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Al-`Askarī or the '''`Askariyya Mosque/Shrine''' ( Muslim holy site located in the Iraq i city of Samarra 60 Mile s from Baghdad . It is one of the most important Shī`ite Mosques in the world, built in 944 .1 Its dome was destroyed in February 2006 (see Al-`Askarī Mosque Bombing ). The remains of the tenth and eleventh Shī`a Imāms , `Alī L-Hādī and his son Hassan Al-`Askarī , known as "the two ''`Askarī''s" (''al-`Askariyyān''), rest at the shrine.2 It stands adjacent to a shrine to the Twelfth or "Hidden" Imām, Muħammad Al-Mahdī . The `Askariyya Shrine is also known as the "Tomb or Mausoleum of the Two Imāms", "the Tomb of Imāms `Alī l-Hādī and Hassan al-`Askarī" and ''al-Hadhratu l-`Askariyya''. Also buried within the Mosque are the remains of Hakimah Khatun, sister of `Alī l-Hādī, and of Narjis Khatun, mother of Muħammad al-Mahdi. Shrine of Imām al-Hādī and Imām al-`Askarī (ArchNet Digital Library) HISTORY The Imāms `Alī L-Hādī (also known as ''an-Naqī'') and Hassan Al-`Askarī lived under house arrest in the part of Samarra that had been Caliph Al-Mu'tasim 's military camp (''`Askaru l-Mu'tasim''). As a result, they are known as the ''`Askariyyān'' ("Dwellers in the Camp"). They died and were buried in their house on Abī Ahmad Street near the mosque built by Mu'tasim. Shrine of Imām al-Hādī and Imām al-ˤAskarī (ArchNet Digital Library) A later tradition attributes their deaths to poison. The shrine around their tombs was developed in around 1053 and by Caliph An-Nasīr Li-Dīn Allāh in 1209. Nasir Ad-Din Shah Qajar undertook the latest remodelling of the shrine in 1868, with the golden dome added in 1905. Covered in 72000 gold pieces and surrounded by walls of light blue tiles, the dome was a dominant feature of the Samarra skyline. It was approximately 20 Metre s in diameter by 68 metres high. BOMBING See Also: Al Askari Mosque bombing On ) explosions occurred at the mosque, effectively destroying its golden dome and severely damaging the mosque. Several men, one wearing a military uniform, had earlier entered the mosque, tied up the guards there and set explosives, resulting in the blast. Two bombs were set off34 by five5 to seven6 men dressed as personnel of the Iraqi Special Forces 7 who entered the shrine during the morning.8 REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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