‘Round City’ in 762 was a glorious milestone in the history of urban design
Golden Age of Islam - Baghdad
Story of cities #3: the birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation
The foundation of al-Mansur’s ‘Round City’ in 762 was a glorious milestone in the history of urban design. It developed into the cultural centre of the world.
If Baghdad today is a byword for inner-city decay and violence on an unspeakable scale, its foundation 1,250 years ago was a glorious milestone in the history of urban design. More than that, it was a landmark for civilisation, the birth of a city that would quickly become the cultural lodestar of the world.
Contrary to popular belief, Baghdad is old but not ancient. Founded in AD762 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur “The Victorious” as the new seat of his Islamic empire, in Mesopotamian terms it is more arriviste than grande dame – an upstart compared to Nineveh, Ur and Babylon (seventh, fourth and third millennium BC respectively).
Baghdad is a mere baby, too, when compared with Uruk, another ancient Mesopotamian urban settlement, which lays claim to being one of the world’s earliest cities and which was, sometime around 3,200BC, the largest urban centre on earth with a population estimated at up to 80,000. Some think the Arabic title for Babylonia, al-Iraq, is derived from its name.
We know a huge amount about the city’s meticulous and inspired planning thanks to detailed records of its construction. We are told, for instance, that when Mansur was hunting for his new capital, sailing up and down the Tigris to find a suitable site, he was initially advised of the favourable location and climate by a community of Nestorian monks who long predated Muslims in the area.
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http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/16/story-cities-day-3-baghdad-iraq-world-civilisation
The Abbasid Caliphate established their capital in the city of Baghdad in 762CE.
Over the next five centuries Islamic culture flourished and Baghdad became renowned as a centre of learning and tolerance.
Scholarship was encouraged and scientists, doctors, philosophers and engineers made significant advances in their fields. Art and architecture combined to produce beautiful mosques and palaces.
This period is known as the Golden Age of Islam.
In 762 CE the Abbasid Caliphate, under the Caliph al-Mansur, moved the capital of the Muslim world to the newly founded city of Baghdad.
The city, known as ‘the Round City’, was built as two large semicircles with a mosque at the centre and housed the caliph’s palace, libraries, government and military buildings. It also contained parks, gardens, squares and wide avenues.
Residential areas for all but the most important people, markets and businesses were built outside the city walls.
Until its destruction by the Mongols in 1258, Baghdad was a world centre of culture and learning. This period is sometimes known as the Golden Age of Islam.
It is estimated that during the period c900-1200 the population of Baghdad reached between 1,200,000 and 2,000,000 people.
The House of Wisdom housed a library and attracted scholars from around the world who translated texts from the classical world into Arabic. Much ancient knowledge was preserved and the development of Islamic theology, philosophy, science and medicine was stimulated.
http://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/baghdad-c900
