Statue of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur
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تمثال أبي جعفر المنصور | |
 | |
| Location | Baghdad, Iraq |
|---|---|
| Designer | Khaled al-Rahal |
| Type | Statue |
| Height | 2.0 metres (6.5 ft) |
| Completion date | January 1977 |
| Restored date | June 2008 |
| Dedicated to | Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur |
The Statue of Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (Arabic: تمثال أبي جعفر المنصور) is a bronze statue of the second Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur who was also the founder and builder of Baghdad which he made the capital of the Caliphate. The statue is located on the Karkh side, in the Mansour district of Baghdad.[1]
The Statue is a bronze sculpture of the face of the Abbasid Caliph, mounted on a brick body that forms a small building decorated with Islamic decoration. The statue is located on a small rounded square decorated with trees and herbs.
Modern History
The statue was sculpted by the Iraqi sculptor Khaled al-Rahal, one of the most prominent pioneers of the modern Iraqi artistic movement.[1] It was unveiled on January 6, 1977, by Mayor of the capital, Ibrahim Muhammad Ismail, on the occasion of the celebration of the fifty-sixth anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi army during the reign of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr.[2]
During the US invasion of Iraq, an unidentified gunmen blew up the statue on October 18, 2005. Almost two years after it was blown up, the Baghdad Municipality announced that they will restore the statue in its Baghdadi architectural style.[3][1]