Great Mosque of Samarra

The Great Mosque of Samarra (Arabic: جَامِع سَامَرَّاء ٱلْكَبِيْر‎, romanized: Jāmiʿ Sāmarrāʾ Al-Kabīr, Arabic: مَسْجِد سَامَرَّاء ٱلْكَبِيْر‎, romanized: Masjid Sāmarrāʾ Al-Kabīr, or Arabic: ٱلْمَسْجِد ٱلْجَامِع فِي سَامَرَّاء‎, romanized: Al-Masjid Al-Jāmiʿ fī Sāmarrāʾ, lit. 'The Great Mosque in Samarra') is a mosque from the 9th century CE located in Samarra, Iraq. The mosque was commissioned in 848 and completed in 851 by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861. The mosque is located within the 15,058-hectare (37,210-acre) Samarra Archaeological City UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2007.[1]

Not to be confused with Samara Mosque or Al-Askari Shrine.
Great Mosque of Samarra
Arabic: جَامِع سَامَرَّاء ٱلْكَبِيْر‎
مَسْجِد سَامَرَّاء ٱلْكَبِيْر
ٱلْمَسْجِد ٱلْجَامِع فِي سَامَرَّاء
The spiral minaret of the mosque
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusMosque and shrine
StatusActive
Location
LocationSamarra, Iraq
Location in Iraq
Geographic coordinates34°12′21″N 43°52′47″E
Architecture
TypeIslamic
StyleAbbasid
FounderAl-Mutawakkil
Date established848 CE
Completed851 CE
Destroyed1278 CE
Specifications
Minaret(s)1
Minaret height52 metres (171 ft)
Official nameSamarra Archaeological City
CriteriaCultural: ii, iii, iv
Reference276
Inscription2007 (31st session)
Endangered2007-
Area15,058 hectares (37,210 acres)
Buffer zone31,414 hectares (77,630 acres)

History

The Great Mosque of Samarra was, for a time, the largest mosque in the world; its minaret, the Malwiya Tower, is a spiralling cone 52 metres (171 ft) high and 33 metres (108 ft) wide with a spiral ramp.[2] The reign of al-Mutawakkil had a great effect on the appearance of the city, for he seemed to have been a lover of architecture, and the one responsible for building the great Mosque of Samarra.[3] In a list of his building projects which appears in several different versions, the new Congregational Mosque and up to twenty palaces are mentioned, totalling between 258 and 294 million dirhams. The new Congregational Mosque, with its spiral minaret, built between 849 (235 AH) and 851 (235 AH), formed part of an extension of the city to the east, extending into the old hunting park.[4]

The mosque itself was destroyed in 1278 (656 AH) after Hulagu Khan's invasion of Iraq. Only the outer wall and its minaret remain.[5]

Former mosque

The mosque had 17 aisles, and its walls were paneled with mosaics of dark blue glass. It was part of an extension of Samarra eastwards. The art and architecture of the mosque were influential; stucco carvings within the mosque in floral and geometric designs represent early Islamic decoration. The Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt, was based on the Samarra Mosque in many regards and similarly stands in a large open space.[6]

Full aerial view of the Mosque
Side view of the wall of the Mosque

Minaret
The Minaret

Al-Minārat al-Malwiyyah (Arabic: المنارة الملوية‎, "The Twisted Minaret" or "The Snail Shell Minaret")[7][8] was originally connected to the mosque by a bridge. The minaret or tower was constructed in 848–852 of sandstone, and is unique among other minarets because of its ascending spiral conical design. 52 metres (171 ft) high and 33 metres (108 ft) wide at the base, the spiral contains stairs reaching to the top.[9]

The height of the Malwiyyah made it practical to be used for the adhan (call to prayer). It is visible from a considerable distance in the area around Samarra and therefore may have been designed as a strong visual statement of the presence of Islam in the Tigris Valley.[9]

The minaret's unique spiral design is said by some to be derived from the architecture of the Mesopotamian ziggurats.[10] Some consider the influence of the Pillar of Gor, built in the Sasanian Empire, more prominent.[11]

In 2005 the top of the Malwiya minaret was bombed.[12] US forces in their invasion of the country used the minaret as a sniper tower before it was destroyed.[13][14]

Structures

The minaret's spiral shape inspired Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Philip Johnson's design for the 1976 Chapel of Thanksgiving at Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas, Texas, in the United States.[15][16][17] The minarets of a prominent United Arab Emirates mosque, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque in Al Ain, have been also been inspired by this minaret.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Unesco names World Heritage sites". BBC News. 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  2. "Historic Mosques site". Archived from the original on 2006-07-10.
  3. Dennis, Sharp (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture. New York: Whitney Library of Design. p. 204.
  4. D. Hoag., John. Islamic Architecture. Electra/Rizzoli.
  5. "مسجد سامرا ؛ برخوردار از مناره ای 53 متری و حلزونی شکل" (in Persian). Mehr News Agency. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  6. Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (2005), Islamic architecture in Cairo: an introduction, American University in Cairo Press, pp. 51–57
  7. Kuban, Doğan (1974). "The Development of Early Mosque Architecture". The Mosque and Its Early Development. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 16.
  8. Kleiner, Fred (2011). "The Islamic World". Gardner's Art through the Ages: Backpack Edition, Book 3. Boston, the USA: CEngage Learning. p. 289.
  9. Kleiner, Fred S.; Christin J. Mamiya (2005). Gardner's Art Through the Ages (12th ed.). Thomson Wadsworth.
  10. Henri, Stierlin (1977). Comprendre l'Architecture Universelle 2. Fribourg, Switzerland: Office du Livre. p. 347. Great mosque, Samarra, was built during the caliphate of al-Mutawakkil. It is the largest mosque in the world. Built entirely of brick within a wall flanked with towers, it has a 55 m high minaret with a spiral ramp that recalls the ziggurats of Mesopotamia
  11. "The city of Samarra was built during the Mu'tokul Abbasid period". Rch.ac.ir. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  12. "Ancient minaret damaged in Iraq". news.bbc.co.uk. 1 April 2005.
  13. "US snipers co-opt Samarra mosque's spiral minaret". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  14. "Reflections on Islamic Art and Architecture: Samarra: an Islamic archeological site under fire". Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  15. "Self-Guided Tour". Thanksgiving.org. Archived from the original on 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  16. "Travel Tips: Thanks-Giving Chapel's Islamic Design a Visual, Spiritual Gem in Downtown Dallas". WRMEA. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  17. Schulze, Franz (1996). Philip Johnson: Life and Work. University of Chicago Press. p. 334. ISBN 978-0-226-74058-4.
  18. Al Nuaimi, Rashid (2019-06-28). "Iconic Al Ain mosque work in final stages". Gulf Today. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  • Necipoğlu, G., ed. (2008). Muqarnas, Volume 25 Frontiers of Islamic Art and Architecture: Essays in Celebration of Oleg Grabar's Eightieth Birthday. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004173279.i-396. ISBN 9789004173279.
Building Plan of the Mosque
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