Dîn, or Salahuddin ( Arabic: صلاح الدين is a Governorate in Iraq, north of Baghdad The Sunni Triangle is a densely-populated region of Iraq to the northwest of Baghdad that is inhabited mostly by Sunni Muslim Arabs Though Samarra is famous as a site of Shi'a holy sites, including the tombs of several Shi'a Imams, the town is dominated by Sunnis. Imāmah (إمامة is the Shī‘ah doctrine of religious spiritual and political leadership of the Ummah. This has caused tensions, particularly since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia On February 22, 2006, the golden dome of the Al Askari Mosque was destroyed by bombs, setting off a period of rioting and reprisal attacks across the country which claimed hundreds of lives. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the Iraqi mosque For the medieval Egyptian capital please see Al-Askar. This article is about the bombing that took place in 2006 For the later bombing see 2007 al-Askari Mosque bombing The 2006 al-Askari Mosque bombing occurred at No organizations have claimed responsibility, however it is believed that the Mujahideen Shura Council, or groups sympathetic to its cause, were behind the attack. Mujahideen Shura Council may refer to Mujahideen Shura Council (Afghanistan Mujahideen Shura Council (Iraq

On June 13, 2007, suspected al-Qaeda insurgents attacked the mosque again and destroyed the two minarets that flanked the dome's ruins. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The The 2007 al-Askari Mosque bombing ( تفجير مسجد العسكري) occurred on June 13, 2007 at around 9 a For the mountain formation see Minarets (California. Minarets ( Arabic manara (lighthouse منارة but more usually مئذنة On July 12^th, 2007, the clock tower was blown up. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. No fatalities were reported. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for peaceful demonstrations and three days of mourning. Hojatoleslam Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr or Moktada al Sadr ( ar سيد مقتدى الصدر Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr) (born August 12, He stated that he believed no Sunni Arab could have been behind the attack. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding The mosque compound and minarets had been closed since the 2006 bombing. An indefinite curfew was placed on the city by the Iraqi police. ^[3][4]

See also

• List of places in Iraq

after the first attack

For centuries, people from the seven tribes of Samarra have guarded the shrine. This is a list of places in Iraq. Governorates of Iraq lists the regional administrative provinces and Districts of Iraq lists the subdivisions of those provinces These guards are called "gayaameen" in Arabic. According to gayaameen from the Darraji tribe of samarra, a few hours prior to the first bombing that occurred, ICDC troops (Iraqi Civil Defence Corps) accompanied by coalition troops, temporarily relieved the gayaameen of their duty. As a result of the bombings coinciding with the duty relief of the gayaameen just prior to the bombing, skepticism grew as to what level of involvement the ICDC or coalition troops had in the tragic event. Prior to the second bombing, the gayaameen were also relieved, except this time it was done by Internal Ministry officers (AKA: Maghaweer al-dakhiliah) accompanied by coalition troops. The gayaameen this time were instructed to move to the bridge that connects Samarra proper with the Gal'a (explanation needed) and establish a check point there. Soon after, the bombings occurred, destroying the shrine for a second time.

References

External links

• Samarra Archaeological Survey
• http://i-cias.com/e.o/samarra.htm
• Appointment in Samarra
• Destruction of Askari Mosque

Coordinates: 34°11′54″N 43°52′27″E / 34.19833, 43.87417