Place · city

Najaf

Najaf is a city in central Iraq, south of Kufa, built around the shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph and first Shia imam. It is one of the holiest cities of Shia Islam and for centuries has been a major centre of Shia learning, with its great seminaries and the vast Wadi al-Salam cemetery. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate.

Najaf
Image: Goudarz.memar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

Afsharid EmpireGovernanceIslamCommunity

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Mazyadid dynastyMusha'sha

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Najaf. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/najaf
MLA
“Najaf.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/najaf. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Najaf.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/najaf.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Najaf’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/najaf (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻