The Great Mosque of Samarra was built by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil in Samarra, the city on the Tigris north of Baghdad that served as the caliphate's capital for several decades in the ninth century. At the time it was the largest mosque in the world, with a huge rectangular enclosure of baked brick, with a prayer hall supported by many columns. Its best-known feature is the Malwiya, a spiral minaret that rises outside the mosque on a square base, with a ramp winding around the tower, probably influenced by Mesopotamian ziggurats. Most of the mosque has been lost, but the Malwiya survives, and Samarra's Abbasid remains are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Before and after
- from 843 CE to 987 CEWest Francia
- August 843 CETreaty of Verdun
- from 25 September 844 CE to 11 November 844 CEViking raid on Seville
- c. 847 CEEruption of Churchill
- 848 CEConstruction of Great Mosque of Samarra
- 849 CEBirth of Alfred the Great
- 850 CEOrigins of Chan Chan
- 850 CEConstruction of Prambanan Temple
- 850 CEDeath of Muḥammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
More in Civilizations & archaeology
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- 802 CEConstruction of Angkor Wat
- from 2 February 962 CE to 6 August 1806Holy Roman Empire
- 1193Origins of Chernobyl
- from 29 July 1299 to 17 November 1922Ottoman Empire
- 1373Construction of Leaning Tower of Pisa
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 9th century.