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ABSTRACT
There are natural and human factors that contributed to the emergence, growth and development of the city in a
place devoid of resources, and a marginal desert location far from water, where there are no population
attractions.The study of these factors confirmed the characteristics of the locality and location and their connection
with the structure, existence and development of the city. Despite the importance of this factor in the emergence of
Najaf, however, its role was weak compared to the relative impact of other factors, because the city of Najaf could
not have continued and developed in such a position and location, in which the elements and components of the city
are not available without the presence of other factors with a stronger and more effective impact, as well as the
location takes a gradual elevation from East to West, so it is very difficult to dig open streams to deliver water This
explains the factors and reasons that prompted the ancient inhabitants of Najaf to adopt certain types of ancient land
uses, such as digging wells, creating underground rooms (basements), digging canals and shelters, erecting fences
and Khans .the study showed that the religious factor was the main factor in the emergence of the city and giving it a
religious character.
KEYWORDS
Engineering Technology, digging canals, erecting fences.
Research Article
MIDDLE EUPHRATES UNIVERSITY-FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
TECHNOLOGY NAJAF CONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION
DEPARTMENT: A STUDY OF HIS ANALYSIS ON THE EMERGENCE OF THE
ANCIENT CITY OF NAJAF AND ITS URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Submission Date:
December 08, 2024,
Accepted Date:
December 13, 2024,
Published Date:
December 18, 2024
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajsshr/Volume04Issue12-09
Deyaa Kareem Ali
Engineering Technical College / Najaf, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Najaf, Iraq
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajsshr
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
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INTRODUCTION
The city is a human phenomenon, the first of which
European and American Geographers are very
interested in the so-called geography of cities, which is
interested in studying the city in many ways , they are
interested in studying its location, which represents
the area occupied by the city, as well as studying its
location, which means the relationship of the city with
its neighboring areas in social, economic and political
terms, that is, studying all the forms of spatial relations
between the city and its territory. The study of the land
uses of the city, its internal structure and functions,
analysis of its economic basis, spatial relations
between the sales areas, the diligent movement of the
population and the regional functional relations
between them and its area of influence, as
مساقت
the city
shared various human activities through the
researcher's interest in studying the patterns of the
city's streets and their arrangement, and how to divide
its land into areas different from each other, into
residential, commercial, industrial, administrative,
educational and areas dedicated to transportation or
recreation, which those uses (residential, commercial,
industrial, administrative, educational, service and
entertainment) constitute the entire functional
structure of the city .
The study of the commercial territory in the geography
of cities occupies an important place, as the
commercial territory of the city is determined on the
basis of the interaction between the city and the
surrounding areas, and when the interaction is distinct
and clear between the city and its territories leads to
the activity and movement of trade in the city.
Studying the city of Najaf in terms of commercial
territory is of importance, Najaf is one of the important
religious cities in Iraq, because it contains the shrine of
Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (P), the public cemetery,
religious schools and the center of religious tradition
and Ijtihad, and contains the tombs of some of the
companions and the righteous worshippers of Allah
and the Sons of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (p), so
people visit it from several provinces and from many
Arab and Islamic countries and provides multiple
religious, economic and social services to a wide area,
especially commercial services .The commercial
function is one of the most important economic
activities performed by the city to serve its residents
and visitors, and it is one of the factors of population
concentration and therefore it tends mostly to occupy
important sites, and in the study of land uses for
commercial purposes in the city of Najaf.this research
dealt with the development of the city of Najaf from
the ancient stages of the boyh, Seljuk and Ottoman
eras until the modern stage of the year (2024) as well
as the reasons for the prosperity of the urban
development that the city has undergone in various
eras.
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The Research problems:
Determining the research problem is the first step of
scientific research and is one of the difficult tasks
facing the researcher from the very beginning.
The research problem of our study is defined in the
form
1- What are the factors of the emergence of the
ancient city of Najaf?
2- What are the land uses in the Old City of Najaf?
3- Are there stages of the development of the ancient
city of
Najaf?
Research Hypothesis:
1-
There are many factors that led to the
emergence of the city of Najaf for Ashraf, including
natural factors represented by location and location,
climate and surface, as well as human factors
represented by religious, political and civilizational
factors.
2- Land uses in Najaf city varied, including religious,
residential, commercial and other uses .
3-There are many stages that led to the development
of the ancient city of Najaf, starting from the buoyed
era (945-982) until 2024.
Research objectives
The study aims to find out the reasons for the
emergence of the Old City of Najaf, as well as the
reasons that led to a change in the urban fabric and
land uses that exist within the Old City, and to conclude
the research with the stages of the development of the
Old City since the era of Buhi until the year 2024.
The Importance of Research:
The importance of the research is complemented by
the fact that the Old City of Najaf is one of the
important historical centers, and the Old City of Najaf
is distinguished by having an important religious,
cultural and scientific site, it embraces the shrine of
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and the large public
cemetery, and embraces many religious, scientific and
historical facilities through which this city provides its
cultural, social, economic and commercial services to
visitors.
Boundaries of The Study Area:
The Old City of Najaf is astronomically located at two
circles of latitude (32,10
–
31,30) North and two lines of
longitude (43,30
–
44,30). it is surrounded on the north
by the Najaf great cemetery, on the South by Al-
jadeedat area, on the East by Al-hanana district, Al-
Saad district and Abu Khalid district, and on the West
by the low valley of Najaf and the Old City of Najaf is
the center of Najaf governorate (1).
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Map number (1) location of the Old City of Najaf
Source / researcher based on Space video
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A brief history of the city of Najaf:
It
is
mentioned that
the
Babylonian
king
((Nebuchadnezzar)) built (Hayr) on Najaf and its
fortress because of its importance in Al-NADRA being a
western plateau edge separating Iraq or the kingdom
of Babylon from the Arabian Peninsula.The Najaf area
was a burial ground for the Babylonians and the tribes
around the Euphrates near Najaf, and the Babylon of
Hammurabi is not far from Najaf, and that's why it had
a depth in history, so the land of Najaf for its beauty
and the beauty of its flora and on the desert it was a
resort for the people of Babylon and the scene of their
hunting, in addition, the people of Babylon and this
land is different from the plain in which they are to
repeat its floods and the proximity of its waters to the
Surface (2)
Sheikh Al-Kalini narrated, where he said: Najaf was the
first place that the Prophet Adam(PBUH) planned to
pray, which is the mosque of Kufa, and the city of Najaf
was a berth for Noah's Ark in the era of the flood.And
Najaf before the Islamic conquest, Christian
monasteries were spread in it, the most famous of
which is a monastery called (fathion), which is at the
top of Najaf, and the monastery ((Ibn Maz'uq)) in its
South, and the monastery ((Mart Maryam)), which was
built by al-Mundhir, in the areas of Al-HIRA, which is a
supervisor of the Najaf between Al-khurang and Al-
Sadir and between the palace of Abu al-khasib, and the
House of bishops was famous in it, and this house is in
Najaf, Kufa, which is the first AL-Hira, and in the land of
Najaf there was a kind of buildings called it is
single(Karg) and originally small domes inhabited by
monks (3).
Names of the City of Najaf:
There are several designations for the city of Najaf,
including:
1-Najaf
It is said about Najaf that it is an Arabic name that
means the place where there is no water above and
Najaf collected it, which is a round land overlooking
what is around it and Najaf first stirred the husks of the
prayer husks (4)
As for the origin of the name Najaf, it is an ancient
designation dating back to the time of the Babylonians,
who called it najfu, i.e. the land high above the
groundwater level (5).
2-Paratha:
It is a flat plain land with good sand, and it is said that
Perth (the land where it is easy to germinate) and it is
fast to germinate the moment the rain touches it,
relatively high from around, which is why it was called
the mountain overlooking the low Valley (6).
3- The back:
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It is known as the back of Kufa and it is also known as
the back of Al-Hira, and the Arabs have called words
such as back and belly on the ground. As for the term
the back of Kufa, it was popularized when the
Christianization of Kufa in (17 ah) and the Muslim Arabs
settled there. Urban scholars have called the term back
and back parts of the city's territory, and the diamond
part of the city is also called (7).
4-Panegia:
It is said that panqiya is one of the areas of Kufa, and
panqiya is the name of the Nabataean sheep, and
Ibrahim al-Khalil had bought the land of Najaf with
booty ((naqiya)) so she called panqiya, it was narrated
that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) came out of Babylon
on his donkey with his nephew Lot Driving sheep,
carrying a bucket on his shoulders until he came down
(panqiya) and it was 12 leagues long and they were
shaking every period or every night, so when Ibrahim
(as) and he stood up to them and they did their best for
him, and he said : But I went out to my father and he
went out until Najaf came. The Prophet Ibrahim (peace
be upon him) reviewed his listing and said to whom
they told us about this land. after that, the Prophet
bought it with booty, so it was called by this name (8).
5-Ni-GF:
There are many accounts about this name, one of
which is narrated by Shaykh al-saduq, who said: Najaf
was a mountain, which Ibn Nuh said : I will go to a
mountain that infuses me from the water, and it was
not on the face of the earth greater than this mountain,
so Allah Almighty revealed to him any infallible from
me, so the mountain was cut piece by piece to the
Levant and became sand, and then it became a great
sea, and then this sea dried up, which he named (ni), so
he called it ni dry(9) .
The walls of the Ancient City of Najaf.
Najaf was walled up until the advent of al-Tusi in 1057
with four walls: the first was built by Muhammad Zayd
da'i around the tomb and the date of its construction
has not been found. Second: it was built by Abu al-hija
Abdullah ibn Hamdan, and the date of its construction
has also not been found. And the third: it was built by
the ruler of the state after he expanded the city in (982
ad). The fourth wall was built by Abu Al-Hasan Al-Arjani
by order of Al-Hasan ibn Sahlan in (1010 AD), and with
it Najaf took a circular shape surrounding the tomb in
(125) AD, and this wall is 199 meters away from the
tomb in most sides. (10). And the Fifth Wall: Owais al-
jalairi built around Najaf at a distance of 57 meters from
the fourth wall, and with it Najaf expanded and
became the length of its perimeter (1721 meters) and
has a large door called (Town Gate).
Within the Fifth Wall, housing began to revolve around
the tomb, so residential shops appeared, such as Al-
Jalal's shop, which the current market of the mosques
occupies part of its site, and the Al-Baraka shop, which
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now has the AL-turaihi mosque ( 11), and the
architecture shop expanded around the Tomb of the
owner of the jeweler, but no residential shops were
established from the east side, and this is confirmed by
the map of Nippur in 1765, look at Map number (2).
As for the sixth wall: it was built by the royal vizier
Salman Pasha in 1788 and remained so until it was
renewed during the period in (1802) and until 1811.it has
two doors, the first opposite the road leading to Kufa
is known as the big door and the second towards the
Qibla near the shrine of Zein al-Abidin and finally known
as Bab al-thulma.
In the period after 1765, Najaf continued to suffer from
crowding out its population, its roads were narrow,
and its population increased until 1811, when the state
regime of Muhammad Hussein al-Allaf built a wall with
four gates, towers, bastions, and a trench (12). The
sixth wall can be seen from the picture Number (1)
Map No. (2) stages of development of the city 787 - 1925
Source / Dr. Mohsen Sahib Al-Muzaffar, (greater Najaf) an earlier source, P. 36.
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Photo No. (1) Najaf city wall in 1921
Source
: Ministry of Tourism and antiquities-Najaf - twenty revolution branch.
Second paragraph
Factors of the emergence of the city of Najaf.
The city of Najaf Al-Ashraf arose due to the influence of
several important factors, and the religious factors had
the primary role in its emergence and growth, as well
as the natural, political and civilizational factors that
helped to do so. Among the most important factors
that helped the emergence of the city are:
First: natural factors.
Secondly: human factors.
First: natural factors:
These factors relate to the historical geographical
features of the area where Najaf is located in terms of
location, location and composition. The characteristics
of the place where the city originated and the
surrounding area, were associated with its structure,
existence and development.
Position and location:
As for the location, the city of Najaf Al-Ashraf arose on
a wavy land on three small hills, which is part of a
desert plateau with a rocky and sandy nature, and
these hills are known as White Hills, namely ((Jebel al-
Deek), a hill located north of the Old City of Najaf in the
current locality of mashraq, ((Jabal al-Nur) is located to
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its South and ((Jebel Sherman shah), which is located
in the southwest in the current locality of al-Amara. In
fact, they are not mountains, but hills resulting from
digging basements and throwing them out of the wall.
The location of Najaf is represented in a hillock high
above sea level by ((230)) feet and now the land
stretching between the Euphrates and Najaf is rising,
the city has lived with the scarcity of water and the lack
of it and the difficulty of obtaining it from distant cities.
As for the emergence of agricultural and pastoral
Najaf, which is represented by the land located to the
East and north-east of Najaf, it played an important
positive role in the growth of the city through the
development of its historical stages and still is. The
branches of the Euphrates River and its streams are
branched through its flat and gradually sloping land to
the South, which is arable land whose fertility helped
to provide the agricultural crops needed by the city,
and supplies Najaf with water and migrants coming to
it.
As for the noon of Najaf desert, represented by the
desert lands located north, west and southwest of the
city, it is a desert plateau sloping towards the
sedimentary plain, in which the internal erosion parts,
the Najaf depressions, Wadi Shuaib and Shamiya were
formed, and the formations of this land of clay rocks,
layers of sand rocks, pits and gypsum, and by virtue of
their composition, helped to the emergence of a
number of eyes west of Najaf and Southwest the
residents of Najaf owned agricultural land there(13)
As for the Najaf climate, it is a hot desert continental
climate, dry in summer and cold in winter, as well as its
other desert characteristics, represented by the large
daily thermal range and low humidity, Najaf is prone to
toxic winds due to its location at the edge of the desert
and the predominance of the western winds blowing
on it, and its exposure to dust storms, as for the rainfall
on Najaf is fluctuating in its quantities and the rate of
its fall from year to year, the rate of its fall in 1963-1970
was 6.6 drops/mm (14).
As for the location of Najaf:
It is located at the extreme southwestern tip of the
northern section of the Iraqi plain, on the edge of the
desert, on the western side of the Euphrates River and
10 km away from it, and this made it located at the
shortest connecting road between this fertile and
productive plain and the plateau and the Arabian
Peninsula.the city of Najaf is almost one of the few and
rare cities with this characteristic that combines the
plain and the desert and connects two different
regions. Najaf is located west of the city of Baghdad
and east of the city of Karbala and overlooks from its
Southwest the Najaf sea or the Najaf depression, which
has an area of 180 miles ( 15), See map number (3).
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Map number (3) Map of Najaf province of Iraq
Source /
Dr. Safa Majid Al-Muzaffar, variation of noise pollution in Najaf province, honor,
(G.M.), University of Kufa, Faculty of Arts, 2012, p. 4.
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Second: human factors include:
1-
The religious factoring
the year (35 Ah - 655
ad), after Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) swore allegiance
to the caliphate, he came to Kufa and resided there and
became the capital of the Islamic caliphate for four
years (16).
The narrations indicate that Imam Ali (peace be upon
him), if he wanted to be alone by himself, came to the
area of Al-Ghari, and he would say (what is the best
view of you). And what a nice seat you have. O Allah, I
will make my grave with it) and he has determined for
his children and his faithful companions the location of
his grave when he dies.
When he was martyred (40 Ah - 660 AD), he was buried
secretly where his honorable grave is now.
Najaf at that time was a small village with scattered
houses, and the imam's tomb was hidden in a part of
the edge of this village, visited secretly by his children
and family members, and his honorable burial
((mausoleum)) was not built and remained unbuilt
until the year ((170 Ah - 787 ad)) when Harun Rashid
built it for the first time. (17).
It has been mentioned in the narrations, especially in
(the history of Najaf)) that the first to age his grave was
Daoud bin Abdullah bin Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib, who
made a box of wood on his grave, and then the Caliph
Harun al-Rashid built a dome of red clay on it and made
a box on the grave. Since that date, the city has taken
on its importance, as that year marked the beginning
of burial in the Najaf region, and a number of Muslims
began to bury their dead next to the grave and stay
near it, and a number of Kufa residents migrated their
homes to Najaf starting from the ninth century AD, and
this migration increased during the period (945 Ah -
1058 ad). (18).
What is stated in religious and historical books and
novels about the virtue of the land of Najaf and living
in it and the proximity of the imam and burial next to
him, influenced him in souls, and pushed people in
many places, which made them attract travelers to live
in Najaf and live there because of the sanctity of the
place. This had a significant impact on the growth of
the city and the subsequent crowding of its population.
Thus, the effectiveness of the factor that was a key
factor in the emergence of a city that was formed and
developed by the action of this important factor
((religious factor)) is evident (19).
2-
Cultural factors:
The impact of civilizational factors is represented by
the expansion of the scope of Science and religious
knowledge, especially through religious schools
established to receive religious sciences in (815 Ah -
1412 ad), as well as the flourishing of literature and the
spread of libraries, offices and social councils, that
helped attract students wishing to study Islamic
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sciences from the provinces of Najaf, and the migration
to Najaf increased and took care of the construction of
the holy shrine and the construction of their own
buildings and cemeteries, and many canals were dug to
deliver water to the city after spending huge sums for
this (20).
Najaf Al-Ashraf turned into an important commercial
influence during the third and fourteenth centuries AD
after the development of distinctive commercial,
industrial and artisanal activity and the attraction of
Arab and foreign merchants by ships that arrived by
the Najaf sea or by caravans, as well as being a stop for
pilgrims heading to Mecca by Land pilgrimage. That it
contributed to the emergence and development of the
city and the formation of its urban structure.
3-
Political factors:
Political factors played a positive role in confirming the
importance of the city and its national role in
development and the feeling and sense of resistance
among the population to the foreigner, and its role
emerged in moving the residents of Najaf Al-Ashraf
against the Ottomans to remove their garrison from
the city and besiege the revolutionaries of the
Ottoman garrison, which was the seat of the Ottoman
governor in Khan al-Shilan, which is located in the
center of the Old City ((currently Al-khorang Street)),
this was done in (1915) and they took over their own
rule( 21).
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the
population actively resisted the English and formed
secret societies to get rid of them and rid Iraq of their
power and influence.clerics and scholars worked to
provoke tribes in Kufa, Abu Sakhir, Shamiya and in a
number of other cities of Iraq to revolt against the
English, taking advantage of their religious influence.
these clans took up arms to protect Najaf in 1918 and
declared their revolution against the English and
resisted their forces, despite the failure of the
revolution, but it left a strong political base to reject
English Policy and the development of the national
spirit. And if the roots of readiness and resistance in the
souls of the population were threatened with another
revolution against them, it was the twentieth
revolution. ( 22).
Stages of development of the urban city of Najaf
The stages of development of the city of Najaf have
witnessed different eras, starting from the buyids, the
Seljuks and the ilkhanate state in the old days until the
year 2000 AD, the stages of development in the city of
Najaf were divided into two parts:
1- The ancient stage of development.
2-The modern stage of development.
Ancient stages of development:
1-Najaf in the bayed era (945-982 ad): (334-327 Ah):
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During the reign of the buyid state in (945-1058 ad),
Najaf received great attention from the opening of
channels towards it, in which Immigration and the
reconstruction of the holy tomb increased, the
construction of buildings increased, and their repair
has increased, especially during the era of the support
of the buyid state, when the buyids entered Iraq in (945
ad) led by MU'izz Al-Dawla (Hassan al-Dulaimi) and
overcame the King during the reign of the Abbasid
state, until they began to serve Al-Bayt and weep and
mourn for Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) from
secret to public, and Najaf began to expand in its
construction and was filled with visitors and scholars to
it (23). The population of Najaf in the year (981) is
approximately (6000) people, and the city of Najaf
delivered water to Najaf to serve its people and
visitors, expanded its old canal and paid water in it, and
it was then called the canal (the city of Najaf) or (Al-
buwayh canal) and najafians took hundreds of years to
rely on this canal for their watering, and dug deep
vertical wells connected by a tight channel through
which water flows from one well to another towards
the west of the city(24).
2-Najaf during the Seljuq era (1051-1056 ad) (443-448
Ah)
The Seljuks or Banu Seljuq are a Turkic dynasty that
ruled Iraq and entered Islam at the time of its leader
Seljuq.
During this era, unrest and strife between Sunnis and
Shiites increased and increased even more during the
reign of ((tughrak Bey)), the first Seljuk King entered
Iraq in (447)ah, and Sheikh (Abu Jafar al-Tusi) was not
spared from the fires of this strife, as his library and
chair were burned in Baghdad in (446 Ah) (1056 ad),
after which Sheikh al-Tusi emigrated to the city of Najaf
and lived there, and immigration to Najaf increased due
to sectarian strife, scholars and jurists have moved as a
result, and looting the University of Najaf became an
extension of the University of Kufa and Najaf
prospered both physically and economically .(25)
1-
Najaf under the IL khanate state.
A Mongol dynasty ruled Iran, Iraq, the Caucasus and
part of Asia after the invasion of the Mongols led by
hulaku and occupied Baghdad in (656 Ah) (1258 ad).
Najaf received great attention during the ilkhanate
state (1258-1335 ad), where religious schools were built
and canals were dug during that period and turned into
an important commercial center (26)
2-
Najaf under the Safavid state.
During the reign of the Safavid state (1507-1534 ad),
Najaf reached prosperity after the state of the black
and white sheep (1411-1057 ad), a number of merchants
came and established, built and expanded the city at
that time. The old Najaf canal was cleaned and another
canal was built in the late twenties of the sixteenth
century AD, then Najaf suffered after a while from the
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scarcity of water in the two canals and the percentage
of visitors decreased and the Najaf population left until
only thirty houses remained in the late sixteenth
century after it was inhabited by three thousand
houses (27).
3-
Najaf during the reign of the Ottoman Empire
(1539
–
1914) ad.
During the Mamluk era, Najaf was the center of the
highest religious authority and it is still the same
centralization. It is the object of attention of Muslims
and is frequented by students of Science, and scientific
and fiqh schools have been built there. The city has
risen to the fields of Renaissance and origins, as well as
the renaissance of literature in it (28). Dwellings first
arose north of the tomb in 787 ad , and the first side
where dwellings arose is what is known today as the
edge of the East.
Housing began to extend west of the tomb and south
of it, and residential shops appeared, such as the Rabat
settlement, the jebbah, which was located near the
current Hindi mosque, and the zanjil settlement, which
includes today (AKD Al-Hamir).
The Turks helped a lot to delay the growth of Najaf,
except for what happened during the Mamluk era. (29)
4-
Najaf in the royal era (1921-1958) ad.
During the royal era, Najaf received some attention,
and when the Republican era came in 1958, Najaf was
hit by a large urban movement that it had not known
during its long history. Where some of its residents
went out to establish housing for them outside the city
wall and form an emerging residential area called the
(AL-thulma) area.
The residents of the city continued to make other
openings in the wall of Najaf and go beyond the wall,
choosing new housing for them, so a new locality was
established (Gazi) in 1929 next to the Wall (30).
Stages of modern urban development:
1-
The stage of development since (1958
–
1973)
After 1958, due to the increase in the number of
immigrants to Najaf, the improvement of roads leading
to it, and the increase in transportation modes. The city
moved towards rapid expansion to the East and South.
It continues to expand in these two directions, so
modern residential neighborhoods appeared such as
Al-Saad, al-hanana, housing, Al-Hussein, municipality,
teachers and Prince, and Al-Jadida and the Republic
expanded during this period and the revolution.the
trends of urban growth in this form were imposed by
the determinants of the growth of the city,
represented by the cemetery, which occupies the
northern and northeastern areas of the city and the sea
of Najaf, which is located to the south and southwest
of the city, so the city expanded in these two
directions.(31)
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2-
stage of development since (1974 - 1987)
This stage was characterized by great development
and expansion towards the north on Najaf and Karbala,
as during the years 1974-1987, large numbers of
southern residents migrated to the city due to the
circumstances of the war with Iran.the government
was forced that day to distribute land for housing for
the families of the war martyrs, in addition to
compensating the families who demolished their
homes in old shops, especially al-Amara, Al-thulma and
Al-Shafi'i, as well as in this period residential
neighborhoods such as Al-Oruba, Yarmouk and Al-
Milad neighborhoods appeared (32).
3-
The stage of development since (1987-2000).
After significant changes were made to the road
network in the Old City and as a result of the process of
continuing the opening of new streets in the traditional
fabric of the holy city of Najaf, the majority of which
ends with the course of the Holy Bowl, the pattern of
movement has changed at this stage in quite a few
parts of the traditional fabric.after the roads appear in
the form of narrow lanes and alleys with irregular
curves and closed streets, they have become straight
and wide streets, some in one direction and some in
opposite directions (33).
4-
The stage of development since (2000-2003)
This stage was characterized by the age of the Old City,
especially Al-Sadiq Street (p), al-Tusi Street and Al-
Rasul Street (R), where the state paved the main
streets leading to the entrance to the city, and
wrapped and decorated the main facades and laid
modern plastic pipe networks instead of the damaged
metal pipe network (34).
5-
The stage of development since (2003-2016)
In this period (2003-2006), Najaf witnessed a kind of
major urban stagnation due to the political events
represented by the entry of American troops into Iraq
and the fall of the regime and the delay in the
formation of the government .in 2009, important
changes were made to the Old City of Najaf, where the
authority of the ages Council in Najaf city Ashraf
restored some archaeological sites represented by the
restoration of Khan al-Shilan and the expansion of the
streets surrounding the the grand souk, the Ahwesh
souk, the Islamic style, the renovation of sewage
networks, and the paving of roads around the Old
City(35). Look at the map number (3)
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Map No. (4) urban development of Najaf city for the year 2016
Source: Directorate of urban planning and development in Najaf governorate
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RESULTS
Through the study of the genesis of Najaf and the
influencing factors and through the field survey of the
study area (the Old City of Najaf), the researcher came
to the following conclusions:
1-
The study showed that religious, natural,
civilizational and political factors helped the
emergence and development of Najaf in a place devoid
of resources and in a marginal desert location with no
population attraction potential and far from water, but
the religious factor played an active and distinctive role
in the emergence of the city. The holy shrine of Imam
Ali (peace be upon him) was the organizational basis
for the urbanization of the city and around it planned
the location of markets, residential neighborhoods and
other activities.
2-
The city of Najaf is famous for several names,
including Najaf, Khad Al-Virgin, tongue, paratha, noon,
asthma, Al-Azi panikia and Al-Mashhad, Wadi Al-Salam.
3-
The Old City of Najaf passed through the stages
of urban development since the buyid era (945) ad to
the stage of development in (2000) AD, which was
characterized by the emergence of spacious
neighborhoods around the Old City and the
development of Transportation. The Old City became
the center of the greater city of Najaf.
4-
The reason for the presence of the shrine of
Imam Ali (peace and blessings be upon him) is an
attraction and migration factor to the city of Najaf and
this has led to an increase in the population and the
emergence of good neighborhoods in it.
5-
The high level of births and the low level of
deaths due to the improvement of the health level led
to a high population density in the Old City.
6-
The religious factor is the child of commercial
and service activities and it controls the nature of the
distribution of these uses
7-
As a result, the relationship between the
religious function and the commercial function soon
overlapped and developed, as the Old City occupied
great importance in the framework of the economic
activity with its commercial activities of the city of
Najaf, and the trade function developed among the
volume of visitors.
8-
The random change of land uses and traffic
problems caused by the opening of straight and wide
streets such as Al-Sadiq(P), Zain al-Abidin(P), Al-
Rasul(R), and al-Tusi streets have lost their traditional
fabric specificity and attracted the movement of
vehicles with great momentum towards the heart of
the city, shattering the traditional system of sabla
movement and increasing people's dependence on
cars for transportation.
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9-
The need to provide ample parking along the
Ring Road and can be multi-storey parking after testing
the infrastructure requirements and suitability of the
land.
10-
The establishment of a vast museum that
includes the most important historical and heritage
models and rare items of gifts brought by kings,
princes and visitors to the holy shrine.
Recommendation
1- Direct modernization of the water network and other
infrastructure, which has been established for more
than seventy years.
2-Encouraging the process of signing local industries
related to visitors in the central region and not allowing
major industries in it as they can be signed outside the
city.
3- Paying close attention to the tourism function of the
city by encouraging the private sector and supporting
it by the state through the adoption of a policy of loans
and facilities for the purpose of establishing hotels and
tourist complexes of a scale that fits the fabric of the
city to accommodate visitors and expatriates from
Iraqis, Arabs and foreigners, especially in the western
side of the old Najaf ((Najaf depression)).
4-It presupposes the adoption of effective policies and
programs for the renewal of the urban fabric,
encouraging residents to restore and maintain their
residential units by granting them restoration permits
based on the rules adopted in the modernization of
Arab-Islamic cities after conducting a thorough survey
of historical and heritage buildings prone to corrosion.
5-In order to achieve integration and interconnection
between the traditional inherited fabric of the city and
the development projects at the architectural level, it
emphasizes that the designs of the facades of modern
buildings should be in harmony and harmony with the
traditional Arab-Islamic style through the use of arches,
alleys and street roofing with appropriate distances
and means of shadows that leave a comfortable
aesthetic and psychological reflection for the
beholders.
6- The vertical expansion took place instead of
horizontal within the city center due to the high price
of land in 2012, which amounted to five million per
square meter, and this explains that the city center is
an important commercial and religious area.
7- Work to prevent visual pollution of the holy shrine
by preventing the vertical height of buildings so that
they do not rise above the outer fence of the holy
shrine,
and
emphasize
the
integration
and
interconnection of the sectors of the city with the holy
shrine and the surrounding area, where it is not
allowed to create large spaces that compete with the
space of the holy shrine.
REFERENCES
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