MASHAD ALI, a town of Turkish Arabia, 30 miles from the ruins of Babylon. Ali, son-in-law and cousin of Mahomed, is buried here. It was taken by the Saracens in the 7th century. This city, according to Kinneir, was founded by Alexander the Great, and was for 'a considerable time called Alexandria. It is 30 miles from Hillab, and 4 from Kufa, a town founded by the khalif Umar.
Mashad Husain or Kerbela is situated a short distance from the west bank of the Euphrates, and not very far from Hillah, the supposed site of Babylon. It is 16 farsang westward from Baghdad, is a place of pilgrimage to Shiah Muhammadans, and is surrounded by gardens and groves of palm trees, which are watered by a canal from the river. The chief object of interest is the mosque, built in the reign of Shah Abbas the Great, on the spot where Husain, son of Ali, was murdered, It is a sacred place of pilgrimage and burial to the Persians who are Shiah Muhammadans. Kerbela fell into the power of the Turks when Sultan Murad iv. took
Baghdad, A.D. 1636. The Persians frequently send their dead to be buried at Kerbela from the interior of the country. On leaving Kerbela one traveller met nine mules laden with coffins, and while at Baghdad ho often saw others passing to their last resting-place, near the honoured remains of the grandson of the prophet. The revenue arising to the hierarchy of Kerbela from the drains on the purses of its visitors, are enormous, and must more than sufficiently pay for all the expenses of the state. The city is large, and crowded with inhabitants, being respected as a bast or place of refuge. In India, Kerbela is the name given to a plain near a sea, river, or tank, whither the Muhammadans at the close of the Maliarram festival annually carry their tabut.— Herklots ' • Porter's Travels, ii. p. 281 ; Mignan's Tr. p. 112 ; Catafago.