San José State University
Department of Economics

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Thayer Watkins
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The City of Kufa in Iraq

The cities of Basra and Kufa were founded as garrison towns (amsar) for the troops of the caliph in Medina in the early days after conquest of Iraq. Iraq had been under the control of the Persians and the Caliph wanted his troops isolated from the contaminating influence of the infidels of Iraq. The location of Kufa was on a tributary of the Euphrates River about 10 kilometers northeast of the city of an-Najaf.

Kufa served for a period of time as the administrative center in Iraq for the caliphate. When Ali sought to become the caliph in opposition to the Umayyids Kufa was strongly supportive of him and when Ali did become caliph he made Kufa his capital. When Ali was killed and the caliphate was returned to Umayyid control in Damascus, Kufa developed a culture of opposition to Damascus control. It supported the unsuccessful rebellion of al-Zubayr in the late seventh century.

In the middle of the eighth century Kufa was captured by the Abbasids and served as their capital until the founding of Baghdad in 672. Thereafter Kufa declined and was almost abandoned by the fourteenth century.

(To be continued.)


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