, native_name_lang = ara , image = Al-Asakari Mosque 4.jpg , image_upright = 1.4 , alt = , caption = Al-Asakari Mosque in January 2017 , map_type = Iraq , map_size = 240 , map_alt = , map_relief = 1 , map_caption = Location in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , religious_affiliation =

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

, locale = , location =

Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...

, Iraq , deity = , rite = Shia (Twelver) , sect = , tradition = , festival = , cercle = , sector = , municipality = , district = , territory = , prefecture = , state = , province = , region = , country = , administration = , consecration_year = , organisational_status =

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

and shrine , functional_status = Active , heritage_designation = , ownership = , governing_body = , leadership = , bhattaraka = , patron = , website = , architect = , architecture_type = , architecture_style = , founded_by = , creator = , funded_by = , general_contractor = , established = , groundbreaking = , year_completed = 944 AD , construction_cost = , date_destroyed = , facade_direction = , capacity = , length = , width = , width_nave = , interior_area = , height_max = , dome_quantity = 1 , dome_height_outer = , dome_height_inner = , dome_dia_outer = , dome_dia_inner = , minaret_quantity = 2 , minaret_height = , spire_quantity = 1 , spire_height = , site_area = , temple_quantity = , monument_quantity = , shrine_quantity = 3 , inscriptions = , materials = , elevation_m = , elevation_footnotes = , nrhp = , designated = , added = , refnum = , footnotes = Al-Askari Shrine, the Askariyya Shrine ( ar, مَرْقَد ٱلْإِمَامَيْن عَلِيّ ٱلْهَادِي وَٱلْحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ, ', meaning "Resting Place of the Two Imams Ali al-Hadi and Hassan the al-Askari") or the Al-Askari Mosque is a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

and

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be cons ...

in the

i city of

from

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. It is one of the most important Shia

shrines A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

in the world. It was built in 944. The dome was destroyed in a bombing by extremists in February 2006 and its two remaining

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

s were destroyed in another bombing in June 2007, causing widespread anger among Shias. The remaining

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

was also destroyed in July 2007. The dome and minarets were repaired and the mosque reopened in April 2009. The 10th and 11th Shī'ite Imams, 'Alī al-Hādī ("''an-Naqī''") and his son Hasan al-'Askarī, known as ''al-'Askariyyayn'' ("the two ''Askarī''s"), are buried in the shrine. Housed in the mosque are also the tombs of

Hakimah Khātūn Ḥakīma bint Muḥammad al-Jawād ( ar, حکیمه بنت محمد الجواد) also known as Ḥakīma Khātūn or Lady Hakima was the daughter of Imam Muhammad al-Jawad, and the aunt of Imam Hasan al-Askari. She is a prominent narrator in Shia ...

, sister of 'Alī al-Hādī; and Narjis Khātūn, the mother of Muħammad al-Mahdī.Shrine of Imām al-Hādī and Imām al-‘Askarī
(ArchNet Digital Library) Adjacent to the mosque is another domed commemorative building, the Serdab ("cistern"), built over the cistern where the Twelfth Imam, Muħammad al-Mahdī, first entered the

Minor Occultation The Minor Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلصُّغْرَىٰ, '), also known as the First Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْأُولَىٰ, '), refers in Twelver Shia Islam to a period of nearly seventy years (874–941 CE, ...

or "hidden from the view"—whence the other title of the Mahdi, the Hidden Imam.

History

The

Imams Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...

'Alī al-Hādī ("''an-Naqī''") and Hassan al-'Askarī lived under house arrest in the part of Samarra that had been

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd ( ar, أبو إسحاق محمد بن هارون الرشيد; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling ...

's military camp (''Askar al-Mu‘tasim'', hence an inmate of the camp was called an ''Askarī''). As a result, they are known as the ''Askariyyayn''. They died and were buried in their house on Abī Ahmad Street near the mosque built by Mu'tasim. A later tradition attributes their deaths to poison. Nasir ad-Din Shah Qajar undertook the latest remodelling of the shrine in 1868, with the golden dome added in 1905. Covered in 72,000 gold pieces and surrounded by walls of light blue tiles, the dome was a dominant feature of the Samarra skyline. It was approximately in diameter by high.

Bombings

2006 attack

On 22 February 2006, at 6:55 am local time (03:55 UTC) explosions occurred at the shrine, effectively destroying its golden dome and severely damaging the shrine. Several men belonging to Iraqi insurgent groups affiliated with Al-Qaida, one wearing a military uniform, had earlier entered the mosque, tied up the guards there and set explosives, resulting in the blast. Two bombs were set off by five to seven men dressed as personnel of the Iraqi

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

who entered the shrine during the morning. ''Time'' magazine reported at the time of the 2006 bombing that:

2007 attack

At around 8 am on 13 June 2007, operatives belonging to

al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI; ar, القاعدة في العراق, al-Qā'idah fī al-ʿIrāq) or Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia ( ar, القاعدة في بلاد الرافدين, al-Qā'idah fī Bilād ar-Rāfidayn), officially known as ''Tanzim Qaidat a ...

destroyed the two remaining golden

s flanking the dome's ruins. No fatalities were reported. Iraqi police reported hearing "two nearly simultaneous explosions coming from inside the mosque compound at around 8 am". A report from state-run Iraqiya Television stated that "local officials said that two mortar rounds were fired at the two minarets".

Reopening

In late 2007, the Iraqi government conducted a contract with a Turkish company to rebuild the shrine. The Iraqi government later cancelled the contract due to delays by the Turkish company. As of April 2009, the golden dome and the minarets have been restored and the shrine reopened to visitors.

Gallery

Samarra.png, The Al-Askari Shrine in 1916. Al-Askari Mosque 2006.jpg, The Shrine in 2006 after the first bombing Al-Askari Mosque 2013.jpg, Repairs to the al-Askari Mosque, October 2013

References

External links

Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Records of Samarra Expeditions, Shiite Shrine Complex
Collections Search Center, S.I.R.I.S., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 7: Records of Samarra Expeditions, 1906–1945
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Images of the destruction: before and afterBBC picture galleryBBC video

Alaskariyain holy shrine official pageDisappointment in Samarra
{{Holiest sites in Shia Islam Shia mosques in Iraq Mosques in Iraq Shrines in Iraq Mausoleums in Iraq Tourist attractions in Iraq Buildings and structures in Samarra Religious buildings and structures completed in 944 Safavid architecture 10th-century mosques Shia shrines