Editing Baghdad (section)

=== Foundation ===
[[File:Baghdad_150_to_300_AH.png|thumb|The [[Round City of Baghdad]] between 767 and 912&nbsp;AD|left]]
After the fall of the Umayyads, the victorious Abbasids sought a new capital.<ref name="Corzine-2005" /><ref name="Times Books-2000" /> On 30 July 762, the Caliph Al-Mansur commissioned Baghdad's construction, guided by the [[Barmakids|Iranian Barmakids]]. He believed Baghdad was ideal for ruling the Islamic Empire. Historian [[al-Tabari]] recorded a prophecy from [[Christian monk]]s about a leader named [[Miklas]] building a great city in the area, and Al-Mansur, who was once called Miklas, saw this as a good omen. He expressed deep affection for the site, declaring it would be the home of his dynasty.<ref name="Corzine-2005">{{cite book |last=Corzine |first=Phyllis |title=The Islamic Empire |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2005 |pages=68–69}}</ref><ref name="Times Books-2000">{{Cite book |title=Times History of the World |publisher=[[Times Books]] |year=2000 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiet |first=Gastron |url=https://archive.org/details/baghdadmetropoli00wiet |title=Baghdad: Metropolis of the Abbasid Caliphate |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-8061-0922-0 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The two designers who were hired by [[Al-Mansur]] to plan the city's design were [[Naubakht]], a Zoroastrian who also determined that the date of the foundation of the city would be astrologically auspicious, and [[Mashallah ibn Athari|Mashallah]], a Jew from [[Khorasan province|Khorasan]], [[Iran]].<ref name="ref2">{{cite book |last=Hill |first=Donald R. |title=Islamic Science and Engineering |publisher=Edinburgh Univ. Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-7486-0457-9 |location=Edinburgh |page=10}}</ref><ref>Islam's Contribution to Science By Husain Muzzafar, S. Muzaffar Husain, pg. 31</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Māshāʾallāh ibn Atharī (Sāriya) {{!}} ISMI |url=https://ismi.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/biography/Masha'allah_ibn_Athari_BEA.htm |access-date=14 April 2025 |website=ismi.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de |language=en}}</ref> They determined the city's auspicious founding date under the sign of [[Leo (astrology)|Leo]] the [[Asiatic lion|lion]], symbolizing strength and expansion.{{sfn|Wiet|1971|p=12}}

Baghdad's strategic location along the Tigris and its abundant water supply contributed to its rapid growth. It was divided into three judicial districts: Round City (''Madinat al-Mansur''), al-Karkh (''al-Sharqiyya''), and Askar al-Mahdi. To prevent disturbances, Al-Mansur moved markets to al-Karkh. Over time, Baghdad became a hub for merchants and craftsmen. Officials called "Muhtasib" monitored trade to prevent fraud.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tillier |first=Mathieu |title=Les cadis d'Iraq et l'État Abbasside (132/750-334/945) |date=2009 |publisher=Presses de l'Ifpo |isbn=978-2-35159-028-7 |doi=10.4000/books.ifpo.673}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UB4uSVt3ulUC |title=Historic Cities of the Islamic World |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-15388-2 |language=en}}</ref>

Baghdad surpassed [[Ctesiphon]], the former Sassanid capital, located 30&nbsp;km southeast. The ruins of Ctesiphon remain in [[Salman Pak]], where [[Salman the Persian]] is believed to be buried.<ref name="aljayyash1">{{cite web |title=سلمان الفارسي - الصحابة - موسوعة الاسرة المسلمة |url=http://islam.aljayyash.net/encyclopedia/book-9-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191728/http://islam.aljayyash.net/encyclopedia/book-9-28 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=25 December 2012 |publisher=Islam.aljayyash.net |language=ar}}</ref> Ctesiphon itself had replaced [[Seleucia]], which had earlier succeeded [[Babylon]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080505055518/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/g/gibbon/edward/g43d/chapter8.html#fn8.37 ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', by Edward Gibbon]</ref><ref name="OP2011">[https://www.academia.edu/1904365/Excavated_and_Unexcavated_Libraries_in_Babylon] Pedersén, Olof, "Excavated and Unexcavated Libraries in Babylon", Babylon: Wissenskultur in Orient und Okzident, edited by Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Margarete van Ess and Joachim Marzahn, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 47-68, 2011</ref> According to the traveler [[Ibn Battuta]], Baghdad was one of the largest cities,<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2005|p=102}}; {{harvnb|Defrémery|Sanguinetti|1854|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=m-UHAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA142 142 Vol. 2]}}</ref> not including the damage it has received. The residents are mostly [[Hanbali]]s.<ref name="KassamBlomfield">{{citation |author1=[[Zayn Kassam]] |title=The Shi'i World |year=2015 |editor=Farhad Daftory |chapter=Remembering Fatima and Zaynab: Gender in Perspective |publisher=[[I.B Tauris]] Press |author2=Bridget Blomfield}}</ref> Most residents were Hanbali Muslims. The city housed [[Abu Hanifa Mosque|Abu Hanifa's grave]], marked by a mosque and cell.<ref name="Elders of Time and Neighbors of Nu'man">{{cite book |last1=al-Aadhamy |first1=Waleed |title=Elders of Time and Neighbors of Nu'man |date=2001 |publisher=al-Raqeem Library |location=Baghdad}}</ref> Its ruler, [[Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan|Abu Said Bahadur Khan]], was a [[Tatars|Tatar]] who had embraced Islam.<ref>Battuta, pg. 75{{full citation needed|date=July 2020}}</ref>

Baghdad was designed to symbolize [[Paradise]] as described in the [[Qur'an]].<ref>{{Cite web |title='Soul Of Old Baghdad': City Centre Sees Timid Revival |url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/lifes/soul-of-old-baghdad-city-centre-sees-timid-revival/94371/1 |access-date=14 April 2025 |website=Forbes India |language=en}}</ref> It took four years (764–768) to build, with over 100,000 workers involved. Al-Mansur recruited engineers and artisans worldwide. Astrologers Naubakht Ahvazi and Mashallah advised starting construction under Leo, associated with fire, productivity, and expansion. Bricks for the city were 18 inches square, and [[Abu Hanifah]] supervised their production. A canal supplied water for drinking and construction. Marble was used extensively, including steps leading to the river.<ref>{{cite book |last=Corzine |first=Phyllis |title=The Islamic Empire |publisher=Thomson Gale |year=2005 |page=69}}</ref>{{sfn|Wiet|1971|p=13}}{{sfn|Wiet|1971|p=12}}<ref name="ox">{{cite web |title=Abbasid Ceramics: Plan of Baghdad |url=http://islamicceramics.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/Abbasid/baghdad.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030325090348/http://islamicceramics.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/Abbasid/baghdad.htm |archive-date=25 March 2003 |access-date=5 October 2014}}</ref><ref>"Yakut: Baghdad under the Abbasids, c. 1000CE"</ref>

The city's layout consisted of two large semicircles, with a 2&nbsp;km-wide circular core known as the "Round City." It had parks, gardens, villas, and promenades. Unlike European cities of the time, Baghdad had a [[Sanitation|sanitation system]], [[fountains]], and [[Public bathing|public baths]], with thousands of [[Hammam|''hammams'']] enhancing hygiene. The mosque and guard headquarters stood at the center, though some central space's function remains unknown. Baghdad's circular design reflected ancient Near Eastern urban planning, similar to the Sasanian city of [[Gaur (city)|Gur]] and older Mesopotamian cities like Mari.<ref name="ox" /><ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=65}}</ref><ref name="Bobrick 2012 67">{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=67}}</ref> While [[Tell Chuera]] and [[Al-Rawda (tell)|Tell al-Rawda]] also provide examples of this type of urban planning existing in Bronze Age [[Syria (region)|Syria]].<ref>Jan-Waalke Meyer, Tell Chuera: Vorberichte zu den Grabungskampagnen 1998 bis 2005, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden,  2010 ,{{ISBN|978-3-447-06182-7}}</ref><ref>Helms, Tobias, and Philippe Quenet, "The Fortifiction of Circular Cities: The Examples of Tell Chuēra and Tell al-Rawda", Circular Cities of Early Bronze Age Syria, pp. 77-99, 2020</ref> This style of urban planning contrasted with Ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] urban planning, in which cities are designed as squares or rectangles with streets intersecting each other at right angles.

Baghdad was lively, with attractions like cabarets, chess halls, live plays, concerts, and acrobatics.<ref name="iranica-baghdad-iranian">{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=H. |title=BAGHDAD i. Before the Mongol Invasion – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baghdad-iranian-connection-1-pr-Mongol |access-date=24 January 2018 |website=Iranicaonline.org |language=en}}</ref> Storytelling flourished, with professional storytellers (''al-Qaskhun'') captivating crowds, inspiring the tales of ''Arabian Nights''.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Arabian Nights |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |editor=Kate Fleet |edition=3rd |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_0021 |quote=Arabian Nights, the work known in Arabic as ''Alf layla wa-layla'' |author=Marzolph, Ulrich |editor2=Gudrun Krämer |editor3=Denis Matringe |editor4=John Nawas |editor5=Everett Rowson}}</ref> The city had four walls named after major destinations—[[Kufa]], [[Basra]], [[Khurasan]], and [[Syria]]; [[Gates of Baghdad|their gates]] pointed in on these destinations.<ref>See:
* {{cite book |last=Hattstein |first=Markus |title=Islam Art and Architecture |author2=Peter Delius |publisher=Könemann |year=2000 |isbn=3-8290-2558-0 |pages=96}}
* [[Encyclopædia Iranica]], [[Columbia University]], p.413.</ref> The gates were 2.4&nbsp;km apart, with massive iron doors requiring several men to operate.<ref name="Na">[http://www.narjesmag.com/news.php?action=view&id=2230 الباب الوسطاني حكاية بغداد المدوّرة وأقدم مدفع عراقي] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723013948/http://www.narjesmag.com/news.php?action=view&id=2230 |date=23 July 2022 }}. ''Narjes Magazine''. Retrieved 3 January 2018.</ref> The walls, up to 44 meters thick and 30 meters high, were reinforced with a second wall, towers, and a moat for added defense.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marozzi |first=Justin |date=16 March 2016 |title=Story of cities #3: the birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/16/story-cities-day-3-baghdad-iraq-world-civilisation |access-date=14 April 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> On street corners, storytellers engaged crowds with tales such as those later told in Arabian Nights.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 67" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=بالصور.. أبو تحسين آخر حكواتي في بغداد |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/culture/2019/5/16/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82-%d8%a8%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%82%d8%b5%d8%ae%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%ad%d9%83%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%aa%d9%8a-%d9%85%d9%82%d9%87%d9%89 |access-date=29 April 2024 |website=الجزيرة نت |language=ar}}</ref> The Golden Gate Palace, home of the caliph, stood at Baghdad's center with a grand 48-meter green dome. Only the caliph could approach its esplanade on horseback. Nearby were officer residences and a guardhouse. After Caliph [[Al-Amin]]'s death in 813, the palace ceased to be the caliph's residence.