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Baghdad is Iraq's historic capital of learning, built by the Abbasids on the Tigris River, famous for the House of Wisdom.

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and the historic center of the Abbasid Caliphate for centuries, founded by Caliph al-Mansur as the City of Peace. Famous for its round design on the Tigris River, it became the preeminent metropolis of science and arts, home to the House of Wisdom, the Nizamiyya academy, and hospitals.

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The imperial capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and the cosmopolitan epicenter of medieval Islamic civilization, founded in 145 AH (762 CE) by Caliph Abu Jafar al-Mansur on the Tigris River at a vital crossroads of Afro-Eurasian trade. For five centuries, it stood as the undisputed global capital of sciences, philosophy, translation, and literature, nurturing the House of Wisdom, the Nizamiyya, and early teaching hospitals. Home to founding jurists like Abu Hanifa and Ahmad ibn Hanbal and master scientists like al-Khwarizmi, Baghdad remains the enduring symbol of the Islamic Golden Age.

Overview

The capital of the Abbasid caliphate, founded by al-Mansur in the year 762 CE, and a great centre of learning.

Location

Its approximate coordinates are 33.3406 N and 44.4009 E ¹.

In the museum

The museum's material on this place includes: people born here: 1, polities of which it was the capital: 1.

People born here

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali

Polities of which it was the capital

The Abbasid Caliphate (750 CE)

What this page covers

This page gathers what the museum links to the place: events, people and buildings. It is not a full historical account of the place; a description of the place and its history from original sources will be added in later batches.

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al-Qadir bi-llah Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn al-Muqtadir

Abbasid caliph [381–422], Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn al-Muqtadir, born 336; hailed after al-Ta'i's deposition, arriving 10 Ramadan. Al-Khatib: famed for piety and night-prayer, he studied fiqh under Abu Bishr al-Harawi and wrote an usul book — Companions' virtues and takfir of the Mu'tazila — read every Friday at al-Mahdi's mosque; in Shawwal he and Baha' al-Dawla swore mutual fidelity, the caliph granting him all beyond his gate.

Baghdad

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On screen

Overview

Location

In the museum

People born here

Polities of which it was the capital

What this page covers

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Place

al-Qadir bi-llah Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn al-Muqtadir