Qasr al-'Ashiq () is a historical palace that dates back to the Abbasid era, located near the city of

Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...

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 ...

Location

It is situated at 16km west of the modern city of Samarra, on the western bank 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 ...

."قصر العاشق" في سامراء : تاريخ وأطلال وقصة عشق لا تنتهي
''Al-Hayat''. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
''Cultural Property Training Resource''. Retrieved January 9, 2018.

History

The palace was commissioned under the 15th

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 ...

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Al-Mu'tamid Abu’l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Muʿtamid ʿalā’Llāh (; – 14 October 892), better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtamid ʿalā 'llāh (, 'Dependent on God'), ...

, and construction took place during 877–882. Accounts differ regarding the person who was assigned to construct this palace.

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

mentions the name of Ali bin Yahi al-Munajam and Moez al-Dawla who initiated the groundbreaking.

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

'Amad al-Dawla wrote a poem about this palace. During the medieval period, it was referred to as "al-Ma'shuq ()" which means "beloved".Qasr al-'Ashiq
''Archnet''. Retrieved January 9, 2018. The palace was excavated in 1960s and restored during the 1980s.

Architecture

Qasr al-'Ashiq is a prominent surviving example of the Abbasid architectural style palace. The building is rectangular shaped and consists of two floors, one of them used as

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

and vaults. It is surrounded by large yards, which are surrounded by walls. Outside the walls is a long

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, in which water flows from the underground channel which begins from the western highlands. Surface of the moat is higher than the nearby river.

References

{{coord, 34.241233, 43.808604, display=title Buildings and structures completed in the 9th century Abbasid architecture Abbasid palaces Buildings and structures in Samarra Palaces in Iraq