Al-Raqqa is a town of modern Syria situated on the left bank of the Euphrates River. It was the site of a city during Antiquity and Late Antiquity. It gained in importance in the early Islamic period and first became the place of a garrison city called al-Rāfiqa under the Abbasid caliph al-Mansūr. Later on, during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Haārūn al-Rashīd, for about twelve years (796–808 ce), al-Raqqa became temporarily the capital of the empire when the caliph decided to settle there. It resulted in the building, to the north of the town, of a huge palatial area.