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The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, from whom the dynasty takes its name. They ruled as caliphs for most of the caliphate from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after having overthrown the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 AH). The Abbasid Revolution had its origins and first successes in the easterly region of Khorasan, far from the bases of Umayyad power in Syria and Iraq. The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, modern-day Iraq, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, near the ancient Babylonian capital city of Babylon and Persian city of Ctesiphon. Baghdad became the center of science, culture, and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multiethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it an international reputation as the "Centre of Learning".
Abu Mansur al-Faḍl ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir better known by his regnal name Al-Mustarshid Billah was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1118 to 1135. He was son of his predecessor, caliph al-Mustazhir. He succeeded his father in the year 1118 as the Abbasid caliph.
Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ibn al-Faḍl al-Mustarshid bi'llah usually known by his regnal name Al-Rashid bi'llah was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1135 to 1136. He succeeded his father al-Mustarshid in the year 1135. He ruled for just one year from 1135 up to his deposition on 17 August 1136. When the populace of Baghdad rose in revolt against him.
Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Mustazhir, better known by his regnal name al-Muqtafi li-Amr Allah, was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 1136 to 1160, succeeding his nephew al-Rashid, who had been forced to abdicate by the Seljuks. The continued disunion and contests between Seljuk Turks afforded al-Muqtafi opportunity of not only maintaining his authority in Baghdad, but also extending it throughout Iraq.
Abu Ahmad Abdallah ibn al-Mustansir bi'llah better known by his regnal title Al-Mustaʿṣim bi-llāh was the 37th and last caliph from the Abbasid dynasty ruling from Baghdad. He held the title from 1242 until his death in 1258.
Khalid ibn Barmak was the first prominent member of the Barmakids, an important Buddhist family from Balkh, which converted to Islam and became prominent members of the Abbasid court in the second half of the 8th century. Khalid himself converted to Islam at the Umayyad court in the 720s, but joined the nascent Abbasid revolutionary movement in Khurasan, and played a significant role in the Abbasid Revolution that toppled the Umayyads. He enjoyed close relations with the first Abbasid caliph, al-Saffah, functioning as his chief minister and introducing innovations in record-keeping. Under al-Saffah's successor, al-Mansur, Khalid's influence decreased, but he still occupied significant provincial governorships in Fars, Tabaristan, and Mosul. As an administrator, he distinguished himself for his fairness, especially in matters of taxation, and was a popular governor. He appears to have briefly fallen into disgrace around 775, but he managed to recover, helped by the rapid rise of his son, Yahya. Khalid's ties to the Abbasid dynasty were soon strengthened when his grandson, al-Fadl ibn Yahya, became the foster-brother of the future caliph Harun al-Rashid, while Yahya became the prince's tutor. Khalid died in 781/2, shortly after returning from an expedition against the Byzantine Empire.
The city of Baghdad was established by the Abbasid dynasty as its capital in the 8th century, marking a new era in Islamic history after their defeat of the Umayyad Caliphate. It replaced Seleucia-Ctesiphon, a Sasanian capital 35 km southeast of Baghdad, which was virtually abandoned by the end of the 8th century. Baghdad was the center of the Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age of the 9th and 10th centuries, growing to be the largest city worldwide by the beginning of the 10th century. It began to decline in the Iranian Intermezzo of the 9th to 11th centuries and was destroyed in the Mongolian invasion in 1258.
The siege of Baghdad in 1157 was the last Seljuq attempt to capture Baghdad from the Abbasids. Caliph al-Muqtafi successfully defended his capital against the coalition armies of Seljuq Sultan Muhammad of Hamadan and Qutb ad-Din of Mosul.
The NahrawanCanal was a major irrigation system of the Sasanian and early Islamic periods in central Iraq, along the eastern banks of the Tigris and the lower course of the Diyala River. Created in the 6th century, it reached its peak under the Abbasid Caliphate, when it served the main water supply for the Abbasid capital of Baghdad, while the regions irrigated by it served as the city's main breadbasket. Its destruction and progressive abandonment from the mid-10th century onwards mirror the Abbasid Caliphate's decline.
The Round City of Baghdad is the original core of Baghdad, built by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur in 762–766 CE as the official residence of the Abbasid court. Its official name in Abbasid times was City of Peace. The famous library known as the House of Wisdom was located within its grounds.
Muhammad II ibn Mahmud was Sultan of Seljuq Empire from 1153 to 1159. He was son of Mahmud II and brother of Malik-Shah III. The Cambridge History of Iran notes that Sultan Muhammad "tried energetically to restore the slipping authority of his dynasty in Iraq".
Guy Le Strange was a British Orientalist noted especially for his work in the field of the historical geography of the pre-modern Middle Eastern and Eastern Islamic lands, and his editing of Persian geographical texts. He was a scholar of the Persian, Arabic, and Spanish languages.
The Khuld Palace was one of the principal caliphal palaces in Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate.
The Palace of the Golden Gate or Palace of the Green Dome was the official caliphal residence in Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate.
The Great Mosque of al-Mansur was the chief Friday mosque of Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate.
The Taj Palace was one of the principal caliphal palaces in Baghdad during the middle and later Abbasid Caliphate.
The Hasani Palace was the first caliphal palace to be built in East Baghdad, and the main residence of the Abbasid caliphs in the city during the 9th and 10th centuries. As such it formed the nucleus around which a large complex of palaces and gardens emerged, that would be the residence of the Abbasid caliphs until the Sack of Baghdad by the Mongols.
The Thurayya Palace was a caliphal palace built in East Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tadid.
Ubaydallah ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi (771–810/11) was an Abbasid prince. He was the son of al-Mahdi, the third caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, and Raytah, daughter of the first Abbasid caliph Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah.
The Tahirid Palace or Tahirid Precinct/Sanctuary was an Abbasid-era palace in Baghdad
References
- ↑ Le Strange 1922, pp. 327–328.