Bağdat Abbâsî halifelerinin ikincisi ve kurumsal anlamda devletin gerçek kurucusu kabul edilen Ebû Ca‘fer el-Mansûr (136-158/754-775) tarafından Dicle nehrinin batı kıyısında 145-149 (762-766) yılları arasında kurulmuştur. Biri diğerinin içine geçmiş iki daire şeklindeki surlarından dolayı “el-medînetü’l-müdevvere” adıyla anılan Bağdat’ın en erken yapısı, şehrin merkezine uzanan dört ana cadde ve bu caddelerin surlarla kesiştikleri noktalarda yer alan dört kapısıyla tipik bir Mezopotamya şehrini yansıtmaktadır. Bağdat, Abbâsî ihtilalinin Emevîler’e (41-132/661-750) karşı kesin zaferinin ardından inşa edilmesi ve bu zaferde Emevîler tarafından dışlanan mevalinin önemli bir rolünün bulunması yönüyle, Abbâsî halifelerinin siyaset-toplum ilişkisini yeniden kurgulama girişimini ve iddiasını yansıtmaktadır. Halifenin toplumun bütün kesimlerine eşit mesafede olduğu düşüncesi, eski Mezopotamya şehir mimarisinde yaygın şekilde uygulanmış olan dairevi şehir planıyla vurgulanmıştır. Dairevi şehir, hendeği, çift suru, birbirine eşit açı ve uzaklıktaki dört kapısı, dairenin tam merkezindeki yönetim sarayı ve camisi ile Mezopotamya şehir tipinin içinde İslam şehrinin temel unsurlarının yer aldığı yeni bir yorum olarak ortaya çıkmıştır.
Abu’l-‘Abbās al-Saffāģ’s and then Abū Ja‘far al-Manŝūr’s (136-58/754-75) search to establish a permanent capital lasted for 13 years (132–145/750–762) and culminated in the construction of a new administrative center called Madīnat al-salām near to where the Sarāt Canal intersects with the Tigris River. During this period, the cities of Kūfa, Ķaŝr ibn Hubayra, and Anbār were the first capitals that the Abbāsids called al-Hāshimiyya. al-Manŝūr, who prioritized the establishment of political unity and a centralized administration, laid the foundation of the new capital with the first brick he placed on Saturday, 31st of July in 762 (4 Jumada al-Awwal, 145) at around 1:57 p.m. The Round City, which was built with double walls, resembled a large castle due to its being surrounded by a deep and wide ditch with water from the Sarāt Canal.
Baghdād was founded between 145–149 (762–766) on the west bank of the Tigris River by Abū Ja‘far al-Manŝūr (136-158 / 754-775), the second Abbasid caliph, who is considered the real founder of the state in the institutional sense. The city, which is named al-Madīnat al-Mudawwara (The Round City) because of its two concentric circle-shaped walls, reflects a typical Mesopotamian city plan with four main roads leading to the center and four gates located where these streetsintersect with the walls. Baghdād reflects the attempt by the Abbāsid caliphs toreconstruct the relationship between politics and society, as the city was builtafter the decisive victory of the Abbāsid revolution against the Umayyads (41-132/ 661-750), and as the mawālī, who were alienated by the Umayyads, played animportant role in this victory. The idea that the caliph stood at equal distance toall walks of life was reflected by the flat-house city plan, which was widely appliedin ancient Mesopotamian city architecture. The Round City representeda new understanding of the Mesopotamian city type, as it was blended with thebasic elements of the Islamic city—with its moat, double walls, four gates at equalangles and distances, the administrative palace, and a mosque at the very centerof the circle.
Shedding light on the establishment of Baghdād and the architectural structures of the formative period, the earliest records constitute the most detailed part of Baghdād’s history in terms of volume and content. These records, which can be divided into two groups—those with and without a chain of narration—differ from each other in terms of the consistency of their content. On the one hand, there exist the descriptive records of al-Ya‘ķūbī and Suhrāb’s that—though without references—constitute a systematic, holistic, and coherent narrative. On the other hand, al-Šabarī’s, Ibn al-Faqīh’s, and al-Khašīb al-Baghdādī’s narrations contain chains of narration but do not present a holistic narrative and generally contradict one another.
Although these first records about the establishment of Baghdād have been the subject of much academic research, the problems of these records have been noted by a small number of researchers. This study, which examines the establishment and architectural features of Baghdād, aims to reveal the differences between the narratives and their reasons, as well as to question the sources of history of Baghdād in terms of their informational value.
Since it emerged as a state project, the records kept about the construction and physical characteristics of the Round City serve as the basis for the extensive information in the sources. However, since almost all the information about the Round City consists of narrations belonging to the establishment, it is almost impossible to follow the change in structure in the following periods. Hence, for how long the Round City remained the official administrative center of the Abbāsid caliphate can only be determined by following the political developments.
Birincil Dil | Türkçe |
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Konular | Din Araştırmaları |
Bölüm | Makaleler |
Yazarlar | |
Yayımlanma Tarihi | 3 Ağustos 2021 |
Yayımlandığı Sayı | Yıl 2021 Sayı: 46 |