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 Raqqah

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public monuments

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Syria

The ruins of Heraqlah are situated eight km west of al-Raqqa. Heraqlah was originally founded as a Roman military camp settlement, but was later developed by Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rashid into a monument celebrating his triumph over Byzantine forces. The terraced monument is enclosed by a circular stonewall about 500 meters in diameter. The structure is 103 square meters with four towers, one at each corner and an iwan that opens to the intermediate space between the terrace and the circular wall. Four gates on the outer wall open up to the exterior and mark the key directions (north, south, east and west). Source: Burns, Ross. Monuments of Syria, 201. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd., 1992. Rihawi, Abdul Qader. Arabic Islamic Architecture in Syria, 87-88. Damascus: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, 1979.

Import

Hisn Heraqlah

Terraced Structure

Variant

Heraqlah

Qasr Hiraqlah

Heraqlah Palace

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In 750/132 AH there was a revolution against Umayyad rule 
which began in eastern Iran and rapidly spread over the whole empire. 
The Umayyads were totally destroyed except for one prince who fled to 
Spain and established the Umayyad dynasty there. The newly established 
Abbasids decided to move the capital from Damascus to a city further 
east, first Raqqa was chosen and then in 762/144 AH Baghdad was founded by the 
Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. Baghdad grew to be one of the biggest and most
 populous cities in the world based around Mansur's famous round city. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In 856/241 AH the caliph al-Mu'tassim was unhappy about clashes between the 
local population and his troops so he established a new capital further 
north on the Tigris at Samarra. During this period the power of the 
caliphate began to decline and control over distant provinces was 
loosened. Several local dynasties grew up including the Tulunids in 
Egypt, the Aghlabids in Ifriqiyya and the Samanids in Khurassan (eastern
 Iran). Internal troubles in Samarra caused the caliph al Mu'tamid to 
move back to Baghdad in 889/275 AH; at this time Abbasid power outside Iraq was
 purely nominal. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In 945/333 AH the Abbasids were replaced by the Shi'a Buwaihid amirs as rulers 
of Iraq and Iran. For the next two hundred years the Abbasids remained 
nominal caliphs with no real authority. In the mid-twelfth century the 
Abbasids were able to reassert some authority when the Seljuk ruler 
Sultan Muhamad abandoned his siege of Baghdad. During the reign of 
Caliph al-Nasir (1179-1225/574-626 AH) the Abbasids were able to gain control over 
much of present-day Iraq. The Mongol invasions and sack of Baghdad in 
1258 dealt a final blow to the political aspirations of the Abbasids.

Although Abbasid architecture covers a vast area from North Africa to 
western India, the majority of extant buildings are in the Abbasid 
homeland of Iraq. Abbasid architecture was influenced by three 
architectural traditions - Sassanian, Central Asian (Soghdian) and 
later, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Seljuk. 

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Many early Abbasid structures such as the palace of Ukhaidhir bear a 
striking resemblance to Sassanian architecture, as they used the same 
techniques (vaults made without centering) and materials (mud brick, 
baked brick and roughly hewn stone laid in mortar), and built to similar
 designs (solid buttress towers). Central Asian influence was already 
present in Sassanian architecture but it was reinforced by the Islamic 
conquest of Central Asia and the incorporation of a large number of 
Turkic troops into the army. Central Asian influence is seen most 
clearly at Samarra where the wall paintings and some of the stucco work 
resemble that of the Soghdian palaces at Panjikent. The Abbasid 
architecture of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is essentially 
Seljuk architecture built with Iraqi materials.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In addition to the various influences upon it, early Abbasid 
architecture can be seen to have developed its own characteristics. One 
of the most notable features of the Abbasid cities of Baghdad and 
Samarra is their vast scale. This is most clearly demonstrated at 
Samarra with its extensive palaces and mosques stretched out for more 
than 40 km along the banks of the Tigris. The scale of the site led to 
the development of new forms: thus the great spiral minarets of the 
Great Mosque and the Abu Dulaf Mosque were never repeated elsewhere 
(with the possible exception of the Ibn Tulun Mosque). Other 
developments had far-reaching consequences; for example, the three 
stucco types developed at Samarra rapidly spread throughout the Islamic 
world (e.g. the Abbasid mosque at Balkh in Afghanistan) and continued to
 be used centuries later. Petersen, Andrew.&nbsp;Dictionary of Islamic Architecture.&nbsp;London and New York: Routledge, 1999.

Hisn Heraqlah
Raqqah, Syria

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Hisn Heraqlah
Raqqah, Syria

Location

Documents

Associated Names

Events

Style Periods

Variant Names

Site Types

Hisn HeraqlahRaqqah, Syria

Location

Documents

Associated Names

Events

Style Periods

Variant Names

Site Types

Hisn HeraqlahRaqqah, Syria

Location

Documents

Associated Names

Events

Style Periods

Variant Names

Site Types

Hisn Heraqlah
Raqqah, Syria

Hisn Heraqlah
Raqqah, Syria