Medieval Samarra, Iraq

MEDIEVAL SAMARRA (Iraq)

In 836 the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 and 1261-1517) moved its capital to a 26-mile stretch of the Tigris River, about 80 miles north of the then-capital of Baghdad. The capital returned to Baghdad in 892; lavish palace complexes and the Great Mosque with its spiral minaret were largely abandoned starting in 940, leaving prime pickings for modern archaeologists.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)