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93-635: Like most physicians in the early Abbasid courts , they came from the Academy of Gondishapur in what is now southwest Iran. They were well versed in the Greek and Hindi sciences, including those of Plato , Aristotle , Pythagoras , and Galen , which they aided in translating while working in Gondishapur . In the course of their integration into the changing society after the Muslim conquest of Persia ,

186-573: A bastion of Shia learning and politics. By 1000 they had become the chief political and ideological challenge to Sunni Islam and the Abbasids, who by this time had fragmented into several governorships that, while recognizing caliphal authority from Baghdad, remained mostly autonomous. The caliph himself was under 'protection' of the Buyid Emirs who possessed all of Iraq and Western Iran, and were quietly Shia in their sympathies. Outside Iraq, all

279-531: A carpet and trampled to death by horses on 20 February 1258. The caliph's immediate family was also executed, with the lone exceptions of his youngest son who was sent to Mongolia, and a daughter who became a slave in the harem of Hulagu. Similarly to how a Mamluk Army was created by the Abbasids, a Mamluk Army was created by the Egypt-based Ayyubid dynasty . These Mamluks decided to directly overthrow their masters and came to power in 1250 in what

372-466: A centre of learning. The Abbasid period was marked by the use of bureaucrats (such as the Barmakid family) for governing the territories as well as an increasing inclusion of non-Arab Muslims in the ummah (Muslim community). Despite this initial cooperation, the Abbasids of the late 8th century had alienated both non-Arab mawali (clients). The political power of the caliphs was limited with

465-531: A collection of fantastical folk tales, legends and parables compiled primarily during the Abbasid era. The collection is recorded as having originated from an Arabic translation of a Sassanian-era Persian prototype, with likely origins in Indian literary traditions. Stories from Arabic , Persian , Mesopotamian, and Egyptian folklore and literature were later incorporated. The epic is believed to have taken shape in

558-564: A composer of both Arabic prose and verse, writing in most verse genres of his culture, and developing literary and philological scholarship. His most famed, however, for his two anthologies of roughly contemporary Arabic verse, much of which would otherwise have been lost: the Yatīmat al-dahr and its sequel the Tatimmat at Yatīma . Al-Thaʿālibī has twenty-nine known works. This is al-Thaʿālibī's best known work and contains valuable extracts from

651-620: A mosque, all surrounding inner courtyards. Mesopotamia only has one surviving mausoleum from this era, in Samarra: an octagonal domed structured known as the Qubbat al-Sulaibiyya , which is the first known monumental tomb in Islamic architecture and may be the final resting place of al-Muntasir . Tha%27alibi Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Thaʿālibī ( أبو منصور الثعالبي، عبد الملك بن محمد بن إسماعيل ) (961–1038),

744-833: A much more Persianate culture and statecraft. Only the central lands of Mesopotamia were under direct Abbasid control, with Palestine and the Hejaz often managed by the Tulunids. Byzantium, for its part, had begun to push Arab Muslims farther east in Anatolia . By the 920s, North Africa was lost to the Fatimid dynasty , a Shia sect tracing its roots to Muhammad's daughter Fatimah . The Fatimid dynasty took control of Idrisid and Aghlabid domains, advanced to Egypt in 969, and established their capital near Fustat in Cairo , which they built as

837-602: A post he held onto until his death in 801 C.E. Alternate Spellings: Djibril b. Bukhtishu’, Jibril ibn Bakhtishu', Jibra’il ibn Bukhtyishu, Djabra’il b. Bakhtishu Jibril ibn Bukhtishu was the son of Bukhtishu II, who served the caliphs in Baghdad from 787 AD until his death in 801 AD. In 791 AD, Bukhtishu II recommended Jibril as a physician to Jafar the Barmakid , the vizier of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid. Despite

930-485: A result. Other influential Abbasid philosophers include al-Jahiz , and Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen). As power shifted from the Umayyads to the Abbasids, the architectural styles changed also, from Greco-Roman tradition (which features elements of Hellenistic and Roman representative style) to Eastern tradition which retained their independent architectural traditions from Mesopotamia and Persia. The Abbasid architecture

1023-439: A story he heard from al-Babbagha: "Bakhtishu’ ibn Jibril relates from his father…Then al-Rashid turned to me and said, ‘Jibril, is there anyone who would come before you without your permission in your own house?’ I said: ‘No, nor would anyone hope to do that.’ He said: ‘So what is the matter with us that people come in here without permission?’" After this exchange, Yahya skillfully reminds Harun al-Rashid that he had been granted

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1116-520: Is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture". Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims. Their works on Aristotle were a key step in the transmission of learning from ancient Greeks to the Islamic world and the West. They often corrected the philosopher, encouraging a lively debate in

1209-655: Is known as the Mamluk Sultanate . In 1261, following the devastation of Baghdad by the Mongols, the Mamluk rulers of Egypt re-established the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo . The first Abbasid caliph of Cairo was Al-Mustansir . The Abbasid caliphs in Egypt continued to maintain the presence of authority, but it was confined to religious matters. The Abbasid caliphate of Cairo lasted until the time of Al-Mutawakkil III , who

1302-674: Is traditionally seen as the approximate end of the Golden Age. Contemporary accounts state Mongol soldiers looted and then destroyed mosques, palaces, libraries, and hospitals. Priceless books from Baghdad's thirty-six public libraries were torn apart, the looters using their leather covers as sandals. Grand buildings that had been the work of generations were burned to the ground. The House of Wisdom (the Grand Library of Baghdad), containing countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from medicine to astronomy,

1395-751: The An Lushan Rebellion against An Lushan . The Abbasids, or "Black Flags" as they were commonly called, were known in Tang dynasty chronicles as the hēiyī Dàshí , "The Black-robed Tazi" ( 黑衣大食 ) ("Tazi" being a borrowing from Persian Tāzī , the word for "Arab"). Al-Rashid sent embassies to the Chinese Tang dynasty and established good relations with them. After the war, these embassies remained in China with Caliph Harun al-Rashid establishing an alliance with China. Several embassies from

1488-559: The Golden Age of Islam . It was also during this period that Islamic manuscript production reached its height. Between the 8th and 10th centuries, Abbasid artisans pioneered and perfected manuscript techniques that became standards of the practice. 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

1581-490: The House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic . Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. During this period the Muslim world was a cauldron of cultures which collected, synthesized and significantly advanced

1674-700: The Mustansiriya School , in an attempt to eclipse the Seljuq-era Nizamiyya built by Nizam al Mulk . In 1206, Genghis Khan established a powerful dynasty among the Mongols of central Asia . During the 13th century, this Mongol Empire conquered most of the Eurasian land mass, including both China in the east and much of the old Islamic caliphate (as well as Kievan Rus' ) in the west. Hulagu Khan 's destruction of Baghdad in 1258

1767-571: The Samanids had begun the process of exercising independent authority in Transoxiana and Greater Khorasan , and the succeeding Saffarid dynasty of Iran. The Saffarids , from Khorasan, nearly seized Baghdad in 876, and the Tulunids took control of most of Syria. The trend of weakening of the central power and strengthening of the minor caliphates on the periphery continued. An exception

1860-416: The Tatimmat have been characterised as 'our main, if not the sole, source about literary activity' in al-Tha'ālibī's time. The Tatimmat al-Yatīmah was a sequel to the Yatīmat al-dahr . It follows the same geographical structure as its precursor (with an extra, fifth, book collecting miscellaneous poets whom Thaʿālibī had missed) and added poems and poets which al-Thaʿālibī had not been able to include in

1953-634: The siege of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan and the execution of al-Musta'sim . The Abbasid line of rulers re-centred themselves in the Mamluk capital of Cairo in 1261. Though lacking in political power, with the brief exception of Caliph al-Musta'in , the dynasty continued to claim religious authority until a few years after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, with the last Abbasid caliph being al-Mutawakkil III . The Abbasid caliphs were descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , one of

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2046-832: The 10th century and reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. All Arabian fantasy tales were often called "Arabian Nights" when translated into English, regardless of whether they appeared in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights . This epic has been influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland . Many imitations were written, especially in France. Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin , Sinbad and Ali Baba . A famous example of Islamic poetry on romance

2139-649: The Abbasid Caliphs to the Chinese court have been recorded in the Old Book of Tang , the most important being those of al-Saffah, al-Mansur, and Harun al-Rashid. In 762, al-Mansur suppressed a rebellion in the Hejaz led by al-Nafs al-Zakiyya , a descendant from Ali ibn Abi Talib , whose challenge to the Abbasid claim to leadership was based on his Alid lineage and thus presented a serious political threat. He

2232-700: The Abbasid Empire in general. Consisting of a first, Middle Persian term meaning "redeemed" and a Syriac component for Yeshua / Jesus , the name can be translated as "Redeemed by Jesus" or "Jesus has redeemed". However, in his book Kitāb ʿUyūn al-anbāʿ fī ṭabaqāt al-aṭibbāʿ (كتاب عيون الأنباء في طبقات الأطباء), the Arab , 12th century historian Ibn Abi Usaibia renders the meaning as "Servant of Jesus" (في اللغة السريانية البخت العبد ويشوع عيسى عليه السلام) in Syriac language. There are no known remaining records of

2325-657: The Abbasids for the titular authority of the Islamic ummah . They commanded some support in the Shia sections of Baghdad (such as Karkh ), although Baghdad was the city most closely connected to the caliphate, even in the Buyid and Seljuq eras. The challenge of the Fatimids only ended with their downfall in the 12th century. Despite the power of the Buyid amirs, the Abbasids retained a highly ritualized court in Baghdad, as described by

2418-399: The Abbasids in Baghdad. When the dynasty began to weaken in the 12th century, the Abbasids gained greater independence once again. While the caliph al-Mustarshid was the first caliph to build an army capable of meeting a Seljuk army in battle, he was nonetheless defeated and assassinated in 1135. The caliph al-Muqtafi was the first Abbasid Caliph to regain the full military independence of

2511-761: The Barmakids for 13, which does not include his fees from lesser patients. Hunayn ibn Ishaq gained Jibril's his recommendation after studying Greek for several years, which allowed him to become known in later centuries in both the Near East and in Europe for his translations. Jibrail III was the son of Ubayd Allah ibn Bukhtishu , a finance official for the Caliph al-Muktadir. After his father's death, his mother married another physician. Jibrail III began studying medicine exclusively in Baghdad, where he went penniless after

2604-403: The Barmakids, who had wielded administrative power on his behalf. During the same period, several factions began either to leave the empire for other lands or to take control of distant parts of the empire. Still, the reigns of al-Rashid and his sons were considered to be the apex of the Abbasids. Domestically, Harun pursued policies similar to those of his father Al-Mahdi. He released many of

2697-492: The Buyid bureaucrat Hilal al-Sabi' , and they retained a certain influence over Baghdad as well as religious life. As Buyid power waned with the rule of Baha' al-Daula , the caliphate was able to regain some measure of strength. The caliph al-Qadir , for example, led the ideological struggle against the Shia with writings such as the Baghdad Manifesto . The caliphs kept order in Baghdad itself, attempting to prevent

2790-550: The Byzantines. Though his attempt to seize Constantinople failed when his fleet was destroyed by a storm, his military excursions were generally successful, culminating with a resounding victory in the Sack of Amorium . The Byzantines responded by sacking Damietta in Egypt, and Al-Mutawakkil responded by sending his troops into Anatolia again, sacking and marauding until they were eventually annihilated in 863. Even by 820,

2883-630: The Persian faction known as the Buyids from Daylam swept into power and assumed control over the bureaucracy in Baghdad. According to the history of Miskawayh , they began distributing iqtas ( fiefs in the form of tax farms) to their supporters. This period of localized secular control was to last nearly 100 years. The loss of Abbasid power to the Buyids would shift as the Seljuks would take over from

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2976-640: The Persians. At the end of the eighth century, the Abbasids found they could no longer keep together a polity from Baghdad, which had grown larger than that of Rome . In 793 the Zaydi -Shia dynasty of Idrisids set up a state from Fez in Morocco, while a family of governors under the Abbasids became increasingly independent until they founded the Aghlabid Emirate from the 830s. Al-Mu'tasim started

3069-464: The Umayyads and 'Alids his brother Al-Hadi had imprisoned and declared amnesty for all political groups of the Quraysh . Large scale hostilities broke out with Byzantium , and under his rule, the Abbasid Empire reached its peak. However, Harun's decision to split the succession proved to be damaging to the longevity of the empire. After Rashid's death, the empire was split by a civil war between

3162-544: The Umayyads at the Battle of Gorgan, the Battle of Nahavand and finally in the Battle of Karbala, all in the year 748. Ibrahim was captured by Marwan and was killed. The quarrel was taken up by Ibrahim's brother Abdallah, known by the name of Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah , who defeated the Umayyads in 750 in the battle near the Great Zab and was subsequently proclaimed caliph . After this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he

3255-411: The administrative changes needed to keep order of the political challenges created by the far-flung nature of the empire, and the limited communication across it. It was also during this early period of the dynasty, in particular during the governance of Al-Mansur, Harun al-Rashid, and al-Ma'mun , that its reputation and power were created. The position of wazir (vizier) developed in this period. It

3348-481: The attendant and a 10,000 dinar wage, Jurjis promised to send his pupil Isa ibn Shahla to the caliph, since his son, Bukhtishu II, could not be spared from the hospital at Gondeshapur. Bukhtishu II was the son of Jurjis ibn Bukhtishu and the father of Jibril ibn Bukhtishu. He was left in charge of the hospital at Gondeshapur when his father was summoned to treat the stomach complaints of Caliph al-Mansur. Jurjis never intended for Bukhtishu II to go to Baghdad and tend to

3441-461: The autonomous provinces slowly took on the characteristic of de facto states with hereditary rulers, armies, and revenues and operated under only nominal caliph suzerainty, which may not necessarily be reflected by any contribution to the treasury, such as the Soomro Emirs that had gained control of Sindh and ruled the entire province from their capital of Mansura . Mahmud of Ghazni took

3534-476: The blood of Al-Musta'sim , a direct descendant of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , and the last reigning Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, was spilled. The Shia of Persia stated that no such calamity had happened after the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala ; nevertheless, as a precaution and in accordance with a Mongol taboo which forbade spilling royal blood, Hulagu had Al-Musta'sim wrapped in

3627-524: The caliph al-Amin and his brother al-Ma'mun , who had the support of Khorasan. This war ended with a two-year siege of Baghdad and the eventual death of Al-Amin in 813. Al-Ma'mun ruled for 20 years of relative calm interspersed with a rebellion in Azerbaijan by the Khurramites , which was supported by the Byzantines. Al-Ma'mun was also responsible for the creation of an autonomous Khorasan, and

3720-587: The caliph al-Qa'im was unable to defeat him without outside help. Toghril Beg , the Seljuq sultan, restored Baghdad to Sunni rule and took Iraq for his dynasty. Once again, the Abbasids were forced to deal with a military power that they could not match, though the Abbasid caliph remained the titular head of the Islamic community. The succeeding sultans Alp Arslan and Malikshah , as well as their vizier Nizam al-Mulk , took up residence in Persia, but held power over

3813-459: The caliph al-Radi (934–941) was forced to acknowledge their power by creating the position of "Prince of Princes" ( amir al-umara ). In addition, the power of the Mamluks steadily grew, reaching a climax when al-Radi was constrained to hand over most of the royal functions to the non-Arab Muhammad ibn Ra'iq . Al-Mustakfi had a short reign from 944 to 946, and it was during this period that

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3906-638: The caliph sometime between 827 and 829 AD and, being Christian, was buried in the Monastery of St. Sergius in Ctesiphon which is in modern-day Iraq, on the east bank of the Tigris. During the ninth and tenth century, the Bukhtishus had a virtual monopoly on the practice of medicine in Baghdad. Jibril is estimated to have a career income of 88,800,000 dirhams for serving Harun al-Rashid for 23 years and

3999-506: The caliphal court in Baghdad during the early 9th century, while others such as al-Mutanabbi received their patronage from regional courts. Under Harun al-Rashid, Baghdad was renowned for its bookstores, which proliferated after the making of paper was introduced. Chinese papermakers had been among those taken prisoner by the Arabs at the Battle of Talas in 751. As prisoners of war, they were dispatched to Samarkand , where they helped set up

4092-676: The caliphate were minimal while the Byzantine Empire was fighting Abbasid rule in Syria and Anatolia , with focus shifting primarily to internal matters; Abbasid governors exerted greater autonomy and, using this increasing power, began to make their positions hereditary. While Baghdad remained the official capital, Harun al-Rashid chose to reside in Raqqa from 796 until the end of his reign. In 803, for reasons that remain unclear, Harun al-Rashid turned on and imprisoned or killed most of

4185-538: The caliphate, with the help of his vizier Ibn Hubayra . After nearly 250 years of subjection to foreign dynasties, he successfully defended Baghdad against the Seljuqs in the siege of Baghdad (1157) , thus securing Iraq for the Abbasids. The reign of al-Nasir (d. 1225) brought the caliphate back into power throughout Iraq, based in large part on the Sufi futuwwa organizations that the caliph headed. Al-Mustansir built

4278-459: The caliphs and had offered to send one of his pupils in his stead. Nevertheless, Bukhtishu II was in turn called to the city to treat the Caliph al-Hadi , who was gravely ill. He was unable to establish himself in Baghdad until 787 AD, when Caliph Harun al-Rashid was suffering violently painful headaches. He successfully treated Harun al-Rashid and in gratitude the caliph made him physician-in-chief,

4371-561: The caliphs were wary of the Alid sympathies in the city and did not always reside here. In 752, al-Saffah built a new city called al-Hashimiyya, at an uncertain location, most likely near Kufa. Later that same year, he moved to Anbar , where he built a new settlement for his Khurasani soldiers and a palace for himself. It was al-Saffah's successor, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur ( r.  754–775 ) who firmly consolidated Abbasid rule and faced down internal challenges. His uncle, Abdallah ibn Ali ,

4464-448: The capital from Damascus to Baghdad. The Abbasids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith , such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr", stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Muslim world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established

4557-482: The circles in which al-Thaʿālibī moved and the range of his acquaintances; they included Abū al-Fāḍl ʿUbaydallāh ibn Aḥmad al-Mīkālī (d. 1044/1055), Qābus ibn Wushmgīr (d. 1012), Sebüktegin (d. 1021), Abū Sahl al-Ḥamdūnī (d. after c. 1040), and both Masʿūd of Ghazna (d. 1040) and other members of his court such as Abū Naṣr Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Zayd, Abū al-Ḥasan Musāfir ibn al-Ḥasan, and Abū al-Fatḥ al-ḥasan ibn Ībrāhīm al-Ṣaymarī. Al-Thaʿālibī gained fame as

4650-466: The city of Raqqa , along the Euphrates . Finally, in 836, al-Mu'tasim moved the capital to a new site that he created along the Tigris, called Samarra. This city saw 60 years of work, with race-courses and game preserves to add to the atmosphere. Due to the dry remote nature of the environment, some of the palaces built in this era were isolated havens. Al-Ukhaidir Fortress is a fine example of this type of building, which has stables, living quarters, and

4743-422: The civil service. In 794, Jafa al-Barmak built the first paper mill in Baghdad, and from there the technology circulated. Harun required that paper be employed in government dealings, since something recorded on paper could not easily be changed or removed, and eventually, an entire street in Baghdad's business district was dedicated to selling paper and books. One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy"

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4836-435: The continued repulsing of Byzantine forays. In the 9th century, the Abbasids created an army loyal only to their caliphate, composed of non-Arab origin people, known as Mamluks . This force, created by al-Ma'mun and his brother and successor al-Mu'tasim (833–842), prevented the further disintegration of the empire. The Mamluk army, though often viewed negatively, both helped and hurt the caliphate. Early on, it provided

4929-565: The death of his mother. After treating an envoy from Kirman , he was called to Shiraz by the Buyid ruler 'Adud al-Dawla but soon after he returned to Baghdad. He only left Baghdad for short consultations, even declining an offer from the Fatimid al-Aziz who wished to establish him in Cairo . Jibrail III died on June 8, 1006. Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire ( / ə ˈ b æ s ɪ d , ˈ æ b ə s ɪ d / ; Arabic : الْخِلَافَة الْعَبَّاسِيَّة , romanized :  al-Khilāfa al-ʿAbbāsiyya )

5022-466: The director. Jibril also served as the director of this new hospital, which Harun al-Rashid named after himself. The Abbasid court physicians gained high standing and trust once accepted and employed by the caliph, as illustrated by the anecdote in which Harun al-Rashid used Jibril to try to humble his vizier Yahya al-Barmaki on an occasion when Yahya entered the caliph's presence without first gaining permission. In his collection of prose, Tha'alibi cites

5115-427: The downward slide by using non-Muslim mercenaries in his personal army. Also during this period, officers started assassinating superiors with whom they disagreed, in particular the caliphs. By the 870s, Egypt became autonomous under Ahmad ibn Tulun . In the East, governors decreased their ties to the center as well. The Saffarids of Herat and the Samanids of Bukhara began breaking away around this time, cultivating

5208-418: The easterly region of Khorasan , far from the Levantine center of Umayyad influence. 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 Sassanid city of Ctesiphon . Baghdad became the center of science , culture , and invention in what became known as

5301-482: The family acquired Arabic while preserving Persian as oral language for about 200 years. The family was originally from Ahvaz , near Gondeshapur, however they eventually moved to the city of Baghdad and later on to Nsibin in Syria . Yahya ibn Khalid , the vizier and mentor to Harun al-Rashid , provided patronage to the Hospital and Academy of Gondeshapur and helped assure the promotion and growth of astronomy, medicine and philosophy, not only in Persia but also in

5394-400: The first Arab paper mill. In time, paper replaced parchment as the medium for writing, and the production of books greatly increased. These events had an academic and societal impact that could be broadly compared to the introduction of the printing press in the West. Paper aided in communication and record-keeping, it also brought a new sophistication and complexity to businesses, banking, and

5487-428: The first major changes effected by Abbasid rule was the move of the caliphate's center of power from Syria to Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). This was closer to the Persian mawali support base of the Abbasids and the move addressed their demand for reduced Arab dominance in the empire. However, no definitive capital was yet selected. In these early Abbasid years, Kufa generally served as the administrative capital, but

5580-401: The first two members of the family. And the remaining records of the chain start from Jurjis . But the genealogical sequence follows as: Jurjis, the father of Bukhtishu II and grandfather of Jibril ibn Bukhtishu, was a scientific writer and was the director of the hospital in Gondeshapur, which supplied physicians to courts in Iraq, Syria, and Persia. He was called to Baghdad in 765 AD to treat

5673-409: The government with a stable force to address domestic and foreign problems. However, creation of this foreign army and al-Mu'tasim's transfer of the capital from Baghdad to Samarra created a division between the caliphate and the people they claimed to rule. Al-Mu'tasim's reign marked the end of the strong caliphs. He strengthened his personal army with the Mamluks and promptly restarted the war with

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5766-431: The knowledge gained from the Roman , Chinese, Indian , Persian , Egyptian , North African, Ancient Greek and Medieval Greek civilizations. According to Huff, "[i]n virtually every field of endeavor—in astronomy, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, optics and so forth—the Caliphate's scientists were in the forefront of scientific advance." The best-known fiction from the Islamic world is One Thousand and One Nights ,

5859-417: The outbreak of fitnas in the capital, often contending with the ayyarun . With the Buyid dynasty on the wane, a vacuum was created that was eventually filled by the dynasty of Oghuz Turks known as the Seljuqs . By 1055, the Seljuqs had wrested control from the Buyids and Abbasids, and took temporal power. When the amir and former slave Basasiri took up the Shia Fatimid banner in Baghdad in 1056–57,

5952-565: The poetry of his own and earlier times; its title means 'The Matchless Pearl of the Age on the Fine Qualities of Contemporary Men'. In its surviving form — a second edition revised by al-Thaʿālibī — it quotes 470 poets in four volumes, organised geographically. The four volumes cover, in this order, Syria and the west ( Mawṣil , Egypt , Maghrib ); Iraq; Western Iran (al-Jabal, Fārs , Jurjān , and Ṭabaristān ); and Eastern Iran ( Khurāsān and Transoxania ). Composition began in 384/994. No satisfactory edition exists. The Yatīmat and its sequel

6045-419: The privilege of entering his presence without permission by asking the caliph if a change had been made in court etiquette. Being a part of such court interactions, Jibril would occasionally approach the caliph with a level of frankness not allowed most attendants. During Harun al-Rashid's final illness, Jibril's matter-of-fact responses to the caliph won him disgrace and soon after he was condemned to death. He

6138-405: The recommendation, Jibril did not succeed his father until 805 AD, after he successfully treated one of Harun al-Rashid's slaves, thereby winning the confidence of the caliph. During Jibril's time in Baghdad, he advised Harun al-Rashid in the building of its first hospital. The hospital and connected observatory was modeled after the one in Gondeshapur where Jibril had studied medicine and served as

6231-474: The region also appear to have served as "capitals" under either al-Saffah or al-Mansur prior to the founding of Baghdad. Al-Mansur centralised the judicial administration, and later, Harun al-Rashid established the institution of Chief Qadi to oversee it. The Umayyad empire was mostly Arab; however, the Abbasids progressively became made up of more and more converted Muslims in which the Arabs were only one of many ethnicities. The Abbasids had depended heavily on

6324-403: The return of power to the family of Muhammad, the Hashemites , during the reign of Umar II . During the reign of Marwan II , this opposition culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim al-Imam , the fourth in descent from Abbas. Supported by the province of Khorasan (Eastern Persia), even though the governor opposed them, and the Shia Arabs, he achieved considerable success, but was captured in

6417-480: The rise of the Iranian Buyids and the Seljuq Turks , who captured Baghdad in 945 and 1055, respectively. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was gradually reduced to a ceremonial religious function in much of the caliphate, the dynasty retained control of its Mesopotamian domain during the rule of Caliph al-Muqtafi and extended into Iran during the reign of Caliph al-Nasir . The Abbasids' age of cultural revival and fruition ended in 1258 with

6510-402: The spirit of ijtihad . They also wrote influential original philosophical works, and their thinking was incorporated into Christian philosophy during the Middle Ages, notably by Thomas Aquinas . Three speculative thinkers, al-Kindi , al-Farabi , and Avicenna , combined Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam, and Avicennism was later established as

6603-462: The stomach complaint of the Caliph al-Mansur . After successfully curing the caliph, he was asked to remain in attendance in Baghdad, which he did until he fell ill in 769 CE. Before allowing him to return to Gondeshapur, the caliph invited him to convert to Islam but he declined, saying that he wanted to be with his fathers when he died. Amused by his obstinacy, the caliph sent an attendant with Jurjis to ensure he reached his destination. In exchange for

6696-528: The support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads. Al-Mansur welcomed non-Arab Muslims to his court. While this helped integrate Arab and Persian cultures, it alienated many of their Arab supporters, particularly the Khorasanian Arabs who had supported them in their battles against the Umayyads. The Abbasid leadership had to work hard in the last half of the 8th century (750–800) under several competent caliphs and their viziers to usher in

6789-613: The title of sultan , as opposed to the "amir" that had been in more common usage, signifying the Ghaznavid Empire 's independence from caliphal authority, despite Mahmud's ostentatious displays of Sunni orthodoxy and ritual submission to the caliph. In the 11th century, the loss of respect for the caliphs continued, as some Islamic rulers no longer mentioned the caliph's name in the Friday khutba , or struck it off their coinage. The Isma'ili Fatimid dynasty of Cairo contested

6882-555: The treaty, then fended off multiple incursions during the first decade of the 9th century. These attacks pushed into the Taurus Mountains , culminating with a victory at the Battle of Krasos and the massive invasion of 806 , led by Rashid himself. Rashid's navy also proved successful, taking Cyprus . Rashid decided to focus on the rebellion of Rafi ibn al-Layth in Khorasan and died while there. Military operations by

6975-544: The victor over the Umayyads at the Battle of the Zab, was the most serious potential rival for leadership and al-Mansur sent Abu Muslim, the Khurasani revolutionary commander, against him in 754. After Abu Muslim successfully defeated him, al-Mansur then turned to eliminate Abu Muslim himself. He arranged to have him arrested and executed in 755. On the western frontier, the Abbasids were unable to re-assert caliphal control over

7068-539: The western and central Maghreb, which the Umayyads had lost in the 740s. One member of the Umayyad dynasty, Abd ar-Rahman, also managed to escape the purge of his family and managed to establish independent in rule in al-Andalus (present-day Spain and Portugal) in 756, founding the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba . In 756, al-Mansur had also sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist the Chinese Tang dynasty in

7161-551: The year 747 and died, possibly assassinated, in prison. On 9 June 747 (15 Ramadan AH 129), Abu Muslim , rising from Khorasan, successfully initiated an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which was carried out under the sign of the Black Standard . Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslim's command when the hostilities officially began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating

7254-408: The youngest uncles of Muhammad and of the same Banu Hashim clan. The Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character and administration in general. According to Ira Lapidus , "The Abbasid revolt

7347-602: Was Layla and Majnun , an originally Arabic story which was further developed by Iranian , Azerbaijani and other poets in the Persian , Azerbaijani , and Turkish languages. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet . Arabic poetry reached its greatest height in the Abbasid era, especially before the loss of central authority and the rise of the Persianate dynasties. Writers like Abu Tammam and Abu Nuwas were closely connected to

7440-507: Was a writer famous for his anthologies and collections of epigrams . As a writer of prose and verse in his own right, distinction between his and the work of others is sometimes lacking, as was the practice of writers of the time. Al-Thaʿālibī was born in Nishapur and was based there throughout his life. Of Arab ethnicity, his nickname means ' furrier ' or 'tailor who works with fox fur ', and medieval biographers speculated that this

7533-475: Was defeated by an Abbasid army led by Isa ibn Musa . It was after this victory, in 762, that al-Mansur finally established a proper Abbasid capital, Baghdad – officially called Madinat al-Salam ('City of Peace') – located on the Tigris River . Prior to this, he had continued to consider multiple sites for a capital, including al-Hashimiyya, which he used as a capital for a while. Various other sites in

7626-437: Was destroyed. Claims have been made that the Tigris ran red from the blood of the scientists and philosophers killed. Citizens attempted to flee, but were intercepted by Mongol soldiers who killed in abundance, sparing no one, not even children. The caliph Al-Musta'sim was captured and forced to watch as his citizens were murdered and his treasury plundered. Ironically, Mongols feared that a supernatural disaster would strike if

7719-658: Was his job or his father's, but there is no convincing evidence for either proposition. The only hint as to al-Thaʿālibī's education is that claim that he was taught by Abū Bakr al-Khwārizmi (who was certainly a source for al-Thaʿālibī's poetry anthologies). Likewise, despite his great proess, there are only hints that al-Thaʿālibī was himself a teacher. Al-Thaʿālibī travelled widely beyond Nishapur, however: autobiographical information scattered in his works shows that he spent time in Bukhārā , Jurjān , Isfarāʾīn , Jurjāniyya , Ghazna , and Herat . The numerous dedicatees of his works indicate

7812-465: Was initially akin to a secretary, but under the tenure of the Barmakids , an Iranian family close to the Abbasids, the position became powerful and Harun al-Rashid delegated state affairs to them for many years. This resulted in a more ceremonial role for many Abbasid caliphs relative to their time under the Umayyads; the viziers began to exert greater influence, and the role of the Caliph's aristocracy

7905-407: Was lost due to the ephemeral nature of the stucco and luster tiles. Another major development was the creation or vast enlargement of cities as they were turned into the capital of the empire, beginning with the creation of Baghdad in 762, which was planned as a walled city with four gates, and a mosque and palace in the center. Al-Mansur, who was responsible for the creation of Baghdad, also planned

7998-468: Was particularly influenced by Sasanian architecture , which in turn featured elements present since ancient Mesopotamia. The Christian styles evolved into a style based more on the Sasanian Empire , utilizing mud bricks and baked bricks with carved stucco. Other architectural innovations and styles were few, such as the four-centered arch , and a dome erected on squinches . Unfortunately, much

8091-410: Was saved from execution by Fadl ibn al-Rabi and subsequently became the physician of al-Amin . After al-Ma'mun gained power, Jibril again faced imprisonment, but was needed to treat Hasan ibn Sahl and thus was released in 817 AD. Three years later he was replaced by his son-in-law, Mikha’il, but was again called to Baghdad in 827 AD when Mikha’il was unable to treat the caliph. He died in the favor of

8184-548: Was slowly replaced by a Baramkid bureaucracy. To the west, Harun al-Rashid agreed to grant the province of Ifriqiya (centered in present-day Tunisia) as a hereditary emirate to Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab , who founded the Aghlabid dynasty there. Al-Mahdi restarted the fighting with the Byzantines , and his sons continued the conflict until Empress Irene pushed for peace. After several years of peace, Nikephoros I broke

8277-466: Was subsequently killed. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated. Immediately after their victory, al-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia , where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas . Al-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia . The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions. One of

8370-460: Was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Merv with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali ". The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali , who remained outside the kinship-based society of the Arabs and were perceived as a lower class within the Umayyad empire. Muhammad ibn 'Ali , a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign in Persia for

8463-591: Was taken away as a prisoner by Selim I to Constantinople where he had a ceremonial role. He died in 1543, following his return to Cairo. The Abbasid historical period lasting to the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258 CE is considered the Islamic Golden Age. The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of

8556-406: Was the 10-year period of Al-Mu'tadid 's rule ( r. 892–902). He brought parts of Egypt, Syria, and Khorasan back into Abbasid control. Especially after the " Anarchy at Samarra " (861–870), the Abbasid central government was weakened and centrifugal tendencies became more prominent in the caliphate's provinces. By the early 10th century, the Abbasids almost lost control of Iraq to various emirs , and

8649-672: 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 (566–653 CE ), 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

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