The Abbasid caliph al-Mu‘tasim built the Dar al-Khilafa (also known as the Jawsaq al-Khaqani) in 836. The Dar al-Khilafa had a square courtyard with a fountain in its center aligned along the palace’s central east–west axis. Beyond lay an even larger courtyard with water channels and two fountains. Both of these may have been gardened. In the area between the main entrance or Bab al-Amma and the river, another large expanse of land was surely occupied by gardens.
Samarra and its palaces slid into decline after 903 when the Abbasids turned their attention elsewhere. The gardens surely were neglected from that point onward. The last dated archaeological evidence at Samarra is from the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
Source: Archaeological Analysis, 1914
-Antonio Almagro, D. Fairchild Ruggles
Originally published at: Almagro, Antonio, and D. Fairchild Ruggles. “Dar al-Khilafa/Jawsaq al-Khaqani.” Middle East Garden Traditions. Dumbarton Oaks, November 18, 2014. https://www.doaks.org/resources/middle-east-garden-traditions/catalogue#b_start=0&c6=Early+Islamic+Gardens+of+Greater+Syria. Archived at: https://perma.cc/7ZVW-NFSZ
