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Abbasid Samarra
Samarra is a city in central Iraq, which served as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate from 836 to 892. Founded by the caliph al-Mu'tasim, Samarra was briefly a major metropolis that stretched dozens of kilometers along the east bank of the Tigris, but was largely abandoned in the latter half of the 9th century, especially following the return of the caliphs to Baghdad. Due to the relatively short period of occupation, extensive ruins of Abbasid Samarra have survived into modern times. The layout of the city can still be seen via aerial photography, revealing a vast network of Urban planning, planned streets, houses, palaces and mosques. Studies comparing the archeological evidence with information provided by List of Muslim historians, Muslim historians have resulted in the identification of many of the toponyms within the former city. The archeological site of Samarra was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2007, calling it "the best-preserved plan of an ancient large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Mosque Of Samarra
The Great Mosque of Samarra is a mosque from the 9th century CE located in Samarra, Iraq. The mosque was commissioned in 848 and completed in 851 by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861. At the time of construction, it was the world's largest mosque. It is known for its high minaret encircled by a spiral ramp. The mosque is located within the Samarra Archaeological City UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2007. History For a time, the mosque was the largest in the world; its minaret, the Malwiya Tower, is a spiralling cone high and wide with a spiral ramp. The reign of Al-Mutawakkil had a great effect on the appearance of the city, for he seemed to have been a lover of architecture, and the one responsible for building the Great Mosque of Samarra. Al-Mutawakkil and his hired workers as well as other people from the area constructed this mosque using baked brick octagon piers that included four marble columns in the corners. The ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syriac Language
The Syriac language ( ; ), also known natively in its spoken form in early Syriac literature as Edessan (), the Mesopotamian language () and Aramaic (), is an Aramaic#Eastern Middle Aramaic, Eastern Middle Aramaic dialect. Classical Syriac is the academic term used to refer to the dialect's literary usage and standardization, distinguishing it from other Aramaic dialects also known as 'Syriac' or 'Syrian'. In its West-Syriac Rite, West-Syriac tradition, Classical Syriac is often known as () or simply , or , while in its East-Syriac Rite, East-Syriac tradition, it is known as () or (). It emerged during the first century AD from a local Eastern Aramaic languages, Eastern Aramaic dialect that was spoken in the ancient region of Osroene, centered in the city of Edessa. During the Early Christian period, it became the main literary language of various Aramaic-speaking Christian communities in the historical region of Syria (region), Ancient Syria and throughout the Near East. As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anarchy At Samarra
The Anarchy at Samarra () was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs, who became Puppet ruler, puppets in the hands of powerful rival military groups. The term derives from the then capital and seat of the caliphal court, Abbasid Samarra, Samarra. The "anarchy" began in 861, with the murder of Caliph al-Mutawakkil by his Turkish guards. His successor, al-Muntasir, ruled for six months before his death, possibly poisoned by the Turkish military chiefs. He was succeeded by al-Musta'in. Divisions within the Turkish army leadership enabled Musta'in to flee to Baghdad in 865 with the support of some Turkish chiefs (Bugha the Younger and Wasif al-Turki, Wasif) and the Shurta, Police chief and governor of Baghdad Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir, Muhammad, but the rest of the Turkish army chose a new caliph in the person of al-Mu'tazz and Abbasid civil war (865–866), besieged Baghd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Known colloquially in Syria as () and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine" ( ), Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. Situated in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area. Nestled among the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau above sea level, Damascus experiences an arid climate because of the rain shadow effect. The Barada, Barada River flows through Damascus. Damascus is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. First settled in the 3rd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Mutawakkil
Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, ruling from 847 until his assassination in 861. He succeeded his brother, al-Wathiq (), and is known for expanding the empire to its maximum extent. He was deeply religious, and is remembered for discarding the Muʿtazila, ending the Mihna (a period of persecution of Islamic scholars), and releasing Ahmad ibn Hanbal. He is also known for his tough rule, especially with respect to non-Muslim subjects. He was assassinated on 11 December 861 by the Turkic guard with the support of his son, al-Muntasir, marking the beginning of the period of civil strife known as the "Anarchy at Samarra". Early life Al-Mutawakkil was born on 31 March 822 to the Abbasid prince Abu Ishaq Muhammad (the future al-Mu'tasim) and a slave concubine from Khwarazm named S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Wathiq
Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn ibn Muḥammad al-Wathiq bi'Llah (; 18 April 81210 August 847), commonly known by his regnal name al-Wathiq bi'Llah (), was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 842 until his death in 847. Al-Wathiq is described in the sources as well-educated, intellectually curious, but also a poet, who enjoyed the company of poets and musicians as well as scholars. His brief reign was one of continuity with the policies of his father, al-Mu'tasim (), as power continued to rest in the hands of the same officials whom al-Mu'tasim had appointed. The chief events of the reign were the suppression of revolts: Bedouin rebellions occurred in Syria in 842, the Hejaz in 845, and the Yamama in 846, Armenia had to be pacified over several years, and above all, an abortive uprising took place in Baghdad itself in 846, under Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i. The latter was linked to al-Wathiq's continued support for the doctrine of Mu'tazilism, and his reactivation of the to root out oppo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest of any monarch in history. An emblem of the Absolutism (European history), age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's legacy includes French colonial empire, French colonial expansion, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War involving the Habsburgs, and a controlling influence on the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, style of fine arts and architecture in France, including the transformation of the Palace of Versailles into a center of royal power and politics. Louis XIV's pageantry and opulence helped define the French Baroque architecture, French Baroque style of art and architecture and promoted his image as absolute ruler of France in the early modern period. Louis XIV began his personal rule of France ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palace Of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in France. The palace is owned by the government of France and since 1995 has been managed, under the direction of the Ministry of Culture (France), French Ministry of Culture, by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. About 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. Louis XIII built a hunting lodge at Versailles in 1623. His successor, Louis XIV, expanded the château into a palace that went through several expansions in phases from 1661 to 1715. It was a favourite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the ''de fact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oleg Grabar
Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011) was a French-born art historian and archeologist, who spent most of his career in the United States, as a leading figure in the field of Islamic art and architecture in the Western academe. Academic career Oleg Grabar was the son of André Grabar. He attended the University of Paris, where he studied ancient, medieval, and modern history, before moving to the US in 1948. He completed degrees from both Harvard and the University of Paris in 1950. In 1955, he obtained a PhD from Princeton University. He served on the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1954–69, before moving to Harvard University as a full professor. In 1980, Grabar became Harvard's first Aga Khan Professor of Islamic art and architecture. He was a founding editor of the journal ''Muqarnas'' in 1983. He became emeritus from Harvard in 1990, and then joined the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, becoming emeritus ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cantonment
A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential section (i.e., barrack) of a fort or other military installation". The word ''cantonment'', derived from the French word '' canton'', meaning ''corner'' or ''district'', refers to a temporary military or winter encampment. For example, at the start of the Waterloo campaign in 1815, while the Duke of Wellington's headquarters were in Brussels, most of his Anglo–allied army of 93,000 soldiers were ''cantoned'', or stationed, to the south of Brussels. List of permanent cantonments Afghanistan The former Sherpur Cantonment in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was the site of the Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment (1879) in the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880), is now maintained as a British Army cemetery. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, cantonment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, Church (building), church, or temple, and may also serve as an Oratory (worship), oratory, or in the case of Cenobium, communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, Wiktionary:balneary, balneary and Hospital, infirmary and outlying Monastic grange, granges. Depending on the location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the commun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nahrawan Canal
The Nahrawan Canal () was a major irrigation system of the Sasanian and early Islamic periods in central Iraq, along the eastern banks of the Tigris and the lower course of the Diyala River. Created in the 6th century, it reached its peak under the Abbasid Caliphate, when it served the main water supply for the Abbasid capital of Baghdad, while the regions irrigated by it served as the city's main breadbasket. Its destruction and progressive abandonment from the mid-10th century onwards mirror the Abbasid Caliphate's decline. History The first irrigation works along the Diyala River were undertaken in Parthian times. Indeed, it may be that the lower part of the Nahrawan Canal was originally the lower course of the Diyala. The large-scale canal system of early medieval times however was created in the reign of the Sassanid ruler Khosrow I (), who also established it as a separate administrative district (). A treasury and mint were possibly established there. In early Islamic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
