The Impact of Revolutions and Opposition Movements on the Fortification of Islamic Cities in Iraq during the Umayyad Era 41 AH - 132 AH

Abstract

Historical sources did not indicate that the early founders of Basra thought of building city walls, although the purpose of building them was to supply the Arab armies. This made it an easy target for the opposition movements and revolutions that took place on its outskirts, as the narratives mentioned to us the great difficulties that the people of Basra faced during the attacks of the Kharijites during the Umayyad era. The first starting point for the stage of construction and fortification that appeared in Iraq for administrative and military reasons was the city of Wasit, and it was the first settlement of the governor of Iraq, Al-Hajjaj, as he did not feel safe in Basra and Kufa or the cities that were built and founded in the Umayyad era to be resided in them, so he built the city of Wasit to be a headquarters and camp for his Levantine soldiers, after he was exhausted by the wars and revolutions in Iraq. From this, Wasit was built on the banks of the Tigris, and work on it took from the year 83 AH until the year 84 AH. ...fortified against every emergency, its founder did not neglect the presence of the Tigris River, so he divided the city into two parts, divided by the Tigris and supplied with the water it needed for drinking and irrigation. He made its round shape into two parts, connected by bridges for transportation and defense. He took into consideration the possibility of separating these bridges in the event that one part of the city fell, so that the other part would remain protected by water and walls. The city was also extremely beautiful and magnificent, even though it was established, as we said, for military reasons, which is what prompted the famous traveler Ibn Battuta to mention it as “a city with beautiful lands and many orchards and trees.” .
In addition to the walls, trenches and fortifications that were built around the city, its founder did not forget to make it a city with advanced architectural models, centered on the palace the palace of Hajjaj , its high minaret of about eleven meters, and its great mosque. Wasit played an important role in the administrative and military aspects. Accordingly, the reasons that led to the construction of Wasit differ from the reasons that led to the construction of Kufa and Basra, which took a central location between Basra and Kufa and are located on both sides of the Tigris River. After Al-Hajjaj sensed the danger of these opposition movements and revolutions, he thought of the necessity of choosing a city to be a headquarters for him and his army, and in which he could guarantee a degree of neutrality.