SHAFAQNA– The Al-Askarian (AS) Holy Shrine in Samarra, Iraq is built in the form of a hexagon with a golden dome that is located in the middle of the holy courtyard. In this holy site, in addition to the holy bodies of Imam Hadi (A.S) and Imam Hasan Askari (A.S), the bodies of other members of Ahlul-Bayt (A.S) are also buried.
The two Imams (AS) were buried in their home after their martyrdom, and for many years Shia Muslims came to visit this house. This house was next to a mosque which is said to be the place where the two Imams prayed. When this house was closed to visitors, Shia Muslims gathered behind the window of the house and then went to the Mosque next to it to perform the pilgrimage prayer. The situation continued for years.
The first person to build a dome upon the holy tombs of these Imams was “Nasir Al-Dawla Hamdani” who built a dome on their tombs in 333 AH. The dome was rebuilt and restored many times.
Finally, in the twelfth century, the ruler of Khoi (Ahmad Danbali Khoi, who died in 1200 AH) built this courtyard at a great cost. For the shrine, he built a porch, an excellent dome and a garland. For the holy crypt, he built a separate courtyard with a separate porch alongside a path and stairs. He also built an independent vestibule and crypt for women.
In 1285 AH, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ordered that the dome of the holy shrine be gilded, this is also written on the dome. The dome of the Al-Askarian (AS) Holy Shrine is the largest dome of Shia holy places. So that its circumference is 68 meters and its diameter is 22 meters and 43 centimeters and the number of its golden bricks is seventy-two thousand bricks. Next to this dome, there are two golden minarets, each of which is 36 meters high from the ground and 25 meters above the roof level of the courtyard.
Under the dome of the holy shrine, there is a beautiful silver shrine made by Isfahani artists. The inside of the shrine and parts of the porticos are beautifully mirrored and are among the relics of King Faisal I, the Hashemite king of Iraq, and lead to the courtyard that surrounds the shrine through a wide porch with a roof. Of course, after the destruction that took place in this court, all these features were rebuilt with more beauty and the same size. Inside the holy courtyard, there are 45 porches, of which 16 are on the west, 9 on the south and 20 on the east, and one of the features of this courtyard is that it lacks a chamber.
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