The ʿAbbāsids were the second major dynasty in the Islamic historical tradition who ruled in Baghdad from 750 CE and ended when the city fell to the Mongols in 1258.

Seizing Power from the Umayyads

After the death of ‘Al b. Abī Tālib in 661, the Umayyads took over power, and their capital was established in Damascus. Later, social, economic, political, and religious factors led to rebellion and the fall of the Umayyads to the ʿAbbāsids, and nearly all of the Umayyads were killed during these events.

The ʿAbbāsids seized power after a revolution in Khorāsān (Eastern Iran) in 747, under the leadership of Abū Muslim (c. 718–755), and defeated the armies of the Umayyad caliph Marwan II (lived 692–749/50; r. 744–49/50). The rebellion spread, and just three years later, the ʿAbbāsid family took control of the caliphate. Abū al-ʿAbbās (l.  c. 721–754; r. 750–754), known as “the spiller” of (Umayyad) blood, became the first of the ʿAbbāsid rulers.

The ʿAbbāsid caliphs claimed they were restoring justice abused by the Umayyads, whom they considered illegitimate, immoral, and impious. The dynasty also claimed descent from al-ʿAbbās (l. c. 567–c. 653), the uncle of the prophet Muhammad (570–632), Muhammad being the founder of Islam.

A New Capital, Baghdad

In 749, Abū l-ʿAbbās al-Saffāḥ (l. 721–754; r. 750–754) was made caliph in Kūfah (Iraq). A time later, having settled in Iraq, the ʿAbbāsids made their new capital in Baghdad in 762, where it was founded by al-Manṣūr (l. 714–755; r. 754–775), the second ʿAbbāsid caliph. This location was largely selected because of its good position on the trade route between Persia, Arabia, and the Mediterranean.

The ʿAbbāsids faced strong opposition from Umayyad supporters in Syria, and several uprisings occurred in Iraq. This motivated al-Manṣūr to establish a professional military during the first decades of the dynasty. Hārūn al-Rashīd (l.?—d. 809; r. 786–809) further strengthened the power of the caliphate in the early 800s. Iraq became the ʿAbbāsid power base from which it could effectively rule its surrounding provinces, including Mesopotamia, Iran, Egypt, and Syria. 

The dynasty did not rule each province directly but had established a military governor for each. It collected taxes and tributes from landowners, merchants, and money changers in distant provinces where local governors generally structured districts according to taxation purposes. To make sure none of the ruling officials became too powerful, the caliph chose different individuals to head tax collection and the judiciary.

Flourishing of Culture

A major reform introduced by the ʿAbbāsids was the centralization of the judiciary, which had previously mostly been under the authority of the provincial governors. Important cultural contacts also emerged, some of which included establishing embassies in which the likes of Photios, the patriarch of Constantinople (l. 810–891; r. 858–867 and 877–886) and John VII Grammatikos (d. 867?), a patriarch from 837 until 843, participated. 

The dynasty’s establishment in Baghdad was followed by a flourishing of science, art, and culture, as it focused on projects often ignored by the previous Umayyad Empire. Many Arab and Muslim scholars were then able to explore ideas within foreign works rather than solely relying on the guidance of the Qur’an (Islam’s sacred scriptural text) and Ḥadīth (the sayings of the prophet Muhammad).

These contacts reached their highest point in the ninth century and led to exchanges of information and the sharing of mathematics, astronomy, astrology, literature, and music. 

The House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Ḥikmah) was also established in Baghdad and became home to an ever-growing library of texts in what has been called the Golden Age of Islam. This library is also known as khizānat al-ḥikma, or “the storehouse of wisdom.” It stored predominantly Arabic translations of Sasanian (Persian) literature and history and books on Arab lore. It is less certain that it functioned as an academy for the translation and study of Greek works.

Under the ʿAbbāsids, poetry also flourished, and there was a shift from oral culture to a written one. Skilful poets included Abū Nuwās (756–814) and al-Mutanabbī (d. 965), among others.

Fall

ʿAbbāsid rule fell when the Mongols under Hülegü (l. CE 1217–1265), a Mongel ruler in Iran who founded the Il-Khanid dynasty, destroyed Baghdad in 1258. The caliph was murdered, the city looted, and many thousands of its inhabitants slaughtered.

References

Esposito, John L. 2004. The Islamic World: Past and Present. Oxford University Press.

Esposito, John L 2009. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press.

Esposito, John L 2022. Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World: Digital Collection. Oxford University Press.