Original Baghdad was Jerusalem

by Damien F. Mackey “Built of the baked brick, the city’s walls have long since crumbled, leaving no trace of Madinat-al-Salam today. …. According to the legend narrated by Al-Tabari, the four iron doors in the main wall, and one in Al-Mansur’s palace, were originally crafted for King Solomon by shaytans, or demons”. Polina Ignatova Introduction When an important ancient personage, or location, apparently leaves virtually no visible or recoverable trace, or none at all, my inclination is to search for an alter ego (or more) for that person, or a revised geography for that location. In some cases, an important ancient character is lacking any depictions or statuary: More ‘camera shy’ ancient potentates (6) More 'camera shy' ancient potentates | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Or it might be, as in the case of Old Kingdom Egypt, some missing architecture: Missing old Egyptian tombs and temples (6) Missing old Egyptian tombs and temples | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu The famed capital city of Akkad (Agade) is just completely missing: My road to Akkad (6) My road to Akkad | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu and its related kingdom of Akkad is missing an appropriate archaeology: Akkadian dynasty famous but archaeologically impoverished, Ur III dynasty, un-heralded but lavishly documented (4) Akkadian dynasty famous but archaeologically impoverished, Ur III dynasty, un-heralded but lavishly documented | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu See also somewhat similarly to this: Medo-Persian history has no adequate archaeology (4) Medo-Persian history has no adequate archaeology | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu And one may find various other similar examples and configurations. It is all enough to remind one of what G. K. Chesterton once so famously remarked about evolution: “All we know of the Missing Link is that he is missing – and he won't be missed either.” Ancient Baghdad Ancient Baghdad clearly, I think, fits into more than one of the ‘missing’ categories. I am not, of course, including here the modern city of Baghdad, one of the largest and most important cities today of the Moslem world. After a World War III, towards which the world is sadly hastening, archaeologists of the future will nevertheless be able to find abundant evidence for the current city of Baghdad. In the case of ancient Baghdad, however: - Some of its presumed Caliphs have no visible representation. - Its archaeology is completely missing. - Plus some, at least, of its most famed characters can be shown to have been fictitious. Polina Ignatova here gives a typical account of ancient Baghdad: https://www.epoch-magazine.com/post/the-city-of-peace-reconstructions-of-the-round-city-of-baghdad The City of Peace: Reconstructions of the Round City of Baghdad Polina Ignatova | Lancaster University ‘I mention Baghdad first of all because it is the heart of Iraq, and, with no equal on earth either in the Orient or the Occident, it is the most extensive city in the area, in importance, in prosperity, in abundance of water, and in healthful climate. It is inhabited by the most diverse individuals, both city people and country folk; people emigrate to it from all countries, both near and far; and everywhere there are men who have preferred it to their own country' Muslim geographer Ahmad al-Ya'qubi wrote in the ninth century. While today Baghdad is predominantly associated with war, tragedy, and grief, the Baghdad of the eighth and ninth centuries, also known as Madinat-al-Salam, or the City of Peace, was one of the most advanced cities in the world. Built of the baked brick, the city’s walls have long since crumbled, leaving no trace of Madinat-al-Salam today. Yet it is important to attempt to reconstruct the city, which once was a major architectural achievement of its time, both in terms of planning and scale. For historians, reconstructing the city on the basis of the preserved descriptions, Madinat-al-Salam represents a perfect case study for Muslim urbanism, while modern architects, writers, and artists draw inspiration from its unique cityscape. …. Madinat-al-Salam was founded by the second Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja’far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur in 762 CE, with the aim of moving the capital closer to Khurasan – the region which had supported the Abbasids in their struggle for power against the previous dynasty – the Umayyads. It was comprised of three perfectly round walls – the outer, the main, and the inner – pierced by four gates, with the Caliph’s residence in the middle. According to the Persian historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, before the constructions began, Caliph Al-Mansur commanded to draw the outline of the city in ashes. After walking around the city’s imaginary streets and courtyards, Al-Mansur ordered cotton seeds and oil spread along the outline, which was then set on fire for the Caliph to see the city as a whole. …. Al-Mansur was only the second Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. The city’s outline was modelled on ancient Persian cities, such as Gur (modern Firuzabad), reflecting his ambitions to retain and consolidate power. It is no coincidence that the new city was also located near Ctesiphon – the former capital of the Sasanian empire. Even the building materials were to be obtained from the demolition of Ctesiphon’s palace of Khursaw, but the cost of breaking down the palace walls and then transporting the stone and brick upstream proved to be too high. …. Madinat-al-Salam was clearly an Islamic place. Its name was a reminder of a Qur’anic expression (6:127) Dar-el-Salam, ‘the House of Peace’, which refers to Paradise (the name Baghdad comes from the village situated on the site chosen for the new capital). The city’s Kufa gate (South-West) pointed at Kufa, the starting point for pilgrimages, and more importantly, at Mecca. The other three gates were located at regular intervals from Kufa gate and were named by the Caliph himself according to the destinations for which they gave access. The gates were high enough to allow a horseman carrying a banner or a lance to come through, and had double iron doors, so heavy that several men were needed to open and close them. According to the legend narrated by Al-Tabari, the four iron doors in the main wall, and one in Al-Mansur’s palace, were originally crafted for King Solomon by shaytans, or demons. …. In the centre of the city, protected by the inner wall, stood, side by side, the palace of the Caliph, also known as the Golden Gate, and the Great Mosque. The palace was crowned by a green dome with a weathervane in the shape of a horseman visible from all quarters of Baghdad. It was believed that the horseman was endowed with magical powers and pointed his lance in the direction from where the enemies of the Caliph were going to appear. Later the figure and the green dome were destroyed by a thunderbolt. On the North-West side were the barracks for the Caliph’s horse-guards and a portico, presumably occupied by the palace governor. The space surrounding these buildings was kept free of houses, but further away stood the palaces of the Caliph’s children, his servants’ dwellings, and public offices. Al-Mansur ordered that no one except himself could enter the central area riding, so everyone else had to leave their horse or mule outside of the inner wall, to the great annoyance of the Caliph’s frail and gout-ridden uncles. One account claims that Al-Mansur also built a secret passage leading to beyond the city walls to provide escape in case of a siege. The gatehouses in the main wall – the sturdiest of the three – were also topped with green cupola supported by the columns of teak wood. At the top story of each gatehouse, there was a chamber overlooking the city. The one above the Khurasan gate was a favourite resting place of Caliph Al-Mansur. On one occasion, while the Caliph was there an arrow, bearing a warning, was shot up and fell by his feet. Al-Mansur had nothing to fear though – it was believed that no Caliph would die in Baghdad. Modern historical reconstructions of the Round City of Baghdad range from maps to 3D models and Minecraft cityscapes, while architectural artistic re-interpretations of Madinat-al-Salam demonstrate the importance and vibrancy of its legacy today. Indeed, for centuries the round shape remained the mark of wealth, prestige, and hopes for peace and prosperity. In 1804 French architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux published the project for a round ‘ideal city’ of Chaux – the constructions, however, never began. The one modern round city project which was completed is Apple Park, constructed in the shape of a ring. In his presentation for the Cupertino City Council, Steve Jobs did not give any particular reasons as to why he had chosen the circle structure except that ‘this is not the cheapest way to build something’. Like Madinat-al-Salam at the time of its prime, Apple Park boasts the most advanced structure of its time. To date, it is the world’s biggest naturally ventilated building covered with the largest panels of curved glass. …. its revealed name – ‘Paradis’ – clearly echoes Madinat-al-Salam’s aspirations to be compared to Dar-al-Salam, or Heaven. …. The echoes of the Round City can also be found in modern fantasy novels. The Daevabad Trilogy, by S. A. Chakraborty, brings together many of the literary and folk elements of the Middle Eastern culture. The titular city of Daevabad is described as a perfectly round structure, surrounded by a wall and divided into quarters. As well as being integral to the divisions found in the plot, it also reflects the early Muslim way of building cities with different quarters belonging to different Arab tribes. …. While no tangible traces have yet been discovered of the eighth-century Madinat-al-Salam, and as it is currently impossible to conduct excavations in Baghdad, one can only hope that one day material evidence may be discovered. Yet its legacy lives on – through academic works and state emblems, utopian aspirations and ambitious architectural projects, as well as fictional places, the Round City of Baghdad survives in our collective imagination as a symbol of power, prosperity, and peace. [End of quote] ---------------------- The first thing to notice about ancient Baghdad is that it has left “no tangible traces”: “Built of the baked brick, the city’s walls have long since crumbled, leaving no trace of Madinat-al-Salam today”. “While no tangible traces have yet been discovered of the eighth-century Madinat-al-Salam, and as it is currently impossible to conduct excavations in Baghdad, one can only hope that one day material evidence may be discovered”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Baghdad “The Round City was partially ruined during the siege of 812–813, when Caliph al-Amin was killed by his brother,[a] who then became the new caliph. It never recovered;[b] its walls were destroyed by 912,[c] nothing of them remains,[d][6] there is no agreement as to where it was located.[7]” https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3899594 “Finally, in 1260, the Muslim Mamluks were able to defeat the Mongols in the battle of ‘Ain Jalut’ in northern Palestine. However, the total destruction of the Islamic empire was completed in 1258 through the capture and raze of Baghdad by the Mongols and brought an end to the ‘Golden Age’ of Islam. The subversive impact continued for centuries and Muslims, never could get back to their lost glories. Muslims had remained subdued for centuries and their economy and culture were at ruins. The ramifications were non-repairable, irreplaceable and insurmountable as the centre for education and scientific research was being shifted to the west”. Next point is that ancient Baghdad was supposedly built by close descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, who is not in fact a genuine historical character, but a fictitious composite: Biography of the Prophet Mohammed (Muhammad) Seriously Mangles History (8) Biography of the Prophet Mohammed (Muhammad) Seriously Mangles History | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu Neither, then, can the stories surrounding Mohammed and his supposed descendants be considered as historical. As I quoted in my article: King Solomon and Suleiman (8) King Solomon and Suleiman | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu …. The Persian-looking Islamic coins are of course believed to date from the time of Umar (d. 664), one of the “Rightly-guided Caliphs” who succeeded Muhammad and supposedly conquered what became the Islamic Empire. Yet it has to be stated that there is no direct archaeological evidence for the existence either of Umar or any of the other “Rightly-guided” Caliphs Abu Bakr, Uthman or Ali. Not a brick, coin, or artifact of any kind bears the name of these men. Archaeologically, their existence is as unattested as Muhammad himself. …. [End of quote] Equally dubious, however, are the supposed intellectual luminaries of the Golden Age of Abassid Baghdad as I exposed in my article: Melting down the fake Golden Age of Islamic intellectualism (8) Melting down the fake Golden Age of Islamic intellectualism | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu The Israelite kings, David and Solomon, frequently intrude into the legends of Charlemagne and Suleiman, both considered to be ‘a new David’ and ‘a new Solomon’. Now, here we find attributed to King Solomon some early architecture of ancient Baghdad: “According to the legend narrated by Al-Tabari, the four iron doors in the main wall, and one in Al-Mansur’s palace, were originally crafted for King Solomon by shaytans, or demons”. Now Baghdad, originally called Madinat-al-Salam, “City of Peace”, has the very same meaning as Jerusalem, “City of Peace”. The name Baghdad itself can possibly mean “Bestowed by God”, another perfectly fitting appellation for Jerusalem. Emperor Charlemagne’s fantasy Arabian Nights ally, Harun al-Raschid, based on the biblical Hiram, supposedly built the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikmah) in Baghdad. Likewise, thanks to the expertise of Hiram, King Solomon was able to have erected in Jerusalem his palace and the Temple of Yahweh, true centres of wisdom. Baghdad was also regarded, like Jerusalem, as being the centre of the ancient world (cf. Ezekiel 5:5). It, too, like Jerusalem, had a Golden Gate. I conclude that the completely missing ancient city of Baghdad, with its lack of an appropriate archaeology, and the pseudo Islamic history and intellectualism that accompanies its ghostly self, was a fable based upon wise King Solomon’s Jerusalem and the Temple of Yahweh.