Abbasid Caliphate

Abbasid Caliphate
الْخِلَافَة الْعَبَّاسِيَّة (Arabic)
*Al-Khilāfa al-ʿAbbāsiyya*
Abbasid Caliphate الْخِلَافَة الْعَبَّاسِيَّة (Arabic); Al-Khilāfa al-ʿAbbāsiyya
750–1258; 1261–1517;
	The Abbasid Black Standard
	The Abbasid Caliphate in c. 850
Status	Empire
Capital	Kufa; (750–762); Baghdad; (762–836, 892–1258); Samarra; (836–892); Cairo; (1261–1517);
Common languages	Classical Arabic (central administration); various regional languages
Religion	Islam (state); Christianity (minority); Judaism (minority);
Demonym(s)	Abbasid
Government	Hereditary caliphate
Caliph
• 750–754	Al-Saffah (first)
• 1242–1258	Al-Musta'sim (last caliph in Baghdad)
• 1261–1262	Al-Mustansir II (first caliph in Cairo)
• 1508–1517	Al-Mutawakkil III (last caliph in Cairo)
Vizier
• 779–782	Ya'qub ibn Dawud
• 1258	Ibn al-Alqami
History
• Abbasid Revolution	750
• Founding of Baghdad	762
• Al-Ma'mun wins civil war	813
• Founding of Samarra	836
• Anarchy at Samarra	861–870
• Buyids take control of Baghdad	945
• Abbasids declare independence from Seljuks	1165
• Mongol siege of Baghdad	1258
• Abbasids re-established in Cairo	1261
• Ottoman conquest of Cairo	1517
Currency	Dinar (gold coin); Dirham (silver coin); Fals (copper coin);
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Umayyad Caliphate
	Dabuyid dynasty
Samanid dynasty
Saffarid dynasty
Sajid dynasty
Fatimid Caliphate
Ziyarid dynasty
Buyid dynasty
Mongol Empire
Qarmatians
Habbari dynasty
Emirate of Multan

The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire^[a] was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its name.^[8] After overthrowing the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 AH), they ruled as caliphs based in Iraq, with Baghdad being their capital for most of their history.

The Abbasid Revolution had its origins and first successes in the easterly region of Khurasan, far from the Levantine center of Umayyad influence.^[9] The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, Iraq, but in 762 the caliph al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad as the new capital. Baghdad became the center of science, culture, arts, and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam. By housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multiethnic and multi-religious environment, the city garnered an international reputation as a centre of learning. The Abbasid period was marked by the use of bureaucrats in governance, including the vizier, as well as an increasing inclusion of non-Arab Muslims in the ummah (Muslim community) and among the political elites.^[10]^[11]

The apogee of the caliphate's power and prestige is traditionally associated with Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809).^[12]^[13] After his death, civil war brought new divisions and was followed by significant changes to the character of the state, including the creation of a new professional army recruited mainly from Turkic slaves and the construction of a new capital, Samarra, in 836. The 9th century also saw a growing trend of provincial autonomy spawning local dynasties who controlled different regions of the empire, such as the Aghlabids, Tahirids, Samanids, Saffarids, and Tulunids. Following a period of turmoil in the 860s, the caliphate regained some stability and its seat returned to Baghdad in 892.

During the 10th century, the authority of the caliphs was progressively reduced to a ceremonial function in the Islamic world. Political and military power was transferred instead to the Iranian Buyids and the Seljuq Turks, who took control of Baghdad in 945 and 1055, respectively. The Abbasids eventually regained control of Mesopotamia during the rule of Caliph al-Muqtafi (r. 1136–1160) and extended it into Iran during the reign of Caliph al-Nasir (r. 1180–1225).^[14] This revival ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan and the execution of Caliph al-Musta'sim. A surviving line of Abbasids was re-installed in the Mamluk capital of Cairo in 1261. Though lacking in political power, with the brief exception of Caliph al-Musta'in, the dynasty continued to claim symbolic authority until a few years after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517,^[15] with the last Abbasid caliph being al-Mutawakkil III.^[16]

^ Tabari (1995). Jane McAuliffe (ed.). Abbāsid Authority Affirmed. Vol. 28. SUNY. p. 124.
^ Crone 2012, p. 122
^ Hathaway, Jane (2012). A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 97f. ISBN 978-0791486108.
^ Cook, David (2002). Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic. Darwin Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0878501427.
^ Crone 2012, p. 243
^ Cite error: The named reference Kufa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Hashimiyya was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Goetz, Philip W., ed. (1985) [1974]. "'Abbasid dynasty". The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 1 (15th ed.). Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-85229-423-9.
^ Bosworth, C.E. (15 December 1982). "'Abbasid Caliphate". Encyclopediapaedia Iranica.
^ El-Hibri 2021, pp. 4–5.
^ Lapidus 2012, p. 95.
^ Omar, F. (1971). "Hārūn al-Ras̲h̲īd". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 232–234. OCLC 495469525.
^ El-Hibri 2021, p. 75.
^ Richards, D. S. (2020). The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh. Part 3: The Years 589–629/1193–1231: The Ayyubids after Saladin and the Mongol Menace. Routledge. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-351-89281-0.
^ Holt 1984.
^ "الكتاب : التاريخ الإسلامي – الموضوع : المتوكل على الله "الثالث" محمد بن يعقوب المستمسك بالله". 11 June 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

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[1] Tabari (1995). Jane McAuliffe (ed.). Abbāsid Authority Affirmed. Vol. 28. SUNY. p. 124.

[2] Crone 2012, p. 122

[3] Hathaway, Jane (2012). A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 97f. ISBN 978-0791486108.

[4] Cook, David (2002). Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic. Darwin Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0878501427.

[5] Crone 2012, p. 243

[Kufa-7] Cite error: The named reference Kufa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Hashimiyya-8] Cite error: The named reference Hashimiyya was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:11-12] Goetz, Philip W., ed. (1985) [1974]. "'Abbasid dynasty". The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 1 (15th ed.). Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-85229-423-9.

[13] Bosworth, C.E. (15 December 1982). "'Abbasid Caliphate". Encyclopediapaedia Iranica.

[FOOTNOTEEl-Hibri20214–5-14] El-Hibri 2021, pp. 4–5.

[FOOTNOTELapidus201295-15] Lapidus 2012, p. 95.

[16] Omar, F. (1971). "Hārūn al-Ras̲h̲īd". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 232–234. OCLC 495469525.

[FOOTNOTEEl-Hibri202175-17] El-Hibri 2021, p. 75.

[18] Richards, D. S. (2020). The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh. Part 3: The Years 589–629/1193–1231: The Ayyubids after Saladin and the Mongol Menace. Routledge. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-351-89281-0.

[FOOTNOTEHolt1984-19] Holt 1984.

[20] "الكتاب : التاريخ الإسلامي – الموضوع : المتوكل على الله "الثالث" محمد بن يعقوب المستمسك بالله". 11 June 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2022.

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