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The Abbasid path to power required stealth, deceit, and most of all patience. The Hashemite family managed to unseat the […]

The Abbasid revolution showed what it took to overthrow a dynasty; establishing a new one brought a whole other set […]

Succession once again warrants its own episode. Al Saffah relied on three commanders to oversee different parts of his caliphate, […]

Much of what people associate with the idea of a medieval Arab caliphate is rooted in the reign of our […]

One of al Mansur’s first acts as caliph was to lure Abu Muslim to his court and assassinate the powerful […]

The Abbasids based their legitimacy on the fact that they were part of the prophet’s clan. This was not contested […]

The chaos of the Abbasid revolution gave foreign powers a rare opportunity to strike at the caliphate while it was […]

Perhaps most significant among al Mansur’s many triumphs was his founding of a new capital for his administration, a glorious […]

Al Mansur’s long reign transformed the caliphate in countless ways, most of them for the better. It provided a kind […]

The sudden passing of Mohammad al Mahdi led his son Musa al Hadi to become the umma’s next leader sooner […]

From our vantage point in the 21st century, it is clear that Haroon al Rashid is by far the most […]

Haroon al Rashid is commonly portrayed as a martial caliph, one who menaced the Byzantine empire and led a tireless […]

Now that we’ve covered Haroon al Rashid’s foreign wars, we can get started with the messy conflicts which took place […]

Royal advisors, court attendants, and other officials began to hold some real political power in the Abbasid caliphate, a development […]

Due to his father al Mahdi’s arrangement, Haroon al Rashid endured a traumatic year during which his brother tried to […]

Haroon al Rashid worked towards fool-proofing his succession arrangement more than any other caliph by far: the ceremony he held […]

Haroon al Rashid divided his realm among his children, and the young men were quickly goaded into conflict with one […]

Al Ma’mun’s surprise victory over his brother left him in charge of the entire caliphate. But the conclusion of the […]

Back in Baghdad, al Ma’mun finally began to play an active role in running the Abbasid state. The five years […]

Two decades of al Ma’mun’s capable administration led the caliphate to an extraordinary recovery. His return to Baghdad put an […]

It’s hard to identify a single aspect of the umma left unchanged by al Ma’mun’s long reign: he had a […]

For the third time in a row, a son of Harun al Rashid took control of the umma. Al Mu’tasim […]

Al Mu’tasim’s armies were among the strongest ever fielded by the caliphate. They reliably triumphed over their foes and faced […]

Despite the general unpopularity of al Mu’tasim’s Turkish inner-circle, the paradigm he established proved so stable that it endured throughout […]

For the first time in Arab history, a council of administrators selected the man who would become the next caliph. […]

Considering their invincibility on the battlefield, the caliphate’s armies probably felt assured that they would remain the state’s number one […]

Despite the religious overtones of the caliphate, there was nothing very islamic about the state when it came to policy. […]

Succession planning presented a sporadic problem for the caliphate. The great fitna was the last disaster spawned by ill-conceived designs, […]

It’s difficult to overstate the impact al Mutawakkil’s usurpation had on the political reality of the caliphate. Not only did […]

Al Muntasir’s sudden passing took the caliphate into uncharted political territory. It had only been six months since the plot […]

As the last vestiges of Abbasid authority crumbled, the caliphate spiraled further into chaos. It wasn’t too long before an […]

Instead of bringing about a measure of peace, the end of the civil war signaled a return to the anarchy […]

Dilapidated by years of internal conflict and ruinous mismanagement, the caliphate was a mere shadow of its former self. The […]

The death of Salih ibn Waseef left Musa ibn Bugha in charge of the caliphate’s armies. This newfound unity effectively […]

Now that the anarchy was over, a reduced but reunited Abbasid military could finally face up to the multitude of […]

We have been focused exclusively on the capital province of Iraq ever since the outbreak of anarchy. While we had […]

Having covered the caliphate’s East last time, we must now do the same for its west. The anarchy left such […]

Al Mu’tamid’s reign lasted from 870 to 892. The Abbasid Caliphate was reborn during these decades, midwifed by the caliph’s […]

Get ready for a blast from the past! Perhaps I should have prepared you for a weak pun instead. Hearing […]

Before you even hit play it should already be clear to you that the caliphate is only going to get […]

Reading about this caliph’s reign in our sources is a bewildering experience: everything is simultaneously great and on the brink […]

Cataloguing the tapestry of Islamic traditions is a task that lies well beyond our scope, but every now and again […]

After all our recent foreshadowing, we’ve finally arrived at the period of Abbasid collapse. It’s a relatively long period, stretching […]

For the very first time in Arab history, a child became the umma’s caliph. The 13 year old had not […]

Having discussed the disorder in the caliphate’s civil bureaucracy we’ll turn our attention to the state of its military. The […]

Considering the absurd levels of official mismanagement, it’s astounding how long the caliphate survived during al Muqtadir’s inept administration. Although […]

A chaotic period followed al Muqtadir’s death in battle. Although officials quickly reached a consensus on the elevation of his […]

We’ve reached the end of the road as far as Abbasid authority is concerned. Although it had waxed and waned […]

The creation of the role of amir al umara’ transformed the political landscape in Baghdad. It attracted men of influence […]

The Abbasid fall from grace was long and messy. It’s been a while since the dynasty produced a powerful caliph, […]

Now that we’ve completed our journey through the primary sources, it’s time to reflect on all we’ve covered. We search […]