ABBASID

The Abbasids came to power after rebelling against Umayyad policies. Abul-Abbas Al-Saffah [i], conquered Kufa city in 750 CE and declared himself the first Abbasid Caliph. His army defeated the last Umayyad Caliph and declared themselves the new rulers. Despite rebelling against Umayyad policies, the Abbasids maintained many of the same ruling standards, including implementing taxes, and recruiting non-Muslims for high positions in society. After more than five centuries, the Caliphate became weak in front of independent governors and the military which contributed to the Empire’s decline. Their demise became official when Hulagu Khan, the Mongol conqueror, captured Baghdad in 1258 CE.

The Abbasids tried to maintain good relations with their neighbors, especially the Byzantium Empire. They also got closer to Mawali, whose population of non-Arab Muslims had been mistreated by the Umayyads. Most of Mawali’s people were Persians and were seen as second class behind the Arab Syrians. This led to the founding of Baghdad in 762 CE by Al-Mansur, the second Abbasid Caliph. Baghdad was founded on the banks of the Tigris River to connect Abbasids with Persian culture. Eventually, the Byzantine Empire, Turkish governors, and Mongols [ii] became established rivals of the Abbasids and sought to seize the great Abbasid Empire.

The Abbasids left behind a rich and long-standing cultural heritage. This was evident in the walls of the House of Wisdom [iii] Bayet Al-Hekma, which was an extensive library, translation institution, and initial version of a university. The House of Wisdom provided scholarships to both Muslim and non-Muslim students who translated millions of books in all fields from different languages to Arabic. Al-Khawarizimi, who invented Algebra, and Ibn Al-Haitham, who explained the camera's technique, were among those scholars. In literature, the world-famous tale of One Thousand and One Nights [iv] is a live testimony of the abundance of knowledge within the Abbasid heritage.

The Abbasid Caliphate was known as an absolute hereditary monarchy. At the top of the government structure was the Prime Minister, Wazir, who was the chief executive officer of the Abbasid empire. Under the Prime Ministers’ supervision were the Ministries Dwawin [v]. Moreover, there was an elaborate intelligence system in place which enabled the Caliphate to monitor all of the governors individually across the entirety of the empire. This system ensured each governors’ loyalty to the Abbasid Caliphate. Their domination stretched from Central Asia, modern-day Iran and Iraq, over to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and across Egypt and North Africa.

Iran and Khurasan [vi] were the headquarters of the Abbasids’ 750 CE rebellion against the Umayyads. Led by Abul-Abbas Al-Saffah, the Abbasids eliminated all of the Umayyads and the opposition. The Abbasids then moved from Syria to Iraq, where there were smaller numbers of Umayyad supporters. Historians divided the Abbasid Caliphate into three stages; Early Abbasids, Islam Golden Age, and the Decline. The richest stage was the Islam Golden Age, which was ruled by the fifth and most famous Abbasid Caliph, Haroun Al-Rashid (786–809 CE). Al-Rashid’s primary focus and effort was on sponsoring and promoting the sciences and art within the empire.

In the era of Caliph Haroun Al-Rashid and his son, Al-Ma'moun (813–833 CE), the world witnessed a scientific revolution [vii] in a range of fields including philosophy, astronomy, history, and chemistry. In medical fields, doctors developed and introduced new treatments for many diseases. The groundbreaking Water Clock [viii] was invented, as well as the first iteration of the Qandil [ix] lamp. This was used to illuminate roads and mosques. The Arabic language also saw many improvements thanks to the Abbasids' contributions to literature, poetry, and grammatology known as Nahw [x]. The Empire’s agricultural advancement also flourished with a significant influx of new methods for irrigation.

The Abbasid economy thrived in trade thanks to their huge territory dominance and commercial traffic. This was specifically from the new trade routes [xi] they created. Abbasids turned Baghdad into an important and prominent global economic capital. Baghdad was well known for its non-stop buying and selling in its souq Markets, which were full of imported goods from across the world. There were different types of taxes including Kharaj, a tax paid by land owners of Muslims and non-Muslims; Zakah, which was a 2.5% tax of Muslims' earnings to charity; and Jizyia, which was a levy placed on the wealth of non-Muslims.