Baghdad – the capital of the Arab Caliphate Caliphate. Baj-Dad – an ancient Iranian name. "Bug Dahl" - a Russian expression that means "God Nathan". What is common between them?
Baghdad, the modern capital of Iraq, was founded in 762 by the second Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur. For 440 years, Baghdad served as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, except for a 56-year break when the capital was Samarra. Baghdad became the main political, economic and cultural center of the Caliphate, as well as one of the most important cities in the world of the Middle Ages.
The new city was built near Tisphon (Ktesiphon). The former capital of the Iranian Sasanian Empire, which was conquered by the Arabs back in the 7th century. One of the main reasons for choosing this location was its convenient geographical location. Back in the days of the Sasanian Empire, major trade routes that connected different districts of the country passed through Tisphon. In addition, this region had well-developed transport and trade links with Khorasan in Iran, which played a key role in the rise of the Abbasids to power. It was precisely in Khorasan that the Iranian military commander Abu Muslim al-Khorasani operated, who led the rebellion against the Umayyad House and became one of the main allies of the Abbasids.
Al-Mansour named the new capital "State of Salam", which means "City of Peace" in Arabic. However, this official name could not replace the historical name of the area. Baghdad, which existed long before Arab Israel.
The name "Baghdad" has an ancient Iranian origin, and it consists of two parts:
"Bug". An ancient Iranian word meaning "God", "divinity".
"Dad". In Persian it means "give", past tense of the verb "dadan". "give".
Therefore, the meaning of the name "Baghdad" is "God gave", "Given by God" or "Given by God".
But the most interesting of all is the similarity between the ancient Iranian "Bag-Dad" and the Russian expression "Bog Dal". This similarity is not accidental.