Round City in the Time of Mansur (Le Strange)

The Khuld Palace ( ar, قصر الخلد, Qaṣr al-Khuld, Palace of Eternity) was one of the principal caliphal palaces in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

during the early

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

History

was founded in 762 by the second

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came t ...

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...

(). The main part of the original city was the Round City, with the first caliphal palace, the

Palace of the Golden Gate The Palace of the Golden Gate ( ar, باب الذهب, Bāb al-Dhahab) or Palace of the Green Dome ( ar, القبة الخضراء , al-Qubbat al-Khaḍrāʾ) was the official caliphal residence in Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate. Bagh ...

, at its centre. In 773, al-Mansur began construction of another palace on an elongated, mile-long stretch of land between the walls of the Round City and the western bank of the

Tigris River The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the P ...

. The palace and its extensive gardens was located between the Round City's Khurasan Gate and the western entrance of the city's Main Bridge of Boats leading across the Tigris. Al-Mansur reportedly chose this site because at this spot the Tigris bank was the highest above the river, and thus protected the palace from the ubiquitous insects along the river bank. The site was noted for its fresh air. It was named "Palace of Eternity" (''Qaṣr al-Khuld'') from a passage in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

alluding to

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

, the "Palace of Eternity promised to the God-fearing", because its gardens were said to almost rival the garden of Paradise. According to

Ya'qubi ʾAbū l-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab Muslim geographer and perhaps the first historian of world cultu ...

, before the palace was a large review ground, adjacent to the royal stables. While the Palace of the Golden Gate was the official caliphal residence, after the Khuld Palace was inaugurated in 775 al-Mansur as well as his successors up to

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

() frequently used both residences, with Harun reportedly favouring the Khuld during his stays in Baghdad. The palace, like the nearby

Palace of Zubaydah A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, suffered extensive damage from stone missiles during the

Siege of Baghdad (812–813) The siege of Baghdad was a part of a civil war between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun for the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. The siege lasted from August 812 until September 813. The siege is described in great detail by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari in his f ...

. The Khuld Palace was likely in ruins at the end of the siege, although at least one source claims that

al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...

() stayed there when he came to Baghdad in 819, before the

Hasani Palace The Hasani Palace ( ar, القصر الحسني, al-Qaṣr al-Ḥasanī) was the first caliphal palace to be built in East Baghdad, and the main residence of the Abbasid caliphs in the city during the 9th and 10th centuries. As such it formed the ...

was prepared for his residence. Following the move of the capital to

Samarra Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional army ...

under

al-Mu'tasim Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd ( ar, أبو إسحاق محمد بن هارون الرشيد; October 796 – 5 January 842), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh (, ), was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling f ...

(), the remains of the structure further decayed, and it remained in a ruined state until 979, when the

Buyid The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupl ...

ruler

'Adud al-Dawla Fannā (Panāh) Khusraw ( fa, پناه خسرو), better known by his laqab of ʿAḍud al-Dawla ( ar, عضد الدولة, "Pillar of the bbasidDynasty") (September 24, 936 – March 26, 983) was an emir of the Buyid dynasty, ruling from 9 ...

decided to build the

Al-'Adudi Hospital The Al-'Adudi Hospital was established during the era of organized hospitals developed in medieval Islamic culture. Some of these early hospitals were located in Baghdad and among those was the bimaristan Al-'Adudi. The hospital came to be when ...

on its site.

References

Sources

* * {{coord, 33, 21, N, 44, 22, E, display=title, type:landmark Buildings and structures completed in 775 Abbasid palaces in Baghdad Former palaces