Martyr's Monument ( ar, نصب الشهيد), also known as the Martyr's Memorial, is a monument designed by Iraqi sculptor

Ismail Fatah Al Turk Ismail Fatah Al-Turk ("Ismail Fatah") (1934 or 1938–2004) was an Iraqi painter and sculptor born in Basra, Iraq, noted for his abstract art, monumental sculpture and public works and as part of the Baghdad Modern Art Group, which fostered a sen ...

and situated in the

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 ...

i capital,

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 was originally dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers who died in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...

, and has since grown to become generally considered to be a commemoration of all Iraqi martyrs.

Background

Al-Shaheed was built as part of a broader Ba'athist government program to erect a number of public works intended to beautify Baghdad, help instill a sense of national pride, and at the same time immortalize Saddam Hussein's reputation as a powerful and victorious leader. It was built during the height of a period when

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

was commissioning many artworks and spending a great deal of money on new monuments and statues. Al-Shaheed was constructed in Baghdad's Rusafa, and this monument is one of three monuments that were built to remember Iraq's pain and suffering as a consequence of the eight-year war. The first of these structures was '' The Monument to the Unknown Soldier'' (1982); followed by ''Al-Shaheed'' (1983) and finally the ''

Victory Arch The Victory Arch ( ar, قوس النصر ''Qaws an-Naṣr''), officially known as the ''Swords of Qādisīyah''، and popularly called the ''Hands of Victory'' or the ''Crossed Swords'', are a pair of triumphal arches in central Baghdad, Iraq. ...

'' (1989). The three monuments form a visual and metaphorical unit.

Design

(1934–2004), and built in association with Iraqi architect, Saman Kamal, and the Baghdad Architecture Group, the monument was constructed between 1981 and 1983, with its official opening in 1983. The monument consists of a circular platform 190 meters in diameter in the center of an artificial lake. On the platform sits a 40-meter tall split turquoise

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, which resembles the domes of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...

era. The two halves of the split dome are offset, with an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

in the middle. The outer shells are constructed of a

galvanized steel Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerg ...

frame with glazed turquoise

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

tile cladding which was pre-cast in carbon fiber reinforced

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

. The interior is opulent, being that under the Iraqi flag, there is an open hole, or oculus, providing light below. The rest of the site consists of parks, a playground, parking lots, walkways, bridges, and the lake. At the centre of the two half-domes is a twisted metal flag pole emerging from the underground museum. On the pole is an Iraqi flag, apparently lightly fluttering in the breeze. When viewed from the museum below, the flag and pole appear to be floating in space. A spring of water runs nearby to symbolize the blood of the fallen.Janabi, A., "Leading Iraqi Artist Dies," bituary Al Jazeera, 22 July 2004
Online:
The structure includes references to Iraq's ancient art tradition in the form of a marble slab with Qu'ranic verses in ancient Kufi script.Baram, A., ''Culture, History and Ideology in the Formation of Ba'thist Iraq, 1968–89'', Springer, 1991, p. 77 The monument is located on the East side of the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

river, near the Army Canal which separates

Sadr city Sadr City ( ar, مدينة الصدر, translit=Madīnat aṣ-Ṣadr), formerly known as Al-Thawra ( ar, الثورة, aṯ-Ṯawra) and Saddam City ( ar, مدينة صدام, Madīnat Ṣaddām), is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. ...

from the rest of Baghdad. A museum, library, cafeteria, lecture hall and exhibition gallery are located in two levels underneath the domes. On the subject of the monument's design Al-Turk made the following comments: : The completed monument cost half a million dollars (US). It is one of the most iconic monuments in Baghdad. The ''Art in America'' magazine rated al-Shaheed as the most beautiful design in the Middle East. An image of the al-Shaheed monument appeared on the reverse face of the 1986 Iraqi 25 dinar bill (pictured). Martyr Day

Gallery

The monument creates a visual illusion: viewed from some perspectives, it appears as a single dome, but from other perspectives it appears as a split dome. Al-Shaheed, as seen from different perspectives File:Iraq baghdad 04.JPG File:نصب الشهيد 01.jpg File:US Navy 031130-N-0000S-001 An HH-60H helicopter assigned to the Firehawks of Helicopter Combat Search and Rescue Squadron-Special Warfare Support Special Squadron Five (HCS-5).jpg File:نصب الشهيد.jpeg File:Monument of martyr.jpg File:Statue the martyr.jpg File:جزء من نصب الشهيد ببغداد.jpg

References

{{reflist 1983 establishments in Iraq Buildings and structures in Baghdad Military monuments and memorials Monuments and memorials in Iraq Military of Iraq Martyrs' monuments and memorials War monuments and memorials

Background

Design

Gallery

See also

References