History of Baghdad-Packard Humanities Institute

Baghdād. Of the Third Clime, and the capital city of Arabian `Irāq. It was founded since the days of Islam, and lies on the bank of the Tigris. Its longitude from the Fortunate Isles is 77°, and its latitude north of the equator 33°. In the days of the Chosroes, however, on the place Baghdād now occupies, there was a village on the western bank of the Tigris called Karkh, which was built by Sapor II, and on the eastern bank lay Sābāṭ, a village of the dependencies of Nahrawān. In the plain (to the north) of this village Chosroes Anūshirvān laid out a garden, to which he gave the name of ‘the Garden of Justice’ (Bāgh-i-Dād), and afterwards this name, as Baghdād, came to be the proper name of the place. The Arabs call it Madīnat-as-Salām (the City of Peace), and the Persians call it Zawrā (Crooked).

Manṣūr, grandson of the grandson of `Abbās (the uncle of the Prophet), who was the second of the Abbasid Caliphs, and nick- named Abū Dawānīq (‘Father of Pence,’ from his stinginess), founded the city in the year 145 (762) on the western bank of the river, constructing many buildings, and when these were begun the Sign of Sagittarius was in the ascendant. His son Mahdī transferred his residence to the eastern bank, building (there the new Palace of) the Caliphate, and surrounding it with other quar- ters, which his son Hārūn-ar-Rashīd on his accession brought to completion after much labour. Such was then the size of the city that the houses stretched for a length of four leagues (along the Tigris banks), with a width across of a league and a half. In the reign of his son the Caliph Mu`taṣim, who had in his service (a Turkish bodyguard of) many Ghulāms, and these having become a source of trouble to the people of Baghdād, the seat of the Caliphate was transferred to Sāmarrah, where Mu`taṣim pro- ceeded to erect numerous palaces. Here in Sāmarrah—of his sons, grandsons and great grandsons—seven Caliphs reigned, namely Wāthiq, Mutawakkil, Muntaṣir, Musta`īn, Mu`tazz, Muhtadī and Mu`tamid, until it came to the reign of Mu`taḍid, grandson of Mutawakkil, the sixteenth (Abbasid) Caliph, who transferred the seat of the Caliphate again back to Baghdād.

After the time of Mu`taḍid all [] the remaining (Abbasid) Caliphs in succession had their abode in Baghdād, where in the reign of his son `Alī Muktafī the Dār-ash-Shāṭi’iyyah (the Palace of the River Bank)* and the great Mosque of Eastern Baghdād were both built. When it came to the reign (of the twenty- eighth Caliph) Mustaẓhir, he built round Baghdād a wall of burnt brick, surrounding this again by a ditch; and the circuit of this wall that enclosed in a semicircle the quarter known as the Double Ḥaram of the eastern bank was 18,000 paces. (East Baghdād then) had four Gates, namely the Gate of Khurāsān (or of the Khurāsān Road), the Khalaj Gate, the Ḥalbah Gate and the Gate of the Sulṭān’s Market*. On the western bank lay the quarter that is known as Karkh, the wall surrounding which had a circuit of 12,000 paces. Most of the houses in the city were built of kiln-burnt bricks. The climate of Baghdād is excellent, being rather warm, but mild, and it is open to the north. The climate agrees equally with strangers and natives, but agrees with and suits women better than men.

At most seasons provisions are cheap here, scarcity and dear- ness being very rarely known, and even when they occur the dearth is not general, and provisions merely become locally some- what more expensive. The fruits of a warm climate are found here in excellence and in abundance, as for instance the date known as Makhtūm (‘sealed’), and that called Khastuwī (‘stoned’), also the Darrājī pomegranate and the Mūraqī grape, the equal of which are found in no other lands. The fruits of a cold climate, however, do not ripen here in great excellence. Both cotton and corn grow well, as also all other grain crops, so that in most seasons one (Mann) weight of seed gives a crop of twenty (Mann) weight, such being the growth and increase. In this country too the tamarisk (Gaz) tree attains such a size that its trunk measures from two to three fathoms in girth, and the Palma Christi (Khirwa`) becomes so big that a man can sit on its branches without their breaking. The hunting-grounds near Baghdād are numerous and excellent; and game is abundant. The country round is a plain, and its pasture-lands are rich; further the crops of this region are so abundant in their growth that, unless they are eaten down after the harvest they do not give their full increase; as a consequence the cattle here are always very fat.

The Tigris flows through the city; and (the Canal called) the Nahr`Īsā from the Euphrates likewise joins the Tigris at Baghdād, while two leagues below the city [] the Nahrawān Canal runs in, and thence (the Tigris) flows on down to Wāsiṭ. Its stream (at Baghdād) is a fine thing to see from the number of boats, and looks

Like the Milky way with the stars by night,

and is mighty pleasant to contemplate, though in truth this pleasure is not worth the risk of death by drowning. The wells in Baghdād have bitter or brackish water, and are for the most part about 15 ells deep: hence their water is only used for scouring and for washing clothes. The people here are fair-skinned, good look- ing, easy going and pleasant tempered, but slothfulness dominates their nature, and they pass their time in pleasure. Life is made easy to the rich by abundant comforts, whatever is needed for good living can easily be come by, while the poor with a few copper coins can get of a sufficiency for contentment. Most of the people here are fat in body, and corpulence among them at times is to such a degree that when in the reign of Uljaytū Sulṭān a certain baker, who was wont to sit in the Market of the Niẓā- miyyah quarter, was by royal command weighed, his weight amounted to 740 Baghdād Raṭls (pounds). Their speech is Arabic, but corrupt. Since this is the metropolitan city, Moslems of all sects are numerous here; the majority are Sunnīs of the Shāfi`ite sect, though the Ḥanbalites are also powerful, while the adherents of other sects are innumerable. Colleges and Darvīsh Convents are numerous; among the rest is the Niẓāmiyyah College, which is the greatest of them all; and the Mustanṣiriyyah, which is the most beautiful building in Baghdād. They say that it is a peculiarity of this city that no Caliph or Governor ever yet died within its limits.

Outside the city are numerous shrines and holy graves. Thus on the western bank there are the shrines of Kāẓim and his grand- son Taqī, the (Seventh and Ninth) Imāms* and this place is now a small town standing by itself, the circuit of which measures 6000 paces. Also there are on this side many other tombs: namely those of Ibn Ḥanbal (the Imām, and of the Sūfī Saints) Ibn Adham*, Junayd Baghdādi, Sarī Saqaṭī, Ma`rūf Karkhī, Shiblī, Ḥallāj, Ḥārith Muḥāsibī, Ibn Masrūq, Ibn Muḥammad Murta`ish, Abū-l-Ḥasan Ḥuṣrī and Abū Ya`qūb Buwayṭī, the chief disciple of Shāfi`ī*, also of many other Shaykhs and learned men. On the eastern [] bank is the tomb of (the Imām) Abū Ḥanīfah, while in Ruṣāfah, which is a small township standing by itself, are the graves of the Abbasid Caliphs, and in (East) Baghdād city are the tombs of the Shaykh Shihāb-ad-Dīn Suhrawārdī, and of `Abd-al-Qādir Gīlānī*. To the north of the city again, but four leagues distant, lie the shrines of Shaykh Mukārim and Shaykh Sakrān, and there are besides these very many more tombs and shrines, the complete enumeration of which would be too long to write out here.

The distances from Baghdād to the various towns of Arabian `Irāq are as follows: Anbār 11 leagues; Baṣrah 70 leagues; Ba`qūbā 8 leagues; Takrīt 32 leagues; Nahrawān city 5 leagues; Nu`māniyyah 8 leagues; Ḥillah 18 leagues; Ḥadīthah 58 leagues; Ḥulwān 35 leagues; Sāmarrah 22 leagues; Kūfa 24 leagues; Madāin 6 leagues; Jabbul 10 leagues; and Wāsiṭ 40 leagues.

At the present day the revenues of the Baghdād lands have been assigned to the Treasury, and they amount approximately to 800,000 (currency dīnārs); further, the districts lying imme- diately round the city are known under the technical names of Afranchah and Muqāṭa`āt*. The remaining towns of the province will now be enumerated in their (alphabetical) order. In regard to Baghdād both Arab and Persian poets have written many poems; and of what occurs to mind a quotation or two may be here set down. Thus Athīr-ad-Dīn Awmānī says:

If thou wouldst see the whole world together in one spot,
And see that world all living in luxury,
Be like the sun, thy whole face but one eye, and look at Baghdād,
Then wilt thou see it like the heaven round about the Pleiades.

This ode goes on to some length. Anvarī too has given us these verses:

How pleasant is the neighbourhood of Baghdād, the place for excellence and talent:
In all the world no one can point out another such region.

This ode too runs to some length. Further, an Arab poet has said:

Baghdād is a fine place for him who has wealth,
But for those who are poor it is an abode of wretchedness and restraint. []

Lastly, I myself too wrote this quatrain:

Baghdād is a good place, but only for him
Who has the means to attain his heart’s desire.
Such an one can pass his precious life with a boon companion,
And will not lose one single moment of youth.

A great number of other descriptions of Baghdād have been uttered and occur to my mind, but these few specimens will here suffice.