The Abbasid Caliphate: A History

"The history of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE) spans the formative period of Islamic civilization. After the expansion of the Islamic empire under the Rashidun caliphs (632-661) and the Umayyad dynasty (661-750), the Abbasid Caliphate, based in Baghdad (762), presided over the a new era of coalescence in Islamic society, economic integration, and religious ferment on many levels. Although the political and military sway of the Abbasids lasted only in their first century of rule, the caliphate of Baghdad continued to as a focal point of allegiance across the Islamic world throughout the Middle Ages. This book traces the story of the Abbasid state from its imperial age to its continuity as a 'papal' style caliphal institution that provided legitimacy to newly rising Sultans across the Islamic world through investiture and official emblems. The book surveys the golden age of the early period, such as in the reigns of Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun, examines the issue of decline in nuanced terms, and sheds light on the long-neglected story of Abbasid revival under caliphs, such as al-Qadir, al-Qa'im, and al-Nasir in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The intellectual, scientific, and literary vigor of Abbasid society continued up until the eve of the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258. As the Abbasid Caliphate ended in the capital, a shadow caliphate survived with Mamluk support as an honorific institution in Egypt until the Ottoman conquest in 1517. The achievements of the Abbasids left not only a durable stamp on Islamic cultural definitions but arguably touched world history through the patronage of the caliphs for the Graeco-Arabic translation movement, and their stimulation for scholarly activity. Whether through their actual historical role as organizers of government or through legend, such as in The Thousand and One Nights, the caliphs, and the memory of medieval Baghdad, continued to inspire the life and imagination of Islamic and Western society from the medieval to the modern period" --