Amṣar (), refer to civilised cities and large areas in which

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

s, markets,

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s and other public facilities are located. The plural form also sometimes referred to 'garrison towns' or structures that were established by Muslim warriors in conquered lands, in the first centuries of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The first were created under Caliph Omar during his reign from 634 to 644 AD. Many of these garrisons attracted civilians and became towns.

Description

In the frontier area of the Arabic expansion, military forts (al-Amsar, Pl. , amṣār), or Ribat ( ribāṭ, fortress) were founded. Militarily speaking, the structure and function of ''amṣār'' are similar to

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

colonia. Like a frontier colony, the fortress served as a base for further conquests. Arabian military forts of the ''misr'' type were frequently built in the vicinity of existing older towns. They frequently were of square format. Rather than maintaining their original purpose to serve as a military base, many ''amṣār'' developed into urban and administrative centers. In particular, this happened in the case of the

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 ...

i cities of

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

and

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

, which became known as ''"al-miṣrān"'' ("the woforts"), but also with Fustat and Kairouan in North Africa.

History

Rashidun era

Ibn al-Kalbi reported, Arfajah ibn Harthamah were the first who built Amsar, that accommodated the settlements of Muslim soldiers in the annexed territories permanently and also setting up the public facilities and mosques in the city. Due to instruction from caliph Umar, Arfaja Al-Bariqi set up a garrison (Amsar) in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, and was appointed Wali (governor) there, particularly managing the revenue. The area of Mosul was very sparsely populated after conquered by the Muslims. After the area was settled and a mosque was erected,

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

ordered the resettlement of the 4000 settlers to

. The new buildings were constructed from mud bricks, instead of reeds, a material that was popular in the region and other already populated areas were greatly expanded. At

, Harthama, at the command of Umar, constructed a fort, few churches, a mosque and a locality for the Jewish population. He used it as his headquarters for the northern military operations. Utba consolidated his position in Tikrit and later advanced to Bajurmi and Shahrazour where his troops settled there. At

Arfaja at the command of

, constructed a fort, few churches, a mosque and a locality for the Jewish population.Nadvi (2000), pg. 418 After a short tenure of his governance, Arfajah instructed by caliph Umar to march with his 700

Azd The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Tribes of Arabia, Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia. Land of Azd Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre- ...

soldiers to march towards the location which will be known in the future as

, while delegate the governance of Mosul to al Harith ibn Hassan. Arfajah and Utbah then founded the Amsar(garrison city) which named as Basra, where the military encampment in the location gradually supported with further permanent structures and growing into large settlement, The Amsar built by Arfajah has feature of seven tribal complexes which can fit the 700 garrison troops, and built houses of mud bricks, plaster and mud to replace the camps. As the buildings stands, Arfajah along with Hudhayfah ibn Muhsin and Mujazah ibn Thawr as-Sadusi, started to fill the complex with tribes of Azd, Tamim, and tribe of Sadus ibn Shayban. Arfajah then designed seven dams of adobe in Basra, two in the settlement of Al-Khuraybah, one in az-Zabuqah, two in Banu Tamim, and the last two in al-Azd tribe settlement Another earliest Amsar built were

which founded by

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas ibn Wuhayb al-Zuhri () was an Arabs, Arab Muslims, Muslim commander. He was the founder of Kufa and served as its governor under Umar, Umar ibn al-Khattab. He played a leading role in the Muslim conquest of Persia and was a cl ...

, when he also instructed by caliph Umar to found new headquarters in Iraq for his army, so he moved towards a location that will known in the future as Kufa. here, he transported and dismantled walls and military structures from al-Mada'in to build new Amsar.Al-Baladhuri, Fotouh Al-Buldan, p. 275; Al-Hamawi, Mujam Al-Buldan, Part 4, pg. 490 the new Amsar were formally called ''Jund al-Kufah'' with features of seven divisions of complex that outfitted the Muslim soldiers who settled in that area permanently along with their family Sa'd made

as his permanent headquarters.

References

{{Islamic architecture Amṣar Military history of the Rashidun Caliphate Urban planning during medieval period

Description

History

Rashidun era

See also

References