Al-Shaheed Monument (), also known as the Martyr's Memorial, is a monument designed by Iraqi sculptor Ismail Fatah al-Turk and situated in the

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i capital,

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. It was originally dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers killed in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

and has since grown to become generally considered to be a commemoration of all Iraqi martyrs.

Background

Al-Shaheed was built as part of a broader Ba'athist government program to erect a number of public works intended to beautify Baghdad, help instill a sense of national pride, and at the same time immortalize Saddam Hussein's reputation as a powerful and victorious leader. It was built during the height of a period when

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

was commissioning many artworks and spending a great deal of money on new monuments and statues. Al-Shaheed was constructed on Baghdad's al-Rusafa side, and this monument is one of three monuments that were built to remember Iraq's pain and suffering as a consequence of the eight-year war. The first of these structures was '' The Monument to the Unknown Soldier'' (1982); followed by ''Al-Shaheed'' (1983) and finally the '' Victory Arch'' (1989). The three monuments form a visual and metaphorical unit.

Design

Designed by the Iraqi sculptor and artist, Ismail Fatah al-Turk (1934–2004), and built in association with Iraqi architect, Saman Kamal, and the Baghdad Architecture Group, the monument was constructed between 1981 and 1983, with its official opening in 1983. The monument consists of a circular platform 190 meters in diameter in the center of an artificial lake. On the platform sits a 40-meter tall split turquoise

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, which resembles the domes of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

era. The two halves of the split dome are offset, with an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which ca ...

in the middle. The outer shells are constructed of a

galvanized steel Galvanization ( also spelled galvanisation) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are coated by submerging them in a bath of ...

frame with glazed turquoise

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

tile cladding which was pre-cast in carbon fiber reinforced

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

. The interior is opulent, being that under the Iraqi flag, there is an open hole, or oculus, providing light below. The rest of the site consists of parks, a playground, parking lots, walkways, bridges, and the lake. At the center of the two half-domes is a twisted metal flag pole emerging from the underground museum. On the pole is an Iraqi flag, apparently lightly fluttering in the breeze. When viewed from the museum below, the flag and pole appear to be floating in space. A spring of water runs nearby to symbolize the blood of the fallen.Janabi, A., "Leading Iraqi Artist Dies," bituary Al Jazeera, 22 July 2004
Online:
The structure includes references to Iraq's ancient art tradition in the form of a marble slab with Qu'ranic verses in ancient Kufi script.Baram, A., ''Culture, History and Ideology in the Formation of Ba'thist Iraq, 1968–89'', Springer, 1991, p. 77 The monument is located on the east side of the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern 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 Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

river, near the Army Canal which separates

Sadr city Sadr City (), formerly known as Al-Thawra () and Saddam City (), is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built in 1959 by Prime Minister of Iraq, Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim, Abdul Karim Qassim and named Al-Rafidain Distric ...

from the rest of Baghdad. A museum, library, cafeteria, lecture hall, and exhibition gallery are located on two levels underneath the domes. On the subject of the monument's design, Al-Turk made the following comments: : The completed monument cost half a million dollars (US). It is one of the most iconic monuments in Baghdad. The ''Art in America'' magazine rated al-Shaheed as the most beautiful design in the Middle East. An image of the al-Shaheed monument appeared on the reverse face of the 1986 Iraqi 25 dinar bill (pictured).

Gallery

The monument creates a visual illusion: viewed from some perspectives, it appears as a single dome, but from other perspectives, it appears as a split dome. Al-Shaheed, as seen from different perspectives: File:نصب الشهيد.jpeg File:Monument of martyr.jpg File:Statue the martyr.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaheed Monument 1983 establishments in Iraq Buildings and structures in Baghdad Military monuments and memorials Monuments and memorials in Iraq Iraq War memorials Martyrs' monuments and memorials War monuments and memorials Military history of Baghdad

Background

Design

Gallery

See also

References