Samarra Archaeological City

World Heritage

Iraq

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The archaeological city of Samarra was a powerful Islamic capital that ruled for a century from the Abbasid provinces stretching from Tunisia to Central Asia. Located 130 km north of Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris River, the site is 41.5 km long from north to south and varies in width from 8 km to 4 km. It bears witness to the architectural and artistic innovations that developed there and spread to the rest of the Islamic world and beyond. The 9th-century Great Mosque and its spiral minaret are among the site's many striking architectural monuments, 80% of which have yet to be excavated.

# Tigris River

# Islamic capital

# Abbasid Dynasty

# Innovation in architecture and art

# 9th century Great Mosque

# Spiral spire