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Photo: Ali Alturaihy, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Aside from its architectural significance, this mosque is historically important as the site of the assassination of Imam Ali, in 661 AD (40 AH). Pilgrims pay their respects at the mihrab (niche facing Mecca) where he was prostrating when he was attacked from behind with a sword.
The Great Mosque of Kufa, or Masjid al-Kufa, is a Shi'ite mosque and shrine, located in Kufa, in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq. Completed in 670 CE, it is one of the earliest surviving mosques in the world. The mosque was home to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the 4th Rashidun caliph; and contains the shrine of Muslim ibn Aqeel, his companion Hani ibn Urwa, and the revolutionary, Al-Mukhtar. The mosque has been significantly rebuilt and restored multiple times in its history.
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A historic khan, a type of roadside inn, on the road between Najaf and Karbala.
Historical city, infamous as the site of the battle in 636, which saw forces of the Rashidun Caliphate defeat the Persians sent by Rostam Farrokhzad, the dynast of the Sasanian Empire.