Samarra

[ suh-mahr-uh ]

/ səˈmɑr ə /

noun

a town in central Iraq, on the Tigris: seat of the early Abassid caliphs.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for samarra

He prepared operations south of Samarra and north of Baghdad.
What an Iranian Funeral Tells Us About the Wars in Iraq|IranWire|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It has been six months since unknown insurgents destroyed the Al-Askari mosque in Samarra.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She says, Shi'a people leave Adh Dhouloueya and go to Samarra.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are the victims of Shia death squads in Samarra and Tikrit.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“The Peace Brigades have been welcomed by the Sunni people of Samarra,” he said.
Baghdad’s Shia Militia Plans for War on ISIS|Jacob Siegel|July 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Between Daur and Samarra there was nothing but desert, with gazelles and jackals the only permanent inhabitants.
War in the Garden of Eden|Kermit Roosevelt
To take things without violence is a sign of weakness in Samarra.
Caught by the Turks|Francis Yeats-Brown
We returned to find Samarra buried in dust and more desolate than ever.
War in the Garden of Eden|Kermit Roosevelt
The second line arrived, so my prisoners and I set out on our tired trudge to Samarra.
The Leicestershires beyond Baghdad|Edward John Thompson
Corps, I was told, were ignorant up to almost the day of our starting out from Samarra.
The Leicestershires beyond Baghdad|Edward John Thompson

Word Origin and History for samarra

Samarra

city in north-central Iraq; phrase an appointment in Samarra indicating the inevitability of death is from an old Arabic tale (first in English apparently in W. Somerset Maugham's play "Sheppey," 1933), in which a man encunters Death (with a surprised look on his bony face) one day in the marketplace in Baghdad; he flees in terror and by dusk has reached Samarra. Death takes him there, and, when questioned, replies, "I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra."