Architecture·Abbasid
Great Mosque of Samarra and Its Spiral Minaret
- Date
- 852 CE237 AH1,174 years ago
- Place
- Samarra, Abbasid Iraq
- People
- Al-Mutawakkil
The Great Mosque of Samarra was completed in 852 under the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil. It is known for the Malwiya, a spiral minaret about 52 metres high. The mosque was one of the largest of its time. The minaret is one of the best-known images of early Islamic architecture.
Why it matters
The Malwiya minaret influenced later spiral minarets in Mesopotamia and Egypt.