Great Mosque of Samarra

Great Mosque of Samarra
Minaret at the Great Mosque of Samarra
Location	Samarra, Iraq
Coordinates	34°12′26″N 43°52′48″E / 34.20722°N 43.88°E / 34.20722; 43.88Coordinates: 34°12′26″N 43°52′48″E / 34.20722°N 43.88°E / 34.20722; 43.88
Established	848

The Great Mosque of Samarra is a 9th century mosque 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 Great Mosque of Samarra was at one time the largest mosque in the world; its minaret, the Malwiya Tower, is a vast spiralling cone 52 meters high and 33 meters wide with a spiral ramp.^[1]

The mosque had 17 aisles, and its walls were panelled with mosaics of dark blue glass. It was part of an extension of Samarra eastwards.

Map of the Samarra Mosque

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. However, per Tony Blair in his January 21, 2011 Iraq Inquiry testimony, insurgents had attacked the mosque to incite Sunni-Shite violence and further destabilize the country. The blast removed pieces of brick from the top of the minaret along its spiral ramp.^[2]

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.^[3]

See also

• Minaret of Samarra

References

1. ^ See Historic Mosques site.
2. ^ See BBC article concerning damage to the mosque.
3. ^ Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. "Islamic architecture in Cairo: an introduction." American University in Cairo Press: 2005. 51-57

External links

• The Great Mosque, Samarra, Iraq
• Photo of The Great Mosque
• Photo and information
• Photos, floor plans, and information
• Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 7: Records of Samarra Expeditions, Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil Collections Search Center, S.I.R.I.S., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 7: Records of Samarra Expeditions, 1906-1945 Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Washington, DC