RAQQAH, AR-

also spelled Raqqa, or Rakka, town, northern Syria, on the Euphrates River just west of its confluence with the Balikh River. Ar-Raqqah is on the site of an ancient Greek city, Nicephorium, and a later Roman fortress and market town, Callinicus. It flourished again in early Arab times when the 'Abbasid caliph Harun ar-Rashid built several palatial residences there and made it his headquarters against the Byzantines. For a time the town was called Ar-Rashid. The Arab astronomer al-Battani (Albatenius) made his observations there in the 9th and 10th centuries. Mongol invasions in the 13th century destroyed much of the settlement. Gradually the town fell into decay and was replaced in importance by its suburb, Ar-Rafiqah, which took over its name. After the Tabaqah Dam, just up the Euphrates from Ar-Raqqah, began to be built in 1968, Ar-Raqqah grew. It became a supply centre for the community at the dam site, where jobs were provided. Local cultivation increased, and Ar-Raqqah again became an increasingly important market centre. The town has a small museum exhibiting finds from excavations in the area; a team of archaeologists from the Syrian Department of Antiquities is excavating and restoring buildings of the 'Abbasid period. Pop. (1985 est.) 118,946.