HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bab al-Talsim (), originally named Bab al-Halba (), was an old
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
gateway that existed on the Rusafa side of
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
,
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and was one of the old
gates of Baghdad The gates of Baghdad () are the several ''bab'', meaning gate in Arabic, connected by walls surrounding the city of Baghdad. The gates and the walls were designed to protect the city from foreign incursions. Some of the components date back to the ...
. The gate was preserved and well-maintained until Ottoman troops demolished it on 11 March 1917 when retaliating from the city during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


History

During the late Abbasid Era, the 28th Caliph,
al-Mustazhir Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abdallah al-Muqtadi () usually known simply by his regnal name Al-Mustazhir billah () (b. April/May 1078 – 6 August 1118 d.) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1094 to 1118. He succeeded his father al-Muqtadi as the C ...
( CE), built a new wall around the eastern side of Baghdad to protect it from invading armies and
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
raids. Along with the wall came several gates, one of which was the Bab al-Talsim, then known as ''Bab al-Halba''. Which would be fully completed by Caliph
al-Mustarshid Abu Mansur al-Faḍl ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir (; 1092 – 29 August 1135) better known by his regnal name Al-Mustarshid Billah () was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1118 to 1135. He was son of his predecessor, caliph al-Mustazhir. He succeeded ...
( CE) in 1123. Over time, several Abbasid Caliphs would repair the walls of Eastern Baghdad. In 1221, Caliph
al-Nasir Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn al-Hasan al-Mustaḍīʾ (), better known by his al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (; 6 August 1158 – 5 October 1225) or simply as al-Nasir, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1180 until his death. His literally can m ...
restored the gates and walls of Baghdad and decorated Bab al-Halba with an inscription and a tower. Al-Nasir's inscription on the gate depicts two knotted serpents or
dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
s who are being held by a seated figure who is believed to be the Caliph himself. The inscription became known for being talismanic among the people of Baghdad as it was believed to give protection against Baghdad's enemies. Due to this, the gate later gained its more well-known name of ''Bab al-Talsim''. Due to the fact that the gate was located next to the Mausoleum of Abdul Qadir al-Gilani, the gate was also nicknamed "''Bab al-Sheikh Abd al-Qadir''" but was shortened to '' Bab al-Sheikh'', which became the name of the neighborhood surrounding the mausoleum. Before al-Nasir's restoration, the gate was already described by the Andalusian traveler
Ibn Jubayr Ibn Jubayr (1 September 1145 – 29 November 1217; ), also written Ibn Jubair, Ibn Jobair, and Ibn Djubayr, was an Arab geographer, traveller and poet from al-Andalus. His travel chronicle describes the pilgrimage he made to Mecca from 1183 to 11 ...
in 1185. It was mentioned in the accounts of the Mongols' 1258
Siege of Baghdad The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim. Within ...
. A polo field in front of the gate was inaugurated in 1086 by Seljuk Sultan
Malik Shah Malik-Shah (), also transliterated as ''Malek-Shah'', ''Malikshah'' or ''Melikshah'', may refer to: * Malik-Shah I (1055–1092), sultan of Great Seljuq * Malik-Shah II (), grandson of Malik Shah I, sultan of Great Seljuq * Malik-Shah III (1152– ...
. Bab al-Wastani is located north of where Bab al-Talsim once stood. When Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...
ordered a map to be made of Baghdad in 1534, Bab al-Talsim wasn't included despite the details of the map. In 1638,
Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...
Murad IV Murad IV (, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; , 27 July 1612 – 8  February 1640) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad I ...
conquered
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
, he entered through the gate and had it sailed and closed off. During the late parts of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the Ottoman Empire was losing the war. To prevent the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
from storing gunpowder inside the gate, Ottoman troops destroyed the gate on 11 March 1917 while withdrawing from Baghdad, leaving no surviving remnants of the Abbasid gate today.


Rediscovery

In 1982, work was underway to pave a new road in Bab al-Sheikh when the old foundations of Bab al-Talsim were discovered. The Iraqi Department of Antiquities quickly carried out excavations at the site and uncovered the remaining remains of the gate. After several researchers studied the area through historical sources, it was confirmed to be the old site of the gate.


Architecture and features

The gate was a cylindrical tower built out of burnt bricks and connected to the northeastern ramparts of Baghdad. The main façade of the tower contained several smaller loophole windows halfway through the middle. The top of the façade included pointed arch openings on the entire circumference, serving as an open balcony. The gate contained stone
voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...
s and included several decorations and inscriptions. An inscription ran on the wall above the gate, mentioning the Abbasid Caliph as “the Imām, to whom the whole of humanity has to submit,” as well as “the Caliph who is initiated by the master of the world and who is a proof for Allāh of the entirety of beings.”


The dragons and the caliph

The most notable part about the gate was the detailed stone-craved inscriptions depicting a seated human figure, possibly a ruler, grasping the tongues of two dragons or serpents. A very unusual carving that was uncommon but can be seen in a similar paired dragon carving on a gate in the
Citadel of Aleppo The Citadel of Aleppo () is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at leas ...
. The stone figures representing a ruler sitting cross-legged between two dragons have not been securely attributed to any ruler, but theorized to belong to the period of Murad IV. But the seated figure is generally more agreed to be the figure of al-Nasir since the carvings were part of his restoration of the gate. The carvings could symbolize his victory over his two major enemies at the time: the Grand Master of the
Order of Assassins The Order of Assassins (; ) were a Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ili order that existed between 1090 and 1275 AD, founded by Hasan-i Sabbah, Hasan al-Sabbah. During that time, they lived in the mountains of Persia and the Levant, and held a ...
, and the
Khwarizmian Empire The Khwarazmian Empire (), or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran ...
ruler Muhammad II. The seated cross-legged figure may also be personification of the sun. File:Talisman Gate (tower).jpg, Pre-1917 photograph of the gate File:Talisman Gate, destroyed by the Ottomans in 1917.jpg, The front view of the gate's tower File:Talisman Gate, Sarre, Friedrich Paul Theodor, 1911 (gate).jpg, The entrance of the gate which was closed by Murad IV File:Talisman Gate, Sarre, Friedrich Paul Theodor, 1911 (ruler and drawing).jpg, A recreation of the seated figure carved on the gate


See also

* Bab al-Sheikh *
Bab al-Wastani Bab al-Wastani (), also used to be known as Bab al-Dha'fariyya () is the only surviving gate of Baghdad in Iraq. It's known for being situated near the Mausoleum of 'Umar al-Suhrawardi and the al-Wardiyya Cemetery. The gate was restored in the ...
*
Citadel of Aleppo The Citadel of Aleppo () is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at leas ...
*
Gates of Baghdad The gates of Baghdad () are the several ''bab'', meaning gate in Arabic, connected by walls surrounding the city of Baghdad. The gates and the walls were designed to protect the city from foreign incursions. Some of the components date back to the ...


References


Works cited

* * * {{coord missing, Iraq Abbasid architecture Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate Demolished buildings and structures in Iraq Military history of Baghdad