BAGDAD, n city of Turkey in Asia, and capi tal of the Pachalek of Bagdad, and of the Babylonian or Arabian Irac, is situated on the banks of the river Tigris, in N. Lat. 33° 22', E. Long. 44° 21', and was founded by the Caliph Abu Jaafar Alman sor, in the 145th year of the Hegira, A. D. 70. It has been very erroneously supposed to occupy the same spot on which ancient Babylon formerly stood ; and the mistake may have originated, from the cir cumstance of its being built upon the scite of cia, which was frequently styled New Babylon ; but the old city of that • name stood upon the banks of the Euphrates, about 50 miles farther up the river. Bagdad•is indeed the la'st of a' succession of' magni .ficent cities, which were built at different periods in the same extensive plain, and each of which was ,raised from the ruins of its predecessor. Babylon was exhausted of its inhabitants and its ornaments by the city Seleucia • Seleucia, again; was supplanted by Ctesiphon ; which, iarits turn, yielded to Almaday en ; and, last of all, Bagdad supplied a residence to the sovereigns of the East. • Almansor, the second caliph of the family of the Abassides, having disgusted, by his cruelties, the in- ( habitants of Hasomia, where he usually resided, and 1 having thus given occasion, to, insurrections against his government, as well as conspiracies against his life; he resolved to abandon•a place,: which was so its disaffection, and to remove the seat of the empire to a city founded by himself. The following account is given by the 'Persian writers of the foundation of the new city, and the origin of its name. Khosru, named' Amishirwan, had given the plain on which it stands to one of his wives, who built and dedicated there a chapel or oratory to her favourite idol Bagh ; and from this circum p•tence. the whole of the neighbouring district was called Baghdad, is e: in the Persian language, " the i gift of Bagh." This little temple, in process of time, served as a place of retreat to a hermit of ex traordinary sanctity, who happened to meet with Almansor, while he was riding on the banks of the Tigris, and meditating on his new scheme; and who, upon learning'from one of the attendants the design of the caliph, mentioned an ancient tradition, that a city was to be built in that place by a person named Moclas. Almansor having been informed of the hermit's observation, declared to his officers, that the name of Moclas had been given to him by his nurse; gave thanks to God for having destined him to be the author of so great a work ; and instantly fixed upon the spot where he stood, as the situation of his intended capital. • • According to the Arabian authors, however, there was none of these marvellous and romantic occur- e rences in the caliph's proceedings. The ground was deliberately chosen near the confluence of the Eu phrates and the Tigris, as being a favourable situa tion, both for the defence of the city, and for the conveyance of provisions; and it was called Baghdad, i. e. the garden of Dad, because a Christian monk,
of the name of Dad, had.been residing on the spot where it was built.
The first part of the city was situated on the west ern bank of the Tigris ; and was of a circular form, with the caliph's palace and the great mosque in the centre. 'While the buildings on the eastern side were erecting, Almansor detached a body of troops, under his son Al Mohdi, to protect the workmen from the attacks of the Persians ; and the young prince ha ving fortified, with a wall, the place on which he encamped, that part of the city was afterwards called " the Camp or Fortress of Al Mohdi." The caliph had a palace in the eastern as well as in the western division of the city, both of which had the appellation of " the House of the Caliphat ;" but that or the eastern bank was the most magnificent, and was called, by way of eminence, " the Garrison," or " theRoyal Inclosure." It was surrounded, on the land aide, by a semicircular wall, with six gates, the chief of which was called " the Gate of the Pry facts ;" and its entrance was generally kissed by the princes or ambassadors, who came to the court of the caliph. The city was completed in the 149th year of the Hegira, A. D. 766; and received the name of Medinat al Salam, " the city of peace," al luding either to the name of Jerusalem, or to the quiet -which prevailed throughout the empire at the time when it was finished, or to the name which was frequently applied by the Orientals to the river Tigris, viz. Vadi Assalam, " the torrent of peace." But whatever was the reason of this appellation, it was generally adopted by the neighbouring nations; and hence the city of Bagdad is often called by the Greeks, Irenopolis, which is equivalent to the Arabic, Medinat al Salam. The city, when completed, was of a circular form, inclosed with a double wall, and defended by a considerable number of towers. Its gates were disposed in such a manner, that those of the first wall were in a sloping or oblique direction with respect to those of the second ; and from this circumstance, it was sometimes called by the Ara bians, Zaura, i. e. " the crooked." In the centre of the whole was the castle, or citadel, which command ed every part of the town ; and a bridge was con structed over the Tigris, to facilitate the communi cation between the two divisions of the city. Bag dad was much enlarged and beautified by succeeding caliphs ; but particularly by Mostanser Billa, who founded there the famous college, which the Arabs called Al Madrasah Al Mostanseriah ; and which was remarkable for the elegance of its structure, the greatness of its revenues, and the number of its stu dents. It contained also several other well endowed colleges, was renowned for the elegance of the Ara bic spoken within its walls; and produced a greater number of learned men, than any other place in the Mohammedan dominions, except Mecca and Me dina.