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Baghdad
KNOWLEDGE OF Baghdad
Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد, from Persian بغداد , meaning "given by angels") is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Province. It is the second-largest city in south-west Asia after Tehran and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo, with the 2003 population estimated at 5,772,000. Situated on the Tigris River at 33°20′N 44°26′E, the city was once the center of Islamic civilization.
The city of Baghdad is often said to have been founded on the west bank of the Tigris on 30 July 762 by the Abbasid dynasty, led by caliph al-Mansur; however, the city of Baghdad is mentioned in pre-Islamic texts, including the Talmud. Thus Baghdad was probably built on the site of this earlier Persian city. This city replaced Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire (which is located 20 miles southeast of Baghdad), and Damascus, as the capital of a Umayyad Muslim empire stretching from North Africa to Persia. The origin of the city's name is uncertain: some believe it is from the Persian for "God-given" derived from "bagh" (God) and "dad" (given), while others believe it is from an Aramaic phrase for "sheep enclosure." The word "bagh" in Persian means "garden" and the word "dad" in Persian means "given"; so it most likely represented a very beautiful and pleasant city hence the word garden given by God. A circular wall was built around the town, and Baghdad became known as the "Round City."
The roundness points to the fact that it was based on Persian precedents such as Firouzabad in Persia.1 The two designers who were hired by al-Mansur to plan the city's design were Naubakht, a former Persian Zoroastrian who also determined that the date of the foundation of the city would be astrologically auspicious, and Mashallah, a former Jew from Khorasan, Iran.
Within a generation of its founding, Baghdad became a hub of learning and commerce. Some sources suggest that it contained over a million inhabitants, though others say the actual figure may have been only a fraction of this. A large portion of the population of Baghdad originated from all over Iran especially from Khorasan. Many of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights are set in the Baghdad of this period—dubbed Madinat as-Salam ("City of Peace") by Shahrazad—and feature its most celebrated ruler, the fifth 'Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid.
Baghdad was one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world, home to Muslims, Christians, Jews and pagans from across the Middle East and Central Asia.
The city's population was between 300,000 and 500,000 in the 9th century. Baghdad's early meteoric growth slowed due to troubles within the Caliphate, including relocations of the capital to Samarra (during 808–819 and 836–892), the loss of the western and easternmost provinces, and periods of political domination by the Iranian Buwayhids (945–1055) and Seljuk Turks (1055–1135). Nevertheless, the city remained one of the cultural and commercial hubs of the Islamic world until February 10, 1258, when it was sacked by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Mongols massacred 800,000 of the city's inhabitants, including the Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim, and destroyed large sections of the city. The canals and dykes forming the city's irrigation system were also destroyed. The sack of Baghdad put an end to the Abbasid Caliphate, a blow from which the Islamic civilization never fully recovered.
At this point Baghdad was ruled by the Il-Khanids, the Mongol emperors of Iran. In 1401, Baghdad was again sacked by the Mongols, led by Timur ("Tamerlane"). It became a provincial capital controlled by the Jalayirid (1400–1411), Qara Quyunlu (1411–1469), Aq Quyunlu (1469–1508), and Safavid (1508–1534) dynasties. In 1534, Baghdad was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. Under the Ottomans, Baghdad fell into a period of decline, partially as a result of the enmity between its rulers and Persia. For a time, Baghdad had been the largest city in the Middle East before being overtaken by Constantinople in the 16th century. The Nuttall Encyclopedia reports the 1907 population of Baghdad as 185,000.
The city of Baghdad is often said to have been founded on the west bank of the Tigris on 30 July 762 by the Abbasid dynasty, led by caliph al-Mansur; however, the city of Baghdad is mentioned in pre-Islamic texts, including the Talmud. Thus Baghdad was probably built on the site of this earlier Persian city. This city replaced Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire (which is located 20 miles southeast of Baghdad), and Damascus, as the capital of a Umayyad Muslim empire stretching from North Africa to Persia. The origin of the city's name is uncertain: some believe it is from the Persian for "God-given" derived from "bagh" (God) and "dad" (given), while others believe it is from an Aramaic phrase for "sheep enclosure." The word "bagh" in Persian means "garden" and the word "dad" in Persian means "given"; so it most likely represented a very beautiful and pleasant city hence the word garden given by God. A circular wall was built around the town, and Baghdad became known as the "Round City."
The roundness points to the fact that it was based on Persian precedents such as Firouzabad in Persia.1 The two designers who were hired by al-Mansur to plan the city's design were Naubakht, a former Persian Zoroastrian who also determined that the date of the foundation of the city would be astrologically auspicious, and Mashallah, a former Jew from Khorasan, Iran.
Within a generation of its founding, Baghdad became a hub of learning and commerce. Some sources suggest that it contained over a million inhabitants, though others say the actual figure may have been only a fraction of this. A large portion of the population of Baghdad originated from all over Iran especially from Khorasan. Many of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights are set in the Baghdad of this period—dubbed Madinat as-Salam ("City of Peace") by Shahrazad—and feature its most celebrated ruler, the fifth 'Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid.
Baghdad was one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world, home to Muslims, Christians, Jews and pagans from across the Middle East and Central Asia.
The city's population was between 300,000 and 500,000 in the 9th century. Baghdad's early meteoric growth slowed due to troubles within the Caliphate, including relocations of the capital to Samarra (during 808–819 and 836–892), the loss of the western and easternmost provinces, and periods of political domination by the Iranian Buwayhids (945–1055) and Seljuk Turks (1055–1135). Nevertheless, the city remained one of the cultural and commercial hubs of the Islamic world until February 10, 1258, when it was sacked by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Mongols massacred 800,000 of the city's inhabitants, including the Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim, and destroyed large sections of the city. The canals and dykes forming the city's irrigation system were also destroyed. The sack of Baghdad put an end to the Abbasid Caliphate, a blow from which the Islamic civilization never fully recovered.
At this point Baghdad was ruled by the Il-Khanids, the Mongol emperors of Iran. In 1401, Baghdad was again sacked by the Mongols, led by Timur ("Tamerlane"). It became a provincial capital controlled by the Jalayirid (1400–1411), Qara Quyunlu (1411–1469), Aq Quyunlu (1469–1508), and Safavid (1508–1534) dynasties. In 1534, Baghdad was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. Under the Ottomans, Baghdad fell into a period of decline, partially as a result of the enmity between its rulers and Persia. For a time, Baghdad had been the largest city in the Middle East before being overtaken by Constantinople in the 16th century. The Nuttall Encyclopedia reports the 1907 population of Baghdad as 185,000.
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