Great Mosque of Samarra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Mosque of Samarra | |
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| Location | Samarra, Iraq |
| Nearest city | Baghdad, Iraq |
| Coordinates | |
| Established | 9th century |
The Great Mosque of Samarra is a mosque located in the Iraqi city of Samarra and was built in the 9th century. The mosque was commissioned in 848 and completed in 852 by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861.
The Great Mosque of Samarra was at one time the largest mosque in the world; its minaret, the Malwiya Tower, is a vast spiralling cone (snail shaped) 52 meters high and 33 meters wide with a spiral ramp.
The mosque had 17 aisles and its walls were panelled with mosaics of dark blue glass. It was just part of an extension of Samarra eastwards that built upon part of the walled royal hunting park inherited from the conquered Sassanians.
On April 1, 2005, the top of the Malwiya minaret was damaged by a bomb. Insurgents reportedly attacked the tower because U.S. troops had been using it as a lookout position. The blast left pieces of brick from the top of the minaret along its spiral ramp.
The art and architecture of the mosque was influential; stucco carvings within the mosque in floral and geometric designs represent early Islamic decoration. Additionally, the mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo, Egypt was based on the Samarra mosque in many regards.
[edit] Popular culture
In the computer game Civilization 4, by Firaxis, the Great Mosque of Samarra is one of the many wonders you can build. It is called the Spiral Minaret, however.
Also in the computer game, Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings the wonder for the Saracen civilization is the Great Mosque of Samarra or at least based on it.
The spiral minaret featured in the U.S. Department of Defense's Archaeology awareness playing cards that were designed to educate and inform US Military personnel about the importance of respecting cultural heritage whilst on active service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[edit] References and notes
- ^ See BBC article concerning damage to the mosque.
- ^ See Historic Mosques site.
- ^ Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. "Islamic architecture in Cairo: an introduction." American University in Cairo Press: 2005. 51-57
