Karbala

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For places named Karbala in Iran, see Karbala, Iran; Karbala, Fars; and Karbala, Zanjan.
"Kerbela" redirects here. For the moth genus, see Kerbela (moth).
Karbala
كربلاء
Karbalāʾ
Kerbala
The Holy Shrines in Karbala
The Holy Shrines in Karbala
Karbala is located in Iraq
Karbala
Karbala
Location in Iraq
Coordinates: 32°37′N 44°02′E / 32.617°N 44.033°E / 32.617; 44.033
Country  Iraq
Governorate Karbala
Settled 690 AD
Population (2014)
 • Total 1,151,200 [1]

Karbala (Arabic: كربلاء‎‎) Karbalā’; is a city in central Iraq, located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 1.15 million people (2014).

The city, best known as the location of the Battle of Karbala (680), is considered as holy a city for Shia Muslims as Mecca, Medina and the noble sanctuary in Jerusalem, and tens of millions of Shia Muslims visit the site twice a year. Karbala is home to the Imam Hussain Shrine. The martyrdom of Hussain ibn Ali (Imam Hussain) is commemorated annually by millions of Shias.[2][3][4][5]

Etymology[edit]

Several theories address the origin of the name Karbala. The geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi expressed the traditional hypothesis: that the name is an alternate Arabic feminine version of karbalah "soft earth".[6] Alternatively, it has been said to be derived from the Aramaic word Kora, meaning place for making bricks, for the nearby ancient city of Babil, hence Karbabil, which became Karbala by contraction.[citation needed] According to Shia belief, the archangel Gabriel narrated the true meaning of the name Karbalā to Muhammad: the land which will cause many agonies (karb) and afflictions (balā)."[7]

The word derived from the Aramaic word כַרְבָלָא / ܟܪܒܠܐ [ krblh | karbālā ], ultimately derived from Akkadian karballatu. It means a type of head covering and also cock's comb.r

Climate[edit]

Karbala experiences a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh) with extremely hot, dry summers and cool winters. Almost all of the yearly precipitation is received between November and April, though no month is truly wet.

Climate data for Karbala
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 15.7
(60.3)		 18.8
(65.8)		 23.6
(74.5)		 30.6
(87.1)		 36.9
(98.4)		 41.5
(106.7)		 43.9
(111)		 43.6
(110.5)		 40.2
(104.4)		 33.3
(91.9)		 23.7
(74.7)		 17.6
(63.7)		 30.78
(87.42)
Average low °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7)		 7
(45)		 11.2
(52.2)		 17.1
(62.8)		 22.5
(72.5)		 26.3
(79.3)		 28.8
(83.8)		 28.2
(82.8)		 24.3
(75.7)		 19
(66)		 11.6
(52.9)		 6.9
(44.4)		 17.36
(63.26)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 17.6
(0.693)		 14.3
(0.563)		 15.7
(0.618)		 11.5
(0.453)		 3.5
(0.138)		 0.1
(0.004)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.3
(0.012)		 4.1
(0.161)		 10.5
(0.413)		 15.3
(0.602)		 92.9
(3.657)
Average precipitation days 7 5 6 5 3 0 0 0 0 4 5 7 42
Source: World Meteorological Organisation (UN)[8]

History[edit]

Battle of Karbala[edit]

Main article: Battle of Karbala
Destruction of the Tomb of Husain at Kerbela on the orders of Caliph al-Mutawakkil.

Karbala's prominence in Shia traditions is the result of the Battle of Karbala, fought on the site of the modern city on Oct 09, 680 AD (10 Muharram 61 AH). Both Imam Hussein ibn Ali and his brother Abbas ibn Ali were buried by the local Banī Asad tribe at what later became known as the Mashhad Al-Hussein. The battle itself occurred as a result of Husain's refusal of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah's demand for caliphate. The Kufan governor, Ubaydallah ibn Ziyad, sent thousands of horsemen against Imam Hussein as he traveled to Kufa. The horsemen, under 'Umar ibn Sa'd, were ordered to deny Imam Hussein and his followers water in order to force Imam Hussein to agree to give an oath of allegiance. On 9 Muharram, Imam Hussein refused and asked to be given the night to pray. On 10 Muharram, Imam Hussein ibn Ali prayed the morning prayer and led his troops into battle along with his brother Al-Abbas. All of Hussein's followers, including all of his present sons Ali al-Akbar, Ali al-Asghar (a few months old) and his nephews Qassim, Aun and Muhammad were martyred in an inhuman way.[9]

In 63 AH (682 AD), Yazid ibn Mu'awiya released the surviving members of Imam Hussein's family from prison. On their way to the Mecca, they stopped at the site of the battle. There is record of Sulayman ibn Surad going on pilgrimage to the site as early as 65 AH (685 AD). The city began as a tomb and shrine to Hussein and grew as a city in order to meet the needs of pilgrims.

The city and tombs were greatly expanded by successive Muslim rulers, but suffered repeated destruction from attacking armies. The original shrine was destroyed by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakkil in 850 but was rebuilt in its present form around 979, only to be partly destroyed by fire in 1086 and rebuilt yet again.

Early modern[edit]

See also: Wahhabi sack of Karbala

Like Najaf, the city suffered from severe water shortages that were only resolved in the early 18th century by building a dam at the head of the Husseiniyya Canal. In 1737, the city replaced Isfahan in Iran as the main centre of Shia scholarship. In the mid-eighteenth century it was dominated by the dean of scholarship, Yusuf Al Bahrani, a key proponent of the Akhbari tradition of Shia thought, until his death in 1772,[10] after which the more state-centric Usuli school became more influential.

The Wahhabi sack of Karbala occurred in 21 April 1802 (1216 Hijri) (1801[11]), under the rule of Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad the second ruler of the First Saudi State, when 12,000 Wahhabis from Najd attacked the city of Karbala.[12] The attack was coincident with the anniversary of Ghadir Khum event,[13] or 10 Muharram.[14] Wahhabis killed 2000[14]-5000[13] of the inhabitants and plundered the tomb of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad and son of Ali bin Abi Talib,[14] and destroyed its dome. Then they seized a large amount of spoils including golds, Persian carpets, money, pearl and guns accumulated in the tomb most of them donations. The attack lasted for 8 hours and Wahhabis left the city with more than 4,000 camels carrying their plunder.[15]

After the First Saudi State invasion, the city enjoyed semi-autonomy during Ottoman rule, governed by a group of gangs and mafia variously allied with members of the 'ulama. In order to reassert their authority, the Ottoman army laid siege to the city. On January 13, 1843 Ottoman troops entered the city. Many of the city leaders fled leaving defense of the city largely to tradespeople. About 3,000 Arabs were killed in the city, and another 2,000 outside the walls (this represented about 15% of the city's normal population). The Turks lost 400 men.[16] This prompted many students and scholars to move to Najaf, which became the main Shia religious centre.[17] Between 1850 and 1903, Karbala enjoyed a generous influx of money through the Awadh Bequest. The Shia ruled Indian Province of Awadh, known by the British as Oudh, had always sent money and pilgrims to the holy city. The Oudh money, 10 million rupees, originated in 1825 from the Awadh Nawab Ghazi-ud-Din Haider. One third was to go to his wives, and the other two thirds went to holy cities of Karbala and Najaf. When his wives died in 1850, the money piled up with interest in the hands of the British East India Company. The EIC sent the money to Karbala and Najaf per the wives' wishes, in the hopes of influencing the Ulama in Britain's favor. This effort to curry favor is generally considered to have been a failure.[18]

Mosque in Karbala (1932)

Karbala's development was strongly influenced by the Persians, who were the dominant community for many years (making up 75%[citation needed]of the city's population by the early 20th century). The Kammouna family were custodians of the shrines for many years and effectively ran the city until it fell under the control of the British Empire in 1915. While the Kammouna family surrendered rule over to the British and sought to work for and with the British, many notable Karbala clans continues to oppose the foreign invasion. One such clan is the historically well-known Karbala clan of Awad who has been inhabitants of the city for some 500 years.[19] They, alongside others, fought directly against the British. According to the writings of Gertrude Bell,[20] some of the Awad clan's sheiks were banished after the control of the city for many years before returning to re-establish their land and community prestige.[21] The Awad Clan has historically been noted as one of the only clans in Karbala to actively oppose the British control and remain an influential family in the city to this day.

The association of the city with Shia religious traditions led to it being treated with suspicion by Iraq's Sunni rulers. Under Saddam Hussein's rule, Shia religious observances in the city were greatly restricted and many non-Iraqi Shia were not permitted to travel there at all.

In March 1991, the city was badly damaged and many killed when a rebellion by local Shia was put down with great brutality by Saddam's regime. The shrines and surrounding Shia houses, cemeteries, and hospitals became riddled with machine gun fire and military shelling. By April 1991, Saddam Hussein began an intense demolition project around the shrines in order to create a concrete perimeter. This "sanitary zone" created a wide open space in between and around the shrines. The shrines were rebuilt by 1994.[22] After the United States Military Forces invaded Iraq in 2003, the administration allowed for foreign Shia pilgrims to an unrestricted Ashura pilgrimage in decades. Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims from other countries rushed to US embassies to get visit visas to attend Ashura in Karbala. The 2004 pilgrimage was the largest for decades, with over a million people attending from all over the world but mainly Iraqis. It was marred by bomb attacks on March 2, 2004, now known as the Ashoura massacre, which killed and wounded hundreds despite tight security in the city.

A big Shia festival passed off peacefully amid fears of possible violence that brought thousands of troops and police into the city. Hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims who had come together to celebrate the Shaabaniya ritual began leaving the southern city after September 9, 2006 climax ended days of chanting, praying and feasting. Heavy presence by police and Iraqi troops seemed to have kept out suicide bombers who have disrupted previous rituals.

On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (180 m) from the shrine, killing 47[23] and wounding over 150.

On January 19, 2008, 2 million Iraqi Shia pilgrims marched through Karbala city, Iraq to commemorate Ashura. 20,000 Iraqi troops and police guarded the event amid tensions due to clashes between Iraqi troops and Shia Muslims which left 263 people dead (in Basra and Nasiriya).[24]

Main sights[edit]

Imam Hussein Camp

Shia beliefs[edit]

Shias believe that Karbala is one of the holiest places on Earth according to the following traditions (among others):

Karbalā, where your grandson and his family will be martyred, is one of the most blessed and the most sacred lands on Earth and it is one of the valleys of Paradise.

God chose the land of Karbalā as a safe and blessed sanctuary twenty-four thousand years before He created the land of the Ka‘bah and chose it as a sanctuary. Verily it (Karbalā) will shine among the gardens of Paradise like a shining star shines among the stars for the people of Earth.

  • In this regard, Imam Jafar Sadiq narrates, 'Allah, the Almighty, has made the dust of my ancestor's grave - Imam Husain (a.s.) as a cure for every sickness and safety from every fear.'[26]
  • It is narrated from Imam Jafar Sadiq that: "The earth of the pure and holy grave of Hussein ibn Ali (a.s) is a pure and blessed musk. For those who consume it , it is a cure for every ailment, and if our enemy uses it then he will melt the way fat melts, when you intend to consume that pure earth recite the following supplication"[27]
  • The famous quote: "Every day is Ashura, every land is Karbala."

Culture[edit]

Sports[edit]

Karbalaa FC is a football club based in Karbala.

Media[edit]

There are many references in books in films to "Karbala", generally referring to Hussein(a.s) ibn Ali's(a.s) death at the Battle of Karbala. Hussein(a.s) is often depicted on a white horse impaled by arrows. There are films and documentaries about the events of Karbala in both animated and realistic form (see external links "Karbala: When the Skies Wept Blood"; "Safar-e-Karbala").

Video footage of the actual city exists in a British documentary entitled "Saddam's Killing Fields."[28] The documentary shows the March 1991 destruction of the city by Saddam's army through the video camera of two brothers who lived in the city.

University[edit]

Main article: Ahlulbait University College

There is a university called Ahlulbait University College in the city, teaching a variety of subjects.

Indian subcontinent[edit]

In the Indian subcontinent Karbala apart from meaning the city of Karbala (which is usually referred to as Karbala-e-Mualla meaning Karbala the exalted), also means local grounds where commemorative processions end and/or ta'zīya are buried during Ashura or Arba'een, usually such grounds will have shabeeh (copy) of Rauza or some other structures.[29][30]

In South Asia where ta'zīya refer to specifically to the miniature mausoleums used in processions held in Muharram. It all started from the fact that the great distance of India from Karbala prevented Indian Shi'is being buried near the tomb of Imam Husayn or making frequent pilgrimages(ziyarat) to the tomb. This is the reason why Indian Shi'is established local karbalas on the subcontinent by bringing soil from Karbala and sprinkling it on lots designated as future cemeteries. Once the karbalas were established on the subcontinent, the next step was to bring Husayn's tomb-shrine to India. This was established by building replicas of Husayn's mausoleum called ta'zīya to be carried in Muharram processions. Thousands of ta'zīyas in various shapes and sizes are fashioned every year for the months of mourning of Muharram and Safar; and are carried in processions and may be buried at the end of Ashura or Arbain.[31]

See also[edit]

Main sights[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Iraq: Governorates, Regions & Major Cities - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". 
  2. ^ Malise Ruthven (2006). Islam in the World. Oxford University Press. p. 180. ISBN 9780195305036. 
  3. ^ David Seddon (11 Jan 2013). Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East. Karbala (Kerbala): Routledge. ISBN 9781135355616. 
  4. ^ John Azumah; Dr. Kwame Bediako (Contributor) (26 May 2009). My Neighbour's Faith: Islam Explained for African Christians. Main Divisions and Movements Within Islam: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310574620. 
  5. ^ Paul Grieve (2006). A Brief Guide to Islam: History, Faith and Politics : the Complete Introduction. Carroll and Graf Publishers. p. 212. ISBN 9780786718047. 
  6. ^ Muslims, Islam, and Iraq
  7. ^ a b al-Qummi, Ja'far ibn Qūlawayh (2008). Kāmil al-Ziyārāt. trans. Sayyid Mohsen al-Husaini al-Mīlāni. Shiabooks.ca Press. p. 545. 
  8. ^ "World Weather Information Service – Karbala". United Nations. Retrieved 1 January 2011. 
  9. ^ al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir – History of the Prophets and Kings; Volume XIX The Caliphate of Yazid ibn Muawiyah, translated by I.K.A Howard, SUNY Press, 1991
  10. ^ Juan Cole, Sacred Space and Holy War, IB Tauris, 2007 p71-2
  11. ^ Staff writers. "The Saud Family and Wahhabi Islam, 1500-1818". www.au.af.mil. Retrieved 8 August 2016. 
  12. ^ Martin, edited by Richard C. (2003). Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. ISBN 0-02-865603-2. Retrieved 14 July 2016. 
  13. ^ a b Litvak, Meir (2010). "KARBALA". Iranica Online. 
  14. ^ a b c Khatab, Sayed. Understanding Islamic Fundamentalism: The Theological and Ideological Basis of Al-Qa'ida's Political Tactics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9789774164996. Retrieved 11 August 2016. 
  15. ^ Vassiliev, Alexei. The History of Saudi Arabia. Saqi. ISBN 9780863567797. Retrieved 9 August 2016. 
  16. ^ Cole, Juan R.I. and Moojan Momen. 1986. "Mafia, Mob and Shiism in Iraq: The Rebellion of Ottoman Karbala 1824-1843." Past & Present. No 112: 112-143.
  17. ^ Cole, Juan R. I. Sacred Space and Holy War: the Politics, Culture and History of Shi'ite Islam. London: I.B. Tauris, 2002.
  18. ^ A Failed Manipulation: The British, the Oudh Bequest and the Shī'ī 'Ulamā' of Najaf and Karbalā'. Meir Litvak, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, JSTOR 826171
  19. ^ Direct primary source of survivor
  20. ^ Writings of Gurtrude Bell
  21. ^ Surviving sheik's first hand recall in Karbala
  22. ^ https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1992/Iraq926.htm
  23. ^ Hamourtziadou, Lily (2007-04-15). "'A Week in Iraq'". iraqbodycount.org. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-04-15. 
  24. ^ "Iraqi Shia pilgrims mark holy day". 19 January 2008 – via bbc.co.uk. 
  25. ^ al-Qummi, Ja'far ibn Qūlawayh (2008). Kāmil al-Ziyārāt. trans. Sayyid Mohsen al-Husaini al-Mīlāni. Shiabooks.ca Press. p. 534. 
  26. ^ Amali by Shaykh Tusi, vol. 1 pg. 326
  27. ^ Mustadrakul Wasail, vol. 10, pg 339-40 tradition 2; Jadid Makarimul Akhlaq pg.189; Beharul Anwaar vol. 101, tradition 60
  28. ^ "YouTube". 
  29. ^ (Re-)defining Some Genre-Specific Words: Evidence from some English Texts about Ashura, Muhammad-Reza Fakhr-Rohani, University of Qom, Iran
  30. ^ A citation from Fruzzetti, "Muslim Rituals," for this use of Karbala is as follows: "The Muslims then proceed to 'Karbala' to bury the flowers which were used to decorate the tazziyas, the tazziyas themselves being kept for the next year's celebration." (pp. 108-109).
  31. ^ Behrens-Abouseif, Doris; Vernoit, Stephen. Islamic Art in the 19th Century: Tradition, Innovation, And Eclecticism. BRILL. ISBN 9004144420. Retrieved 12 August 2016. 

Further reading[edit]

Published in the 19th century
  • Louis de Sivry, ed. (1859). "Karbala". Dictionnaire geographique, historique, descriptif, acheologique des pèlerinages anciens et modernes (in French). Paris. 
Published in the 20th century
  • "Kerbela", The Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.), New York: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910, OCLC 14782424 
Published in the 21st century
  • C. Edmund Bosworth, ed. (2007). "Karbala". Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. 
  • Michael R.T. Dumper; Bruce E. Stanley, eds. (2008), "Karbala", Cities of the Middle East and North Africa, Santa Barbara, USA: ABC-CLIO 

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 32°37′N 44°02′E / 32.617°N 44.033°E / 32.617; 44.033

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