The gate-building war between Karkh and al-Qala'in

حرب الأبواب بين الكرخ والقلائين

c. February 1050 CE · Sha'ban 441 AH

In Sha'ban 441 the people of Karkh began a wall over the Anmat market with a gate facing Sammakin; the Sunnis of Qala'in answered with a rival wall and gate of their own — and the building turned into a civic spectacle: Turks funded the Qala'in side with money and mules, a barge of bricks came with a brocade canopy, Karkh carried bricks on men's heads preceded by drums and mimes, rosewater was sprinkled into the foundations, and a woman stripped off her brocade jukaniyya and gave it to the building. On 'Id al-Fitr the feud broke into wounds and killings, the Sunnis raised a roofed market and a mosque between the two gates called Bab al-Mas'ud ¹.

Summary

In Sha'ban 441 AH the people of al-Karkh began building a wall along the Anmat market to fortify their quarter. The Sunni people of al-Qalayin began building a wall around their own market, starting with its gate opposite the gate of the Sammakin. The building became an occasion for rivalry and a resource for troublemakers. ¹

Processions of brick

The Turks helped the people of al-Qalayin with their money and their mules. A boat loaded with bricks was towed along, its awning of silk brocade and its mast of reed. The people of al-Karkh carried their bricks on men's heads, with drums and horns playing in front of them, and rose water was poured into the foundations, to the point that a woman took off her silk headcloth and gave it to the builders. On the day of Eid al-Fitr strife broke out between the two sides, and there were wounds and deaths. They placed a roof, shops, mats and lamps between the two gates and made it into a mosque, which was called the Gate of Good Fortune (al-Bab al-Mas'ud). ¹

The Bab al-Tibn shrine exhumed and the Sammakin gate battle

In Safar 443 the Sunni–Shi'i war resumed over the 'wa-Ali khayr al-bashar' inscription on the new Sammakin gate; water was cut to Karkh until a waterskin sold for a qirat, and rosewater was mixed into public troughs. The Darzijani 'ayyar al-Tuqtuqi stormed the Taq al-Hurrani stronghold, beheaded two men and raised the heads on the new mosque's wall, then crucified two more on the gate after killing three, hurling their heads into Karkh with 'have your heads for breakfast'. The city rose: the Bab al-Tibn shrine was seized and looted, corpses — the 'Awfi, al-Nashi' and al-Judhu'i among them — were dragged out and burned or reburied elsewhere, the teak domes torched, the Hanafi jurists' khan in Qati'at al-Rabi' sacked, and at last Baratha's khutba returned with 'hayya ala khayr al-amal' dropped and al-Abbas named.

The gate-building war between Karkh and al-Qala'in

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Summary

Processions of brick

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Time

The Bab al-Tibn shrine exhumed and the Sammakin gate battle