View source for Abbasid Caliphate

{{Short description|Third Islamic caliphate}}
{{Redirect|Abbasid|the dynasty that ruled the Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid dynasty}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = {{native name|ar|الْخِلَافَة الْعَبَّاسِيَّة}}<br>{{transliteration|ar|Al-Khilāfa al-ʿAbbāsiyya}}
| conventional_long_name = Abbasid Caliphate
| common_name            = Abbasids
| status                 = [[Empire]]
| government_type        = [[Hereditary monarchy|Hereditary]] [[caliphate]]
| life_span              = {{plainlist|
* 750–1258
* 1261–1517}}
| event_start            = [[Abbasid Revolution]]
| year_start             = 750
| event1                 = Founding of [[Round city of Baghdad|Baghdad]]
| date_event1            = 762
| event2                 = Al-Ma'mun wins [[Fourth Fitna|civil war]]
| date_event2            = 813
| event3                 = Founding of [[Abbasid Samarra|Samarra]]
| date_event3            = 836
| event4                 = [[Anarchy at Samarra]]
| date_event4            = 861–870
| event5                 = [[Buyids]] take control of Baghdad
| date_event5            = 945
| event6                 = Abbasids declare independence from [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuks]]
| date_event6            = 1165
| event7                 = Mongol [[siege of Baghdad]]
| date_event7            = 1258
| event8                 = Abbasids re-established in [[Mamluk Sultanate|Cairo]]
| date_event8            = 1261
| year_end               = 1517
| event_end              = [[Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517)|Ottoman conquest of Cairo]]
| image_flag             = Abbasid banner.svg
| flag_caption           = [[Black Standard|The Abbasid Black Standard]]{{refn|group=nb|1=The [[Abbasid Revolution]] against the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] adopted black for its ''rāyaʾ'' for which their partisans were called the ''{{transliteration|ar|musawwid}}''s.<ref>{{citation | title=Abbāsid Authority Affirmed | author=Tabari | year=1995 | publisher=SUNY | volume=28 |editor1=Jane McAuliffe |page=124|mode=cs1}}</ref>
Their rivals chose other colours in reaction; among these, forces loyal to [[Marwan II]] adopted red.<ref>{{harvnb|Crone|2012|p=122}}</ref> The choice of black as the colour of the Abbasid Revolution was already motivated by the "black standards out of Khorasan" tradition associated with the [[Mahdi]]. The contrast of white vs. black as the Umayyad vs. Abbasid dynastic colour over time developed in white as the colour of Shia Islam and black as the colour of Sunni Islam: "The proselytes of the ʿAbbasid revolution took full advantage of the eschatological expectations raised by black banners in their campaign to undermine the Umayyad dynasty from within. Even after the ʿAbbasids had triumphed over the Umayyads in 750, they continued to deploy black as their dynastic colour; not only the banners but the headdresses and garments of the ʿAbbasid caliphs were black... The ubiquitous black created a striking contrast with the banners and dynastic color of the Umayyads, which had been white ... The Ismaili Shiʿite counter-caliphate founded by the Fatimids took white as its dynastic color, creating a visual contrast to the ʿAbbasid enemy ... white became the Shiʿite color, in deliberate opposition to the black of the ʿAbbasid 'establishment'."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hathaway |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-lPC7DgepEC&pg=PA96 |title=A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen |date=2012 |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany |pages=97f|isbn=978-0791486108 }}</ref> After the revolution, Islamic apocalyptic circles admitted that the Abbasid banners would be black but asserted that the Mahdi's standard would be black and larger.<ref>{{cite book|first = David |last = Cook |date =2002|title = Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic|page = 153|publisher = Darwin Press|isbn = 978-0878501427}}</ref>
Anti-Abbasid circles cursed "the black banners from the East", "first and last".<ref>{{harvnb|Crone|2012|p=243}}</ref>}}
| p1                     = Umayyad Caliphate
| p2                     = Dabuyid dynasty
| s1                     = Samanid dynasty
| s2                     = Saffarid dynasty
| s3                     = Sajid dynasty
| s4                     = Fatimid Caliphate
| s5                     = Ziyarid dynasty
| s6                     = Buyid dynasty
| s7                     = Mongol Empire
| s8                     = Qarmatians
| s9                     = Habbari dynasty
| s10                    = Emirate of Multan
| image_map              = Abbasid Caliphate 850AD.png
| image_map_caption      = The Abbasid Caliphate in {{circa|850}}
| capital                = {{plainlist|
* [[Kufa]]<br />(750–762){{refn|group=nb|Kufa remained the overall administrative capital but the caliphs resided in multiple other sites during these years.<ref name="Kufa" /><ref name="Hashimiyya" /> See article for details.}}
* [[Baghdad]]<br />(762–836, 892–1258)
* [[Abbasid Samarra|Samarra]]<br />(836–892)
* [[Cairo]]<br />(1261–1517){{refn|group=nb|The Abbasids resided in Cairo as ceremonial figures under the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk sultans]] after the fall of Baghdad in 1258. See article for details.}}
}}
| common_languages       = [[Classical Arabic]] (central administration); various regional languages
| religion               =  {{plainlist|
* [[Islam]] ([[state religion|state]])
* [[Christianity]] ([[minority religion|minority]])
* [[Judaism]] (minority)}}
| currency               = {{plainlist|
* [[Gold dinar|Dinar]] (gold coin)
* [[Dirham]] (silver coin)
* [[Fals]] (copper coin)}}
| title_leader           = [[List of Abbasid caliphs|Caliph]]
| leader1                = [[Al-Saffah]] {{small|(first)}}
| year_leader1           = 750–754
| leader2                = [[Al-Musta'sim]] {{small|(last caliph in Baghdad)}}
| year_leader2           = 1242–1258
| leader3                = [[Al-Mustansir II]] {{small|(first caliph in Cairo)}}
| year_leader3           = 1261–1262
| leader4                = [[Al-Mutawakkil III]] {{small|(last caliph in Cairo)}}
| year_leader4           = 1508–1517
| title_representative   = [[Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate)|Vizier]]
| representative1        = [[Ya'qub ibn Dawud]]
| year_representative1   = 779–782
| representative2        = Ibn al-Alqami
| year_representative2   = 1258
| area_rank              = 
| area_km2               = 
| demonym                = Abbasid
| flag_size              = 130px
| alt_coat               = Inscribed Banner of the Abbasids
}}
{{Caliphate|Main}}

The '''Abbasid Caliphate''' or '''Abbasid Empire'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|b|æ|s|ɪ|d|,_|ˈ|æ|b|ə|s|ɪ|d}}; {{langx|ar|الْخِلَافَة الْعَبَّاسِيَّة|translit=al-Khilāfa al-ʿAbbāsiyya}}}} was the third [[caliphate]] to succeed the [[prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. It was founded by [[Abbasid dynasty|a dynasty]] descended from Muhammad's uncle, [[Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib]] (566–653 [[Common Era|CE]]), from whom the dynasty takes its name.<ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last= |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia01ency_0/mode/2up |title=The New Encyclopaedia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-85229-423-9 |editor-last=Goetz |editor-first=Philip W. |edition=15th |volume=1 |location=Chicago |pages=10 |language=en |chapter='Abbasid dynasty |orig-year=1974}}</ref> After overthrowing the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] in the [[Abbasid Revolution]] of 750 CE (132&nbsp;[[anno Hegirae|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 [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]], far from the [[Levant]]ine center of Umayyad influence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bosworth |first=C.E. |date=December 15, 1982 |title='Abbasid Caliphate |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abbasid-caliphate |website=Encyclopediapaedia Iranica}}</ref> The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in [[Kufa]], Iraq, but in 762 the second caliph [[al-Mansur]] founded the city of Baghdad as the new capital. Baghdad became the center of [[Science in the medieval Islamic world|science]], [[Islamic culture|culture]], [[Abbasid art|arts]], and [[List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world|invention]] in what became known as the [[Islamic Golden Age|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 (Abbasid Caliphate)|vizier]], as well as an increasing inclusion of [[mawla|non-Arab Muslims]] in the ''[[ummah]]'' (Muslim community) and among the political elites.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=4–5}}{{Sfn|Lapidus|2012|p=95}}

The apogee of the caliphate's power and prestige is traditionally associated with [[Harun al-Rashid]] ({{Reign|786|809}}).<ref>{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|volume=3|article=Hārūn al-Ras̲h̲īd|first=F.|last=Omar|author-link=Farouk Omar|pages=232–234}}</ref>{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=75}} After his death, [[Fourth Fitna|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 peoples|Turkic]] slaves and the construction of a new capital, [[Abbasid Samarra|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 [[Anarchy at Samarra|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 [[Seljuk Empire|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]] ({{Reign|1136|1160}}) and extended it into Iran during the reign of Caliph [[al-Nasir]] ({{Reign|1180|1225}}).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=D. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOzeDwAAQBAJ&q=Al-Nasir+isfahan&pg=PT28 |title=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 |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-89281-0 |pages=124 |language=en}}</ref> This revival ended in 1258 with the [[sack of Baghdad]] by the [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] under [[Hulagu Khan]] and the execution of Caliph [[al-Musta'sim]]. A surviving line of Abbasids was re-installed in the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] capital of [[Cairo]] in 1261. Though lacking in political power, with the brief exception of Caliph [[Al-Musta'in (Cairo)|al-Musta'in]], the dynasty continued to claim symbolic authority until a few years after the [[Ottoman dynasty|Ottoman]] [[Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517)|conquest of Egypt]] in 1517,{{sfn|Holt|1984}} with the last Abbasid caliph being [[al-Mutawakkil III]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2008-06-11 |title=الكتاب : التاريخ الإسلامي – الموضوع : المتوكل على الله "الثالث" محمد بن يعقوب المستمسك بالله |url=http://www.islampedia.com/MIE2/tarikh/105mouta.html |access-date=2022-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611061336/http://www.islampedia.com/MIE2/tarikh/105mouta.html |archive-date=11 June 2008 }}</ref>

==History==
===Abbasid Revolution (747–750)===
{{main|Abbasid revolution}}
The Abbasid caliphs were 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 Caliphate|Umayyad caliphs]] (661–750), who were not descended 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|pp=38–40}} One of the claims that the Abbasids made in the early years of their political movement was that [[Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya|Abu Hashim]], the son of [[Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya]] and grandson of [[Ali]], had formally transferred the [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imamate]] ({{Transliteration|ar|imāmah}}) to [[Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdallah|Muhammad ibn Ali]] (the great-grandson of Abbas) and thus to the Abbasid family.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=Andrew J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TW8xEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 |title=Twelver Shiism: Unity and Diversity in the Life of Islam, 632 to 1722 |date= |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780748678334 |pages=23 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hawting |first=G. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tNiAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 |title=The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750 |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-134-55059-3 |pages=110 |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=41}} Muhammad ibn Ali began to campaign in Persia for the return of power to the family of Muhammad, the [[Banu Hashim|Hashemites]], during the reign of [[Umar II]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|pp=41–42}}

The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character and administration in general. 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]]".{{sfn|Lapidus|2002|p=54}} The Abbasids also appealed to [[Ajam|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.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

During the reign of [[Marwan II]], this opposition culminated in the rebellion of [[Ibrahim al-Imam]], the fourth in descent from Abbas. Supported by the province of [[Khurasan]] (eastern Iran), even though the governor opposed them, and the Shi'i Arabs,<ref name=":11" />{{sfn|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=233}} he achieved considerable success, but was captured in the year 747 and died, possibly assassinated, in prison.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

On 9 June 747 (15 Ramadan AH 129), [[Abu Muslim]], rising from Khurasan, successfully initiated an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which was carried out 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.{{sfn|Lewis|1995|p=102}} [[Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i|General Qahtaba]] followed the fleeing governor [[Nasr ibn Sayyar]] west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Gorgan, the Battle of Nahavand and finally in the Battle of Karbala, all in the year 748.{{sfn|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=233}}

Ibrahim was captured by Marwan and was killed. The quarrel was taken up by Ibrahim's brother Abdallah, known by the name of [[Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah]], who defeated the Umayyads in 750 in the [[Battle of the Zab|battle near the Great Zab]] and was subsequently proclaimed [[caliph]].<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Abbasids|volume=1|page=10}}</ref> After this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently killed. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated.{{sfn|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=233}}

===Establishment and consolidation (750–775)===
[[File:Balami - Tarikhnama - Abu'l-'Abbas al-Saffah is proclaimed the first 'Abbasid Caliph (cropped).jpg|thumb|Early 14th century copy of the [[Samanids|Samanid]]-period ''[[Tarikhnama]]'' of [[Muhammad Bal'ami|Bal'ami]] (10th century) depicting [[al-Saffah]] ({{Reign|750|754}}) as he receives [[Bay'ah|pledges of allegiance]] in [[Kufa]]|left]]
Immediately after their victory, al-Saffah ({{Reign|750|754}}) sent his forces to [[Central Asia]], where his forces fought against [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] expansion during the [[Battle of Talas]]. Al-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and [[Mesopotamia]]. The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] conducted raids during these early distractions.{{sfn|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=233}}

One of the first major changes effected by Abbasid rule was the move of the caliphate's center of power from Syria to Mesopotamia (present-day 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.<ref name="AHGC">{{harvnb|University of Calgary|1998}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Kufa">{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|volume=5|article=al-Kūfa|first=Hichem|last=Djaït|page=347}}</ref> In 752, al-Saffah built a new city called al-Hashimiyya, at an uncertain location, most likely near Kufa.<ref name="Hashimiyya">{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|volume=3|pages=265-266|first=J.|last=Lassner|article=al-Hās̲h̲imiyya}}</ref> Later that same year, he moved to [[Anbar (town)|Anbar]], where he built a new settlement for his Khurasani soldiers and a palace for himself.<ref>{{EI2|volume=1|article=al-Anbār|first1=M.|last1=Streck|first2=A.A.|last2=Duri|page=485}}</ref>

[[File:Abbāsid Caliph al-Manṣūr from the genealogy (silsilanāma), Cream of Histories (Zübdet-üt Tevarih, 1598).jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[al-Mansur]] ([[Reign|r.]] 754–775) from an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]-era work, the "Cream of Histories" (''Zübdet-üt Tevarih'') in 1598<ref>{{Cite web |title=Portraits of the Imāms Ḥasan (d. 670), Ḥusayn (d. 680), Shāfi'ī (d. 820) and Abū Ḥanīfa (d. 767), with 'Abbāsid revolutionary Abū Muslim (d. 755) (recto), and 'Abbāsid Caliphs al-Manṣūr, Hārūn al-Rashīd and al-Ma'mūn, with rulers Būya and Aḥmad Sāmānī (verso), from the genealogy (silsilanāma), Cream of Histories (Zübdet-üt Tevarih) |url=https://viewer.cbl.ie/viewer/image/T_423_22/2/ |access-date=6 March 2025 |website=Chester Beatty Library}}</ref>]]
It was al-Saffah's successor, [[Abu Ja'far al-Mansur]] ({{Reign|754|775}}) who firmly consolidated Abbasid rule and faced down internal challenges.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=43-55}} His uncle, [[Abd Allah ibn Ali|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.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=43-45}}

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.{{sfn|Abun-Nasr|1987|p=41}} One member of the Umayyad dynasty, Abd ar-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]].{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=41, 86}}

In 756, al-Mansur had also sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] in the [[An Lushan Rebellion]] against [[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" ({{lang|zh|黑衣大食}}) ("Tazi" being a borrowing from Persian ''[[wikt:تازی|Tāzī]]'', the word for "Arab").{{refn|group=nb|Wade states "Tazi in Persian sources referred to a people in that land, but was later extended to cover Arab lands. The Persian term was adopted by Tang China (Dàshí :大食) to refer to the Arabs until the 12th century."<ref>{{harvnb|Wade|2012|p=138}}</ref>}} Later, Caliph [[Harun al-Rashid]] sent embassies to the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] and established good relations with them.<ref name="Dennis Bloodworth, Ching Ping Bloodworth 2004 214" /><ref>{{harvnb|Jenkins|1999|p=61}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ghosh|1961|p=60}}</ref> After the war, these embassies remained in China<ref>{{harvnb|Chapuis|1995|p=92}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Kitagawa|1989|p=283}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Smith|Weng|1973|p=129}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Baker|1990|p=53}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Fitzgerald|1961|p=332}}</ref> with al-Rashid establishing an alliance with China.<ref name="Dennis Bloodworth, Ching Ping Bloodworth 2004 214">{{harvnb|Bloodworth|Bloodworth|2004|p=214}}</ref> 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.

[[File:Baghdad 150 to 300 AH.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Plan of [[Round city of Baghdad|Baghdad]] between 767 and 912 CE, according to [[William Muir]]]]
In 762, al-Mansur suppressed [[Alid revolt of 762–763|a rebellion]] in the [[Hejaz]] led by [[Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah|al-Nafs al-Zakiyya]], a descendant from [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], 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]].{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=51-55}} It was after this victory, in 762, that al-Mansur finally established a proper Abbasid capital, [[Round city of Baghdad|Baghdad]] – officially called ''Madinat al-Salam'' ('City of Peace') – located on the [[Tigris River]], near the former ancient capital city of [[Ctesiphon]].{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=55-57}} 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,{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=48-49}} and [[Weh Antiok Khosrow|al-Rumiyya]] (near the ruins of Ctesiphon), which he used for a few months.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Le Strange |first=Guy |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.15611/page/39/mode/2up |title=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland for 1895 |publisher=The Society |year=1895 |location=London |pages=40 |language=en |chapter=Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdad, written about the year 900 A.D. by Ibn Serapion}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Hashimiyya" />

Al-Mansur centralised the judicial administration and, later, Harun al-Rashid established the institution of [[Great Qadi]] to oversee it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tillier|first=Mathieu|title=Les cadis d'Iraq et l'État Abbasside (132/750–334/945) |doi=10.4000/books.ifpo.673|publisher=Presses de l’Ifpo|year=2009|isbn=978-2-35159-028-7|location=Damascus}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=40}} The Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians<ref name=":11" /> 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 [[Khorasani Arabs|Khurasani Arabs]] who had supported them in their battles against the Umayyads.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

===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 [[Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate)|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.<ref name="Brauer">{{harvnb|Brauer|1995}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":11" />

[[File:Decorated niche, 750-825 CE, Afrasiab, Samarkand.jpg|thumb|Decorated niche from the Abbasid mosque of [[Afrasiyab (Samarkand)|Afrasiab]], [[Samarkand]] in [[Sogdia]], 750–825 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allegranzi |first1=Viola |last2=Aube |first2=Sandra|title=Splendeurs des oasis d'Ouzbékistan |date=2022 |publisher=Louvre Editions |location=Paris |isbn=978-8412527858 |page=181}}</ref>]]
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.<ref>{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|volume=11|page=185|first=Muhammad Qasim|last=Zaman|article=Wazīr}}</ref> 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.<ref name="AHGC" /> 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.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=88}}

Under Harun al-Rashid's reign ({{Reign|786|809}}), the Abbasid Empire reached its peak.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIB5qT9sGnwC&dq=harun+al-rashid+released+umayyads&pg=PA191 | title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq | isbn=978-0810865686 | last1=Ghareeb | first1=Edmund A. | last2=Dougherty | first2=Beth | date=2004 | publisher=Scarecrow Press }}</ref><ref name="mag">{{harvnb|Magnusson|Goring|1990|p=2}}</ref> His father, [[al-Mahdi]] ({{Reign|775|785}}), [[Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (782)|restarted the fighting]] with the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], and his sons continued the conflict until [[Irene of Athens|Empress Irene]] pushed for peace.{{sfn|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=233}} 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 [[Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (806)|massive invasion of 806]], led by al-Rashid himself.<ref name="DD1">{{harvnb|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=265}}</ref> 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.<ref name="DD1" />

[[File:Harun al-Rashid receives envoys from Charlemagne.jpg|thumb|[[Harun al-Rashid]] ([[reign|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]] ({{Reign|785|786}}) had imprisoned and declared amnesty for all political groups of the [[Quraysh]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RIB5qT9sGnwC&dq=harun+al-rashid+released+umayyads&pg=PA191 | title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq | isbn=978-0810865686 | last1=Ghareeb | first1=Edmund A. | last2=Dougherty | first2=Beth | year=2004 | publisher=Scarecrow Press }}</ref> While Baghdad remained the official capital, al-Rashid chose to reside in [[Raqqa]] from 796 until the end of his reign.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=88}}{{refn|group=nb|This city had previously been the residence of his father, al-Mahdi, whom al-Mansur had appointed its governor in 771. Al-Mahdi constructed a new city for himself, al-Rafiqa, next to Raqqa, and the two towns came to form a single urban agglomeration over time.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=69}}}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|pp=124–127}} In 803, he turned on and imprisoned or killed most of the Barmakids, who had wielded administrative power on his behalf.<ref>{{harvnb|Meisami|1999}}</ref>{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=84-88}} The reasons for this sudden and ruthless move remain unclear and have been the subject of much discussion by contemporary writers and later historians.{{sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=84-88}}{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|pp=127–129}}

[[File:Abbasid Dinar - Al Amin - 195 AH (811 AD).jpg|thumb|[[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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frye |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hvx9jq_2L3EC&pg=PA86 |title=The Cambridge History of Iran. Volume 4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs |date=26 June 1975 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139054966 |pages=86}}</ref> After his death in 809, his succession pact eventually collapsed and the empire was split by a [[Fourth Fitna|civil war]] between al-Amin in Iraq and al-Ma'mun in Khurasan. This ended with a successful [[Siege of Baghdad (812–813)|siege of Baghdad]] by al-Ma'mun's forces.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=|pp=135–148}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=148}}

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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|pp=151–162}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=108–109}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|pp=157–161}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=109}} Eventually, he was compelled to step back from these policies and move his court to Baghdad, where he arrived in August 819.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2016|pp=161–162}} After this, the rest of his reign was relatively peaceful. Exceptions included a rebellion in [[Iranian Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] by the [[Khurramites]], supported by the Byzantines, which continued until 837.<ref name="DD1" /> He also repulsed a Byzantine attack on Syria around 829, followed by counter-attacks into Anatolia, and suppressed a rebellion in Egypt in 832.<ref name="DD1" />

The later years of al-Ma'mun's reign are known for his intellectual interests and patronage. The so-called [[Graeco-Arabic translation movement|"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 Greece|ancient Greek]] works of [[Science in classical antiquity|science]] and [[Ancient Greek philosophy|philosophy]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=117–122}} 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=122–123}} 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=122–126}}

Following the civil war between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun, the traditional mainstay of the Abbasid army, the ''Khurasaniyya'' and ''[[Abna al-dawla|<nowiki/>'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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=118}} This process began under al-Ma'mun but it is his brother and successor, [[al-Mu'tasim]] ({{Reign|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" ({{Transliteration|ar|atrāk}}), who appear to have been mainly [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] people from Central Asia.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=|pp=118–120}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=131}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=|pp=121–122}}{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=157}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=131}} Many, perhaps the majority, were originally purchased or captured slaves,{{Sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=|pp=121–122}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=131}} but they were paid regular salaries and thus likely [[manumitted]].{{Sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=|pp=121–122}} In any case, these outsiders did not have political ties among the traditional elites and thus their loyalty was to the caliph alone.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2001|p=118}}

[[File:قصر البركة في سامراء.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Partly-reconstructed remains of a courtyard with circular pool in the ''Dār al-Khilāfa'', the caliph's palace, in [[Abbasid Samarra|Samarra]], begun in 836.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Northedge |first=Alastair |date=1993 |title=An Interpretation of the Palace of the Caliph at Samarra (Dar al-Khilafa or Jawsaq al-Khaqani) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4629446 |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=23 |pages=143–170 |jstor=4629446 |issn=0571-1371}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Westbrook |first=Nigel |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwEtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA140 |title=Byzantium, Its Neighbours and Its Cultures |publisher=Brill |year=2014 |isbn=978-90-04-34491-4 |editor-last=Dzino |editor-first=Danijel |pages=140 |language=en |chapter=Exchange of palatine architectural motifs between Byzantium, Persia and the Caliphate |editor-last2=Parry |editor-first2=Ken}}</ref>]]
These troops were likely the first [[standing army]] of the caliphate{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=132}} and provided the caliph with a strong base of military support.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=163}} 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, [[Abbasid Samarra|Samarra]], on an open site to the north of Baghdad.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=163}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=132}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=163–164}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=133–139}}

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]].<ref>{{harvnb|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|pp=265–266}}</ref>

===Political fragmentation (861–945)===
{{further|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 [[Roman Empire|Rome]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wickham |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDiDfipV4AIC&pg=PT239 |title=The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-14-190853-3 |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |title=The New Islamic Dynasties |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-231-10714-3 |pages=31–32 |language=en |chapter=The Aghlabids |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maQxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA31}}</ref> 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=147–148, 292}} 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=148–149}}

[[File:صوره في اجواء مطريه للمأذنه الملويه في سامراء العراق.jpg|thumb|The walls and spiral [[minaret]] of the [[Great Mosque of Samarra]], built from 848 to 852 CE in the Abbasid capital of [[Samarra]]<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Northedge |first=Alastair E. |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2012 |isbn=9789004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=ʿAbbāsid art and architecture |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref>]]
The reign of [[al-Mutawakkil]] ({{Reign|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]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=141–142}} In 853, the Byzantines [[Sack of Damietta (853)|sacked Damietta]] in Egypt, and the caliph responded by sending troops into Anatolia, who sacked and marauded until they were [[Battle of Lalakaon|eventually annihilated]] in 863.<ref name="DD3">{{harvnb|Dupuy|Dupuy|1986|p=266}}</ref>

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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=142–143}} This was the first time the Abbasid military intervened so directly and violently at court and it set a precedent for further coups.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=143}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=169–170}} In 865, the Turkish soldiers of Samarra even [[Abbasid civil war (865–866)|besieged Baghdad]] to overthrow the caliph [[al-Musta'in]] and, when the city fell the following year, they replaced him with [[al-Mu'tazz]].{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=171–172}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=172–174}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=146–147}} The restoration was hampered by the [[Zanj Rebellion|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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=177–179}}

[[File:Abbasid Caliphate 891-892.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of the fragmented Abbasid empire {{circa|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]]).{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=174, 176–177}} 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=154}}

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 [[Battle of Dayr al-Aqul|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 province|Fars]], [[Kerman province|Kirman]], and Khurasan.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=151–152}}{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=175–176}}

In 898, al-Mu'tadid set the Saffarids and Samanids against each other by formally endorsing a Saffarid claim over Transoxiana, the Samanid domain.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=183}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=152}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=183}} 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]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=149–150}}

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]] ({{Reign|892|902}}) and [[al-Muktafi]] ({{Reign|902|908}}).{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=179–185}} Under al-Mu'tadid, the capital was moved from Samarra back to Baghdad.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=180}} Incursions by the [[Qarmatians]] and allied Bedouin tribes posed a serious threat from 899 onwards, but the Abbasid army, led by [[Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Katib|Muhammad ibn Sulayman]], won a reprieve against them in 904 and 907.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=183–185}} In 905, the same general invaded Egypt and overthrew the weakened Tulunids, re-establishing Abbasid control to the west.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=184–185}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=185}}

After his death, however, the state became dominated by feuding bureaucrats. Under [[al-Muqtadir]] ({{Reign|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 ([[fief]]s in the form of tax farms) as favours began, which had the effect of reducing the caliphate's own tax revenues.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=163–168}}

In 909, North Africa was lost to the [[Fatimid dynasty]], an [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili]] Shia sect tracing its roots to Muhammad's daughter [[Fatima]]. The Fatimids took control of Ifriqiya from the Aghlabids and eventually [[Fatimid conquest of Egypt|conquered Egypt]] in 969, where they established their capital, [[Cairo]], near [[Fustat]].{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=|pp=313–317}}{{Sfn|Naylor|2015|pp=72–73, 79}} 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]]''.{{Sfn|Naylor|2015|p=80}}{{Sfn|Daftary|Jiwa|2017|p=|pp=1–2}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=195–196}} The challenge of the Fatimid Caliphate only ended with their downfall in the 12th century.{{Sfn|Daftary|Jiwa|2017|p=4}}

Under the caliph [[al-Radi]] ({{Reign|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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=194–195}} 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").{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=194–195}} 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=195–196}}

[[Al-Mustakfi]] had a short reign from 944 to 946, and it was during this period that the Persian faction known as the [[Buyids]] from [[Daylam]] swept into power and assumed control over the bureaucracy in Baghdad. 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.<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Michele |first=Campopiano |date=2012 |title=State, Land Tax and Agriculture in Iraq from the Arab Conquest to the Crisis of the Abbasid Caliphate (Seventh-Tenth Centuries) |url=https://www.academia.edu/12137429 |url-status=live |journal=Studia Islamica |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=1–37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913114643/http://www.academia.edu/12137429/_State_Land_Tax_and_Agriculture_in_Iraq_from_the_Arab_Conquest_to_the_Crisis_of_the_Abbasid_Caliphate_Seventh-Tenth_Centuries_in_Studia_Islamica_3_2012_35-80 |archive-date=13 September 2018 |access-date=19 October 2015 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

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, Sindh|Mansura]].<ref name="Brauer" /> [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] took the title of [[sultan]], as opposed to the ''amir'' that had been in more common usage, signifying the [[Ghaznavids|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.<ref name="Brauer" />

===Buyid and Seljuq control (945–1118)===
{{Further|Buyid dynasty|Seljuk Empire}}
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2025}}
[[File:Buyids within the Middle East, ca. 970.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The Middle East {{Circa|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 (word)|''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.<ref name=":11" /> When the amir and former slave [[Basasiri]] took up the Shia Fatimid banner in Baghdad in 1056–57, the caliph [[Al-Qa'im (Abbasid caliph at Baghdad)|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)===
[[File:Map of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1180 CE.png|thumb|Approximate territory controlled by the Abbasids circa 1180, after gaining independence from the Seljuks<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=William Bayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=16yHq5v3QZAC&pg=PA188 |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |last2=Boyle |first2=J. A. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1968 |isbn=978-0-521-06936-6 |pages=188 |language=en}}</ref>]]
Caliph [[al-Mustarshid]] ({{Reign|1118|1135}}) was the first caliph to build an army and to lead it in battle since the 10th century.{{Sfn|Peacock|2015|p=147}} He recruited Kurdish and Arab Bedouin tribes and re-fortified Baghdad. His first concern was not the Seljuks but the [[Banu Mazyad|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.{{Sfn|Peacock|2015|pp=147–150}}

Under [[al-Muqtafi]] ({{Reign|1136|1160}}), a new caliphal state began to emerge with the help of his vizier [[Awn ad-Din ibn Hubayra|Ibn Hubayra]].{{Sfn|Peacock|2015|pp=151–153}} 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 Baghdad (1157)|siege of 1157]] and then conquered their Mazyadid enemies in Hilla in 1162.{{Sfn|Peacock|2015|pp=151–153}} 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=233}} After over two hundred years of Abbasid subjection to foreign dynasties, Caliph [[al-Mustanjid]] ({{Reign|1160|1170}}) formally declared independence from the Seljuk sultans in 1165, when he dropped their names from Abbasid coinage.{{Sfn|Peacock|2015|p=153}} Initially, the caliphs were still vulnerable to the power of the viziers,{{Sfn|Peacock|2015|p=153}} but [[al-Mustadi]] ({{Reign|1170|1180}}) was able to further rally some support from the Baghdad public as well as symbolic support abroad from the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] sultan [[Saladin]] and the [[Sultanate of Rum|Rum Seljuk]] sultan [[Kilij Arslan II]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=228–230}}
[[File:Talisman Gate in Baghdad.jpg|thumb|Carving on [[Bab al-Talsim]], a Baghdad gate built by [[al-Nasir]] in 1221 (destroyed in 1917), possibly depicting the caliph wrestling dragons.{{Sfn|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=Architecture; X. Decoration|p=197}}]]
The long reign of Caliph [[al-Nasir]] ({{Reign|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, Iran|Zanjan]].{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=234–235}} He sought to build up his influence among Muslim rulers abroad largely through the [[Sufi]]-inspired ''[[futuwwa]]'' brotherhood that he headed.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=238–239}} Under caliph [[Al-Mustansir I|al-Mustansir]] ({{Reign|1226|1242}}), the Abbasid state achieved significant stability and many of the same policies continued.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=246–249}} He built the [[Mustansiriyya Madrasa]], inaugurated in 1234, the first madrasa to teach all four Sunni [[Madhhab|''maddhab''s]] (schools of [[Fiqh|jurisprudence]]) and the first madrasa commissioned by an Abbasid caliph.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=251–254}}

===Mongol invasion and end===
{{Main|Siege of Baghdad|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 [[Siege of Baghdad|conquest of Baghdad]] in 1258.{{Sfn|Jackson|2017|p=|pp=125–128}}

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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=259–260}} In 1257, after [[Mongol campaign against the Nizaris|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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=263–264}} There followed months of diplomacy, during which the Mongols may have been informed of Baghdad's weakness by correspondence with the caliph's vizier, [[Muhammad ibn al-Alqami|Ibn al-Alqami]], a Shia who was later accused of colluding with them.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=263–265, 268}}<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Lane |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlCBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |title=Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth-Century Iran: A Persian Renaissance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-134-43103-8 |pages=29–35 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Osman |first=Khalil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhPEBAAAQBAJ&dq=alqami+1258&pg=PA64 |title=Sectarianism in Iraq: The Making of State and Nation Since 1920 |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-67487-0 |pages=64 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:DiezAlbumsFallOfBaghdad a.jpg|thumb|upright|[[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 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=266–267}} 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,{{Sfn|Marozzi|2014|pp=142–148}} though some, like the Christian and Shia communities, were spared.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=268}}<ref name=":10" /> 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.<ref name=":9" />{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=267–268}}{{Sfn|Jackson|2017|p=|pp=128–129}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=DeVries |first=Kelly |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQcGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA208 |title=Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-317-15676-5 |editor-last=John |editor-first=Simon |pages=208–209 |language=en |chapter=Meet the Mongols: Dealing with Mamluk Victory and Mongol Defeat in the Middle East in 1260 |editor-last2=Morton |editor-first2=Nicholas}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":9">{{harvnb|Frazier|2005}}</ref>

The fall of Baghdad marked the effective end of the Abbasid Caliphate.{{Sfn|Bennison|2009|p=|pp=7, 47, 95, etc}}{{Sfn|Jackson|2017|p=|pp=128–129}} 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.{{Sfn|Jackson|2017|p=|pp=128–129}}{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=267}} It is also traditionally seen as the approximate end to the "classical age" or [[Islamic Golden Age|"golden age" of Islamic civilization]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cooper|Yue|2008|p=215}}</ref>{{Sfn|Bennison|2009|p=4}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Renima |first1=Ahmed |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9f7CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=The State of Social Progress of Islamic Societies: Social, Economic, Political, and Ideological Challenges |last2=Tiliouine |first2=Habib |last3=Estes |first3=Richard J. |publisher=Springer |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-319-24774-8 |editor-last=Tiliouine |editor-first=Habib |location=Estes |pages=25 |language=en |chapter=The Islamic Golden Age: A Story of the Triumph of the Islamic Civilization |editor-last2=Estes |editor-first2=Richard J.}}</ref> 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.{{Sfn|Bennison|2009|p=4}} 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=269}}

==== Abbasid caliphs in Cairo (1261–1517) ====
{{Main |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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|pp=258–259, 270}} 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.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |author-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maQxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |title=The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=1996 |isbn=9780748696482 |location= |pages=6–10 |language=en |chapter=The 'Abbasid Caliphs}}</ref>{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=270}} 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]].<ref name=":5" />{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=271}}

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.<ref name=":5" />{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=272}} It continued to be relevant even to other Muslim rulers until the 14th century; for example, the [[Delhi Sultanate|sultans of Delhi]], the [[Muzaffarids (Iran)|Muzaffarid]] sultan [[Mubariz al-Din Muhammad|Muhammad]], the [[Jalayirid Sultanate|Jalayirid]] sultan [[Ahmad Jalayir|Ahmad]], and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sultan [[Bayezid I]] all sought diplomas of investiture from the caliph or declared nominal allegiance to him.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=273–275}} Caliph [[Al-Musta'in (Mamluk Sultanate)|al-Musta'in]] even managed to reign as sultan in Cairo for a brief six months in 1412.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=275}}

During the 15th century, however, the institution of the caliph declined in significance.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=275}} The last Abbasid caliph in Cairo was [[al-Mutawakkil III]], who was in place when the Ottoman sultan Selim I [[Battle of Marj Dabiq|defeated the Mamluks]] in 1516 and [[Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517)|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.<ref name=":5" />{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=|pp=275–276}} 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.{{Sfn|El-Hibri|2021|p=276}} 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.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Karateke |first=Hakan |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JoZSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=Legitimizing the Order: The Ottoman Rhetoric of State Power |publisher=Brill |year=2005 |isbn=978-90-474-0764-5 |editor-last=Hakan |editor-first=Maurus |pages=25–26 |language=en |chapter=Legitimizing the Ottoman Sultanate: A Framework for Historical Analysis |editor-last2=Reinkowski |editor-first2=Maurus}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" />

==Culture==

===Islamic Golden Age===
{{Main|Islamic Golden Age}}
{{Further |Early Islamic philosophy|List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world}}
[[File:Folio from the "Tashkent Qur'an" MET DP234018.jpg|thumb|Page from the "[[Samarkand Kufic Quran|Tashkent Qur'an]]", one of the oldest surviving Qur'an manuscripts, dating from the late 8th or early 9th century<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ekhtiar |first=Maryam D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-RoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 |title=How to Read Islamic Calligraphy |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-58839-630-3 |pages=76 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Folio from the "Tashkent Qur'an" |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/454661 |access-date=4 March 2025 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref>]]
The Abbasid historical period lasting to the [[Mongol conquest of Baghdad]] in 1258 CE is considered the Islamic Golden Age.<ref name="Tahir Abbas">{{harvnb|Abbas|2011|p=9}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Vartan">{{harvnb|Gregorian|2003}}</ref> The Abbasids were influenced by the [[Qur'an]]ic 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<ref name="Vartan" /> 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 language|Arabic]].<ref name="Vartan" /> 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.<ref name="Vartan" /> During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of cultures which collected, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]], Chinese, [[History of India|Indian]], [[Sasanian Empire|Persian]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]], North African, [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] and [[Byzantine|Medieval Greek]] civilizations.<ref name="Vartan" /> 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."<ref>{{harvnb|Huff|2003|p=48}}</ref>

===Literature===
{{Main|Islamic literature|Arabic literature|Arabic epic literature|Persian literature}}
{{Further |Islamic poetry|Arabic poetry|Turkish poetry|Persian poetry}}
[[File:More tales from the Arabian nights-14566176968.jpg|right|thumb|Illustration from ''More tales from the Arabian nights'' (1915)]]

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 literature|Arabic]], [[Persian literature|Persian]], Mesopotamian, and [[Egyptian literature|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.<ref name="arabianNights">{{Harvnb|Grant|Clute|1999|p=51}}.</ref> 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''.<ref name="arabianNights" /> This epic has been influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by [[Antoine Galland]].<ref>{{harvnb|de Camp|1976|p=10}}</ref> Many imitations were written, especially in France.<ref name="arabianNights2">{{harvnb|Grant|Clute|1999|p=52}}</ref> 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 (love)|romance]] was ''[[Layla and Majnun]]'', an originally [[Arabic]] story which was further developed by [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]], [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijani]] and other poets in the [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] languages.<ref>{{harvnb|Clinton|2000|pp=15–16}}</ref> It is a [[Tragedy|tragic]] story of undying love much like the later ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}

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.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=78}}

===Philosophy===
{{Main|Islamic philosophy|Early Islamic philosophy}}
{{Further |Logic in Islamic philosophy|Kalam|Avicennism|Averroism|Illuminationist philosophy|Transcendent Theosophy}}

One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy" is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture".<ref name="RoutledgeEoP">{{harvnb|Leaman|1998}}</ref> Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims.<ref name="RoutledgeEoP" /> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pasnau |first=Robert |date=2011 |title=The Islamic Scholar Who Gave Us Modern Philosophy |url=https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/novemberdecember/feature/the-islamic-scholar-who-gave-us-modern-philosophy |access-date=2020-02-03 |website=National Endowment for the Humanities |language=en}}</ref>

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|Abbasid architecture}}
[[File:قصر العاشق مدينه سامراء.jpg|thumb|[[Qasr al-'Ashiq]] palace in [[Samarra]], built between 877 and 882 CE{{sfn|Bloom|Blair|2009|p=82|loc=Architecture; IV. c. 750–c. 900}}]]
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 [[Architecture of Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]] and Persia.<ref name="Hoag_p7_9">{{Cite book |last=Hoag |first=John D. |title=Islamic Architecture |date=2004 |publisher=Electa Architecture |isbn=1-904313-29-9 |location=Milan |pages=7–9}}</ref> The [[Abbasid architecture]] was particularly influenced by [[Sasanian architecture]], which in turn featured elements present since ancient Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Petersen|1996|p=1}}<ref name=":2442">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Architecture (IV. c. 750–c. 900)''}}</ref> The Christian styles evolved into a style based more on the [[Sasanian Empire]], utilizing mud bricks and baked bricks with carved stucco.<ref name="wil">{{harvnb|Wilber|1969|p=5}}</ref> Other architectural innovations and styles were few, such as the [[four-centred arch|four-centered arch]], and a dome erected on [[squinch]]es. Unfortunately, much was lost due to the ephemeral nature of the stucco and luster tiles.<ref name="wil2" />

[[File:Baghdad-Zumurrud-Khaton.jpg|thumb|[[Zumurrud Khatun Mosque|Zumurrud Khatun Tomb]] (circa 1152),<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ettinghausen |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1uWZAzN_VcC&pg=PA216 |title=Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250 |last2=Grabar |first2=Oleg |last3=Jenkins-Madina |first3=Marilyn |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780300088670 |edition=2nd |pages=216 |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=wil/> 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.<ref name=wil/> Mesopotamia only has one surviving mausoleum from this era, in Samarra:<ref name=wil2>{{harvnb|Wilber|1969|p=6}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brend |first=Barbara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ba3LyiGfPU8C&dq=dome+al-muntasir+mausoleum&pg=PA32 |title=Islamic Art |date=1991 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-46866-5 |language=en |trans-title=32}}</ref>

Baghdad, the epicenter of the empire, was originally [[Round city of Baghdad|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 {{convert|360000|sqft|m2}} in area and the great mosque of Baghdad, encompassing {{convert|90000|sqft|m2}}. 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.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Marozzi|first=Justin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/16/story-cities-day-3-baghdad-iraq-world-civilisation|title=Story of cities #3: the birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation|date=2016-03-16|work=The Guardian|access-date=2020-03-27|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

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 [[Aghlabid architecture|patronage of the Aghlabids]], vassals of the Abbasids.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Bloom |first=Jonathan M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRHbDwAAQBAJ |title=Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780300218701 |location= |pages=28–32 |language=en}}</ref> The styles utilized were mainly Abbasid.<ref>{{harvnb|Wilber|1969|pp=5–6}}</ref> In Egypt, Ahmad Ibn Tulun commissioned the [[Mosque of Ibn Tulun|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.<ref name=":0522">{{Cite book |last=Tabbaa |first=Yasser |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three |publisher=Brill |year=2007 |isbn=978-9004161658 |editor-last=Fleet |editor-first=Kate |location= |pages= |chapter=Architecture |editor-last2=Krämer |editor-first2=Gudrun |editor-last3=Matringe |editor-first3=Denis |editor-last4=Nawas |editor-first4=John |editor-last5=Rowson |editor-first5=Everett}}</ref>

=== Arts ===
{{Main|Abbasid art}}
[[File:Bowl by Khalid, Iraq, Abbasid dynasty, 9th-10th century AD, earthenware painted over glaze with luster - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC04595.jpg|left|thumb|[[Lustreware]] bowl from 9th century Samarra<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bowl |url=https://asia-archive.si.edu/object/F2005.10/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art |language=en-US}}</ref>]]
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.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{harvnb|Bloom|Blair|2009|loc=''Abbasid''|pp=1–3}}</ref> The importation of [[Chinese ceramics]] elicited local imitations but also stirred innovations in local production.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> [[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]].<ref name=":4" /> [[Islamic glass|Glassware]] also became a more important art form and was likely the origin of the lustre technique that was introduced into ceramics.<ref name=":3" /> Few textiles have survived but the production of ''[[tiraz]]'', textiles with royal inscriptions, is well attested.<ref name=":3" /> 
[[File:Folio from a Qur'an (8th-9th century) Sura 39.jpg|thumb|Folio from a Qur'an with [[Kufic]] script and gold [[Illuminated manuscript|illumination]], from 8th or 9th century<ref>{{Cite web |title=Folio from a Qur'an: Sura 38, verses 87-88; sura 39, verse 1 |url=https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1930.60/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=National Museum of Asian Art |language=en-US}}</ref>]]
Another major art form was calligraphy and manuscript production. During the Abbasid period, [[Islamic calligraphy|Arabic calligraphy]] evolved into a more refined discipline.<ref name=":4" /> Rounded [[Kufic]] script was typical<ref name=":3" /> and became increasingly stylized.<ref name=":4" /> [[Parchment]] only allowed for a few lines of script, but from the late 8th century onward [[History of paper|paper]] began to be produced.<ref name=":3" /> Qur'ans are the main type of book to have survived from this period.<ref name=":3" />

== Science and technology ==

===Science===
{{Main |Science in the medieval Islamic world}}
{{Further |Alchemy (Islam)|Islamic astronomy|Islamic mathematics|Islamic medicine|Timeline of science and technology in the Islamic world}}
[[File:Al-Mustansriah School - Main door.jpg|thumb|The [[Mustansiriyya Madrasa]] in [[Baghdad]], established in 1227, one of the few Abbasid-era [[madrasa]]s remaining today]]
[[File:Man Florence, Ashburnham 1166 fol 12r.jpg|thumb|[[Jabir ibn Hayyan]], a pioneer in [[organic chemistry]].
The reigns of [[Harun al-Rashid]] (786–809) and his successors fostered an age of great intellectual achievement. In large part, this was the result of the schismatic forces that had undermined the Umayyad regime, which relied on the assertion of the superiority of [[Arab culture]] as part of its claim to legitimacy, and the Abbasids' welcoming of support from non-Arab Muslims.<ref>{{harvnb|Stapleton|Azo|Hidayat Husain|1927|pp=338–340}}; {{harvnb|Kraus|1942–1943|loc=vol. II, pp. 41–42}}</ref>]]
A number of medieval thinkers and scientists living under Islamic rule played a role in transmitting [[Islamic science]] to the Christian West. In addition, the period saw the recovery of much of the [[Alexandria]]n mathematical, geometric and astronomical knowledge, such as that of [[Euclid]] and Claudius [[Ptolemy]]. These recovered mathematical methods were later enhanced and developed by other Islamic scholars, notably by Persian scientists [[Al-Biruni]] and [[Abu Nasr Mansur]].

[[Christians]] (particularly [[Nestorianism|Nestorian]] Christians) contributed to the Arab Islamic Civilization during the Umayyads and the Abbasids by translating works of [[Greek philosophers]] to [[Syriac Language|Syriac]] and afterwards to [[Arabic Language|Arabic]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hill|1993|p=4}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brague|2009|p=164}}</ref> Nestorians played a prominent role in the formation of Arab culture,<ref>{{Cite book |last= |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia08chic/page/612/mode/2up |title=The New Encyclopaedia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-85229-423-9 |editor-last=Goetz |editor-first=Philip W. |edition=15th |volume=8 |location=Chicago |pages=612–613 |language=en |chapter=Nestorian |orig-year=1974}}</ref> with the [[Academy of Gondishapur]] being prominent in the late [[Sassanid]], [[Umayyad]] and early Abbasid periods.<ref>{{harvnb|Söylemez|2005|p=3}}</ref> Notably, eight generations of the Nestorian [[Bukhtishu]] family served as private doctors to caliphs and sultans between the eighth and eleventh centuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Bonner|Ener|Singer|2003|p=97}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ruano|Burgos|1992|p=527}}</ref>

[[Algebra]] was significantly developed by Persian scientist [[Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī]] during this time in his landmark text, ''[[The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing|Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala]]'', from which the term ''algebra'' is derived. He is thus considered to be the father of algebra by some,<ref>{{harvnb|Eglash|1999|p=61}}</ref> although the Greek mathematician [[Diophantus]] has also been given this title. The terms ''[[algorism]]'' and ''[[algorithm]]'' are derived from the name of al-Khwarizmi, who was also responsible for introducing the [[Arabic numerals]] and [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]] beyond the [[Indian subcontinent]].
[[File:Ibn al-Haytham crop.jpg|thumb|[[Alhazen|Ibn al-Haytham]], "the father of [[Optics]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Verma|1969}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2015}}</ref>]]

Arab scientist [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen) developed an early [[scientific method]] in his ''[[Book of Optics]]'' (1021). The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally [[empiricism|empirical]] orientation, which began among Muslim scientists. Ibn al-Haytham's empirical proof of the intromission theory of light (that is, that light rays entered the eyes rather than being [[emission theory (vision)|emitted by them]]) was particularly important. Ibn al-Haytham was significant in the [[history of scientific method]], particularly in his approach to experimentation,<ref>{{harvnb|Toomer|1964}}</ref> and has been referred to as the "world's first true scientist".<ref>{{harvnb|Al-Khalili|2009}}</ref>

[[Medicine in medieval Islam]] was an area of science that advanced particularly during the Abbasids' reign. During the 9th century, Baghdad contained over 800 doctors, and great discoveries in the understanding of anatomy and diseases were made. The clinical distinction between [[measles]] and [[smallpox]] was described during this time. Famous Persian scientist [[Ibn Sina]] (known to the West as [[Avicenna]]) produced treatises and works that summarized the vast amount of knowledge that scientists had accumulated, and was very influential through his encyclopedias, ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]'' and ''[[The Book of Healing]]''. The work of him and many others directly influenced the research of European scientists during the [[Renaissance]].

[[Astronomy in medieval Islam]] was advanced by [[Al-Battani]], who improved the precision of the measurement of the [[precession]] of the Earth's axis. The corrections made to the [[geocentric model]] by al-Battani,{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} [[Averroes]],{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]], [[Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi]] and [[Ibn al-Shatir]] were later incorporated into the [[Copernican heliocentrism|Copernican heliocentric]] model.<ref>{{harvnb|Rabin|2015}}</ref> The [[astrolabe]], though originally developed by the Greeks, was developed further by Islamic astronomers and engineers, and subsequently brought to medieval Europe.

[[Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam|Muslim alchemists]] influenced medieval European alchemists, particularly the writings attributed to [[Jābir ibn Hayyān]] (Geber).

===Technology===
{{Main |List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world|Arab Agricultural Revolution|Timeline of science and engineering in the Muslim world}}
[[File:Wasseruhr Harun al Raschid.jpg|thumb|Illustration showing a [[water clock]] given to [[Charlemagne]] by [[Harun al-Rashid]]]]
In technology, the Abbasids adopted [[papermaking]] from China.<ref name= Lucas/> The use of paper spread from China into the caliphate in the 8th century CE, arriving in [[al-Andalus]] (Islamic Spain) and then the rest of Europe in the 10th century. It was easier to manufacture than [[parchment]], less likely to crack than [[papyrus]], and could absorb ink, making it ideal for making records and copies of the Qur'an. "Islamic paper makers devised assembly-line methods of hand-copying manuscripts to turn out editions far larger than any available in Europe for centuries."<ref>{{harvnb|Cotter|2001}}</ref> It was from the Abbasids that the rest of the world learned to make paper from linen.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2003|p=166}}</ref> The knowledge of [[gunpowder]] was also transmitted from China via the caliphate, where the formulas for pure [[potassium nitrate]] and an [[explosive]] gunpowder effect were first developed.<ref>{{harvnb|al-Hassan|2002}}</ref>

Advances were made in [[irrigation]] and farming, using new technology such as the [[windmill]]. Crops such as [[almond]]s and [[citrus]] fruit were brought to Europe through [[al-Andalus]], and sugar cultivation was gradually adopted by the Europeans. Apart from the [[Nile]], [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]], navigable rivers were uncommon, so transport by sea was very important. Navigational sciences were highly developed, making use of a rudimentary [[sextant]] (known as a ''kamal''). When combined with detailed maps of the period, sailors were able to sail across oceans rather than skirt along the coast. Abbasid sailors were also responsible for reintroducing large three masted merchant vessels to the [[Mediterranean]]. The name ''[[caravel]]'' may derive from an earlier Arab ship known as the ''qārib''.<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|2013}}</ref> Arab merchants dominated trade in the Indian Ocean until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. [[Ormus|Hormuz]] was an important center for this trade. There was also a dense network of trade routes in the [[Mediterranean]], along which Muslim countries traded with each other and with European powers such as [[Venice]] or [[Genoa]]. The [[Silk Road]] crossing Central Asia passed through the Abbasid caliphate between China and Europe.

[[File:Bruges Belgium Windmill-Bonne-Chiere-01.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Windmills]] were among Abbasid inventions in technology.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFhGW3MxgPMC&q=abbasid+windmill&pg=PA35|title=Syria|last1=Phillips|first1=Douglas A.|last2=Gritzner|first2=Charles F.|date=2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1438132389|language=en}}</ref>|left]]

Engineers in the Abbasid caliphate made a number of innovative industrial uses of [[hydropower]], and early industrial uses of [[tidal power]], [[wind power]], and petroleum (notably by distillation into [[kerosene]]). The industrial uses of [[watermill]]s in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-[[Water wheel|wheeled]] and vertical-wheeled water mills were both in widespread use since at least the 9th century. By the time of the Crusades, every province throughout the Islamic world had mills in operation, from al-Andalus and North Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia. These mills performed a variety of agricultural and industrial tasks.<ref name=Lucas>{{harvnb|Lucas|2005|p=10}}</ref> Abbasid engineers also developed machines (such as pumps) incorporating [[crankshaft]]s, employed [[gear]]s in mills and water-raising machines, and used dams to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines.<ref name=Hassan>{{harvnb|al-Hassan|2002a}}</ref> Such advances made it possible for many industrial tasks that were previously driven by [[manual labour]] in [[ancient times]] to be [[Mechanization|mechanized]] and driven by machinery instead in the medieval Islamic world. It has been argued that the industrial use of waterpower had spread from Islamic to Christian Spain, where fulling mills, paper mills, and forge mills were recorded for the first time in [[Catalonia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lucas|2005}}{{page needed|date=May 2015}}</ref>

A number of industries were generated during the [[Arab Agricultural Revolution]], including early industries for textiles, sugar, rope-making, matting, silk, and paper. [[Latin translations of the 12th century]] passed on knowledge of chemistry and instrument making in particular.<ref>{{harvnb|al-Hassan|2002b}}</ref> The agricultural and [[handicraft]] industries also experienced high levels of growth during this period.<ref name = Labib>{{harvnb|Labib|1969}}</ref>

== Society ==

===Arabization===
While the Abbasids originally gained power by exploiting the social inequalities against non-Arabs in the Umayyad Empire, during Abbasid rule the empire rapidly Arabized, particularly in the [[Fertile Crescent]] region (namely [[Mesopotamia]] and the [[Levant]]) as had begun under Umayyad rule. As knowledge was shared in the Arabic language throughout the empire, many people from different nationalities and religions began to speak Arabic in their everyday lives. Resources from other languages began to be translated into Arabic, and a unique Islamic identity began to form that fused previous cultures with Arab culture, creating a level of civilization and knowledge that was considered a marvel in Europe at the time.<ref>{{harvnb|Ochsenwald|Fisher|2004|p=69}}</ref>

===Status of women===
{{See also|Abbasid harem}}
In contrast to the earlier era, women in Abbasid society were absent from all arenas of the community's central affairs.{{sfn|Ahmed|1992|pp=112–115}} While their Muslim forebears led men into battle, started rebellions, and played an active role in community life, as demonstrated in the [[Hadith]] literature, Abbasid women were ideally kept in seclusion.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Conquests had brought enormous wealth and large numbers of slaves to the Muslim elite. The majority of the slaves were women and children,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite book |last=Morony |first=Michael |title=Iraq after the Muslim conquest |date=2005 |publisher=Gorgias Press |edition=1st Gorgias Press [2nd ed.] |location=Piscataway, NJ |orig-date=1984}}</ref> many of whom had been dependents or harem-members of the defeated Sassanian upper classes.<ref name="Abbott, Nabia 1946">{{Cite book |last=Abbott |first=Nabia |title=Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Hārūn al Rashīd |date=1946 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago}}</ref> In the wake of the conquests an elite man could potentially own a thousand slaves, and ordinary soldiers could have ten people serving them.{{refn|group =nb|Concubines were expected to be treated well, treating them poorly would have been deviation from Islamic ethics however some from the ruling class engaged in acts of disbelief and deviancy behind closed doors with and without their harem's}}

It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that Muhammad said:

{{blockquote|
There is no man whose two daughters reach the age of puberty and he treats them kindly for the time they are together, but they will gain him admittance to Paradise.

Whoever has three daughters and is patient towards them, and feeds them, gives them to drink, and clothes them from his wealth; they will be a shield for him from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.}}

Even so, slave courtesans ([[qiyan]]s and [[jawaris]]) and princesses produced prestigious and important poetry. Enough survives to give us access to women's historical experiences, and reveals some vivacious and powerful figures, such as the Sufi mystic [[Rabia of Basra|Raabi'a al-Adwiyya]] (714–801 CE), the princess and poet [['Ulayya bint al-Mahdi]] (777–825 CE), and the [[qiyan|singing-girls]] [[Shāriyah]] ({{circa|815}}–870 CE), [[Fadl Ashsha'ira]] (d. 871 CE) and [[Arib al-Ma'muniyya]] (797–890 CE).<ref>{{cite book|last=Qutbuddin |first=Tahera |editor=Josef W. Meri |editor-link= Josef W. Meri |title=Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia|date = 31 October 2005 |archive-date=7 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140207005116/http://nelc.uchicago.edu/sites/nelc.uchicago.edu/files/2006%20Women%20Poets%20%28Med.%20Islamic.%20Civ.%20Enc.%29.pdf|chapter-url=http://nelc.uchicago.edu/sites/nelc.uchicago.edu/files/2006%20Women%20Poets%20(Med.%20Islamic.%20Civ.%20Enc.).pdf |volume=II |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-415-96690-0 |chapter=Women Poets |pages=865–867 |access-date=29 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Samer M. Ali|title=Medieval Court Poetry|encyclopedia= The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women|edition= by Natana J. Delong-Bas, 2 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), I 651–54 (at p. 652)|url= https://www.academia.edu/5023780}}</ref>

Each wife in the [[Abbasid harem]] had an additional home or flat, with her own enslaved staff of eunuchs and maidservants. When a [[concubinage in Islam|concubine]] gave birth to a son, she was elevated in rank to [[umm walad]] and also received apartments and (slave) servants as a gift.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=22}}

=== Treatment of Jews and Christians ===
[[File:Hunayn ibn-Ishaq al-'Ibadi Isagoge.jpg|left|thumb|[[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]] was an influential translator, scholar, physician, and scientist.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Osman |first=Ghada |date=2012-12-31 |title="The sheikh of the translators": The translation methodology of Hunayn ibn Ishaq |url=http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/tis.7.2.04osm |journal=Translation and Interpreting Studies |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=161–175 |doi=10.1075/tis.7.2.04osm |issn=1932-2798|url-access=subscription }}</ref>]]
The status and treatment of Jews, Christians, and non-Muslims in the Abbasid Caliphate was a complex and continually changing issue. Non-Muslims were called [[dhimmi]]s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East|last=Sharkey|first=Heather|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-0521186872|location=Cambridge|pages=27–30}}</ref> Dhimmis faced some level of discrimination in Abbasid society: they did not have all the privileges of Muslims and had to pay [[jizya]], a tax on non-Muslims. However, as [[people of the book]] (non-Muslim monotheists), Jews and Christians were allowed to practice their religion and were not required to convert.

One of the common aspects of the treatment of the dhimmis is that their treatment depended on who the caliph was at the time. Some Abbasid rulers, like [[Al-Mutawakkil]] (822–861 CE) imposed strict restrictions on what dhimmis could wear in public, often yellow garments that distinguished them from Muslims.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire|last=Levy-Rubin|first=Milka|date=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1108449618|location=Cambridge|pages=102–103|doi = 10.1017/cbo9780511977435}}</ref> Other restrictions al-Mutawakkil imposed included limiting the role of the dhimmis in government, seizing dhimmi housing and making it harder for dhimmis to become educated.<ref name=":1" /> Most other Abbasid caliphs were not as strict as al-Mutawakkil. During the reign of [[Al-Mansur]] (754–775 CE), it was common for Jews and Christians to influence the overall culture in the [[caliphate]], specifically in [[Baghdad]]. Jews and Christians did this by participating in scholarly work.

It was common that laws that were imposed against dhimmis during one caliph's rule were either discarded or not practiced during future caliphs' reigns. Al-Mansur and al-Mutawakkil both instituted laws that forbade non-Muslims from participating in public office.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire|last=Levy-Rubin|first=Milka|date=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1108449618|location=Cambridge|pages=108–110|doi = 10.1017/cbo9780511977435}}</ref> Al-Mansur did not follow his own law very closely, bringing dhimmis back to the caliphate's treasury due to the needed expertise of dhimmis in the area of finance.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Sirry|first=Mun'im|date=2011|title=The public role of Dhimmīs during ʿAbbāsid times|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=74|issue=2|pages=187–204|jstor=41287947|doi=10.1017/S0041977X11000024|s2cid=146324749 |doi-access=}}</ref> Al-Mutawakkil followed the law banning dhimmis from public office more seriously, although, soon after his reign, many of the laws concerning dhimmis participating in government were completely unobserved or at least less strictly observed.<ref name=":1" /> Even [[Al-Muqtadir]] ({{r.|908|932|era=CE}}), who held a similar stance as al-Mutawakkil on barring non-Muslims from public office, himself had multiple Christian secretaries, indicating that non-Muslims still had access to many of the most important figures within the caliphate.<ref name=":2" /> Past having a casual association or just being a secretary to high-ranking Islamic officials, some of them achieved the second highest office after the caliph: the [[Vizier (Abbasid Caliphate)|vizier]].<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Church of the East mural, 837-839 CE, Palace of al-Mukhtar, Samarra, Iraq.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Church of the East]] cleric. Mural from the Palace of [[al-Mukhtar]], dated 837–839 CE, [[Samarra]], Iraq.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baumer |first1=Christoph |title=The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity |date= 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-83860-934-4 |page=166 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UhiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA-166 |language=en}}</ref>]]
Jews and Christians may have had a lower overall status compared to Muslims in the Abbasid Caliphate, but dhimmis were often allowed to hold respectable and even prestigious occupations in some cases, such as doctors and public officeholders. Jews and Christians were also allowed to be rich even if they were taxed for being a dhimmi.<ref name=":0" /> Dhimmis were capable of moving up and down the social ladder, though this largely depended on the particular caliph. An indication as to the social standing of Jews and Christians at the time was their ability to live next to Muslim people. While al-Mansur was ruling the caliphate, for instance, it was not uncommon for dhimmis to live in the same neighborhoods as Muslims.<ref name=":0" /> One of the biggest reasons why dhimmis were allowed to hold prestigious jobs and positions in government is that they were generally important to the well-being of the state and were proficient to excellent with the work at hand.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East|last=Sharkey|first=Heather|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-0521186872|location=Cambridge|pages=52–54}}</ref> Some Muslims in the caliphate took offense to the idea that there were dhimmis in public offices who were in a way ruling over them although it was an Islamic state, while other Muslims were at time jealous of some dhimmis for having a level of wealth or prestige greater than other Muslims, even if Muslims were still the majority of the ruling class.<ref name=":2" /> In general, Muslims, Jews, and Christians had close relations that could be considered positive at times, especially for Jews, in contrast to how Jews were being treated in Europe.<ref name=":0" />

Many of the laws and restrictions that were imposed on dhimmis often resembled other laws that previous states had used to discriminate against a minority religion, specifically Jewish people. Romans in the fourth century banned Jewish people from holding public offices, banned Roman citizens from converting to Judaism, and often demoted Jews who were serving in the Roman military.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Christian Antisemitism: A History of Hate|last=Nicholls|first=William|publisher=Haddon Craftsmen|year=1993|isbn=978-0876683989|location=Scranton|pages=196–197}}</ref> In direct contrast, there was an event in which two viziers, Ibn al-Furat and [[Ali ibn Isa ibn al-Jarrah]], argued about Ibn al-Furat's decision to make a Christian the head of the military. A previous vizier, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Bazuri, had done so. These laws predated al-Mansur's laws against dhimmis and often had similar restrictions, although Roman emperors were often much more strict on enforcing these laws than many Abbasid caliphs.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Anti-Semitism Before the Holocaust|last=Lindemann|first=Albert|publisher=Pearson Educated Limited|year=2000|isbn=978-0582369641|location=Harlow|page=38}}</ref>

Most of [[History of the Jews in Baghdad|Baghdad's Jews]] were incorporated into the Arab community and considered [[Arabic]] their native language.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} Some Jews studied Hebrew in their schools and Jewish religious education flourished. The united Muslim empire allowed Jews to reconstruct links between their dispersed communities throughout the Middle East. The city's Talmudic institute helped spread the rabbinical tradition to Europe, and the Jewish community in Baghdad went on to establish ten rabbinical schools and twenty-three synagogues. Baghdad not only contained the tombs of Muslim saints and martyrs, but also the tomb of [[Joshua in Islam|Yusha]], whose corpse had been brought to Iraq during the first migration of the Jews out of the Levant.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=68}}

===Holidays===
There were large feasts on certain days, as the Muslims of the empire celebrated Christian holidays as well as their own. There were two main Islamic feasts: [[Eid al-Fitr|one marked by the end of Ramadan]]; the other, "[[Eid al-Adha|the Feast of Sacrifice]]". The former was especially joyful because children would purchase decorations and sweetmeats; people prepared the best food and bought new clothes. At midmorning, the caliph, wearing Muhammad's thobe, would guide officials, accompanied by armed soldiers to the [[Great Mosque of al-Mansur|Great Mosque]], where he led prayers. After the prayer, all those in attendance would exchange the best wishes and hug their kin and companions. The festivities lasted for three days. During those limited number of nights, the palaces were lit up and boats on the [[Tigris]] hung lights. It was said that Baghdad "glittered 'like a bride{{'"}}. During [[Eid al-Adha|the Feast of Sacrifice]], sheep were butchered in public arenas and the caliph participated in a large-scale sacrifice in the palace courtyard. Afterward, the meat would be divided and given to the poor.<ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=70}}</ref>

In addition to these two holidays, [[Shia]]s celebrated the birthdays of [[Fatimah]] and [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]]. Matrimonies and births in the royal family were observed by all in the empire. The announcement that one of the caliph's sons could [[Qira'at|recite the Koran]] smoothly was greeted by communal jubilation. When Harun developed this holy talent, the people lit torches and decorated the streets with wreaths of flowers, and his father, [[Al-Mahdi]], freed 500 slaves.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 71">{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=71}}</ref>

Of all the holidays imported from other cultures and religions, the one most celebrated in Baghdad (a city with many Persians) was [[Nowruz]], which celebrated the arrival of spring. In a ceremonial ablution introduced by Persian troops, residents sprinkled themselves with water and ate almond cakes. The palaces of the imperial family were lit up for six days and nights. The Abbasids also celebrated the Persian holiday of Mihraj, which marked the onset of winter (signified with pounding drums), and Sadar, when homes burned incense and the masses would congregate along the Tigris to witness princes and viziers pass by.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 71"/>

==Military==

The Abbasid army amassed an array of siege equipment, such as [[catapult]]s, [[mangonel]]s, [[battering ram]]s, ladders, grappling irons, and hooks. All such weaponry was operated by military engineers. However, the primary siege weapon was the {{lang|ar-Latn|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 siege engine|torsion artillery]]. By Harun al-Rashid's time, the Abbasid army employed fire [[grenade]]s. The Abbasids also utilized [[field hospital]]s and ambulances drawn by camels.<ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=44}}</ref> 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".{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=44}} 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.{{sfn|Bobrick|2012|p=44}}

[[File:Al-Akhdar Castle.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Ukhaidir Fortress|Ukhaidir Fortress]], located south of [[Karbala]], is a large, rectangular fortress erected in 775 AD with a unique defensive style. ]]
During the Abbasid revolution, [[Abu Muslim]]'s Khorasani army, composed largely of Arab settlers disillusioned with Umayyad rule, marched under black banners, forming a powerful force that swept westward in open revolt.{{sfn|Axworthy|2007|p=77}}
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 peoples|Iranian]] origin, the vast majority being from [[Khorasan Province|Khurasan]] and [[Transoxiana]], not from western Iran or Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baghdad-iranian-connection-1-pr-Mongol |title=Baghdad i. The Iranian Connection: Before the Mongol Invasion |first=H. |last=Kennedy |date=15 December 1988 |access-date=22 August 2011 |volume=III |issue=4 |pages=412–415 |encyclopedia=[[Iranica Online]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117004858/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baghdad-iranian-connection-1-pr-Mongol |archive-date=17 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the Khurasani soldiers who brought the Abbasids to power were Arabs.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iraq-i-late-sasanid-early-islamic |title=Iraq i. In the Late Sasanid and Early Islamic Eras |first=Michael |last=Morony |author-link=Michael Morony |date=2006 |access-date=30 March 2012 |volume=XIII |issue=5 |pages=543–550 |encyclopedia=[[Iranica Online]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229181405/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iraq-i-late-sasanid-early-islamic |archive-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref> 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.<ref name="ira62">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hvx9jq_2L3EC&dq=umayyad+abbasid+non+muslim+support&pg=PA62 |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |date=1975 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-20093-8 |editor-last=Frye |editor-first=Richard N. |volume=4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs |location=Cambridge |page=62}}</ref> Under the Abbasids, Iranian peoples became better represented in the army and bureaucracy as compared to before.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=134}} The Abbasid army was centred on the Khurasan [[Abna al-dawla]] infantry and the Khurasaniyya heavy cavalry, led by their own semi-autonomous commanders ({{lang|ar-Latn|qa'id}}) who recruited and deployed their own men with Abbasid resource grants.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jo Van Steenbergen |title=A History of the Islamic World, 600–1800: Empire, Dynastic Formations, and Heterogeneities in Pre-Modern Islamic West-Asia |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1000093070 |chapter=2.1|year=2020 }}</ref> 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.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=156–169}}

==Civil administration==
[[File:Abbasid Caliphate 850AD.png|thumb|The provinces of Abbasid Caliphate in c. 850 under [[al-Mutawakkil]]]]
As a result of such a vast Empire, the caliphate was decentralized and divided into 24 provinces.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 45">{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=45}}</ref>

Harun's vizier enjoyed close to unchecked powers. Under Harun, a special "bureau of confiscation" was created. This governmental wing made it possible for the vizier to seize the property and riches of any corrupt governor or civil servant. In addition, it allowed governors to confiscate the estates of lower-ranking officials. Finally, the caliph could impose the same penalty on a vizier who fell from grace. As one later caliph put it: "The vizier is our representative throughout the land and amongst our subjects. Therefore, he who obeys him obeys us; and he who obeys us obeys God, and God shall cause him who obeys Him to enter paradise."<ref name="Bobrick 2012 45"/>

Every regional metropolis had a post office and hundreds of roads were paved in order to link the imperial capital with other cities and towns. The empire employed a system of relays to deliver mail. The central post office in Baghdad even had a map with directions that noted the distances between each town. The roads were provided with roadside inns, hospices, and wells and could reach eastward through Persia and [[Central Asia]], to as far as China.<ref>{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=46}}</ref> The post office not only enhanced civil services but also served as intelligence for the caliph. Mailmen were employed as spies who kept an eye on local affairs.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 47">{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=47}}</ref>

Early in the days of the caliphate, the Barmakids took the responsibility of shaping the [[civil service]]. The family had roots in a [[Buddhist]] monastery in northern [[Afghanistan]]. In the early 8th century, the family converted to Islam and began to take on a sizable part of the civil administration for the Abbasids.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 47"/>

Capital poured into the caliphate's treasury from a variety of taxes, including a real estate tax; a levy on cattle, gold and silver, and commercial wares; a special tax on non-Muslims; and customs dues.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 45"/>

==Trade==
{{see also|History of Islamic economics|Slavery in the Abbasid Caliphate}}

Under [[Harun al-Rashid|Harun]], maritime trade through the [[Persian Gulf]] thrived, with Arab vessels trading as far south as [[Madagascar]] and as far east as China, Korea, and Japan. The growing economy of Baghdad and other cities inevitably led to the demand for luxury items and formed a class of entrepreneurs who organized long-range caravans for the trade and then the distribution of their goods. A whole section in the East Baghdad suq was dedicated to Chinese goods.

Arabs traded with the [[Baltic region]] and made it as far north as the [[British Isles]]. Tens of thousands of Arab coins have been discovered in parts of Russia and Sweden, which bear witness to the comprehensive trade networks set up by the Abbasids. [[Offa of Mercia|King Offa of Mercia (in England)]] minted gold coins similar to those of the Abbasids in the eighth century.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 74">{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=74}}</ref>
[[File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art mss 0972 fol 6b-7a.jpg|thumb|''[[Book of Roads and Kingdoms]]'' written by [[Istakhri]]]]
Muslim merchants employed ports in [[Bandar Siraf]], [[Basra]], and [[Aden]] and some [[Red Sea]] ports to travel and trade with India and [[South East Asia]]. Land routes were also utilized through [[Central Asia]]. Arab businessmen were present in China as early as the eighth century. Arab merchants sailed the Caspian Sea to reach and trade with [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]].<ref name="Bobrick 2012 74"/>

Many caravans and goods never made it to their intended destinations. Some Chinese exports perished in fires, while other ships sank. It was said that anybody who made it to China and back unharmed was blessed by God. Common sea routes were also plagued by pirates who built and crewed vessels that were faster than most merchant ships. It is said that many of the adventures at sea in the [[Sinbad the Sailor|Sinbad tales]] were based on historical fiction of mariners of the day.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 75">{{harvnb|Bobrick|2012|p=75}}</ref>

The Abbasids also established overland trade with Africa, largely for gold and [[Trans-Saharan slave trade|slaves]]. When trade with Europe ceased due to [[Arab–Byzantine wars|hostilities]], Jews served as a link between the two hostile worlds.<ref name="Bobrick 2012 75"/>

The Abbasids engaged in extensive trade with the Italian maritime republics of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] and [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], from the 11th century. Venetian merchants facilitated the exchange of high-value goods such as spices, silk, and precious metals from the East. In return, Venice exported European manufactured goods and luxury items. While Genoese merchants traded in luxury goods like spices, textiles, and other high-demand items. Genoa's strategic position in the Mediterranean enabled it to integrate into the broader Mediterranean trade network, connecting the Abbasid Caliphate with other European markets. These trade relations played a key role in linking the medieval Mediterranean with the broader Islamic world. This exchange of goods, alongside cultural and technological transfers, fostered a more interconnected medieval global economy.<ref>[https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/abbasid-caliphate/golden-age-of-the-abbasid-caliphate-775833/655B901AEDFAD819C46B0D25219CC5E3 The Abbasid Caliphate: A History]. Chapter 3: The Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate (775–833). 2021. Tayeb El-Hibri</ref>

==List of caliphs==
{{Main|List of Abbasid caliphs}}

==See also==
{{columns-list|* [[List of Abbasid caliphs]]
* [[Political history of the world]]
* [[Iranian Intermezzo]]
* [[List of largest empires]]
* [[List of Sunni dynasties]]
* [[:Category:Governors of the Abbasid Caliphate]]
* [[Great Qadi]]
* ''[[Journal of Abbasid Studies]]''
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}
<references group=pron/>
{{reflist|group=nb}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
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{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Collier's poster|Abbassides}}
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Abbassides, The|year=1905 |short=x}}
* {{Citation | contribution-url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003hyfd | contribution = Abbasid Caliphs | title = In Our Time | publisher = BBC Radio 4 | chapter-format = streaming RealAudio | place = [[United Kingdom|UK]] | date = 2 February 2006}}.
* {{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abbasid-caliphate | contribution = Abbasid Caliphate | type = entry | url = http://www.iranica.com/ | title = Encyclopaedia Iranica | access-date = 15 June 2007 | archive-date = 16 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190416193911/http://www.iranica.com/ | url-status = usurped }}.

{{S-start}}
{{s-imperialhouse|[[Abbasid dynasty]]|[[Banu Hashim]]|}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad dynasty]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Caliphate]] dynasty|years=750–1258 and 1261–1517<br />''also claimed by [[Fatimid dynasty]] in 909, [[Umayyad dynasty]] in 929, and [[Ottoman dynasty]]''}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ottoman dynasty]]}}
|-
{{S-end}}

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