The Tahirid Palace () or Tahirid Precinct/Sanctuary () was an

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 ...

-era palace in

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 ...

The palace was constructed on the western bank of the

Tigris River The Tigris ( ; see below) is the eastern 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, before merging ...

, at the so-called Zubaidiyya Fief, by

Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir Abu'l-Abbas Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Tahir () (824/5 – November 867) was a Tahirid family member, who served the Abbasid Caliphate as governor and chief of police ('' sahib al-shurta'') of Baghdad from 851 until his death, during a particularl ...

, a member of the

Tahirid dynasty The Tahirid dynasty (, ) was an Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in Abbasid Baghdad until 891. The dynasty was ...

, which during the 9th century ruled

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

as semi-independent clients of the Abbasids, and held the post of governor of Baghdad. The palace functioned as the seat of the Tahirid governors, and had the rights of sanctuary (), meaning that anyone could seek refuge on its grounds. Following the return of the Abbasid caliphs to Baghdad in the late 9th century, the palace became a secondary caliphal palace, used chiefly as a residence for the caliphs' sons, or as a state prison for deposed caliphs

al-Qahir Abū al-Manṣūr Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Qāhir bi'Llāh (), usually known simply by his regnal title al-Qahir bi'Llah (), was the nineteenth caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 932 ...

and

al-Muttaqi Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Jaʿfar al-Muqtadir () better known by his regnal title al-Muttaqi (908 – July 968, ) was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 940 to 944. His reign marked the start of the 'later Abbasid period' (940–1258). Biography Al- ...

. Caliphs

al-Mu'tadid Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn (), 853/4 or 860/1 – 5 April 902, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh (), was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 892 until his death ...

and

al-Muktafi Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Muktafī bi'Llāh (; 877/78 – 13 August 908), better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-Llāh (), was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate f ...

, and possibly also

al-Muqtadir Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...

, were buried in its grounds, along with numerous Abbasid princes. In the later 10th century, parts of the palace were purchased by the

Buyid The Buyid dynasty or Buyid Empire was a Zaydi and later Twelver Shi'a dynasty of Daylamite origin. Founded by Imad al-Dawla, they mainly ruled over central and southern Iran and Iraq from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dyna ...

ruler

Izz al-Dawla Bakhtiyar (, died 978), better known by his ''laqab'' of Izz al-Dawla (), was the Buyid amir of Iraq (967–978). Early life Izz al-Dawla was born as ''Bakhtiyar'', and was the son of Mu'izz al-Dawla. He also had three brothers named Sanad al ...

, and served as his residence and that of the later Buyid governors of the city. During the 1136

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 ...

by the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

, the palace was plundered by the populace, and what remained of it was nearly entirely destroyed in the great Tigris floods of 1217.

References

Sources

* * {{coord missing, Iraq Buildings and structures completed in the 9th century Abbasid palaces in Baghdad Former palaces Tahirid dynasty Burial sites of the Abbasid dynasty