'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1353] (408/688)

NAJAP TOWN
1353
fera. Prom ancient times it has been maintained by some Muhammadan authorities
that 'Ali was really buried at Kufah, and not here. In 1051 A.D. a Shi'ah shrine which
existed here was burned by Sunnis from Baghdad.
The battle of Qadislyah, by which the Muslims in 635 A. A. gained the province of
'Ira;i from the Persians, is believed to have been fought at a place about 10 miles west of
the present town of Najaf ; Qadislyah was then a village, and its existance as suc h
continued until the 14th century of the Christian era, if not longer.
■Pontion and -site, —Najaf stands in the desert 6 miles west-south-west of Kufah on the
Hind [yah,; it is situated on a ridge of reddish sandstone and gravel and overhangs and
overlooks from the north-east the Bahr or Sea of Najaf, described in the article on the
Hindlyah, to which its site falls away in cliffs about 40 feet high. The Bahr is now dry
near the town and contains several date plantations. In the plain surrounding the town
every side except the south-west irregular earthen mounds rise in different directions;
some of those to the north and east are about 30 feet high, but their summits are narrow.
A mound of rubbish, also narrow-topped but commanding the town, is situated on the
south-west side between the town and the Bahr. On the south, between the town and
the Bahr , is open ground, where the. Turkish expeditionary force destined for Najd was
encamped in 1904-05. The Hamtdiyah canal from the Hindlyah, mentioned again
further on, runs in the bed of the Bahr skirting the foot of the cliffs; its bed, opposite
the town, is 12 feet wide and 6 feet deep, and the water in it runs in midwinter about 6
feet wide and 6 inches deepit is occasionally filled up by drifting sand. The Hamidiyah
canal is sometimes, from the name of the Saniyah agent who constructed it, called the
Eakriyah. Cemeteries adjoin the northern and eastern sides of the town. The environs
generally contain market gardens and plantations of young date trees which have not
yet begun to bear fruit.
Town and building*. —The town of Najaf, which is roughly quadrangular, is surrounded
by a wall built a century ago to defend it from the attacks of the Wahabis ; the wall is
about 30 feet high and has circular bastions, some 50 in number and each 50 feet in dia
meter, at intervals of 100 yards. This work is now in a state of decay; in places it is
cracked and in others it is actually falling down. There are two main gateways with
gates, one 12 and the other 9 feet wide, on the eastern face of the town : of these the larger
is the Bab-al-Husainand the other, opened only three years ago, is the Bab-al-Kufah,
On the south-west side towards the Bahr is a third gate, called Bab Murad on account of
a tradition that the turban of the Sultan Murad IV fell off when he was passing through
it in 1638 or 1639 A.D. In the western wall is an aperture known as Thilmah which has
no gate but is large enough to afford a passage for field artillery or other vehicles. At
the north-east corner of the town, adjoining the military barracks, is a fifth gate spoken
of simply as Bab,
The principal building in Najaf is the shrine which contains the tomb of 'AH ; it rises
in the centre of the town and is even richer and more splendid than the shrine of Husaln
at Karbala. In general design it resembles the sacred edifices of Karbala; but it is
double-storeyed, and the gold plating of the minarets reaches almost to the ground.
Its dome has been described as " a mound of gold rising .from the level deserts. " *
The main bazaar of Najaf runs from the shrine to the larger eastern gate, and in it are
situated the old Turkish Government buildings or Sarai. There are some dilapidated
barracks in the north-eastern part of the town. About a score of caravansarais for
travellers are located in different quarters ; these include 5 or 6 well-built brick Khans of
modern construction which stand outside the town on the north-east side at about 25
yards from the town wall.
The houses of Najaf are mostly of brick and motar and new ones of modern design are
steadily replacing those in the old style. The site of Najaf is greatly overcrowded.
Inhabitants. —The population of Najaf, which has greatly increased during the
last generation, is now estimated at more than 30,000 souls. Of these more
than one-third are Persians and nearly all the remainder are Arabs ; but there are
also about 250 Negroes, 100 Barbaris of Afghan origin, and 100 Indians. No Jews or
Christians are found. With the exception of about 100 Sunnis, chiefly government
employes, the entire population (including the Babaris) is Shi'ah,
♦See Loftus' Tra els and Researches, page 52. Loftas and his party are perhaps the oaly Christians who have
ever entered the precincts of the shrine.
C52(w)GSB