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Abbasid

Episode 63: Al Watheq

Zayd March 12, 2023

Despite the general unpopularity of al Mu’tasim’s Turkish inner-circle, the paradigm he established proved so stable that it endured throughout the reign of his son and successor, Haoon al Watheq. The new caliph wasn’t very keen on administration: he left his father’s loyalists in their positions and expected the bureaucratic […]

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Abbasid

Episode 62: Princely ambitions

Zayd February 26, 2023

Al Mu’tasim’s armies were among the strongest ever fielded by the caliphate. They reliably triumphed over their foes and faced no problems putting down any resistance to the caliph’s authority. Al Afshin and the Ushrusania were some of their most important elements, responsible for some of the umma’s most celebrated […]

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Abbasid

Episode 61: Al Mu’tasim

Zayd February 12, 2023

For the third time in a row, a son of Harun al Rashid took control of the umma. Al Mu’tasim is remembered for his close association with the Turkic peoples of the East, an interest supposedly nurtured by his Sogdian mother. Of these men he amassed a personal army during […]

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Abbasid

Episode 60: Greatness in retrospect

Zayd January 29, 2023

It’s hard to identify a single aspect of the umma left unchanged by al Ma’mun’s long reign: he had a major impact politically, socially, intellectually, religiously, and beyond. Despite its many impressive achievements however, its flaws receive an inordinate amount of attention in our sources. Even when describing al Ma’mun’s […]

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Abbasid

Episode 59: Faith and philosophy

Zayd January 15, 2023

Two decades of al Ma’mun’s capable administration led the caliphate to an extraordinary recovery. His return to Baghdad put an end to the chaotic aftermath of the great fitna and his enduring success helped the umma reach new heights militarily, commercially, and even intellectually. The material we find on the […]

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Abbasid

Episode 58: Al Ma’mun

Zayd December 18, 2022

Back in Baghdad, al Ma’mun finally began to play an active role in running the Abbasid state. The five years he spent in Khurasan were rough on the rest of the caliphate, but especially disastrous for Iraq. The caliph now had to restore peace and central control to practically every […]

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Abbasid

Episode 57: Interregnum

Zayd December 4, 2022

Al Ma’mun’s surprise victory over his brother left him in charge of the entire caliphate. But the conclusion of the great fitna did not bring an end to its miseries: the chaos of war had spread throughout the land and the new caliph possessed neither the experience nor the resources […]

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Abbasid

Episode 56: The great fitna

Zayd October 23, 2022

Haroon al Rashid divided his realm among his children, and the young men were quickly goaded into conflict with one another by their advisors. The unexperienced princes found the underlying tensions simply too powerful to overcome. But the predictability of war was upended by its unpredictable outcome. Fortune swung violently […]

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Abbasid

Episode 55: Al Amin

Zayd October 9, 2022

Haroon al Rashid worked towards fool-proofing his succession arrangement more than any other caliph by far: the ceremony he held at Mecca with his heirs swearing to abide by his wishes is more elaborate than anything we have or will come across. He would not have gone to such lengths […]