Samarra

Islamic city of the Abbasid dynasty, mid-8th to mid-10th century AD, founded as the new capital in 836 AD on the Tigris River in central Iraq. Its Neolithic culture, 6th millennium BC, was remarkable for its elaborate painted pottery with geometric or naturalistic patterns. At that time, it was characterized by large villages with complex, multi-room buildings, and introduction of irrigated agriculture and cattle rearing. The pottery, found mainly in the Samarra cemetery, replaced Hassuna ware, on which it marked a considerable advance. It was absorbed by the Halaf tradition c 5000 BC. It is a rich source of information on early Islamic architecture, public monuments, and town planning.

9th-century city half way between Mosul and Baghdad in Iraq, excavated by Ernst Herzfeld before the First World War. As well as remains of the historical city, Herzfeld found traces of a prehistoric occupation. He was unable to establish very much about the nature or date of this settlement (or cemetery), but he found a fine painted pottery, decorated in black or brown on a light ground with figures of animals, birds, people and complex geometrical designs. This pottery, named Samarra ware after this site, has since been found on a number of other sites, including Choga Mami and Tell-es-Sawwan; it is known to date to the 6th millennium be and to represent a distinct cultural phase. The site of Samarra was subsequently used for an important Islamic city. Following disputes between residents and foreign troops stationed in Baghdad, the caliph al-Mu’tasim (ad 833-42) decided to establish a new capital. After a brief sojourn at Raqqa, he moved to Samarra in 836. This was a new town, built at astonishing speed. The combination of mud-brick and imported labour made it possible to construct grandiose buildings very rapidly and, by the time the court returned to Baghdad in 882, Samarra sprawled along the Tigris for no fewer than 35 km. Apart from the houses, bazaars etc of the civilian population, successive caliphs built the Jausaq al-Khaqani, al-Mu’tasim’s palace (836-42); the Great Mosque of al-Muta-wakkil (848/9-52); the Balkuwara palace of al-Mutawakkil (c849-59); the Mosque of Abu Dhulaf, also erected by al-Mutawakkil (860-1) and the Qasr al-Ashiq, al Mu’tamid’s palace (878-82). The Jausaq al-Khaqani, the most extravagent complex of all, was larger than Versailles, with walls enclosing 175 hectares of palaces, gardens, slaves’ quarters and magazines. The Great Mosque, which measured 240 by 156 metres internally, was the largest ever built. Architectural decoration was lavish, and entire walls were covered with carved or moulded stucco. Samarra occupies a key position in Islamic studies: its monuments are important for art and architectural history, while the excavations of Herzfeld (1912-13) and the Iraq Government (1936-9) yielded a wealth of archaeological finds which appeared to belong to the period of caliphal occupation (836-82). For 50years Herzfeld’s discoveries dominated the study of early Islamic pottery. However, life continued at Samarra after the court withdrew and the mint still functioned in 953. Thus, although we know (from contemporary writers) the dates of the principal buildings, we no longer assume that all the finds are of the 9th century.