Caliph al-Mutawakkil commissioned the mosque in 848, and it was completed in 851. The inner mosque interior covers 403,000 square feet (37,440 m²), and the outer enclosure covers 1,785,580 square feet (165,886 m²).
A baked brick outer wall has 44 semicircular towers, 28 windows and 16 doors. The prayer hall is a large courtyard surrounded by covered aisles, with 17 aisles, a large arched mihrab and 464 pillars supporting a baked brick ceiling about 36 feet (11 m) high. The Malwiya Minaret, built of sandstone with a spiral ramp, is 171 feet (52 m) high and 108 feet (33 m) wide at the base.
The mosque was destroyed after Hulagu Khan's invasion of Iraq in 1258 or 1259. In 2005 an explosion destroyed the top of the minaret, which some sources attribute to Iraqi insurgents. Restoration began in 1956, and a minaret project was announced in 2015. UNESCO listed the Samarra Archaeological City in 2007.
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