.

THEABBASID CALIPHATE commitment to

but their
espousing popular causes their religious
Abbasids had
come to power
thatof the Shias who in
The had been luad through
divine
deep. One such c a u s e who would
themwas not very a
guided Imam, leader Muhammad. They
idealism werelooking for a rightly he tclanged to the family of Abbasid
he
available to him
because
their search shortly.
guidance would renew
the Abba_ids and
were
disappointed in
soldiery. They
w e r e to be of their Khurasani
on the support working out
power came
to be based entirely and order and by
restoring peace
their authority by
assert the Umayyyads.
able to had opposed The
with the various groups who built the city
of Baghdad.
compromises site and old
shifted their capital
to a new
ways
symbolized the age
The Abbasids in many
Damascus to Baghdad from now on the previous
dominance

shifting of the capital from indicated that no province

conflict between Syria and,
Iraq and Under the Abbasids, differential
was ending.
r e m o v e the
affairs of the caliphate also tried to
of Syria in the and they the
discriminated against opposition from
barring Syria
was
(converts, Mawalis). The
and the new
Muslims critics to represent
treatment of Arabs
their learned
them by appointing theology. They
diffused by jurisprudence
and
elements was
religious of Islamic learning, class. To, hold
and bypatronizing into the ruling
non-Arabs
the legal system introducing court oriented high
the base of their power by the development of
widened encouraged cultural
class together they towards evolving
comprehensive.
this heterogenous to work
allowed the ulama
culture. They also
with their great Au
traditions for the past
of the Muslims. more in keeping
traditions decision to AkAD"
n o w started
building up autocraticsymbolicaliy indicated by their
The Caliphs This was toe i v w tG l
tried. h
the Sassanians. of Ctesiphon. They
Iranian predecessors, the former capital assumed into
Baghdad near rulers had
build their capital that the Sassanian The
divine glory
incorporate the mystic
aura of
such as "Shadow.of God
on Earth".
titles effective
behaviour by assuming with the courtiers
forming an
their political unapproachable their subjects.
m o r e and
more the rulers and
Caliphs beca.le the distance between could also
introduced. The Caliph
to
around them and adding was
cocoon
the caliphs to the seat of pgwer
the ground before the ones closest
Rituals like kissing w e r e naturally
worst hit by
this element within
the nobility). The
dispense justice (the troublesome
effective way dealing
with
absolutist state.
The Abbasids finally
and this was an of an
towards building up Hisham.
Umayyads had moved by Abd al Malik and
completed the
work begun indiscriminate slaughter of
achieved it and thus
began his reign by
first Abbasid caliph, succeeded by his al
brother Mansur (754-
Saffah (750-754), the
member of the Umayyad
family. He was
main supporters
of the Abbasid cause,
every of one of the its power by
saw the betrayal not compromise
175) whose reign an assertion that
the caliphate would
Most of the prominent
Shias
the Shias. It was as being privileged.
claims of any group
recognizing the Mecca was suppressed. controlled
killed and Shia uprising in
a
administration of the
cmpire through
a closely
were

tightened hishold
o v e r the
was built up.
This netüwork of spies kept
He
efficient system
of espionage affairs the empire w e r e
of LWEZIR
bureaucracy. An trouble. The financial to become
potential soon
track of all sources of
was
aide. This office
the supervision of one trusted minister.
AFEHILS
organized under the all powerfuf
in the form of the Wazir,
permancnt
 a s of fiscal arrangements, the policy of Hallaj of heavy investments in Iraq was d
afinued. Commerce was crucial to state income. Trade was eneouraged by the sheer waut60y
4ntint
oanse of the empire. The state policies were also geared towards encouraging trade. qh Sh
ghdad was chosen as the not only because it controlled Iraq but s'so because it
capital -

es situated on major land and river (through the Tigris and the Eupharates)traderoutes
faghdad was different from the early lslamic cities in that it wasnct organized on tribal leréknrs
asis. It soon became the cultural and economic centre of the caliphate.
away and an independent Umayyad caliphate
was
uring his reign Spain broke him
stablished there. Al Mansur was succeeded by his son al Mahdi (775-785). Under
and there was an attempt at Lirn9/-
he fiuancial organization. of the state was improved with the more moderate M4wIChHE
(econciling the Shia opposition to the Abbasids by making peace
With its populist ideology Apain?
omong them. He faced
another threat from Manichaeism.
the exact nature and extent of ASS1mugnu
which detachment from mundane worldly affairs,
preached Persian huey
¢his movement is not ciear. ît definitely involved an attempt to keep alive the
of the assimilative policy beingadvocated by therulers. The
cultural traditions in the face rid of many
and al Mahdi used this to get
ulama pressed for their suppression there was a Umayyad revolt in Egypt
troublesome elements. Towards the end of his reign of al Hadi (785-786)
Shia revolt in Arabia. Both were The next reign, that
crushed.
His was a period hAo
7
*7
and a
(786-809).
succeeded by his brother Harh al Rashid the Rk
was brief. He was was largely left in

known for its splendour and grandeur.

By now the government One Sp
through secretaries.
who controlled their departments (diwans)
hands of the wazirs dominate
over e anusur Dre7s
the Barmakids, came to ds of
of this
family of administrators,
to resent the powers
thatwas accumulated
in the hands
underlined a serious
this c
803 Harun al Rashid came crashed. This episode
fortunes of the Barmakids
dependence of ke wt
family. The or later. The heavy
bound to face sooner also face 3ARmAk 9S
problem that the caliphate
was
meant that they would
on administrators
for governing the empire for administrators
the caliphs find a censtant search
officials. Thereafter we
threats from these very
was unquestioned. and poetry KaShiD aic
whose loyalty to the Caliph remembered. Music
and learning that Harun is most suit and
t was as a natron ofarts rewarded. The
liberally
aristocracy followed
the
encouraged and artists
were
had also become
was scholars and artists. It
philosophers, poets, of astronomy,
Baghdad was attracting metaphysics. Important
works
centre for the study of
natural sciences and
translated from Greek
and Sanskrit. An interesting fact Baiu Hkmn
medicine and mathematics
were
active in this field. The
in Arabic who were the most
is that it was the zimmis working been unheard of
the likes of which had
in a luxurious style,
rich in Baghdad began living
till now. economic development 11vcTuA
because of the rapid
This cultural flowering was only
possible to channelise
the efficiency of the state machinery
because of The formation
that was taking place and and governing classes.
of the Caliph
increasing resources into the coffers trade routes was naturally
conducive to the
all the major spread.
of an empire encompassing commerce, urbanisation also
activities. With ihcreasing when it was
was ASSLs
growth of cormmercial and continued to flourish
even
commercial center
3TAT

because of the
Baghdad became a major Economic deveiopment
was accelerated
abandoned as the capital.
economic growth led,
in its turn, to a further
absolutist state. This
deve.opment of the
absolutism of the state.
 within the empire.
established

had a number/
ms
comparative peace
of the The empire
flourished because with safety. wealth of the aC7
Commerce

could carry
merchandise ot high valueprospered. The increasing and large
S
FLoURISAm
Merchants Market grew anc government
officials
and flourishing ports. family, local PTs

of good of the Abbasid

members items. Trade
encouraged
individuals, usually
trade in luxury found these Locn ia»
generated phenomenal The govermment
landowners, developed. the Luxn1
credit facilities also
and collections.. Without
production. Banking for the speedy
transfer of its
tax
could not BnNk
commercial developments
bankers very handy provided by the state,
such
administrative stability
have taken place. was another popular
increase their fortunes. Speculation e
The rich also invested in trade to and non-
c o m m o n often
involving muslims
cconomicactivity
for them. Partnerships were
individuals created
and
their
hss c
muslims. The government organized messenger services
own postal services... was HANdlA

also being invested in handicraft industries. Paper making technology

Money was soon replaced papyrus Poeer
imported from China and it flourished employing many. Paperactivities. Production of FeCnNdzi2,
boost to literary
leaves for writing and was to give a tremendous FannCkrww

a large variety of textiles also flourished. State workshops

also employed many craftsmen
7EX7IUE S .
in general preferred to work independently. The
individual craftsman was also free to
and
change his trade.
expansion, we must
If peace provided by the autocratic state had activated commercial
remembe that commercial expansion in its turn strengthened the absolutist state by
in connection with these
increasing its income. Another feature that must be noted
to Islam had been
economic developments is the effects they had on religion. Conversion
was now provided in Abbasid
encouraged since the time of Umar II. A new impetus
of the growing comnmercial
times. The vast numbers migrating to the towns partake
to
activities found it convenient to convert. Naturally a more popular version of Islam
of the fierce theological debates that were
started appearing which was independent Islam the
becoming a part of the religion of the rulers. The new comverts carried into muslimn
With towns becoming predominantly
cultural traditions of their formal religions. conversions in the
inhabitants,
and because of the rural connections of many of the urban
rural areas followed. Islam was no longer the privilege of the Arabs but also now

becoming a of life for the masses.

Harun madewaya crucial decision before he died. He decided that he would divide his
and the v
empire. Al Amin would receive the Fertile Crescent and the western provinces
title of caliph. Another son Al Mamun would receive Khurasan and the eastera provinces, s
and AI Mamun would have to obey AL Amin
whom he would A m
full autonomy an army.
whimsical decision nearly wrecked the state A-RM
succeed as the caliph. This personal and -AK?
structure built with such effort. The inevitable
civil war followed Al Mamun laid siege to 3
Caliph in 813. He had to
Baghdad and Al Amin was killed. Al Mamun was proclaimed disaffection in distant
face persistent problems of opposition from the
Shias and
provinces. He personally had tp proceed to Egypt
to quell one such disturbance. from
Al Mamun's reliance on his Khurasani soldiery and
his initial decision to stay away
come back
the rebellion but agreed to
Baghdad led the city to revolt. Al Mamun crushed
,

the Aghlabids in North Africa,

to the city. Meanwhile provincial governors (for example to crush
and resources
the Tahirids in Khurasan) who had been given greater powers the govenor
For instance the son of
rebellions started behaving like independent rulers.
 Khurasan succeeded as the govermor. A vigorous
ruler, Al Mamun, managed to keep a
major portion of the empire together.
Al Mu'tasim (833-842) who succeeded his
brother recognized the implicotions of th
developments of the previous reign. In order to free himself from the dependence on the
governors and their armies and his own Khurasan SA
army who had been till now the
mainstay of the Caliph's military might, he started purchasing slaves. The Caliph thought
he could rely on the cohesivo
!tary unit which was totally dependent on him and Ms
therefore loyal to him. The slaves, mostly Turks also had no links with local .
populations.
Another major step which he took indicates the deepening crisis of the empire was the
shifting of his capital to Samarra in 836 A.D. The Caliph was physically safe in Samara
but clearly loosing his hold over the state apparatus. The dependence of the Caliphs on
their slave troops increased further under the next caliph, Al Wasiq (842-847).
A new development was taking place which was going to have serious economic
consequences. The Sawad, the major agricultural area in Iraq and a majorsource of state
income startedlosing its productivity. This was dueto geological changeswhich caused
the river Diyalah to flow at a level much deeper than the surrounding banks: This made
imigation in the Sawad increasingly difficult. Added to this was the fact that this area
which had subjected to heavy irrigation started suffering from salanisation caused by

poor drainage.
The decreasing revenue of the empire was complimented by the increasing expenditure of fE
the state caused by the spread of factional fighting and the constant pampering of slave
the shortage of income increased corruption
troups. The weakening central control due to
the state further. Al Wasiqwho was at the mercy of
among the officers which weakened tried
his slave troops who were becoming increasingly conscious of their indispensability,
to introduce other ethnic elements into this body. He thus started factions in a body
within the slave
whose main advantage had been their cohesiveness. Factional groups
and the Caliphs increasingly becanme pawns in their
corps started competing for power
struggle for power.
as his successors, he
When Mutawakkil(847-861) désignated his three young sons
divided up the empire and sent them off to their respective provinces. The commander of
the amies and the administrators accompanying them were allowed to deduct military
The commanders were
expenditure before sending the balance to the central treasury
also given iqtas (revenue grants) within these provinces. Until now iqtas had only been
given to royal relatives for civil functions. This was to grow into a major institution under
the militarized state that emerged from the wreckage of the Abbasid empire
troubles brewing within the
Thetenth century, as we have indicated earlier, saw serious
economy of the empire. The luxurious lifestyles of the governing classes, increasing
corruption among. the administrators_and the decline of agriculture led to serious
economic crisis. Peasants revolted against landlords and authority. The increasing
number of Turkish slave soldiers who tended to become insubordinate added to the
problems. The central authority finding itself incapable of maintaining order surrendered
power to the Turkish generals. Earlier the Caliphs had tried every means to of raising
cash for their military necds like tax-farming, auctioning of offices, sale of crown lands
and confiscation of property. By the time of Caliph Mamun the military branch of the
empire had come to dominate complctely over the civil and the money that came from
the tax farms was insufficient to pay the army. So the practice of giving the military the
 outcome of two previous
to collect taxes was resorted to. This new iqta was the
right The latter
institutions: the tax farm and the amirate or the prov1ncial government.
basis of strict separation of the military and
institution had worked till now on the
financial arms of government, through
the offices of the amir and the anmil. By 892 the
was the only way in which the previnces
central treasury was empty and the military iqta
trade because caravans were
could be govciiucd. Decliiñg law and order also threatened
were instructed to protect trade and soon
often targets of attack. The military governors
trade. Once a military govermor
the military includd in its taxes from the inter-regional
was the
assigned right to collect taxes from a large area, it was very easy for him to
become independent.
series of disturbances which the
Decline of the central authority was reflected in the
caliphs had great difficulty in quelling. The new movements against ancaliph:
the tended to
effective local
be conceñtrated in territorial blocks. The populations preferred
the Aghlabids had
governor to an ineffective and distant caliph. In the ninth century
the Fatimids. The Tulunids
becomeindependent in Tunisia.In 909 they were replaced by mUS7
second half of the tenth
and khshidid had ruled successfully over Egypt but in the
established their
century the Fatimids gained control of Egypt. In 897 the Zaydi Shias had Mosul.
independent rule in. the Yemen. In 905 the Hamdanids became independent in
The Samanids came to control north east Iran. Finally in 945 the Buyids who had S L i

originated the lands

in The south of the Caspian Sea occupied Baghdad and made the caliph
their puppet. Caliphal state from now on eased to exist as an independent entity