Abbasid Caliphate

History Abbasid Revolution (747–750) Main article: Abbasid revolution The Abbasid caliphs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad and of the same Banu Hashim clan. This family relation to Muhammad made them appealing to those who were discontented with the rule of the Umayyad caliphs (661–750), who did not descend from the same family. Over the course of their rule, the Umayyads even suppressed several rebellions that attempted to bring other members of Muhammad's family to power. [ 1 ] One of the claims that the Abbasids made in the early years of their political movement was that Abu Hashim , the son of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya and grandson of Ali , had formally transferred the Imamate ( imāmah ) to Muhammad ibn Ali (the great-grandson of Abbas) and thus to the Abbasid family. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Muhammad ibn Ali began to campaign in Persia for the return of power to the family of Muhammad, the Hashemites, which may have started during the reign of Umar II . [ 5 ] Later, after they had attained power and needed to broaden their support among Muslims, the Abbasids supplemented this claim with other claims to justify their legitimacy. [ 6 ] The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character and administration in general. The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali , who remained outside the kinship-based society of the Arabs and were perceived as a lower class within the Umayyad empire. [ 7 ] The eventual launching point of the revolution was Khurasan (roughly northeastern Iran), a strategic province that was distant from the caliphate's centres of power and had enjoyed a degree of autonomy and local identity since the pre-Islamic Sasanian period . Despite being on the frontier of the Islamic world, it encompassed a relatively large Muslim population made up of both Arab settlers and local converts who were relatively well-integrated with each other. This population resented Umayyad rule, which was seen as foreign and oppressive, and local political tensions had simmered for years. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] According to Ira Lapidus , "The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Merv with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali". [ 10 ] Support for the Abbasids spread through Khurasan during the 740s. In 744 or 745, some of its local leaders, including Qahtaba ibn Shabib , traveled to Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage and met there with the head of the Abbasid family, Ibrahim al-Imam (fourth in descent from Abbas). They pledged allegiance to Ibrahim and returned to Khurasan accompanied by one of Ibrahim's freedmen, a Persian known as Abu Muslim . [ 11 ] [ 12 ] During the reign of the Umayyad caliph Marwan II , this opposition culminated in a rebellion that began on 9 June 747 (15 Ramadan 129 AH ). Abu Muslim, rising from Khurasan, initiated an open revolt against Umayyad rule under the sign of the Black Standard . Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslim's command when the hostilities officially began in Merv. [ 13 ] The rebellion's main initial support came from Khurasan, despite the opposition of the local Umayyad governor there, Nasr ibn Sayyar , as well as from Shi'i Arabs. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] Qahtaba, now one of Abu Muslim's generals, defeated Nasr ibn Sayyar and pursued him west, where he defeated the Umayyads at the Battle of Gorgan, the Battle of Nahavand and finally in the Battle of Karbala, all in the year 748. [ 15 ] Ibrahim had remained in Humayma (in present-day Jordan) and his identity was not revealed to most of the movement's supporters, who knew only that they supported someone from the family of Muhammad to replace the Umayyads. [ 16 ] When Marwan learned of the Abbasid involvement in the uprising, he had Ibrahim arrested and thrown into prison, where he died or was executed in 749. [ 17 ] [ 16 ] [ 18 ] The rebels pressed on to capture the important city of Kufa in Iraq that same year, although Qahtaba died on the way. To pre-empt any attempt by the Alids (those descended from Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali) to put forth their own candidate for the caliphate, Abu Muslim and the Abbasids rushed to declare Ibrahim's brother, Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah , as the new caliph in Kufa. [ 19 ] [ 18 ] After this declaration, the Abbasids sent armies west for a final confrontation with Marwan, while also recruiting new allies from this region to supplement their Khurasani supporters. They met the Umayyad army in a battle near the Great Zab river in early 750, where Marwan was defeated, marking the end of Umayyad power. [ 20 ] After this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently killed. The remainder of his family were also eliminated, barring one male who escaped (the future Abd al-Rahman I ). [ 15 ] Establishment and consolidation (750–775) Early 14th century copy of the Samanid -period Tarikhnama of Bal'ami (10th century) depicting al-Saffah ( r.  750–754 ) as he receives pledges of allegiance in Kufa Al-Saffah's reign ( r.  750–754 ) was spent consolidating Abbasid rule over the Muslim community. [ 21 ] In addition to the caliph himself, most of the real power at this time was in the hands of a triumvirate including the revolutionary leader Abu Muslim, al-Saffah's older brother Abu Ja'far (the future caliph al-Mansur) and al-Saffah's uncle Abdallah ibn Ali (the commander at the battle at the Great Zab). [ 22 ] Soon after the victory of 750, Abu Muslim sent forces to Central Asia to confront an army from Tang China led by Gao Xianzhi . Gao Xianzhi and his army were defeated in 751 at the Battle of Talas , near present-day Tashkent , by the Abbasid army under Ziyad ibn Salih . This defeat marked the end of Tang influence in Transoxiana and halted Tang westward expansion. The Abbasids then consolidated their rule in Transoxania. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] Elsewhere, the Abbasids focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Iraq. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions. [ 15 ] One of the first major changes effected by Abbasid rule was the move of the caliphate's center of power from Syria to Iraq. This was closer to the Persian mawali support base of the Abbasids and the move addressed their demand for reduced Arab dominance in the empire. [ 25 ] However, no definitive capital was yet selected. In these early Abbasid years, Kufa generally served as the administrative capital, but the caliphs were wary of the Alid sympathies in the city and did not always reside here. [ 26 ] In 752, al-Saffah built a new city called al-Hashimiyya, at an uncertain location, most likely near Kufa. [ 27 ] Later that same year, he moved to Anbar , where he built a new settlement for his Khurasani soldiers and a palace for himself. [ 28 ] Portrait of al-Mansur ( r. 754–775) from an Ottoman -era work, the "Cream of Histories" ( Zübdet-üt Tevarih ) in 1598 [ 29 ] It was al-Saffah's successor, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ( r.  754–775 ) who firmly consolidated Abbasid rule and faced down internal challenges. [ 30 ] His uncle, Abdallah ibn Ali, the victor over the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab, was the most serious potential rival for leadership and al-Mansur sent Abu Muslim, the Khurasani revolutionary commander, against him in 754. After Abu Muslim successfully defeated him, al-Mansur then turned to eliminate Abu Muslim himself. He arranged to have him arrested and executed in 755. [ 31 ] On the western frontier, the Abbasids were unable to re-assert caliphal control over the western and central Maghreb , which the Umayyads had lost in the 740s. [ 32 ] One member of the Umayyad dynasty, Abd al-Rahman, also managed to escape the purge of his family and established independent rule in al-Andalus (present-day Spain and Portugal) in 756, founding the Umayyad emirate of Córdoba . [ 33 ] In 756, al-Mansur had also sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist the Tang dynasty against the rebel leader An Lushan . The Abbasids, or "Black Flags" as they were commonly called, were known in Tang dynasty chronicles as the hēiyī Dàshí , "The Black-robed Tazi" ( 黑衣大食 ) ("Tazi" being a borrowing from Persian Tāzī , the word for "Arab"). [ nb 1 ] Later, Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent embassies to China and established good relations with the Tang emperors. [ 35 ] [ 36 ] [ 37 ] After the war, [ clarification needed ] these embassies remained in China [ 38 ] [ 39 ] [ 40 ] [ 41 ] [ 42 ] and al-Rashid established an alliance with China. [ 35 ] Several embassies from the Abbasid caliphs to the Chinese court have been recorded in the Old Book of Tang , the most important being those of al-Saffah, al-Mansur, and Harun al-Rashid. [ citation needed ] Plan of Baghdad between 767 and 912 CE, according to William Muir In 762, al-Mansur suppressed a rebellion in the Hejaz led by al-Nafs al-Zakiyya , a descendant of Ali, whose challenge to the Abbasid claim to leadership was based on his Alid lineage and thus presented a serious political threat. He was defeated by an Abbasid army led by Isa ibn Musa . [ 43 ] It was after this victory, in 762, that al-Mansur finally established a proper Abbasid capital, Baghdad – officially called Madinat al-Salam ('City of Peace') – located on the Tigris River , near the former ancient capital city of Ctesiphon . [ 44 ] Prior to this, he had continued to consider multiple sites for a capital, including al-Hashimiyya, which he used as a capital for a while, [ 45 ] and al-Rumiyya (near the ruins of Ctesiphon), which he used for a few months. [ 46 ] Various other sites in the region also appear to have served as "capitals" under either al-Saffah or al-Mansur prior to the founding of Baghdad. [ 27 ] Al-Mansur centralised the judicial administration and, later, Harun al-Rashid established the institution of Great Qadi to oversee it. [ 47 ] The Umayyad empire was mostly Arab; however, the Abbasids progressively became made up of more and more converted Muslims in which the Arabs were only one of many ethnicities. [ 48 ] The Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians [ 14 ] in their overthrow of the Umayyads. Al-Mansur welcomed non-Arab Muslims to his court. While this helped integrate Arab and Persian cultures, it alienated many of their Arab supporters, particularly the Khurasani Arabs who had supported them in their battles against the Umayyads. [ citation needed ] Golden age (775–861) The Abbasid leadership had to work hard in the last half of the 8th century (750–800) under several competent caliphs and their viziers to usher in the administrative changes needed to keep order of the political challenges created by the far-flung nature of the empire, and the limited communication across it. [ 49 ] It was also during this early period of the dynasty, in particular during the rule of al-Mansur, Harun al-Rashid, and al-Ma'mun , that its reputation and power were created. [ 14 ] Decorated niche from the Abbasid mosque of Afrasiab , Samarkand in Sogdia , 750–825 CE [ 50 ] The position of wazir (vizier) developed in this period. It was initially akin to a secretary, but under the tenure of the Barmakids , an Iranian family close to the Abbasids, the position became powerful and Harun al-Rashid delegated state affairs to them for many years. [ 51 ] This resulted in a more ceremonial role for many Abbasid caliphs compared with caliphal rule under the Umayyads; the viziers began to exert greater influence, and the role of the caliph's aristocracy was slowly replaced by a Barmakid bureaucracy. [ 25 ] At the western end of the empire, Harun al-Rashid agreed to grant the province of Ifriqiya (centered in present-day Tunisia) as a hereditary emirate to Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab , who founded the Aghlabid dynasty there. [ 52 ] Under Harun al-Rashid's reign ( r.  786–809 ), the Abbasid Empire reached its peak. [ 53 ] [ 54 ] His father, al-Mahdi ( r.  775–785 ), restarted the fighting with the Byzantines , and his sons continued the conflict until Empress Irene pushed for peace. [ 15 ] After several years of peace, Nikephoros I broke the treaty, then fended off multiple incursions during the first decade of the 9th century. These Abbasid attacks pushed into the Taurus Mountains , culminating with a victory at the Battle of Krasos and the massive invasion of 806 , led by al-Rashid himself. [ 55 ] Harun al-Rashid's navy also proved successful, taking Cyprus. Al-Rashid then focused on the rebellion of Rafi ibn al-Layth in Khurasan and died while there. [ 55 ] Harun al-Rashid ( r. 786–809) receiving a delegation sent by Charlemagne at his court in Baghdad. Painting by Julius Köckert (1827–1918), dated 1864. Oil on canvas. Domestically, al-Rashid pursued policies similar to those of his father al-Mahdi. He released many of the Umayyads and Alids his brother al-Hadi ( r.  785–786 ) had imprisoned and declared amnesty for all political groups of the Quraysh . [ 56 ] While Baghdad remained the official capital, al-Rashid chose to reside in Raqqa from 796 until the end of his reign. [ 52 ] [ nb 2 ] In 802, he established an unusual succession plan which decreed that his son al-Amin would inherit the title of Caliph and have control of Iraq and the western empire while his other son al-Ma'mun would rule Khurasan and most eastern parts of the empire. [ 58 ] In 803, he turned on and imprisoned or killed most of the Barmakids, who had wielded administrative power on his behalf. [ 59 ] [ 60 ] The reasons for this sudden and ruthless move remain unclear and have been the subject of much discussion by contemporary writers and later historians. [ 60 ] [ 61 ] Gold dinar minted during the reign of al-Amin (809–813) Al-Rashid's decision to split the succession proved to be damaging to the longevity of the empire. [ 62 ] After his death in 809, his succession pact eventually collapsed and the empire was split by a civil war between al-Amin in Iraq and al-Ma'mun in Khurasan. This ended with a successful siege of Baghdad by al-Ma'mun's forces. [ 63 ] When the city fell in 813, al-Amin was captured and executed on the orders of al-Ma'mun's general, Tahir ibn Husayn . This marked the first time that an Abbasid ruler was publicly executed and it irrevocably damaged the prestige of the caliphate. [ 64 ] Al-Ma'mun became caliph and ruled until his death in 833. He initially ruled the empire from his established base in Merv, Khurasan, where his main support was found, but this prolonged the discontent and instability in Iraq and triggered further fighting in the years following his victory. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] In 817, he officially declared an Alid, ' Ali al-Rida , as his heir, instead of an Abbasid family member, perhaps hoping to promote Muslim unity, but the move backfired. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] Eventually, he was compelled to step back from these policies and move his court to Baghdad, where he arrived in August 819. [ 69 ] After this, the rest of his reign was relatively peaceful. Exceptions included a rebellion in Azerbaijan by the Khurramites , supported by the Byzantines, which continued until 837. [ 55 ] He also repulsed a Byzantine attack on Syria around 829, followed by counter-attacks into Anatolia, and suppressed a rebellion in Egypt in 832. [ 55 ] The later years of al-Ma'mun's reign are known for his intellectual interests and patronage. The so-called "translation movement" — the state-sponsored translation of scientific and literary works of antiquity into Arabic — that had begun under his predecessors was pushed even further during this time and al-Ma'mun shifted its focus to ancient Greek works of science and philosophy . [ 70 ] In matters of religion, his interest in philosophy spurred him to endorse Mu'tazilism , the rationalist school of Islamic thought. Under its influence, he officially endorsed the doctrine of createdness of the Qur'an in 827. In 833, he went further and forcibly imposed it on the ulama , the Sunni religious scholars. [ 71 ] This controversial policy, known as the Mihna , was eventually abandoned in 848. Ultimately, it failed to convince the Sunni ulama and instead contributed to the emergence of the latter as a more cohesive social class whose views and interests did not always align with the caliph. [ 72 ] Following the civil war between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun, the traditional mainstay of the Abbasid army, the Khurasaniyya and 'Abna al-dawla , were no longer seen as reliable and the caliphs sought to recruit a new type of army whose loyalty could be better assured. [ 73 ] This process began under al-Ma'mun but it is his brother and successor, al-Mu'tasim ( r.  833–842 ), who is known for its more radical implementation. Soldiers were recruited from several new sources, but the most important, especially under al-Mu'tasim, were the group referred to by Arabic chronicles as "Turks" ( atrāk ), who appear to have been mainly Turkic people from Central Asia. [ 74 ] [ 75 ] Some modern scholars refer to them as Mamluks , marking them as the antecedent of the later slave-soldiers known by that term, but their exact legal status has been a subject of scholarly debate. [ 76 ] [ 77 ] [ 75 ] Many, perhaps the majority, were originally purchased or captured slaves, [ 76 ] [ 75 ] but they were paid regular salaries and thus likely manumitted . [ 76 ] In any case, these outsiders did not have political ties among the traditional elites and thus their loyalty was to the caliph alone. [ 73 ] Partly-reconstructed remains of a courtyard with circular pool in the Dār al-Khilāfa , the caliph's palace, in Samarra , begun in 836 [ 78 ] [ 79 ] These troops were likely the first standing army of the caliphate [ 80 ] and provided the caliph with a strong base of military support. [ 81 ] However, the influx of new foreign troops into the capital created tensions with its inhabitants and with older elites. This was one of the main reasons why, in 836, al-Mu'tasim decided to found a new capital, Samarra , on an open site to the north of Baghdad. [ 81 ] [ 80 ] The new capital housed the caliph's army, allowed for the unhindered construction of massive new palaces, and became the focus of an even more elaborate courtly culture. [ 82 ] [ 83 ] Al-Mu'tasim's reign marked the end of the strong caliphs. He strengthened his personal army with the Mamluks and promptly restarted the war with the Byzantines. Though his attempt to seize Constantinople failed when his fleet was destroyed by a storm, his military excursions were generally successful, culminating with a resounding victory in the Sack of Amorium . [ 84 ] Political fragmentation (861–945) Further information: Anarchy at Samarra From the ninth century onward, the Abbasids found they could no longer keep together a centralized polity from Baghdad, which had grown larger than that of Rome . [ 85 ] As mentioned, Harun al-Rashid had already granted the province of Ifriqiya to the Aghlabids, who ruled this region as an autonomous vassal state until its fall to the Fatimids in 909. [ 86 ] In al-Ma'mun's reign, Tahir ibn Husayn (al-Ma'mun's general in the civil war) was appointed viceroy of Iran and most of the eastern regions of the empire from 821 onward. His descendants, the Tahirids , continued to govern in this position with significant autonomy until 873, although they remained loyal to the caliph and used only the title of amir . From their capital at Nishapur , they were important patrons of Arabic literature and Sunni religious scholarship, in addition to making major improvements to agriculture. [ 87 ] In Transoxiana, the Persian Samanids of Bukhara and Samarkand ruled as local governors, initially under the Tahirids. They oversaw the development of the region's cities into major trade centers, profiting from long-distance trade between China, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. [ 88 ] The walls and spiral minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra , built from 848 to 852 CE in the Abbasid capital of Samarra [ 89 ] The reign of al-Mutawakkil ( r.  847–861 ) was characterized by the caliph's extravagant spending, his attempts to further consolidate power within the state, and his replacement of the Mihna policy with support for more orthodox Sunni scholars, in particular the Hanbali school . [ 90 ] In 853, the Byzantines sacked Damietta in Egypt, and the caliph responded by sending troops into Anatolia, who sacked and marauded until they were eventually annihilated in 863. [ 91 ] Al-Mutawakkil's lifestyle and spending weakened his support among the military. In 861, he was murdered at a party by a group of Turkish soldiers. [ 92 ] This was the first time the Abbasid military intervened so directly and violently at court and it set a precedent for further coups. [ 93 ] The following period, sometimes known as the " Anarchy at Samarra " (861–870), saw four different caliphs come and go. While they each attempted to reassert their authority, they were at the mercy of military and political factions. Tax collection lapsed and, along with al-Mutawakkil's previous spending, this left the state short on funds, which exacerbated the infighting. [ 94 ] In 865, the Turkish soldiers of Samarra even besieged Baghdad to overthrow the caliph al-Musta'in and, when the city fell the following year, they replaced him with al-Mu'tazz . [ 95 ] The latter was overthrown by the same faction in 869 and replaced by al-Muhtadi , who was similarly overthrown in 870. Al-Muhtadi was succeeded by al-Mu'tamid , who was finally able to restore some order, in large part thanks to the help of his brother al-Muwaffaq , who kept the military under control and ran most government affairs. [ 96 ] [ 97 ] The restoration was hampered by the Zanj rebellion , which erupted in 869 and threatened the center of Abbasid control in Iraq. This major threat was not brought under control until a determined campaign was launched in 879. [ 98 ] Map of the fragmented Abbasid empire c.  892 , with areas still under direct control of the Abbasid central government (dark green) and under autonomous rulers adhering to nominal Abbasid suzerainty (light green) By the 870s, Egypt became autonomous under Ahmad ibn Tulun and his Tulunid successors, though they continued to acknowledge the caliph and generally sent tribute to Baghdad. For a time, they even controlled Syria and parts of the Jazira ( Upper Mesopotamia ). [ 99 ] In 882, the caliph al-Mu'tamid even tried to move his residence to Egypt at Ibn Tulun's invitation, though this move was aborted by the intervention of al-Muwaffaq. [ 100 ] In the east, the Saffarids were former soldiers in the Abbasid army who were stationed in Sistan and remained there as local strongmen. They began to challenge the Tahirids from 854 onward and in 873 they captured Nishapur, ending Tahirid rule. They marched on Baghdad in 876 but were defeated by al-Muwaffaq. The two sides were forced to come to terms and the Abbasids allowed the Saffarids to rule over Sistan, Fars , Kirman , and Khurasan. [ 101 ] [ 102 ] In 898, al-Mu'tadid set the Saffarids and Samanids against each other by formally endorsing a Saffarid claim over Transoxiana, the Samanid domain. [ 103 ] [ 104 ] The Samanids emerged triumphant in battle and were able to expand their control thenceforth to Khurasan, while the Saffarids were contained further south. The Samanids never threatened Iraq or western Iran, but they were also not as close to the caliphs as their Tahirid predecessors and in practice they were almost entirely independent of Baghdad. [ 103 ] They became even greater patrons of religion and the arts than the Tahirids. They still maintained an orthodox Sunni ideology but they differed from their predecessors by promoting the Persian language . [ 105 ] There was a brief Abbasid political and military revival at the end of the 9th century, especially under the policies of caliphs al-Mu'tadid ( r.  892–902 ) and al-Muktafi ( r.  902–908 ). [ 106 ] Under al-Mu'tadid, the capital was moved from Samarra back to Baghdad. [ 107 ] Incursions by the Qarmatians and allied Bedouin tribes posed a serious threat from 899 onwards, but the Abbasid army, led by Muhammad ibn Sulayman , won a reprieve against them in 904 and 907. [ 108 ] In 905, the same general invaded Egypt and overthrew the weakened Tulunids, re-establishing Abbasid control to the west. [ 109 ] By the time caliph al-Muktafi died in 908, the Abbasid revival was at its peak and a strong centralized state was in place again. [ 110 ] After his death, however, the state became dominated by feuding bureaucrats. Under al-Muqtadir ( r.  908–932 ), the Abbasid court continued to project power and wealth publicly but the politics and financial policies of the time compromised the caliphate's sustainability in the long-term. It was in this period that the practice of giving out iqta s ( fiefs in the form of tax farms) as favours began, which had the effect of reducing the caliphate's own tax revenues. [ 111 ] In 909, North Africa was lost to the Fatimid dynasty , an Isma'ili Shia sect tracing its roots to Muhammad's daughter Fatima . The Fatimids took control of Ifriqiya from the Aghlabids and eventually conquered Egypt in 969, where they established their capital, Cairo , near Fustat . [ 112 ] [ 113 ] By the end of the century, they were one of the main political and ideological challenges to Sunni Islam and the Abbasids, contesting the Abbasids for the titular authority of the Islamic ummah . [ 114 ] [ 115 ] [ 116 ] The challenge of the Fatimid Caliphate only ended with their downfall in the 12th century. [ 117 ] Under the caliph al-Radi ( r.  934–941 ), Baghdad's authority declined further as local governors refused to send payments to the capital. The Ikhshidids ruled Egypt and Syria autonomously prior to the Fatimid takeover. Even in Iraq, many governors refused to obey and the caliph was unable to send armies against them. [ 118 ] Al-Radi was forced to invite the governor of Wasit , Muhammad ibn Ra'iq , to take over the administration under the newly created position of amir al-umara ("Commander of Commanders"). [ 118 ] Ibn Ra'iq disbanded the salaried army of the caliph and reduced much of the government's bureaucratic infrastructure, including the traditional vizierate, thus removing much of the Abbasid state's basis for power. He was overthrown in 938 and the following years were bogged down in political turmoil. [ 119 ] Al-Mustakfi had a short reign from 944 to 946. It was during this period that the Buyids , a Persian faction from Daylam , swept into power by taking control of Baghdad and its bureaucracy. According to the history of Miskawayh , they began distributing iqta s to their supporters. This period of localized secular control was to last nearly 100 years. [ 14 ] [ 120 ] Outside Iraq, all the autonomous provinces slowly took on the characteristic of de facto states with hereditary rulers, armies, and revenues and operated under only nominal caliph suzerainty, which may not necessarily be reflected by any contribution to the treasury, such as the Soomro emirs that had gained control of Sindh and ruled the entire province from their capital of Mansura . [ 49 ] Mahmud of Ghazni took the title of sultan , as opposed to the amir that had been in more common usage, signifying the Ghaznavid Empire 's independence from caliphal authority, despite Mahmud's ostentatious displays of Sunni orthodoxy and ritual submission to the caliph. In the 11th century, the loss of respect for the caliphs continued, as some Islamic rulers no longer mentioned the caliph's name in the Friday khutba , or struck it off their coinage. [ 49 ] Buyid and Seljuq control (945–1118) Further information: Buyid dynasty and Seljuk Empire The Middle East c.  970 , after the Abbasids came under the control of the Buyid dynasty Despite the power of the Buyid amirs, the Abbasids retained a highly ritualized court in Baghdad, as described by the Buyid bureaucrat Hilal al-Sabi' , and they retained a certain influence over Baghdad as well as religious life. As Buyid power waned with the rule of Baha' al-Daula , the caliphate was able to regain some measure of strength. The caliph al-Qadir , for example, led the ideological struggle against the Shia with writings such as the Baghdad Manifesto . The caliphs kept order in Baghdad itself, attempting to prevent the outbreak of fitna s in the capital, often contending with the ayyarun . With the Buyid dynasty on the wane, a vacuum was created that was eventually filled by the dynasty of Oghuz Turks known as the Seljuqs . By 1055, the Seljuqs had wrested control from the Buyids and Abbasids, and took temporal power. [ 14 ] When the amir and former slave Basasiri took up the Shia Fatimid banner in Baghdad in 1056–57, the caliph al-Qa'im was unable to defeat him without outside help. Toghril Beg , the Seljuq sultan, restored Baghdad to Sunni rule and took Iraq for his dynasty. Once again, the Abbasids were forced to deal with a military power that they could not match, though the Abbasid caliph remained the titular head of the Islamic community. The succeeding sultans Alp Arslan and Malikshah , as well as their vizier Nizam al-Mulk , took up residence in Persia, but held power over the Abbasids in Baghdad. When the dynasty began to weaken in the 12th century, the Abbasids gained greater independence once again. Revival of caliphal state (1118–1258) Silver medallion made for the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir (r. 1136–80). Berlin, Staatliche Museum, Münzkabinett (now destroyed). [ 121 ] The medallion has an inscription "al-Muqtadir bi-llāh" (ٱلْمُقْتَدِر بِٱللَّٰه "The one who is powerful through God"): it is uncertain if this medallion is also meant to portray al-Muqtadir. [ 122 ] Approximate territory controlled by the Abbasids c. 1180, after gaining independence from the Seljuks [ 123 ] Caliph al-Mustarshid ( r.  1118–1135 ) was the first caliph to build an army and to lead it in battle since the 10th century. [ 124 ] He recruited Kurdish and Arab Bedouin tribes and re-fortified Baghdad. His first concern was not the Seljuks but the Mazyadids of Hilla in central Iraq, whom he met in battle in 1123. His bid for independence was ultimately unsuccessful, as he was defeated by a Seljuk army in 1135 and assassinated soon after. [ 125 ] Under al-Muqtafi ( r.  1136–1160 ), a new caliphal state began to emerge with the help of his vizier Ibn Hubayra . [ 126 ] Ibn Hubayra concentrated on reasserting authority in Iraq while the Seljuk Empire deteriorated. The Abbasids successfully defended Baghdad against the Seljuqs in the siege of 1157 and then conquered their Mazyadid enemies in Hilla in 1162. [ 126 ] By the end of al-Muqtafi's reign, Baghdad controlled a state stretching from Basra in the south to the edges of Mosul in the north. [ 127 ] After over two hundred years of Abbasid subjection to foreign dynasties, Caliph al-Mustanjid ( r.  1160–1170 ) formally declared independence from the Seljuk sultans in 1165, when he dropped their names from Abbasid coinage. [ 128 ] Initially, the caliphs were still vulnerable to the power of the viziers, [ 128 ] but al-Mustadi ( r.  1170–1180 ) was able to further rally some support from the Baghdad public as well as symbolic support abroad from the Ayyubid sultan Saladin and the Rum Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan II . [ 129 ] The long reign of Caliph al-Nasir ( r.  1180–1225 ) marked a definitive shift in late Abbasid power. He reinvigorated public displays of caliphal prestige, removed officials who were too powerful, engaged in diplomacy with regions beyond Iraq, and extended his control over former Seljuk territories in western Iran — including Isfahan , Hamadan , Qazvin and Zanjan . [ 130 ] He sought to build up his influence among Muslim rulers abroad largely through the Sufi -inspired futuwwa brotherhood that he headed. [ 131 ] Under caliph al-Mustansir ( r.  1226–1242 ), the Abbasid state achieved significant stability and many of the same policies continued. [ 132 ] He built the Mustansiriyya Madrasa , inaugurated in 1234, the first madrasa to teach all four Sunni maddhab s (schools of jurisprudence ) and the first madrasa commissioned by an Abbasid caliph. [ 133 ] Mongol invasion and end Main articles: Siege of Baghdad and Mongol invasions of the Levant In 1206, Genghis Khan established a powerful dynasty among the Mongols of Central Asia. During the 13th century, this Mongol Empire conquered most of the Eurasian land mass, including both China in the east and much of the old Islamic caliphate and the Kievan Rus' in the west. In 1252, Hulagu Khan , a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of the new Mongol ruler, Möngke Khan , was placed in charge of a new western campaign to the Middle East that would culminate in the conquest of Baghdad in 1258. [ 134 ] Carving on Bab al-Talsim , a Baghdad gate built by al-Nasir in 1221 (destroyed in 1917), possibly depicting the caliph wrestling dragons [ 135 ] In the years leading up the Mongol invasion, Baghdad's strength was sapped by political rivalries, sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias, and damaging floods. [ 136 ] In 1257, after destroying the Assassins in Iran, Hulagu wrote to the Abbasid caliph, al-Musta'sim , demanding his submission. The caliph refused, with Hulagu's status as a non-Muslim (unlike the earlier Buyids and Seljuks) likely a factor. [ 137 ] There followed months of diplomacy, during which the Mongols may have been informed of Baghdad's weakness by correspondence with the caliph's vizier, Ibn al-Alqami , a Shia who was later accused of colluding with them. [ 138 ] [ 139 ] [ 140 ] The Mongols began their siege of the city on 29 January 1258. On 10 February, al-Musta'sim agreed to meet with Hulagu, who demanded that the caliph order the defenders to stand down and come out of the city in exchange for mercy. The caliph complied, but the Mongols slaughtered the population and then began the sack of the city on 13 February. [ 141 ] Contemporary accounts describe destruction, looting, rape, and killing on a massive scale over many days, with hundreds of thousands killed and the city reduced to near-empty ruins, [ 142 ] though some, like the Christian and Shia communities, were spared. [ 143 ] [ 139 ] The Mongols feared rumours that a supernatural disaster would strike if the blood of al-Musta'sim, a direct descendant of Muhammad's uncle and part of a dynasty that had reigned for five centuries, was spilled. As a precaution and in accordance with a Mongol taboo against spilling royal blood, Hulagu had al-Musta'sim wrapped in a carpet and trampled to death by horses on 20 February 1258. [ 144 ] [ 145 ] [ 146 ] [ 147 ] The caliph's immediate family was also executed, with the lone exceptions of his youngest son who was sent to Mongolia and a daughter who became a slave in the harem of Hulagu. [ 144 ] Siege of Baghdad by the Mongols led by Hulagu Khan in 1258, as illustrated in a copy of the 14th-century Jami' al-tawarikh The fall of Baghdad marked the effective end of the Abbasid Caliphate. [ 148 ] [ 146 ] It made a deep impression on contemporary and later writers both inside and outside the Muslim world, some of whom created legendary stories about the last caliph's demise. [ 146 ] [ 149 ] It is also traditionally seen as the approximate end to the "classical age" or "golden age" of Islamic civilization . [ 150 ] [ 151 ] [ 152 ] The events brought profound geopolitical changes to the traditional lands of the Islamic caliphate, with Iraq, Iran, and most of the eastern lands falling under Mongol control while other Muslim rulers retained the lands to the west. [ 151 ] Mongol expansion further west was eventually halted by the Mamluks of Egypt at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, followed by the conflict between the Ilkhanids (Hulagu and his successors) and their Golden Horde rivals, which diverted Mongol attention. [ 153 ] Abbasid caliphs in Cairo (1261–1517) Main article: Mamluk Sultanate Prior to the Mongol invasion, the later Ayyubid sultans of Egypt had built up an army recruited from slaves, the Mamluks . During a political and military crisis in 1250, the Mamluks seized power and established what is now known as the Mamluk Sultanate. [ 154 ] Following the devastation of Baghdad in 1258 and in an effort to secure political legitimacy for the new regime in Egypt, the Mamluk ruler Baybars invited a surviving member of the Abbasid family to establish himself in Cairo in 1260–1261. The new caliph was al-Mustansir II , a brother of the former caliph al-Mustansir. [ 155 ] [ 156 ] In 1262, he disappeared while leading a small army in an attempt to recapture Baghdad from the Mongols. Baybars subsequently replaced him with al-Hakim I , another Abbasid family member who had just been proclaimed in Aleppo . [ 155 ] [ 157 ] Thereafter, the Abbasid caliphs in Cairo continued to exist as a strictly ceremonial but nonetheless important institution within the Mamluk Sultanate, conferring significant prestige on the Mamluks. [ 155 ] [ 158 ] It continued to be relevant even to other Muslim rulers until the 14th century; for example, the sultans of Delhi , the Muzaffarid sultan Muhammad , the Jalayirid sultan Ahmad , and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I all sought diplomas of investiture from the caliph or declared nominal allegiance to him. [ 159 ] Caliph al-Musta'in even managed to reign as sultan in Cairo for a brief six months in 1412. [ 160 ] During the 15th century, however, the institution of the caliph declined in significance. [ 160 ] The last Abbasid caliph in Cairo was al-Mutawakkil III , who was in place when the Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks in 1516 and conquered Egypt in 1517, ending the Mamluk Sultanate. Selim I met with al-Mutawakkil III in Aleppo in 1516, prior to marching into Egypt, and the caliph was then sent to the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul ), ending the Abbasid caliphate definitively. [ 155 ] [ 161 ] The Abbasids themselves slipped into historical obscurity after this. [ 162 ] The idea of a "caliphate" subsequently became an ambiguous concept that was occasionally revisited by later Muslim rulers and intellectuals for political or religious reasons. [ 163 ] The Ottoman sultans, who were thenceforth the most powerful Muslim rulers in western Asia and the Mediterranean, did not use the title of "caliph" at all before the mid-16th century and only did so vaguely and inconsistently afterwards. [ 164 ] The claim that al-Mutawakkil III "transferred" the office of the caliph to the Ottoman sultan during their meeting in Aleppo is a legend that was elaborated in the 19th century and is not corroborated by contemporary accounts. [ 155 ] [ 164 ] [ 162 ] ^ Kennedy 2016 , pp. 38–40. ^ Newman, Andrew J. (2013). Twelver Shiism: Unity and Diversity in the Life of Islam, 632 to 1722 . Edinburgh University Press. p. 23. ISBN   978-0-7486-7833-4 . ^ Hawting, G. R. (2002). The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750 . Routledge. p. 110. ISBN   978-1-134-55059-3 . ^ Kennedy 2016 , p. 41. ^ Knysh 2015 , pp. 118–123. ^ Kennedy 2016 , pp. 41–42. ^ Hrbek, Ivan, ed. (1992). General History of Africa . Vol. III - Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century (Abridged ed.). James Currey / Unesco. p.  26 . 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Şalih, attacked the Chinese in a terrific battle near the Taraz river in Dhu'l-Hijja 133 (June 751 The Abbasids won a great victory, killing 50,000 men and taking 20,000 prisoners. This was one of the most significant Abbasid accomplishments in Central Asia, as it marked the perma-nent supremacy of Islamic over Chinese influence there. It also pro-vided the Abbasids with considerable booty, including some fabulous jewels and the secret of manufacturing paper. ^ Donvito, Filippo (2015). "Treacherous auxiliaries: The Battle of the River Talas". Medieval Warfare . 5 (1): 22– 27. ISSN   2211-5129 . JSTOR   48578413 . ^ a b University of Calgary 1998 ^ Djaït, Hichem (1986). "al-Kūfa" . In Bosworth, C. E. ; van Donzel, E. ; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition . Volume V: Khe–Mahi . Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 347. ISBN   978-90-04-07819-2 . ^ a b Lassner, J. (1971). "al-Hās̲h̲imiyya" . In Lewis, B. ; Ménage, V. L. ; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). 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Culture Islamic Golden Age Main article: Islamic Golden Age Further information: Early Islamic philosophy and List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world Page from the " Tashkent Qur'an ", one of the oldest surviving Qur'an manuscripts, dating from the late 8th or early 9th century [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The Abbasid historical period lasting to the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258 CE is considered the Islamic Golden Age. [ 3 ] The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad. [ 4 ] The Abbasids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith , such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr", stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as [ 4 ] the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic . [ 4 ] Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. [ 4 ] During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of cultures which collected, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the Roman , Chinese, Indian , Persian , Egyptian , North African, Ancient Greek and Medieval Greek civilizations. [ 4 ] According to Huff, "[i]n virtually every field of endeavor—in astronomy, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, optics and so forth—the Caliphate's scientists were in the forefront of scientific advance." [ 5 ] Literature Main articles: Islamic literature , Arabic literature , Arabic epic literature , and Persian literature Further information: Islamic poetry , Arabic poetry , Turkish poetry , and Persian poetry Illustration from More tales from the Arabian nights (1915) Abbasid literary culture in Iraq reflects long-term Mesopotamian narrative continuities, particularly traditions centered on heroic figures and on barriers separating chaos and order. [ 6 ] Core motifs associated with the Epic of Gilgamesh , mediated through the Alexander Romance , including journeys to the world's limits and the containment of chaos, persisted across religious and political change and continued to circulate in late antique Iraq. [ 6 ] The Babylonian Talmud , composed by Iraq-based rabbis, preserves parallel traditions concerning Gog and Magog and the imagined edges of the world that confine agents of chaos. Together, these traditions situate elements of Abbasid literature within a Mesopotamian narrative continuum. [ 6 ] The best-known fiction from the Islamic world is One Thousand and One Nights , a collection of fantastical folk tales, legends and parables compiled primarily during the Abbasid era. The collection is recorded as having originated from an Arabic translation of a Sassanian-era Persian prototype, with likely origins in Indian literary traditions. Stories from Arabic , Persian , Mesopotamian , and Egyptian folklore and literature were later incorporated. The epic is believed to have taken shape in the 10th century and reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. [ 7 ] All Arabian fantasy tales were often called "Arabian Nights" when translated into English, regardless of whether they appeared in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights . [ 7 ] This epic has been influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland . [ 8 ] Many imitations were written, especially in France. [ 9 ] Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin , Sinbad and Ali Baba . A famous example of Islamic poetry on romance was Layla and Majnun , an originally Arabic story which was further developed by Iranian , Azerbaijani and other poets in the Persian , Azerbaijani , and Turkish languages. [ 10 ] It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet . [ citation needed ] Arabic poetry reached its greatest height in the Abbasid era, especially before the loss of central authority and the rise of the Persianate dynasties. Writers like Abu Tammam and Abu Nuwas were closely connected to the caliphal court in Baghdad during the early 9th century, while others such as al-Mutanabbi received their patronage from regional courts. Under Harun al-Rashid, Baghdad was renowned for its bookstores, which proliferated after the making of paper was introduced. Chinese papermakers had been among those taken prisoner by the Arabs at the Battle of Talas in 751. As prisoners of war, they were dispatched to Samarkand , where they helped set up the first Arab paper mill. In time, paper replaced parchment as the medium for writing, and the production of books greatly increased. These events had an academic and societal impact that could be broadly compared to the introduction of the printing press in the West. Paper aided in communication and record-keeping, it also brought a new sophistication and complexity to businesses, banking, and the civil service. In 794, Jafa al-Barmak built the first paper mill in Baghdad, and from there the technology circulated. Harun required that paper be employed in government dealings, since something recorded on paper could not easily be changed or removed, and eventually, an entire street in Baghdad's business district was dedicated to selling paper and books. [ 11 ] Philosophy Main articles: Islamic philosophy and Early Islamic philosophy Further information: Logic in Islamic philosophy , Kalam , Avicennism , Averroism , Illuminationist philosophy , and Transcendent Theosophy One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy" is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture". [ 12 ] Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims. [ 12 ] Their works on Aristotle were a key step in the transmission of learning from ancient Greeks to the Islamic world and the West. They often corrected the philosopher, encouraging a lively debate in the spirit of ijtihad . They also wrote influential original philosophical works, and their thinking was incorporated into Christian philosophy during the Middle Ages, notably by Thomas Aquinas . [ 13 ] Three speculative thinkers, al-Kindi , al-Farabi , and Avicenna , combined Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam, and Avicennism was later established as a result. Other influential Abbasid philosophers include al-Jahiz , and Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen). Architecture Main article: Abbasid architecture Qasr al-'Ashiq palace in Samarra , built between 877 and 882 CE [ 14 ] As power shifted from the Umayyads to the Abbasids, the architectural styles changed also, from Greco-Roman tradition (which features elements of Hellenistic and Roman representative style) to Eastern tradition which retained their independent architectural traditions from Mesopotamia and Persia. [ 15 ] A defining characteristic of Abbasid architecture in Iraq was the extensive use of stucco and plaster decoration, particularly in interior spaces. [ 16 ] The limited availability of high-quality building stone in Abbasid Iraq contributed to the widespread use of stucco and other malleable materials, which were well suited to repetitive and abstract ornamental decoration. [ 16 ] At Samarra, these conditions enabled the emergence of a standardized decorative vocabulary that departed from Late Antique naturalism and proved influential well beyond Iraq. [ 17 ] Color also played an important role, particularly the use of blue pigments to enhance stucco and painted surfaces, intensifying abstraction and, in some contexts, carrying protective or apotropaic associations. [ 18 ] The Abbasid architecture was particularly influenced by Sasanian architecture , which in turn featured elements present since ancient Mesopotamia . [ 19 ] [ 20 ] The Christian styles evolved into a style based more on the Sasanian Empire , utilizing mud bricks and baked bricks with carved stucco . [ 21 ] Other architectural innovations and styles were few, such as the four-centered arch , and a dome erected on squinches . Unfortunately, much was lost due to the ephemeral nature of the stucco and luster tiles. [ 22 ] Zumurrud Khatun Tomb (c. 1152), [ 23 ] in a cemetery at Baghdad Another major development was the creation or vast enlargement of cities as they were turned into the capital of the empire, beginning with the creation of Baghdad in 762, which was planned as a walled city with four gates, and a mosque and palace in the center. Al-Mansur, who was responsible for the creation of Baghdad, also planned the city of Raqqa , along the Euphrates . Finally, in 836, al-Mu'tasim moved the capital to a new site that he created along the Tigris, called Samarra. This city saw 60 years of work, with race-courses and game preserves to add to the atmosphere. [ 21 ] Due to the dry remote nature of the environment, some of the palaces built in this era were isolated havens. Al-Ukhaidir Fortress is a fine example of this type of building, which has stables, living quarters, and a mosque, all surrounding inner courtyards. [ 21 ] Iraq only has one surviving mausoleum from this era, in Samarra: [ 22 ] an octagonal domed structure known as the Qubbat al-Sulaibiyya , which is the first known monumental tomb in Islamic architecture and may be the final resting place of al-Muntasir . [ 24 ] Baghdad, the epicenter of the empire, was originally organized in a circular fashion next to the Tigris River, with massive brick walls being constructed in successive rings around the core by a workforce of 100,000 with four huge gates (named Kufa, Basra, Khurasan and Syria). The central enclosure of the city contained Mansur's palace of 360,000 square feet (33,000 m 2 ) in area and the great mosque of Baghdad, encompassing 90,000 square feet (8,400 m 2 ). Travel across the Tigris and the network of waterways allowing the drainage of the Euphrates into the Tigris was facilitated by bridges and canals servicing the population. [ 25 ] Outside the Abbasid heartlands, architecture was still influenced by the capital. In present-day Tunisia, the Great Mosque of Kairouan was founded under the Umayyad dynasty but completely rebuilt in the 9th century under the patronage of the Aghlabids , vassals of the Abbasids. [ 26 ] The styles utilized were mainly Abbasid. [ 27 ] In Egypt, Ahmad Ibn Tulun commissioned the Ibn Tulun Mosque , completed in 879, that is based on the style of Samarra and is now one of the best-preserved Abbasid-style mosques from this period. [ 28 ] Arts Main article: Abbasid art Lustreware bowl from 9th century Samarra [ 29 ] The establishment of Abbasid power based in Iraq, rather than Syria, resulted in a cultural and artistic development influenced not only by the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions but also by connections further afield with India, Central Asia, and China. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] The importation of Chinese ceramics elicited local imitations but also stirred innovations in local production. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] Abbasid ceramics became a more important art form with greater emphasis on decoration. A major innovation was the emergence of monochrome and polychrome lustreware , a technical achievement that had an important impact on the wider development of Islamic ceramics . [ 31 ] Glassware also became a more important art form and was likely the origin of the lustre technique that was introduced into ceramics. [ 30 ] Few textiles have survived but the production of tiraz , textiles with royal inscriptions, is well attested. [ 30 ] Folio from a Qur'an with Kufic script and gold illumination , from 8th or 9th century [ 32 ] Another major art form was calligraphy and manuscript production. During the Abbasid period, Arabic calligraphy evolved into a more refined discipline. [ 31 ] Rounded Kufic script was typical [ 30 ] and became increasingly stylized. [ 31 ] Parchment only allowed for a few lines of script, but from the late 8th century onward paper began to be produced. [ 30 ] Qur'ans are the main type of book to have survived from this period. [ 30 ] ^ Ekhtiar, Maryam D. (2018). How to Read Islamic Calligraphy . Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 76. ISBN   978-1-58839-630-3 . ^ "Folio from the "Tashkent Qur'an" " . The Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 4 March 2025 . ^ Abbas 2011 , p. 9 ^ a b c d e Gregorian 2003 ^ Huff 2003 , p. 48 ^ a b c Silverstein 2014 , pp. 293–296. ^ a b Grant & Clute 1999 , p. 51. ^ de Camp 1976 , p. 10 ^ Grant & Clute 1999 , p. 52 ^ Clinton 2000 , pp. 15–16 ^ Bobrick 2012 , p. 78. ^ a b Leaman 1998 ^ Pasnau, Robert (2011). "The Islamic Scholar Who Gave Us Modern Philosophy" . National Endowment for the Humanities . Retrieved 3 February 2020 . ^ Bloom & Blair 2009 , p. 82, Architecture; IV. c. 750–c. 900. ^ Hoag, John D. (2004). Islamic Architecture . Milan: Electa Architecture. pp.  7– 9. ISBN   1-904313-29-9 . ^ a b Flood 2016 , pp. 20–29. ^ Flood 2016 , pp. 28–31. ^ Flood 2016 , pp. 33–41. ^ Petersen 1996 , p. 1. ^ Bloom & Blair 2009 , Architecture (IV. c. 750–c. 900) ^ a b c Wilber 1969 , p. 5 ^ a b Wilber 1969 , p. 6 ^ Ettinghausen, Richard; Grabar, Oleg; Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn (2001). Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250 (2nd ed.). Yale University Press. p. 216. ISBN   978-0-300-08867-0 . ^ Brend, Barbara (1991). Islamic Art [ 32 ]. Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-46866-5 . ^ Marozzi, Justin (16 March 2016). "Story of cities #3: the birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation" . The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 27 March 2020 . ^ Bloom, Jonathan M. (2020). Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800 . Yale University Press. pp.  28– 32. ISBN   978-0-300-21870-1 . ^ Wilber 1969 , pp. 5–6 ^ Tabbaa, Yasser (2007). "Architecture". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three . Brill. ISBN   978-90-04-16165-8 . ^ "Bowl" . Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art . Retrieved 2 March 2025 . ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ a b c d e Bloom & Blair 2009 , pp. 1–3, Abbasid ^ "Folio from a Qur'an: Sura 38, verses 87-88; sura 39, verse 1" . National Museum of Asian Art . Retrieved 2 March 2025 . Read more on Wikipedia →

Military The Abbasid army amassed an array of siege equipment, such as catapults , mangonels , battering rams , ladders, grappling irons, and hooks. All such weaponry was operated by military engineers. However, the primary siege weapon was the manjaniq , a type of siege weapon that was comparable to the trebuchet employed in Western medieval times. From the seventh century onward, it had largely replaced torsion artillery . By Harun al-Rashid's time, the Abbasid army employed fire grenades . The Abbasids also utilized field hospitals and ambulances drawn by camels. [ 1 ] The cavalry was entirely covered in iron, with helmets. Similar to medieval knights, their only exposed spots were the end of their noses and small openings in front of their eyes. Their foot soldiers were issued spears, swords, and pikes, and (in line with Persian fashion) trained to stand so solidly that, one contemporary wrote "you would have thought them held fast by clamps of bronze". [ 2 ] Although the Abbasids never retained a substantial regular army, the caliph could recruit a considerable number of soldiers in a short time when needed from levies. There were also cohorts of regular troops who received steady pay and a special forces unit. At any moment, 125,000 Muslim soldiers could be assembled along the Byzantine frontier, Baghdad , Medina , Damascus , Rayy , and other geostrategic locations in order to quell any unrest. [ 2 ] Ukhaidir Fortress , located south of Karbala , is a large, rectangular fortress erected in 775 CE with a unique defensive style. During the Abbasid revolution, Abu Muslim 's Khurasani army, composed largely of Arab settlers disillusioned with Umayyad rule, marched under black banners, forming a powerful force that swept westward in open revolt. [ 3 ] In Baghdad there were many Abbasid military leaders who were or said they were of Arab descent. However, it is clear that most of the ranks were of Iranian origin, the vast majority being from Khurasan and Transoxiana , not from western Iran or Azerbaijan. [ 4 ] Most of the Khurasani soldiers who brought the Abbasids to power were Arabs. [ 5 ] The standing army of the Muslims in Khurasan was overwhelmingly Arab. The unit organization of the Abbasids was designed with the goal of ethnic and racial equality among supporters. When Abu Muslim recruited officers along the Silk Road, he registered them based not on their tribal or ethno-national affiliations but on their current places of residence. [ 6 ] Under the Abbasids, Iranian peoples became better represented in the army and bureaucracy as compared to before. [ 7 ] The Abbasid army was centred on the Khurasan Abna al-dawla infantry and the Khurasaniyya heavy cavalry, led by their own semi-autonomous commanders ( qa'id ) who recruited and deployed their own men with Abbasid resource grants. [ 8 ] al-Mu'tasim began the practice of recruiting Turkic slave soldiers from the Samanids into a private army, which allowed him to take over the reins of the caliphate. He abolished the old jund system created by Umar and diverted the salaries of the original Arab military descendants to the Turkic slave soldiers. The Turkic soldiers transformed the style of warfare, as they were known as capable horse archers, trained from childhood to ride. This military was now drafted from the ethnic groups of the faraway borderlands, and were completely separate from the rest of society. Some could not speak Arabic properly. This led to the decline of the caliphate starting with the Anarchy at Samarra. [ 9 ] ^ Bobrick 2012 , p. 44 ^ a b Bobrick 2012 , p. 44. ^ Axworthy 2007 , p. 77. ^ Kennedy, H. (15 December 1988). "Baghdad i. The Iranian Connection: Before the Mongol Invasion" . Iranica Online . Vol. III. pp.  412– 415. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011 . Retrieved 22 August 2011 . ^ Morony, Michael (2006). "Iraq i. In the Late Sasanid and Early Islamic Eras" . Iranica Online . Vol. XIII. pp.  543– 550. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012 . Retrieved 30 March 2012 . ^ Frye, Richard N., ed. (1975). The Cambridge History of Iran . Vol. 4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 62. ISBN   0-521-20093-8 . ^ Kennedy 2004 , p. 134. ^ Jo Van Steenbergen (2020). "2.1". A History of the Islamic World, 600–1800: Empire, Dynastic Formations, and Heterogeneities in Pre-Modern Islamic West-Asia . Routledge. ISBN   978-1-000-09307-0 . ^ Kennedy 2004 , pp. 156–169. Read more on Wikipedia →