Abbasid dynasty

The Abbasids  defeated  the Umayyads  to claim the caliphate and leadership of the Muslim world in 750. The Abbasids  based  their  legitimacy  as rulers  on  their  descent from the prophet Muhammad’s extended  family, not  as with  some Shi’i directly  through the line of Ali and his sons. The Abbasids  attempted to reunify Muslims under  the  banner  of the  Prophet’s  family.  Many Abbasid  supporters came  from  Khurasan in  eastern Iran. Following the Arab conquest  of the Sassanid Empire,  a large number  of Arab  settlers  had  moved  into Khurasan and had integrated with the local population. Consequently, many  Abbasids  spoke  Persian  but  were of Arab ethnicity.

THE NEW CAPITAL OF BAGHDAD
The  first Abbasid  caliph,  Abu  al-Abbas  (r.  749–754), took  the  title  of al-Saffah.  His  brother and  successor, Abu Jafar, adopted the name al-Mansur (Rendered Victorious)  and  moved  the  caliphate  to  his new  capital, Baghdad, on the Tigris River. Under the Abbasids  the center of power  for the Muslim world shifted eastward with an increase of Persian and,  subsequently, Turkish influences.  Persian  influences  were  especially  notable in  new  social  customs  and  the  lifestyle of  the  court, but  Arabic  remained  the language  of government and religion.  Thus,  while  non-Arabs  became  more  prominent in government, the Arabization, especially in language, of the empire  increased.  Mansur’s  new capital, built  between  762  and  766,  was  originally  a circular

fortress,  and it became the center of Arab-Islamic  civi- lization  during  what  has been called the golden age of Islam  (763–809). With  its easy access to  major  trade routes, river transport, and agricultural goods (especially grains and dates) from the Fertile Crescent,  Baghdad prospered. Agricultural productivity was expanded with an efficient canal system in Iraq.  Commerce  flourished with  trade  along  well-established routes  from  India  to Spain and trans-Saharan routes.  A banking  and book- keeping  system  with  letters  of credit  facilitated  trade. The  production of textiles,  papermaking, metalwork, ceramics, armaments, soap, and inlaid wood goods was encouraged. An extensive postal system and network of government spies were also established.

HARUN AL-RASHID AND THE ABBASID ZENITH The zenith  of Abbasid  power  came under  the caliphate of  Harun al-Rashid (r.  786–809). Harun al-Rashid, his wife Zubaida, and mother  Khaizuran were powerful political  figures. Zubaida and  Khaizuran were wealthy and influential  women  and both  controlled vast estates. They also played key roles in determining succession to the  caliphate. Like the  Umayyads,  the  Abbasids  never solved the problem  of succession, and their government was weakened  and ultimately, in part, destroyed  because of rivalries over succession. Under Harun al-Rashid  the Barmakid  family exerted considerable political power as viziers (ministers to the ruler). The Barmakids were origi- nally from  Khurasan and  had  begun  serving the  court as tutors  to Harun al-Rashid.  The Barmakids  served as competent and  powerful  officials  until  their  fall  from favor  in 803,  by which  time  a number  of bureaucrats and  court  officials had  achieved  positions  of consider- able authority. The wealth of the Abbasid court attracted foreign envoys and visitors who marveled over the lavish lifestyles of court officials and the magnificence of Baghdad.  Timurlane destroyed  most of the greatest  Abbasid monuments in  the  capital,  and  Baghdad  never  really recovered from the destruction inflicted by him.

Under  the  Abbasids,  provinces  initially  enjoyed  a fair amount of autonomy; however,  a more centralized system  of  finances  and  judiciary  were  implemented. Local governors  were appointed for Khurasan and sol- diers from Khurasan made up a large part  of the court bodyguard and army. In spite of their power and wealth the Abbasids  twice failed to take  Constantinople. The Abbasids also had to grapple with ongoing struggles between those who wanted  a government based on reli- gion, and those who favored secular government.

CIVIL WAR OVER ACCESSION AND THE END OF THE ABBASIDS 

Harun al-Rashid’s  death  incited a civil war over acces- sion that lasted from 809 to 833. During the war, Baghdad  was besieged for one year and  was fought  for by the  common  people,  not  the  elite,  in  the  city.  Their exploits  were commemorated in a body of poetry  that survives until the present day. The attackers finally won and  the new Caliph  Mutasim (r. 833–842) moved  the capital to Samarra  north  of Baghdad in 833. During the ninth century the Abbasid army came to rely more and more  on  Turkish  soldiers,  some  of whom  were slaves while  others  were free men.  A military  caste separate from  the  rest  of the  population gradually  developed. In Khurasan, the Tahirids  did not establish an independent dynasty but moved the province in the direction  of a separate  Iranian  government. As various  members  of the Abbasid family fought one another over the caliphate, rulers in Egypt (the Tulunids), provincial governors, and tribal leaders took advantage of the growing disarray and  sometimes  anarchy  within  the central  government at Samarra  to extend heir own power.

The Zanj rebellion around Basra in southern Iraq in 869 was a major threat  to Abbasid authority. The Zanj were African  slaves who  had  been  used  as plantation workers  in southern Iraq,  the  only  instance  of large- scale slave labor  for  agriculture in the  Islamic world. Other  non-slave workers  joined the rebellion led by Ali ibn Muhammad. Ali ibn Muhammad was killed fight- ing in 883  and  the able Abbasid  military  commander, Abu  Ahmad  al-Muwaffaq, whose  brother served  as caliph, finally succeeded in crushing the rebellion.

Under  Caliph  al-Muqtadir (r. 908–932) the  capital was returned to Baghdad where it remained until the collapse of the Abbasid  dynasty.  By the 10th  century  any aspirant to the caliphate needed the assistance of the military to obtain  the throne. The army became the arbiters of power  and the caliphs were mere ciphers. A series of inept  rulers  led to  widespread rebellions  and  declining revenues while the costs of maintaining the increasingly Turkish  army  remained  high.  By the  time  the  dynasty finally  collapsed,  it  was  virtually  bankrupt. In  945  a Shi’i Persian, Ahmad ibn Buya, took Baghdad and estab- lished the Buyid dynasty  that  was a federation of political units ruled by various family members. A remnant of the Abbasid family, carrying the title of caliph, moved to Cairo where it was welcomed as an exile with no authorty over either religious or political life.

Further reading: Abbott, Nabia.  Two  Queens  of  Baghdad: Mother  and Wife  of Harun  al-Rashid.  Chicago,  IL: University of Chicago  Press, 1946;  Lassner,  Jacob.  The  Shaping  of Abbasid   Rule.   Princeton,   NJ:  Princeton   University  Press,

1980;  Shaban,  M.  A. The  Abbasid  Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970;  Egger, Vernon  O. A History of the Muslim  World  to 1405: The Making  of a Civilization. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson  Prentice Hall, 2004.

Janice J. Terry