Abstract
al-Manṣūr (136-158/754-775), the second caliph of the ʿAbbāsids (132-656/750-1258), had the palace of caliphate built in the middle of the city of Baghdād, which was established as the center of the state. Later caliphs preferred various palaces built in the west and east of Baghdād as the palace of the caliphate. The city of Baghdād continued to be a center of caliphate for about ninety years until the ʿAbbāsid administration moved to Sāmarrā’ in 221 (836), although the palaces inhabited were different. On the way back from Sāmarrā’ to Baghdād, the Ḥasanī Palace in East Baghdād was built as a caliphate palace. Caliph al-Muʿtaḍid (279-289/892-902) and his sons had five palaces and different structures built around this palace. This new settlement, called Dār al-Khilāfa, became a permanent center where the caliphs lived until the collapse of the state. In this study, the palaces built by al-Muʿtaḍid and his sons within the borders of Dār al-Khilāfa were examined. The issue of who was the first caliph who moved the state center from Sāmarrā’ to Baghdād and used the Ḥasanī Palace as the palace of caliphate, which caused a difference of opinion among historians, was addressed first, as it constitutes an important point of this study.
[You may find an extended abstract of this article after the bibliography.]