Kazimain

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Kazimain (Arabic: الكاظمية‎; BGN: Al Kāz̧imīyah; Kurdish: Qasimîyê) is an town located in what is now a northern neighbourhood of Baghdad, Iraq about 5 km from the city center. Named after the seventh Shia Imam, Musa al-Kazim, Kazimain is regarded as a holy city in Shia Islam. Musa al-Kazim and his grandson, the ninth Shia Imam, Muhammad at-Taqi are both buried there.

The area that now constitutes Kazimain was originally the location of a graveyard reserved for members of the Quraish tribe, in the north of Baghdad. This land was set aside for this purpose by the Abbasid caliph, Harun al-Rashid. The first person to be buried here was the son of Imam Musa al-Kazim, Jafar. The Imam would later be buried here, and his grandson would be buried near him. A shrine was built over the tombs of both Imams, and thus Kazimain has become an important destination for Shia pilgrims.

In its early history, the town was an important center of Shia learning, perhaps the main center, but over time the town declined, and other cities rose to prominence. The location of the city has lent it to numerous plunders, that have resulted in damage to its shrines at different times in history. Among the most damage ever experienced by the town was after the Mongol sack of Baghdad where the shrine of the Shia Imams was burnt down. The area was also an important center of resistance against the British after World War I.

Kazimain is the location of the military base, Camp Justice, where the former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein was executed at approximately 03:00 UTC on December 30, 2006. Two weeks later on January 15, 2007, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court, were also executed by hanging at this site. Saddam's former deputy and former vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan (who was originally sentenced to life in prison on November 5, 2006, but had it changed to a death sentence three months and a week later), was likewise hanged here on March 20, 2007, two months and five days after Barzan's and al-Bandar's execution.