the palace of Kufa

قصر الكوفة

Kufa's governor's palace, demolished without remains; famed for Abd al-Malik ibn Umayr's tale — in this very hall he had seen Husayn's head before Ibn Ziyad, Ibn Ziyad's before al-Mukhtar, al-Mukhtar's before Mus'ab, and now Mus'ab's before Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who rose and ordered that arch torn down ¹. The Mawsu'at al-Atabat records that Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas first began it alongside the mosque's south side, and Iraqi excavations showed the mosque joined it through a door in the south wall — the palace side measuring some 177 m, walls averaging 3.60 m thick and towers 3.30 m in diameter ².

Overview

The Government House in Kufa. Al-Umari says it was demolished, and not a trace of it remains. ¹

A well-known account

It is related by Abd al-Malik ibn Umayr. He said that he was with Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in this palace when the head of Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr was brought. He told him that he had been in it with Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad when the head of al-Husayn was brought. ¹

He was then in it with al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd, with the head of Ibn Ziyad before him, and then with Mus'ab, with the head of al-Mukhtar before him. Abd al-Malik rose from his place and ordered that the arch be demolished. ¹

What needs a source

The dates of its construction and demolition: an additional source is needed.

The excavations

The Mawsu'at al-Atabat records that Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas first began the palace alongside the Great Mosque's south side, and that Iraqi Antiquities Directorate excavations showed the mosque joined the palace through a door in its south wall — the palace side measuring some 177 m, walls averaging 3.60 m thick and towers 3.30 m in diameter ².

the palace of Kufa

At a glance

Overview

A well-known account

What needs a source

The excavations

Sources

Objects