Saladin Governorate contains a number of important religious and cultural sites.
Samarra, the governorate's largest city, is home to both the
Al-Askari Shrine (an important religious site in
Shia Islam where the 10th and 11th
Shia Imams are buried), and the
Great Mosque of Samarra with its distinctive Malwiya minaret. It also contains an old
Zengid mosque. Samarra was the capital of the
Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century CE, and today
Abbasid Samarra is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ancient
Neo-Assyrian Empire Assyrian city of
Assur is located in
Al-Shirqat District on the banks of the
Tigris River. Other sites in the governorate include the Crusader Dome (القبة الصلبية) north of Samarra and the Al-`Ashaq Palace (قصر العاشق). In January 2014, there were plans announced by Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki to make the Tuz Khurmatu district into a new governorate due to its
Turkmen majority. However, these plans were not implemented.
Autonomy In October 2011, the governorate's administration declared itself a semi-autonomous region, explaining that the declaration was in response to the
central government's "domination over the provincial council authorities". Saladin, which is a largely
Sunni governorate, is also hoping that by declaring themselves an autonomous region within Iraq, it will entail them to a larger portion of government funding. ==Provincial government==