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Al-Mada'in

Coordinates:33°06′N44°35′E/ 33.100°N 44.583°E/33.100; 44.583
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33°06′N44°35′E/ 33.100°N 44.583°E/33.100; 44.583

al-Madāʾin is located in Iraq
al-Madāʾin
al-Madāʾin
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Location within modern-dayIraq

Al-Mada'in(Arabic:المدائن,al-Madāʾin;Jewish Babylonian Aramaic:מחוזאMāḥozā;lit. 'the cities')[1]was an ancient metropolis situated on theTigrisin what is nowIraq.It was located between the ancient royal centers ofCtesiphonandSeleucia,and was founded by theSasanian Empire.The city's name was used byArabsas a synonym for the Sasanian capital ofCtesiphon,in a tradition that continued after theArab conquest of Iran.[2]

Foundation and constitution

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According tomyth,al-Mada'in was constructed by the legendary Iranian kingsTahmurasorHushang,who named it Kardbandad. The city was then later rebuilt by the legendary Iranian king Zab, theMacedoniankingAlexander the Great(r. 356–323 BCE) and theSasanian emperorShapur II(r. 309–379 CE). According to another folklore, the names of five (or seven) cities that al-Mada'in comprised were Aspanbur,Veh-Ardashir,Hanbu Shapur, Darzanidan, Veh Jondiu-Khosrow, Nawinabad and Kardakadh.[3]

Sasanian period

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Map ofCtesiphon

According to Perso-Arabic sources, Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sasanian Empire, was greatly enlarged and flourished during their rule, thus turning into a metropolis, which was known by in Arabic as al-Mada'in, and inAramaicas Mahoza.[3]The oldest inhabited places of al-Mada'in was on its eastern side, which in Arabic sources is called "the Old City", where the residence of the Sasanians, known as theWhite Palace,was located. The southern side of al-Mada'in was known as Aspanbar, which was known by its prominent halls, riches, games, stables, and baths.[3]

The western side was known as Veh-Ardashir (meaning "the good city of Ardashir" inMiddle Persian), known as Mahoza by the Jews, Kokhe by the Christians, and Behrasir by the Arabs. Veh-Ardashir was populated by many wealthy Jews, and was the seat of theChurch of the East patriarch.To the south of Veh-Ardashir wasValashabad.[3]

In 495, during the turbulent reign of EmperorKavad I,Mahoza (as the Jews called the city) was the scene of a Jewish revolt led byExilarchMar-Zutra II.After the king denied Jews the right to organize their own militia, Mar-Zutra took advantage of the confusion into whichMazdak's communistic attempts had plunged Persia and led a successful military revolt that achieved political independence for the Jews of Mahoza. The Jewish state lasted seven years until 502 CE, when Kavad finally defeated Mar-Zutra and punished him with crucifixion on the bridge of Mahoza.[4]

In 540,Khosrow I(r. 531–579) resettled captives fromAntiochto the south of Aspanbur, a place which became known asWeh Antiok Khosrow,aMiddle Persianname meaning "better than Antioch, Khosrow built this". It was known by the locals of the place as Rumagan ( "town of the Romans" ), while the Arabs knew it as al-Rumiya[3](also spelled Rumiya).

In 590, a member of theHouse of Mihran,Bahram Chobinrepelled the newly ascended Sasanian rulerKhosrow IIfrom Iraq, and conquered the region. One year later, Khosrau II, with aid from theByzantine Empire,reconquered his domains. During his reign, some of the great fame of al-Mada'in decreased, due to the popularity of Khosrau's new winter residence, Dastagerd. In 628, a deadly plague hit al-Mada'in and the rest of the western part of the Sasanian Empire, which even killed Khosrau's son and successor,Kavadh II.[5]

In 629, al-Mada'in was briefly under the control of Mihranid usurperShahrbaraz,but the latter was shortly assassinated by the supporters of Khosrau II's daughter, thebanbishnBoran.Al-Mada'in then continued to be involved in constant fighting between two factions of the Sasanian Empire, the Pahlav (Parthian) faction under theHouse of Ispahbudhanand the Parsig (Persian) faction underPiruz Khosrow.

Rashidun and Umayyad period

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Map of the Muslim expansion and the Muslim world under theUmayyadand earlyAbbasidcaliphates

In 636, theMuslim Arabs,who had since 633 invaded the territories of the Sasanian Empire, defeated them during a great battle known as theBattle of al-Qādisiyyah.The Arabs then attacked Ctesiphon, and seized some parts of al-Mada'in.[3]

The Muslim military officerKhalid ibn 'Urfutaquickly seized Valashabad and made a peace treaty with the inhabitants of Rumiya and Behrasir. Terms of the treaty were that the inhabitants of Rumiya were allowed to leave if they wanted to, but if they did not, they were forced to acknowledge Muslim authority, and also pay tribute (jizya). When the Muslim military officer (and one of the companions of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad)Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqasarrived to al-Mada'in, it was completely desolated, due to flight of theSasanian royal family,nobles, and troops. However, the Muslims had managed to take some of the troops captive, and many riches were seized from the Sasanian treasury and given to the Muslim troops.[3]In 637 Sa`d madeal-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr al-Tamimiresponsible for the defense of al-Mada'in, andShurahbil ibn al-Simtas the governor of al-Mada'in.[3]ThePersiancompanion of the Islamic prophetMuhammad,Salman the Persianwas buried in al-Mada'in in 656/7.

In 661, al-Mada'in was under control of theUmayyad Caliphate,which had put an end to the Rashidun Caliphate. A certainSimak ibn 'Ubayd al-'Absiserved as the governor of the metropolis in 663, and another person named Ishaq ibn Mas'ud served as its governor in 685. The Azariqa, a faction of theKharijites,attacked al-Mada'in in 687/8, and massacred its inhabitants. The city was then governed byKardam ibn Martad ibn Najaba,and some time later byYazid ibn al-Harith al-Shaybani.In 696, the Kharjite leaderShabib ibn Yazid al-Shaybanibriefly occupied al-Mada'in.[3]In 697,Mutarrif ibn al-Mughirawas made the governor of al-Mada'in, and later in 701, Hanzala ibn al-Warrad and Ibn 'Attab ibn Warqa' were appointed as the combined governors of the metropolis. Some time later, the governorship of al-Mada'in was abolished.[3]

Abbasid period

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Map of Iraq and surrounding regions in the early ninth century

In 750, theAbbasid familycaptured al-Mada'in and the rest of Iraq, and declared themselves as the newcaliphate.In 754, the Abbasid caliphal-Mansurbriefly held his court at Rumiya (which was included in al-Mada'in). He also had his prominent military officerAbu Muslimkilled at the same place. In 755, the White Palace of al-Mada'in was destroyed under the orders of al-Mansur, who wanted to create a new city, which would later get completed in 762, and would be known asBaghdad,and would become the new capital of the Abbasid Caliphate (although he ordered the White Palace to be restored, it remained in decay).[3]After the foundation of Baghdad, the decline of al-Mada'in became faster, and many of the inhabitants resettled in Baghdad, while the Church of the East patriarch and the exilarch were forced to move to the city. Nevertheless, the patriarchTimothy Ifounded a hospital at al-Mada'in in 790.[3]

During theFourth Fitna(809–813) between Caliphal-Amin(r. 809–813), and his brotheral-Ma'mun(r. 813–833), al-Mada'in was captured in 812 by al-Ma'mun's generalTahir ibn Husayn,who then marched towards Baghdad.[6]In 817, the people of Baghdad revolted, and proclaimed the Abbasid princeIbrahim ibn al-Mahdias their leader. The rebels also managed to capture Baghdad's surrounding regions, which included al-Mada'in. One year later, al-Mada'in was recaptured by al-Ma'mun's Persian officeral-Hasan ibn Sahl,and by the next year, Iraq was once again under the control of al-Ma'mun.[7]

During theAbbasid civil war (865–866),Abu'l-Saj Devdad,a relative of the Iranian princeKhaydhar ibn Kawus al-Afshin,was put charge in the defense of al-Mada'in in 865.[8]The Abbasid caliphsal-Mu'tadid(r. 892–902) andal-Muqtafi(r. 902–908) further ruined al-Mada'in by digging it up for building materials to construct theTaj Palacein Baghdad.[3]In August 942, abattle occurred at al-Mada'inbetween a combinedHamdanid-Turkisharmy and theBaridis,who both fought for thede factorule over Iraq. The battle ended in a Baridi defeat.[9]

Buyid period

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In 945, the IranianBuyidprinceAhmad ibn Buyaseized al-Mada'in including the rest of Iraq, and made the Caliph his vassal. In 974, the Turkish rebelSabuktakinseized al-Mada'in and much of Iraq from Mu'izz al-Dawla's son and successorIzz al-Dawla,however by 975 the rebels were defeated.[10]However, one year later, after the death of the Buyid supreme leaderRukn al-Dawla,a civil war ensured between Izz al-Dawla and his cousin,'Adud al-Dawla,who ruledFars,Oman,andKerman.'Adud al-Dawla eventually managed to emerge victorious, and conquer all of Iraq.

After the death of 'Adud al-Dawla in 983, he was succeeded by his sonSamsam al-Dawla,who, however, met resistance by his brotherSharaf al-Dawla,who conquered Fars and Kerman. In 987, Sharaf al-Dawla captured al-Mada'in and then conquered the rest of Iraq. Between 999-1002, theAsadisand theUqaylidsmade several incursions into Iraq, and even captured al-Mada'in. In 1002, they defended al-Mada'in from a counter-attack by Sharaf al-Dawla's brother and successor,Baha' al-Dawla(r. 988–1012).[11]A battle shortly ensured atHillahbetween a combined Asadis-Uqaylids army and a Buyid army under Abu Ja'far al-Hajjaj, who had received reinforcements by Bedouins and theKurdishAnnazids.The battle ended in a Buyid victory, and resulted in the reconquest of al-Mada'in and the rest of Iraq.

Seljuq period and Abbasid insurgency

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In 1055, the ruler of theTurkicSeljuk Empire,Tughril,invaded Iraq and made the Buyid ruler of the region,Al-Malik al-Rahim,his vassal. In 1199, theJewsof al-Mada'in complained about the construction of amosquethat was close to theirsynagogue.They then openly revolted, and attacked the leader of the mosque and his supporters, with ended in a Muslim defeat. The Muslims then complained toal-Nasir'ssecretary and requested for aid. Al-Nasir agreed to help, and had the synagogue destroyed.[10]

Mongol, Jalairid, Kara Koyunlu, Timurid, and Aq Qoyunlu period

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Safavid and Ottoman period

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The tomb of Salman the Persian was restored during the reign of the Ottoman SultanMurad IV(r. 1623-40) and was further restored in 1904-1905.[citation needed]

Population and religion

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During the Sasanian period, population of al-Mada'in was heavily mixed, it includedArameans,Persians,Greeks,andAssyrians.Several religions were also practiced in the metropolis, which includedChristianity,Judaism,andZoroastrianism.The population also includedManicheans,who continued to be mentioned in al-Mada'in duringUmayyadrule.[3]Much of the population fled from al-Mada'in afterthe Arab capture of the metropolis.However, a portion of Persians remained there, and some important figures of these people are known to have providedAliwith presents, which he, however, refused to take. After theBattle of Siffin,the Persian population of al-Mada'in disappeared.[3]

During the early Islamic period, the population of al-Mada'in consisted of tribal Arab leaders fromKufa,leaders of theBanu Azd,and figures of prominent Muslim families, who were, unlike the rest of population, not tribal.[3]A companion of the Islamic prophetMuhammad,Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamanwas one of these Arab leaders from Kufa, and is known to have had a Christian or Jewish woman from al-Mada'in as his wife, who, he, however, was forced by theRashidunCaliphUmarto divorce because of the population of marriageable Muslim women in the metropolis was enough to marry.[3]

However, during this period much of the population of al-Mada'in resettled in the cities ofBasraand Kufa,Wasit,andBaghdad.But at the same time people also moved to the metropolis from Kufa, Basra, and other places. Prominent figures such as Hilal ibn Khabab (who was from Kufa) and Nasr ibn Hajib al-Qurashi (who was fromKhorasan) also moved to al-Mada'in.[3]A very small minority of Zoroastrians also seems to have lived in the metropolis, such as the father of theKhurramiteBabak Khorramdin,who had resettled inAzerbaijanand married a local woman, who bore him Babak. During the 13th century, the majority of al-Mada'in's population wasTwelver Shia Muslimfarmers.[3]

Archeology

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Great arch ofTaq-i Kisra,1921

Al-Mada'in has received considerable interest from archaeologists since the 18th century; the most famous landmark there is theTaq-i Kisra.

Excavation sites and ancient suburbs include:

The site partially overlaps with the modern town ofSalman Pak.

See also

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References

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  1. ^Jastrow, Marcus."מָחוֹזָא".Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, and Midrashic Literature.Cf.The Martyrdom and History of Blessed Simeon Bar Sabba'e,col. 810-811
  2. ^Kröger 1993,pp. 446–448.
  3. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrsMorony 2009.
  4. ^Geoffrey Herman (2012).A Prince Without a Kingdom: The Exilarch in the Sasanian Era.Mohr Siebeck, Tubingen, German. p. 295.ISBN9783161506062.Retrieved15 January2014.
  5. ^Shapur Shahbazi 2005.
  6. ^Rekaya 1991,p. 333.
  7. ^Rekaya 1991,pp. 335–336.
  8. ^Madelung, "Banu Saj"
  9. ^Amedroz & Margoliouth 1921,pp. 31–32.
  10. ^abKennedy 2004,p. 224.
  11. ^Kennedy 2004,p. 293.

Sources

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