The history of the industrial and commercial area of ‘Abbāsid Al-Raqqa, called Al-Raqqa Al-Muhtariqa

Abstract

The history of the industrial and commercial district between al-Raqqa and al-Rāfiqa is reconstructed on the basis of literary sources, numismatic finds and aerial views from the early twentieth century. It probably came into being during the 160s/780s when the ‘old market of the caliph Hishām’ was transferred from within al-Raqqa to the free land between the two cities. The decision of Hārūn al-Rashīd to reside in al-Raqqa created a new demand, and consequently glass furnaces and pottery kilns were set up for mass production. A road running from the east gate of al-Rāfiqa connected this area. After 198/213 the governor of the west, Tārhir ibn al-Husain, erected a wall north of the area in order to protect it from Bedouin raids. During the third/ninth century at the latest the area developed into a third urban entity. Al-Muqaddasī mentions an al-Raqqa al-Muhtariqa. The identification with the commercial and industrial area is proposed. The decline of al-Raqqa al-Muhtariqa began in the 270s/880s and 280s/890s. The devastating rule of the Hamdânids probably marks its end.

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