THE ABBASID DYNASTY
Changes the abbasid rulers brought to the world
How the new capital came about?
A new capital city was built at Baghdad , on the Tigirs River far to the east of the Umayyad capital at Damascus in 762
Who started the Abbasid Dynasty?
The Abbasid dynasty was established by Abu al-abbas in 750 when he overthrew the Umayyad dynasty. It lasted until 1258 when destroyed by the Mongol invasion. The location of the dynasty took advantage of the river traffic in the Persian Gulf & the caravan route from the Mediterranean to central Asia.
SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE
Al-Mansur
- Born in 714 AD in Syria
- father is Muhammad
- was the second Abbasid Caliph from (754 AD – 775 AD). He is generally regarded as the real founder of the Abbasid Caliphate.
- played an important part in wiping out the last remnants of Umayyad resistance.
- was largely responsible for cutting the ʿAbbāsids free from the movement that had brought them to power
- wanted to bring about the death of the man who had helped him become caliph, Abū Muslim
- By these political and military measures al-Manṣūr firmly established the ʿAbbāsid caliphate. Furthermore, he arranged the succession in favour of his son, al-Mahdī, and every future ʿAbbāsid caliph could trace his descent directly to al-Manṣūr.
(Al-Manṣūr is described as a tall, lean man, with a brown complexion and a sparse beard. There are a number of anecdotes designed to illustrate the simplicity of his life, his tightfistedness, his love of poetry, and his objection to music. He died in 775 on his way to Mecca to perform the pilgrimage and was buried near the holy city.) http://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Mansur-Abbasid-caliph
Al-Ma'mun
- Al-Maʾmūn was born in 786
- Was the 7th caliph of the entire ʿAbbāsid empire
- The son of the celebrated caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd
- determined to put an end to the division of the Islāmic world between Sunnite and Shi'ite
- During the following 15 years, al-Maʾmūn showed himself to be a judicious sovereign. He closely controlled his ministers and did not again appoint an all-powerful vizier. He also tried to maintain strict control over the provincial governors but was forced to allow a relative degree of autonomy to his former general, Ṭāhir, who had been named governor of Khorāsān. http://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Mamun
Fall of Abbasid Dynasty
Even though the Abbasid Dynasty was prosperous, they had their problems. There was a lot of fighting over the succession to the caliphate. After Harun al-Rashid past, his two sons fought to succeed him, almost causing the destruction of Baghdad city.
There was also financial corruption. People of the Harun al-Rashid's clan were given large amounts of money from the states treasury. His wife was later reported to have spent a great quantity on a pilgrimage to Makkah.
Eventually, the rulers of the provinces of the Abbasid Empire began to go off & start their own independent dynasties.