Bājaddā was a small town in the

Balikh River The Balikh River ( ar, نهر البليخ) is a perennial river that originates in the spring of Ain al-Arous near Tell Abyad in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion. It flows due south and joins the Euph ...

valley inhabited during the early Islamic period. It is identified with the present-day Khirbat al-Anbār, located a few kilometers south of the contemporary town of

Hisn Maslama Ḥiṣn Maslama ("the fort of Maslama") was a small city in the upper Balikh River valley that was inhabited during the early Islamic period. It was located at the present-day ruin site of Madīnat al-Fār, located 6 km east of the Balikh rive ...

. The site measures 800x700 m in size and consists of a low mound with a flat top, which suggests that there was only one main building phase. It has not been explored by archaeologists; the only monument visible from the surface is a large dome that may cover an underground

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

or well. The name "Bajadda" is

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

, probably indicating a local Syriac-speaking population. The town was the place of origin of the Banu Taymiyya family of

Hanbali The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...

scholars. According to

Ahmad ibn al-Tayyib al-Sarakhsi Ahmad ibn al-Tayyib al-Sarakhsi ( fa, أحمد بن الطيب السرخسي; died 899 CE) was a Persian traveler, historian and philosopher from the city of Sarakhs. He was a pupil of al-Kindi. Al-Sarakhsi was killed by Caliph al-Mu'tadid becaus ...

, who visited the Balikh valley in 884-5, Bajadda had originally formed part of the Umayyad general Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik's landed estates in the region. Maslama then granted it to a lieutenant of his, Usayd al-Sulamī, who built the small town up and fortified it with a wall. Sarakhsi wrote that there was a spring in Bajadda that provided water for drinking and agriculture; this spring may be under the dome. Bajadda was probably flourishing in the 880s when Sarakhsi visited. Some possible 12th/13th-century pottery fragments have also been found at the site, indicating that the town may have still existed then.

References

{{Reflist Former populated places in Syria Syria under the Abbasid Caliphate Medieval Upper Mesopotamia Archaeological sites in Raqqa Governorate

See also

References