The Rise and Decline of the Abbasid Caliphate Casual Historian Islamic History

The Abbasid Caliphate, or at least the first half of its history, is usually portrayed as the Islamic Golden Age. Now, what makes period golden age is the same thing that makes most periods considered such. That is, it tends to produce lot of art, literature, and architecture. Personally, prefer to focus on the political machinations of history because it tends to emphasize the continuity of different periods of history than on the differences. And so, although the Abbasid Caliphate produced far more art and literature for us to analyze, when you look at the politics, it has far more in common with its much maligned predecessors, the Umayyads. So, with that in mind, let's do quick recap. The fourth rightly guided caliph Ali was assassinated, and his rival Muawiyah of the Umayyad clan took over the caliphate. Under him and his successors, the caliphate expanded across North Africa and into Iberia, as well as into Central Asia. The Umayyads created the basic governing structure that most succeeding caliphates would emulate, but they were quite unpopular with Shia Muslims, non-Arab Muslims, and non-Muslims. They were also internally unstable with frequent civil wars and rebellions from other claimants to the throne. Their indirect style of governance eventually allowed political movement originating in the eastern fringes of the caliphate to sweep the empire and establish new political dynasty. This movement was the Abbasid Revolution. In northeastern Iran and Central Asia, the Umayyad caliphs allowed non-Muslims to continue governing the region, but by the mid-8th century, those regions had become majority Muslim, and they didn't like being governed by non-Muslims anymore. In comes Abu Muslim, character of unknown origin. In the province of Khorasan, he rallied Muslims together against the corruption of the Umayyads. He prophesied that chosen one from the family of the prophet would emerge and become new leader for the faithful to follow. This message was quite appealing considering that the Umayyads were not from the family of Muhammad. It was especially appealing to Shia Muslims who believed this chosen one would be descendant of Ali and Fatima. With this new alliance formed, Abu Muslim led his new army on swift campaign of conquest, first taking the provincial capital in 747, and by 750 capturing the city of Kufa. The Shia were hopeful that the 6th Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq, would be named the new caliph, but they would be disappointed when Abu al-Abbas of the Abbasid family was chosen. The Abbasid family was descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. So, yes, Abu al-Abbas was from the prophet's family, but not direct descendant. Some of the movement would have been concerned that the Shia had stronger claim to be this chosen one that Abu Muslim spoke of, but the Abbasids had an advantage over the Shia. An argument based on action rather than inheritance. It was they who had dealt with the impious Umayyads, and above all, they who had avenged the blood of the martyred Husayn. It was therefore the Abbasids, rather than the direct descendants of Ali, who could rightfully claim the caliphate. And the Shia would fare no better under the Abbasids than under the Umayyads. The Abbasids began numerous trends, such as the growing authority of caliphs in religious matters. They also further developed the models of Islamic administration. Caliphs had advisers called viziers, who would evolve into heads of government while the caliphs filled the roles of head of state. Beneath the vizier, there were diwans, who oversaw other parts and operations of government. The Abbasid caliphs also created an elaborate network of spies and informants around the empire in order to root out potential rebellions. Another interesting trend they started was the use of regnal names. Prior to the Abbasids, caliphs were simply known by their given name, but after the revolution, caliphs were given names under which to rule. It's not quite like European or papal regnal names, which are usually the names of previous king or pontiff with number added at the end. These were more like Chinese regnal names, which never repeated, and they tended to mean something. Exactly when this started is unclear. Such as the first Abbasid caliph, whose given name was Abu l-Abbas, but his regnal name was As-Saffah, which has two possible meanings. Either the generous or the blood shedder. This name may have been given to him posthumously because during his short reign, Abu l-Abbas first made sure to get rid of any potential Umayyad claimant by first pretending to offer peace with them by inviting them over to banquet. But when all the guests had arrived, the doors were locked, and the servers pulled out weapons and slaughtered the Umayyads. Calling yourself or someone else the blood shedder upon your ascension to the throne before such an event seems rather suspect. Regardless of when he got the name, he didn't live long enough to do much as caliph. Under his watch, the caliphate saw the region of Oman break away under Kharijite state known as the Ibadi Imamate, as well as military victory against the Tang Dynasty of China in 751, which some historians credit with introducing modern paper making to the Middle East. From where it would eventually spread into Europe and the rest of the world. Abu l-Abbas would die of smallpox in 754, passing the caliphate onto his brother, Al-Mansur. Al-Mansur would continue his brother's involvement with Tang China by aiding the An Shi Rebellion. He continued his brother's policies of removing potential threats to his title by having Abu Muslim killed. He invited Abu Muslim to participate in the Hajj with him, and when he arrived at Al-Mansur's camp, he was killed. The longest-lasting thing he did was creating the city of Baghdad. He wanted to create center of power that was loyal to him. The city would eventually grow to be not only one of the largest cities in the Islamic world, but at one point the most populous city in the entire world. Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrian scholars would come to the city under the translation programs of succeeding caliphs. But that's not what we're focusing on here. So, let's continue on with the politics. Al-Mansur died in 775, and he was succeeded by his son al-Mahdi. He was given the name al-Mahdi as way of tamping down on some Shia eschatological fervor, which plan to explain in future video. But for now, just know that the Shia had prophecy about future Islamic leader called the Mahdi, whom they believed would be one of the Shia Imams. Under al-Mahdi, the caliphs began more strictly policing Islamic orthodoxy. Now, they had always persecuted the Shia, but that was always more about politics than theology. Under the Abbasids, the caliphs began policing Sunni orthodoxy. As the caliphate had spread, numerous communities had merged Islam with some local pre-Islamic religious practices such as Manichaeism, Gnosticism, and Zoroastrianism. Sunni clerics deemed these groups to be heretical, and al-Mahdi began actively suppressing them for that reason, even if they were not political threat. Al-Mahdi would be killed in hunting accident in 786 and would be succeeded by his son al-Hadi, who would only rule for year, after which he was succeeded by his brother Harun al-Rashid. Harun is one of the more famous caliphs of the Abbasid era. He did lot of what makes people see it as golden age. However, he also planted numerous seeds that would cause the destruction of the caliphate down the road. During his reign, we begin to see the steady trend of local political dynasties taking power in various provinces of the empire. Most of these local dynasties would continue to pay lip service to the caliph in Baghdad, but they would listen to their orders less and less over time, such as the Idrisids in Morocco and the Aghlabids in Tunisia. He also began to use more and more Turkish soldiers. Some of them slave soldiers, such as the Mamluks, and others were mercenaries recruited from the Central Asian steppes. This was done in part as response local Arab dynasties asserting more control for themselves since the Turkish outsiders didn't have the same vested regional interests. However, the increased use of Turkish soldiers would also hasten more regional autonomy throughout the caliphate as the caliphs became more and more dependent on an outside population for their own power. When it comes to religious affairs, one of the longest-lasting contributions came from the construction of the Darb Zubaydah, road connecting the city of Kufa to Mecca, which has become the most popular route for those traveling to Mecca to perform the Hajj. Another religious issue that came up during Harun's reign was the doctrine of createdness. Within Orthodox Islam, there's belief that the Quran in its final form has always existed and it was presented to Muhammad in its final form throughout his life. The doctrine of createdness, however, insists that the Quran was not an eternal document, but rather was created at and for the time of Muhammad. It still holds that it was product of divine authorship, but that it was latter creation. This doctrine is quite controversial because if the Quran was made for specific time and people, then it could be reinterpreted over the course of time. Or even more sacrilegious, could be followed up by future revelations. The biggest mistake of Harun's reign was political. He decided to name both of his sons as his successors. He named al-Amin as his immediate successor, who would govern the western caliphate, while naming his other son al-Ma'mun as al-Amin's successor, who would govern the eastern caliphate until his brother's death. This wasn't an unprecedented decision. It was made under the Umayyad dynasty as well and it would be equally disastrous under the Abbasids. Upon Harun's death, the two brothers began fighting. al-Amin was supported by the people and army of Baghdad, while Ma'mun, who was half Persian, had support from the eastern provinces. For the first couple of year of al-Amin's reigns, they traded small jabs at each other until Al-Ma'mun was able to besiege Baghdad. After year, Al-Amin surrendered himself and was killed. Al-Ma'mun continued his father's policy of pushing the doctrine of createdness. The former supporters of Al-Amin opposed this policy as form of opposition to Al-Ma'mun, who created the Mihna, kind of Islamic Inquisition. NOBODY EXPECTS Abbasid Inquisition. They persecuted religious scholars who didn't profess the doctrine of createdness. Not only were Muslims targeted by the Mihna, but non-Muslims were as well. Christians captured by raiding parties into Byzantine territory were refused the option of being ransomed unless they confessed to the doctrine as well. can't imagine many Christians refusing to do this. mean, this is theological debate within another religion. So, they don't really have dog in this fight, and they just really want to go home. It's like if the DSA kidnapped me and then demanded that confess that Leninism is the true socialism. Like, okay, we are flexed, but okay. In other areas of foreign policy, the caliphate expanded into India and Afghanistan. Ma'mun died during campaign against the Byzantines, in which his son, Al-Abbas, was passed over in favor of his uncle, Al-Mu'tasim. Al-Abbas initially swore allegiance to his uncle, but he was eventually arrested and executed on claims that he was involved in conspiracy to overthrow the caliph. Al-Mu'tasim was proponent of the doctrine of createdness like his father and brother, but the people in the capital of Baghdad were not, and still angry with Ma'mun and his line for their murder of Al-Amin. So, Al-Mu'tasim decided to relocate the capital to Samarra in order to put distance between the caliph's government and the hostile people of Baghdad. He spent much of his reign putting down dissident religious sects, mostly Shia, such as the Khurramites, who practiced mixture of Shia Islam and Zoroastrianism. These policies were continued under his son al-Wathiq, who was then succeeded by his brother al-Mutawakkil, who finally put an end to the Mihna and abandoned the createdness doctrine. He also put an end to the Ibadi Imamate that had emerged in Oman under the first Abbasid Caliph. But more important than that was his persecution of Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians. He decreed that Jews and Christians wear garments to distinguish themselves from Muslims, similar to what Umar the second had done during the Umayyad dynasty. He also ordered the destruction of many churches and synagogues, as well as having demonic effigies nailed to the doors of their homes. They were also banned from most government positions. On top of this, he also had sacred Zoroastrian site desecrated when he ordered the cypress of Kashmar, tree believed by Zoroastrians to have been brought to Earth from paradise by Zoroaster himself, cut down and used as lumber for new palace in Samarra. Al-Mutawakkil would be murdered by his son al-Muntasir out of fear that he was going to be replaced as heir to the Caliphate. The death of al-Mutawakkil began period known as the Anarchy of Samarra, decade-long period of instability in the Abbasid capital that saw violent succession of four caliphs, starting with al-Muntasir, who died of unknown causes after 6 months. The Turkish soldiers are blamed in lot of Arab sources for the violence among the caliphs in Samarra, being accused of either aiding the killing or orchestrating it themselves for their own goals. Al-Muntasir was succeeded by al-Musta'in, grandson of al-Mu'tasim. His reign was monopolized by failing campaign against the Byzantines and chaos in the capital. It got so bad that the caliph had to flee Samarra for Baghdad, which angered the Turkish soldiers who controlled the capital. series of threats and ultimatums from the soldiers in Samarra convinced al-Musta'in to abdicate and allow al-Mu'tazz, son of Al-Mutawakkil, to become caliph. He had been promised that he would be allowed to resettle in Medina with pension, but instead he was held captive in Baghdad and then executed. Under Al-Mu'tazz, the Saffarids came to power in Eastern Iran, while the Tulunids came to power in Egypt. The caliphal government was running out of money and couldn't pay the standard bribe paid to soldiers upon caliph's ascension. After 3 years in power, he was overthrown and killed by the Turkish soldiers who put his cousin, Al-Mu'tamid, on the throne. He would only last year, being killed by Turkish general in retaliation for the caliph having killed his brother. The caliph's cousin, Al-Mu'tamid, was placed onto the throne and at long last the anarchy of Samarra was ended. Al-Mu'tamid would reign for 22 years, but he mostly served as figurehead. At one point he even tried to flee the capital to Tulunid-controlled Egypt. Al-Mu'tamid would be succeeded by his nephew, Al-Mu'tadid. The new caliph was entirely dependent on the military for his position, having succeeded the previous caliph over the caliph's own sons. He embraced the military by constantly campaigning and ingratiating himself with it. He used this military prowess to try and bring more centralization to the caliphate, getting the Tulunids to return control of certain regions back to Baghdad, which he had remade the capital. Despite these attempts, the caliphate continued to fray at the edges with numerous Shia and Kharijite groups taking control. After his death, three sons of his would eventually become caliph. The first was Al-Mu'tafi, who spent much of his reign campaigning against Shia Muslims who had overrun much of Tulunid Syria. Shia missionaries gained converts among the Berber tribes in North Africa, eventually creating the Fatimid Caliphate. Despite their success in North Africa, the Shia would be defeated in Iraq and their weakening of the Tulunids allowed the Abbasids to regain control of Egypt and Syria. Having been sickly his whole life, al-Muktafi died in 908 and was succeeded by his brother, al-Muqtadir. He was not as militarily dynamic as his older brother, but under him was when many of the names of science and philosophy were made. He was briefly deposed for 3 days by his brother, al-Qahir. However, riots in the streets convinced the court to put him back on the throne. But the coffers of the state had fallen so low that the soldiers couldn't be paid, which resulted in the caliph being killed outside the city gates, after which he was succeeded by al-Qahir again. He was more puritanical than his older brother and sought to weaken the power of the court. He was violent and quick to anger and was eventually taken prisoner by former court official whom he had driven out of office. He was kept secretly imprisoned, which resulted in his nephew, ar-Radi, succeeding him. He was quiet caliph, preferring the company of scholars to that of generals. The caliphate continued to fray at the edges with local rulers paying little more than lip service. He died in 940 and was succeeded by his brother, al-Muttaqi. The capital of Baghdad fell into chaos and the caliph fled to Mosul, which was controlled by the local Hamdanid dynasty. The Hamdanids aided the caliph in retaking Baghdad and hoped to gaining power over the caliph themselves. But after less than year, they abandoned the city, seeing it as too difficult to govern. Eventually, the caliph handed himself over to Turkish general who had control of Baghdad. And while in his custody, the caliph was blinded and deposed and had his cousin, al-Mustakfi, installed. Another regional dynasty, the Buyids, marched on Baghdad and met with the caliph to offer peace, which was accepted. The Buyid ruler, Mu'izz al-Dawla, marched into Baghdad and was given control of the city. But he still feared the caliph as tool of the Turks. So, he had him blinded and deposed like his cousin. At which point chaos erupted in Baghdad. 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