Al Khaisaran cemetery, Old Cemetery in Baghdad

Al Khaisaran, now called the Adhamiya cemetery, surrounds the mosque of Imam Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man, buried there in 150 AH/767 CE. The cemetery is the origin of the Adhamiya district and holds the remains of jurists, scholars and Ottoman-era governors. Graves were traditionally built of sun-dried mud brick rather than fired brick, so few old tomb structures survive.

Known in historical texts as Maqbarat al-Rusafa and later named for Khayzuran bint Atta, wife of Caliph al-Mahdi and mother of al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid, who died in 173 AH and was buried here. Among the earliest graves are those of Hisham ibn Urwa ibn al-Zubayr (146 AH), Muhammad ibn Ishaq (151 AH) and Shayban al-Nahwi (164 AH). Floods, unrest and Persian destruction under the Safavids led residents to build over parts of the ground, reducing it to a small cemetery around the Abu Hanifa mosque.

The cemetery is also called Maqbarat al-A'zamiyya, after the Adhamiya district it gave rise to. It takes its earlier name, Khaisaran, from Khayzuran bint Atta, wife of Caliph al-Mahdi and mother of al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid, who died in 173 AH and was buried here. The historian and poet Walid al-A'zami, buried in the cemetery, wrote a book about it, A'yan al-Zaman wa Jiran al-Nu'man fi Maqbarat al-Khayzuran.

The cemetery is easily accessible on foot or by car and is best visited during daylight hours when natural light aids navigation and reflection. Visitors should wear respectful clothing and observe quiet behavior, as this is a sacred space for the community.

When the Abu Hanifa Mosque was expanded in 1972, workers digging more than four metres below the new prayer hall found graves made of glazed ceramic jars shaped like water vessels; these were transferred to the Iraq Museum. The cemetery also holds the tomb of the poet Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi and that of Ma'ruf al-Rusafi.