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.
The city of Baghdad was founded under the second Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur (ruled 754-775). After lengthy research along the course of the Tigris as far north as Mosul, he decided to construct a palace complex at the junction of the Tigris and the Sarat canal. It appears that al-Mansur decided on this particular location because of strategic and geographic advantages. 11th century Khatib al-Baghdadi (literally means the lecturer from Baghdad) best described the sense of wonder surrounding the city when he said: “In the entire world, there has not been a city that could compare with Baghdad in size and splendour, or in the number of scholars and great personalities… Consider the numerous roads, markets, lanes, mosques, bathhouses, and shops- all these distinguish the city from all others.”
Baghdad grew rapidly to become the largest urban centre of the medieval world and became an economic and intellectual powerhouse. The city comprised a learned society benefiting from numerous bookshops and public libraries and became a hub for students travelling in search of knowledge. The new Abbasid city was officially named Madinat al-Salam. This was the name that later appeared in all official references to the city, ranging from inscriptions on coinage to writings on textiles that were woven in the royal factory, but the name Baghdad stuck in popular usage.
The eleventh-century Khatib al-Baghdadi best described the sense of wonder surrounding Baghdad when he said: “In the entire world, there has not been a city which could compare with Baghdad in size and splendour, or in the number of scholars and great personalities ... Consider the numerous roads, markets, lanes, mosques, bathhouses, and shops – all these distinguish the city from all others."
At that time, the city housed the world's greatest academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, and earned a worldwide reputation for being the 'Centre of Learning'. The city also hosted a multiethnic and multireligious environment.
There were several reasons for seeking to found a new capital in an open country. The most pressing of these was the need for security. This need could only be satisfied by the construction of a fortress-palace that could easily be defended. Secondly, there was the desire felt by so many dynasties, both Islamic and pre-Islamic, in the area to have new capital to demonstrate their identity and prestige. The Abbasids also needed a base where they could settle their government and bureaucracy.
The heart of the new capital was the Round City which contained the palace, the main mosque, and some administrative buildings and quarters for troops. The palace and mosque were together in the middle of the central courtyard and the palace was surmounted by a green dome over the audience chamber (as seen in the 3D model).
