Artuqids

Artuqids
Artuqids. Turkish dynasty in southeast Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia (Diyarbakr province) who ruled from 1098 to 1408.  Following the victory at Malazgirt (1071) as a consequence of the Seljuks’ drive westward, the founder of the dynasty, Artuq ibn Ekseb, became the Seljuk governor of Jerusalem and Palestine in 1086.  His sons, who succeeded him in 1091, were driven from Jerusalem by the Fatimids in 1098, and set up dominions in northern Mesopotamia.  Sokman I (r. 1098-1104) established the branch of Diyarbakr and Hasankeyf (Hisn Kayfa) (r. 1098-1232), and his brother al-Ghazi I (r. 1104-1122), prefect of Baghdad from 1101, established the branch of Mardin and Maiyafariqin (r. 1104-1408).  Another branch ruled in Harput (r. 1185-1233).  Initially under the Seljuks, then the Zangids and the Khwarazm Shahs, the Artuqids achieved large scale autonomy during the Crusades.  Under Nasir al-Din Mahmud (1201-1222) there was an active building program in Diyarbakr which reached its cultural zenith.  The Diyarbakr and Harput branches of the dynasty were removed by the Ayyubids in 1232/33 and the Mardin branch by the Qara Qoyunlu in 1408.  

The Artuqid dynasty (Artuklu in Turkish, sometimes also spelled as Artukid, Ortoqid or Ortokid; Turkish plural: Artukoğulları) was an Oghuz Turkish dynasty that ruled in Eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Two main branches of the dynasty ruled from Hasankeyf (Hısn-ı Keyf, Hısnkeyfa) between 1102–1231 and Mardin between 1106–1186 (and until 1409 as vassals). There was also a third branch that acquired Harput in 1112 and was independent between 1185–1233.

The dynasty was founded by Artuq, son of Eksük, a general originally under Malik Shah I and then under the Seljuk emir of Damascus, Tutush I. Tutush appointed Artuq governor of Jerusalem in 1086. Artuq died in 1091, and his sons Sokman and Ilghazi were expelled from Jerusalem by the Fatimid vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah in 1098. The Fatimids lost the city to the crusaders the following year.

Sokman and Ilghazi set themselves up in Diyarbakır, Mardin, and Hasankeyf in the Jezirah, where they came into conflict with the sultanate of Great Seljuk. Sokman, bey of Mardin, defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Harran in 1104. Ilghazi succeeded Sokman in Mardin and imposed his control over Aleppo at the request of the qadi Ibn al-Khashshab in 1118. In 1119, Ilgazi defeated the crusader Principality of Antioch at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis.

In 1121, a Seljuk-Artuqid alliance, commanded by Mehmed I of Great Seljuk and Ilghazi, was defeated by Georgia at the Battle of Didgori. Ilghazi died in 1122, and although his nephew Balak nominally controlled Aleppo, the city was really controlled by Ibn al-Khashshab. Al-Kashshab was assassinated in 1125, and Aleppo fell under the control of Zengi of Mosul. After the death of Balak, the Artuqids were split between Diyarbakır, Hasankeyf and Mardin. Sokman's son Davud, bey of Hasankeyf, died in 1144, and was succeeded by his son Kara Aslan. Kara Aslan allied with Joscelin II of Edessa against the Zengids, and while Joscelin was away in 1144, Zengi recaptured Edessa, the first of the Crusader states to fall. Hasankeyf became a vassal of Zengi as well.

Kara Aslan's son Nur ad-Din Muhammad allied with the Ayyubid sultan Saladin against the Sultan of Rum Kilij Arslan II, whose daughter had married Nur ad-Din Muhammad. In a peace settlement with Kilij Arslan, Saladin gained control of Artuqid territory, although the Artuqids were still technically vassals of Mosul, which Saladin did not yet control. With Artuqid support Saladin eventually took control of Mosul as well.

The Artuklu dynasty still nominally controlled the upper Mesopotamia but their power declined under Ayyubid rule. The Hasankeyf branch conquered Diyarbakır in 1198. This branch was demolished by the Ayyubids in 1231 due to the branch's seeking of an alliance with the Seljuks. The Harput branch was ended by the Sultanate of Rum due to friction between Ayyubids and Seljuks. The Mardin branch was vassal of Ayyubids, the Sultanate of Rum, the Il-Khanate and the Timurids. Finally, the Karakoyunlu captured Mardin and ended Artuklu rule in 1409.


Artuklu see Artuqids.
Artukids see Artuqids.
Ortoqids see Artuqids.
Ortokids see Artuqids.
Artukogullan see Artuqids.

Aq Qoyunlu

Aq Qoyunlu
Aq Qoyunlu (Akkoyunlu) (“those of the White Sheep”).  Turkoman federation of the “Tribes of the White Sheep” rulers of eastern Anatolia, Azerbaijan, Persia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Turkestan which lasted from 1467 to 1502.   Their main capitals were Amid, and, from 1468, Tabriz.  Named after their original totem animal, a white sheep, they were Oghuz Turks.  The Aq Qoyunlu are usually regarded as a Sunni dynasty, although they had close links with the Shi‘ite Safavid family.

Around 1340, the Aq Qoyunlu began to carry out raids against Byzantium, Mesopotamia, and Syria, took control shortly thereafter of Diyarbakr with its center at Amid, and intermarried with the Christian Comnenes of Trabezond (later emperors of Byzantium).  Their first advance came under Qara Yuluk 'Uthman (Kara Usman) (1389-1435), who as an ally of Timur was appointed emir of Diyarbakr in 1402 and expanded its territory.  Qara Yuluk Uthman ruled for thirty-two years and transformed the Aq Qoyunlu from a tribal clan of little significance to a large principality impinging on the domains of its neighbors, the Qara Qoyunlu, or “Black Sheep,” as well as the major powers of the day, the Ottomans, the Mamelukes, and the Timurids. 

After 1435, the Aq Qoyunlus found themselves squeezed (due to territorial losses) by the rival Qara Qoyunlu.  The empire experienced its political zenith under Uzun Hasan (1453-1478), the grandson of Qara Yuluk 'Uthman.  Uzun Hasan transformed the Aq Qoyunlus into a major Islamic power, extending from Anatolia to Khurasan, Fars, Kerman, and the Persian Gulf.  He defeated his chief rival Jahanshah and annihilated the Qara Qoyunlu in 1467 and, by 1469, had seized the Qara Qoyunlu territories.  In 1469, he achieved a convincing victory over the Timurids, defeating Abu Sa'id.  After 1459, he conducted campaigns in Georgia, and conquered Hasankeyf (1462), and Harput (1465).  In 1471, he advanced into Karman (Anatolia) and fought against the Ottomans in an alliance with European powers in1473. 

Uzun Hasan was active in international diplomacy, allying with Venice against the Ottomans, his enemy in the west.  The Aq Qoyunlu had longstanding marriage ties with the Byzantine kings at Trebizond. There were also marriage ties to the Safavids.  Uzun Hasan was decisively defeated by the Ottomans at Bashkent in 1473.

The Turkoman culture flourished under Uzun Hasan and his son Ya'qub (1478-1490).  Ya'qub promoted high Islamic culture and carried on an ostentatious court life at his capital, Tabriz, but the fortunes of the dynasty never recovered. 

1490 marked the start of the struggle against the up-and-coming Safavids.  The succession crises arising from the death of Ya'qub was typical of Turkish dynasties which sapped the strength of the Aq Qoyunlu and facilitated the Safavid rise to power.  The last ruler, Sultan Murad, was defeated by the Kizilbash supporters of Shah Isma‘il and relinquished Azerbaijan to the Safavids in 1501.  Sultan Murad did, however, manage to hold on to some land in Iraq and Diyarbakr until 1508.  While the power of the Safavids, like that of the Aq Qoyunlu, was based at first on Turkic tribesmen, and continuity between the two dynasties was ensured by the Tajik bureaucracy, the Safavids were able to unify Iran in a way the Aq Qoyunlu could not. 


Akkoyunlu see Aq Qoyunlu
“those of the White Sheep” see Aq Qoyunlu
“Tribes of the White Sheep”  see Aq Qoyunlu
"White Sheep" see Aq Qoyunlu
Akgoyunly see Aq Qoyunlu

Anatolian Seljuks

Anatolian Seljuks
Anatolian Seljuks (also known as the Rum Seljuks).  Turkish dynasty in Anatolia (r. 1077-1308).  Their main capitals were Iznik (Nicaea) and, from 1116, Konya.  The Anatolian Seljuks are a branch of the Great Seljuks who occupied Anatolian territory after the victory of Malazgirt (1071).  Their founding father was Kutalmish, who was a cousin of the Seljuk rulers Tughril and Chaghri.  His son, Suleyman I (1077-1086), conquered Iznik in 1078.  Initially, under the formal authority of the Great Seljuks, the Anatolian Seljuks acquired far-reaching autonomy during the conflicts of the Crusades.  The first period of prosperity came under Kilic Arslan II (Qilij Arslan II -- 1156-1188/92), who until 1178 had control of the Danishmendids’ (Danishmend's) territory.  The fragmentation of the empire resulting from its division between his 12 sons in 1192 was consolidated only after 1204 under Giyath al-Din Kaikhusrau I (1204-1211).  Following a period of political and cultural prosperity under Izz al-Din Kaikavus I (1211-1219) and Ala al-Din Kaiqubad (1219-1237), the political decline began.  After 1240, there came territorial losses, a defeat by the Mongols (at Kose Dagi near Ankara, 1243), and the plundering of the Anatolian Seljuk lands, after which they retreated to Antalya.  From 1279, they were under the supreme authority of the Persian Ilkhanids, who made the Anatolian Seljuk territory a province of their empire in 1308. 

The Sultanate of Rûm was a Seljuk Turkic sultanate that ruled much of Anatolia in direct lineage from 1077 to 1308, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals. At its height the sultanate stretched across central Turkey from the Antalya-Alanya shoreline on the Mediterranean coast to the territory of Sinop on the Black Sea. In the east, the sultanate absorbed other Turkish states and reached Lake Van. Its westernmost limit was near Denizli and the gates of the Aegean basin.

The term "Rûm" comes from the Arabic word for Rome. The Seljuks called the lands of their sultanate Rum because it had been established on territory long considered "Roman", i.e. Byzantine, by Muslim armies.  Modern Turkish historians use the term Anadolu Selçukluları ("Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate") or, more recently, Türkiye Selçukluları ("Seljuks of Turkey"). The state is occasionally called the Sultanate of Konya or Sultanate of Iconium in older western sources.

The sultanate prospered, particularly during the late 12th and early 13th centuries when it took from the Byzantines key ports on the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. Within Anatolia, the Seljuks fostered trade through a program of caravanserai-building, which facilitated the flow of goods from Iran and Central Asia to the ports. Especially strong trade ties with the Genoese formed during this period. The increased wealth allowed the sultanate to absorb other Turkish states that had been established in eastern Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert: the Danishmends, the Mengücek, the Saltuklu, and the Artuklu. Seljuk sultans successfully bore the brunt of the Crusades but in 1243 succumbed to the advancing Mongols. The Seljuks became vassals of the Mongols, and despite the efforts of shrewd administrators to preserve the state's integrity, the power of the sultanate disintegrated during the second half of the 13th century and had disappeared completely by the first decade of the 14th.

In its final decades, the territory of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm saw the emergence of a number of small principalities or beyliks, among which that of the Osmanoğlu, known later as the Ottomans, rose to dominance.

In the 1070s, the Seljuk commander Suleyman bin Kutalmish, a distant cousin of Malik Shah and a former contender for the throne of the Great Seljuk Empire, came to power in western Anatolia. In 1075, he captured the Byzantine cities of Nicaea (İznik) and Nicomedia (İzmit). Two years later he declared himself sultan of an independent Seljuk state and established his capital at İznik.

Suleyman was killed in Antioch in 1086 by Tutush I, the Seljuk ruler of Syria, and Suleyman's son Kilij Arslan I was imprisoned. When Malik Shah died in 1092, Kilij Arslan was released and immediately established himself in his father's territories. He was eventually defeated by soldiers of the First Crusade and driven back into south-central Anatolia, where he set up his state with his capital in Konya. In 1107, he ventured east and captured Mosul but died the same year fighting Malik Shah’s son Mehmed Tapar.

Meanwhile, another Rum Seljuk, Melikshah (not to be confused with the Great Seljuk sultan of the same name), captured Konya. In 1116 Kilij Arslan's son, Mesud I took the city with the help of the Danishmends. Upon Mesud's death in 1156, the sultanate controlled nearly all of central Anatolia. Mesud's son, Kilij Arslan II, captured the remaining territories around Sivas and Malatya from the last of the Danishmends. At the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176, Kilij Arslan also defeated a Byzantine army led by Manuel I Comnenus, dealing a major blow to Byzantine power in the region. Despite a temporary occupation of Konya in 1190 by German forces of the Third Crusade, the sultanate was quick to recover and consolidate its power.

After the death of the last sultan of Great Seljuk, Tuğrul III, in 1194, the Seljuks of Rum became the sole ruling representatives of the dynasty. Kaykhusraw I seized Konya from the Crusaders in 1205. Under his rule and those of his two successors, Kaykaus I and Kayqubad I, Seljuk power in Anatolia reached its apogee. Kaykhusraw's most important achievement was the capture of the harbor of Attalia (Antalya) on the Mediterranean coast in 1207. His son Kaykaus captured Sinop and made the Empire of Trebizond his vassal in 1214. He also subjugated Cilician Armenia but in 1218 was forced to surrender the city of Aleppo acquired from al-Kamil. Kayqubad continued to acquire lands along the Mediterranean coast from 1221 to 1225. In the 1220s, he sent an expeditionary force across the Black Sea to Crimea. In the east he defeated the Mengüceks and began to pressure on the Artukid.

Kaykhusraw II (1237–1246) began his reign by capturing the region around Diyarbekir, but in 1239 he had to face an uprising led by a popular preacher named Baba Ishak. After three years, when he had finally quelled the revolt, the Crimean foothold was lost and the state and the sultanate's army was weakened. It was under these conditions that Kaykhusraw II had to face a far more dangerous threat, that of the expanding Mongols. Mongol forces took Erzurum in 1242 and in 1243, the sultan was crushed by Bayju in the Battle of Köse Dag (a mountain between the cities of Sivas and Erzincan) and the Seljuks thereafter began to owe allegiance to the Mongols and gradually became their vassals. The sultan himself fled to Antalya after the 1243 battle. He died in Antalya in 1246. His death started a period of tripartite, and then dual rule that lasted until 1260.

The Seljuk realm was divided among Kaykhusraw's three sons. The eldest, Kaykaus II (r.1246–1260), assumed the rule in the area west of the river Kızılırmak. His younger brothers, Kilij Arslan IV (r.1248–1265) and Kayqubad II (r.1249–1257) were set to rule the regions east of the river under Mongol administration. In October 1256, Bayju defeated Kaykaus II near Aksaray and all of Anatolia became officially subject to Möngke Khan. In 1260 Kaykaus II fled from Konya to Crimea where he died in 1279. Kilij Arslan IV was executed in 1265 and Kaykhusraw III (r.1265–1284) became the nominal ruler of all of Anatolia, with the tangible power exercised either by the Mongols or the sultan's influential regents.

The Seljuk state started to split into small emirates (Beyliks) that increasingly distanced themselves from both Mongol and Seljuk control. In 1277, responding to a call from Anatolia, the Mameluk sultan Baybars raided Anatolia and defeated the Mongols, temporarily replacing them as the administrator of the Seljuk realm. But since the native forces who had called him to Anatolia did not manifest themselves for the defense of the land, he had to return to his homebase in Egypt, and the Mongol administration was re-assumed, officially and severely.

Towards the end of his reign, Kaykhusraw III could claim direct sovereignty only over lands around Konya. Some of the Beyliks (including the Ottomans in their very beginnings) and Seljuk governors of Anatolia continued to recognize, albeit nominally, the supremacy of the sultan in Konya, delivering the khutba in the name of the sultans in Konya in recognition of their sovereignty, and the sultans continued to call themselves Fahreddin, the Pride of Islam. When Kaykhusraw III was executed in 1284, the Seljuk dynasty suffered another blow from internal struggles which lasted until 1303 when the son of Kaykaus II, Mesud II, established himself as sultan in Kayseri. He was murdered in 1307 as well as his son Mesud III soon afterwards. A distant relative to the Seljuk dynasty momentarily installed himself as emir of Konya, but he was defeated and his lands conquered by the Karamanoğlu in 1328. The sultanate's monetary sphere of influence lasted slightly longer and coins of Seljuk mint, generally considered to be of reliable value, continued to be used throughout the 14th century, once again, including by the Ottomans.

The exceptional period that flourished in Anatolia in the 12th and the 13th centuries, between the Crusades and the Mongol invasion, is marked by outstanding works of architecture and decorative arts.  Among these, the caravanserais (or hans), used as stops, trading posts and defense for caravans, and of which about a hundred structures were built during the Anatolian Seljuks period, are particularly remarkable. Their unequalled concentration in time and in Anatolian geography represent some of the most distinctive and impressive constructions in the entire history of Islamic architecture.

The largest caravanserai is the 1229-built Sultan Han on the road between the cities of Konya and Aksaray, in the township of Sultanhanı, enclosing 3,900 square meters. There are two caravanserais that carry the name "Sultan Han", the other one being between Kayseri and Sivas. Furthermore, apart from Sultanhanı, five other towns across Turkey owe their names to caravanserais built there. These are Alacahan in Kangal, Durağan, Hekimhan and Kadınhanı, as well as the township of Akkale/Akhan within Denizli metropolitan area. The caravanserai of Hekimhan is unique in having, underneath the usual inscription in Arabic with information relating to the edifice, two further inscriptions in Armenian and Syriac, since it was constructed by the sultan Kayqubad I's doctor (hekim) who is thought to have been a Christian by his origins, and to have converted to Islam. There are other particular cases like the settlement in Kalehisar site (contiguous to an ancient Hittite site) near Alaca, founded by the Seljuk commander Hüsameddin Temurlu who had taken refuge in the region after the defeat in the Battle of Köse Dağ, and had founded a township comprising a castle, a medrese (madrasa), a habitation zone and a caravanserai, which were later abandoned apparently around the 16th century. All but the caravanserai, which remains undiscovered, was explored in the 1960s by the art historian/Ottoman archaeologist Oktay Aslanapa, and the finds as well as a number of documents attest to the existence of a vivid settlement on the site, such as a 1463-dated Ottoman firman which instructs the headmaster of the medrese to lodge not in the school but in the caravanserai.

As regards the names of the sultans, there are variants in form and spelling depending on the preferences displayed by one source or the other, either for fidelity in transliterating the Persian-influenced variant of the Arabic script which the sultans used, or for a rendering corresponding to the modern Turkish phonology and orthography. Some sultans had two names that they chose to use alternatively in reference to their legacy. While the two palaces built by Alaeddin Keykubad I carry the names Kubadabad Palace and Keykubadiye Palace, he named his mosque in Konya as Alaeddin Mosque and the port city of Alanya he had captured as "Alaiye". Similarly, the medrese built by Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev I in Kayseri, within the complex (külliye) dedicated to his sister Gevher Nesibe, was named Gıyasiye Medrese, and the one built by Izzeddin Keykavus I in Sivas as Izzediye Medrese.

The Anatolian Seljuk sultans were:

Kutalmish 1060-1077 Contended with Alp Arslan for succession to Great Seljuk throne.
Süleyman I bin Kutalmish 1077-1086 Founder of Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate with capital in İznik
Kilij Arslan I 1092-1107 First sultan in Konya
Melikshah 1107-1116 
Masud I 1116-1156 
'Izz al-Din Kilij Arslan II 1156-1192 
Giyath al-Din Kaykhusraw I 1192-1196 First reign
Rukn al-Din Suleymanshah II 1196-1204 
Kilij Arslan III 1204-1205 
Giyath al-Din Kaykhusraw I 1205-1211 Second reign
'Izz al-Din Kayka'us I 1211-1220 
'Ala al-Din Kayqubad I 1220-1237 
Giyath al-Din Kaykhusraw II 1237-1246 After his death, sultanate split until 1260 when Kilij Arslan IV remained the sole ruler
'Izz al-Din Kayka'us II 1246-1260 
Rukn al-Din Kilij Arslan IV 1248-1265 
'Ala al-Din Kayqubad II 1249-1257 
Giyath al-Din Kaykhusraw III 1265-1284 
Giyath al-Din Masud II 1284-1296 First reign
'Ala al-Din Kayqubad III 1298-1302
Giyath al-Din Masud II 1303-1308 Second reign

Rum Seljuks see Anatolian Seljuks
Seljuks see Anatolian Seljuks

Amirids

Amirids
Amirids.  The viceroys of the Spanish caliphate (r. 978-1009) and rulers of the taifa kingdom of Valencia from 1016 (1021?) to 1085. The Amirids were a Hispano-Arabic dynasty of Yemeni origins and the family of the viceroy, Muhammad ibn Abu Amir, known as al-Mansur (r. 978-1002), and his eldest son, 'Abd al-Malik (r. 1002-1008).   'Abd al-Malik led the Spanish caliphate to a final period of prosperity through successful military engagement in Spain (by capture of Barcelona in 985 and Santiago de Compostela in 997) and in the Maghreb (by capture of Fez in 986).  Following the murder in 1009 of al-Mansur’s younger son, Abd al-Rahman, who had sought the rank of caliph, his son, Abd al-Aziz (1021-1061), moved to Valencia (administered by client lords after 1016), where he and his descendants were recognized as rulers.  After being expelled from Toledo by the Dhun-Nunids (Dhu’l-Nunids), they were then ousted by them in 1085.  Amirid client rulers established several fiefdoms in southeastern Spain, including Almeria (1012-1041), Murcia and Denia (1019-1076), Tortosa (1038-1061), and on the Balearics (1019-1114).   

'Adil-Shah

‘Adil-Shah
‘Adil-Shah. Muslim dynasty which ruled over Bijapur (r. 1489-1686).  They were great patrons of art and literature.

The Adil Shah dynasty ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur in the Western area of the Deccan region of Southern India from 1489 to 1686.  Bijapur had been a province of the Bahmani Sultanate (1347-1518), before its political decline in the last quarter of the 15th century and eventual break-up in 1518.  The Bijapur Sultanate was absorbed into the Mughal Empire on September 12, 1686, after its conquest by the Emperor Aurangzeb.

'Abdali

'Abdali
'Abdali. Original name of the Durrani, the royal Pashtun tribe, located in the Kandahar area of Afghanistan.  They claim descent from Tarin and his youngest son Bar Tarin, or 'Abdal, hence their name 'Abdali.   The Abdalis were first mentioned in history in 1589 when the Safavid shah appointed Sado as their chief, entrusting him with the safe passage of long-distance trade from India.  The 'Abdalis remained in the Safavid orbit until 1717 when they declared themselves independent in Herat.  Defeated by Nadir Shah Afshar in 1732, the 'Abdalis were incorporated into his army and moved to Kandahar.  Upon Nadir Shah’s death in 1747, the 'Abdalis founded the Afghan state.  Later, in 1747, Pir Sabir Shah, a sufi shaikh, proclaimed Ahmad Khan of the 'Abdali tribe Badshah, Durr-i Dauran (“King, the Pearl of the Age”), which Ahmad Shah later changed to Durr-i Durran (“Pearl of Pearls”).  His 'Abdali tribe thereafter became known as the Durrani. 

The 'Abdalis (Durranis) have been prominent leaders, as the royal family of Afghanistan is derived from the tribe, and a substantial number of Durrani Pashtuns are bureaucrats and public officials, as well as businessmen and merchants.  The Durranis, like most Pashtuns, are of the Hanafi Sunni Muslim sect and continue to follow the Pashtun honor code known as Pashtunwali.
Durrani see 'Abdali.

'Abbasid

The 'Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the 'Abbasids, was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the 'Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region.

The 'Abbasid caliphate was founded by the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's youngest uncle, 'Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566-653), in Kufa in 750  and shifted its capital in 762 to Baghdad. Within 150 years of gaining control of Persia, the caliphs were forced to cede power to local dynastic emirs who only nominally acknowledged their authority. The caliphate also lost the Western provinces of al-Andalus, Maghreb and Ifriqiya to an Umayyad prince, the Aghlabids and the Fatimid Caliphate, respectively.

The 'Abbasids' rule was briefly ended for three years in 1258, when Hulagu Khan, the Mongol khan, sacked Baghdad, resuming in Mameluke Egypt in 1261, from where they continued to claim authority in religious matters until 1519, when power was formally transferred to the Ottoman Empire and the capital relocated to Constantinople.

The 'Abbasids held the caliphate from 749 to 1258, but they were recognized neither in Spain nor (after 787) west of Egypt. Under the Umayyad caliphs the 'Abbasids lived quietly until they became involved in numerous disputes, beginning early in the 8th century of the Christian calendar. The family then joined with the Shiite faction in opposing the Umayyads, and in 747 the gifted Abu Muslim united most of the empire in revolt against the Umayyads. The head of the 'Abbasid family became caliph as Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah late in 749. The last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, was defeated and killed and the Umayyad family nearly exterminated.  One surviving member fled to Spain, where the Umayyads came to rule. Under the second 'Abbasid caliph, called al-Mansur, the capital was moved from Damascus to Baghdad, and Persian influence grew strong in the empire. The early years of 'Abbasid rule were brilliant, rising to true splendor under Harun ar-Rashid, the fifth caliph, and to intellectual brilliance under his son al-Mamun, the seventh caliph. After less than a hundred years of rule, however, the slow decline of the 'Abbasids began. Long periods of disorder were marked by assassinations, depositions, control by Turkish soldiers, and other disturbances, and from the beginning of their reign there were rival caliphs.

In 836, the 'Abbasid capital was transferred to Samarra, remaining there until 892. Under the later 'Abbasids, the power of the caliphate became chiefly spiritual. Many independent kingdoms sprang up, and the empire split into autonomous units. The Seljuk Turks came to hold the real power at Baghdad. The conquests of Jenghiz Khan further lowered the prestige of the 'Abbasids, and in 1258 his grandson Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad and overthrew the 'Abbasid caliphate. The 37th caliph died in the disaster, but a member of the family escaped to Cairo, where he was recognized as caliph. The Cairo line of the 'Abbasid caliphate, completely subordinated to the Mamelukes, survived until after the Ottoman conquest (in 1517) of Egypt. 

The 'Abbasid dynasty lasted for almost eight centuries, with capitals at Baghdad (750-1258) and Cairo (1262-1517). The ‘Abbasids were from the Arab tribe of Banu al-'Abbas, whose lineage was said to descend from the Prophet’s uncle, al-‘Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. All the rulers of the ‘Abbasid dynasty were descendants of 'Abbas, Muhammad’s uncle, and it was through Muhammad ibn 'Ali, the great-grandson of al-‘Abbas that the ‘Abbasids laid claim to the Caliphate.

The early history of the ‘Abbasid family is obscure. Despite his close kinship to Muhammad, al-‘Abbas was a relatively late convert to Islam and was most likely not as socially prestigious as later ‘Abbasid historiography made him out to be. According to the traditional sources, the ‘Abbasids shared the conviction, out of which Shi‘ite Islam later developed, that the family of the prophet Muhammad (which the ‘Abbasids interpreted to include the whole clan of Hashim) was entitled to a special status in the Muslim community. The family, the "ahl al-bait", supposedly inherited from Muhammad a number of financial, social, religious, and political privileges that had been usurped from them and that they endeavored to recover. The most important and most controversial of these was that the legitimate political and spiritual authority of the caliphate/imamate belonged to a charismatic leader (known as "al-Rida") from the "ahl al-bait".



During the Umayyad period (661-750), a number of sectarian or factional movements supporting the right of one or another of Muhammad’s kinsmen to rule as his true successor appeared. The ‘Abbasid family, living in exile in the village of Humaima near the Dead Sea, reportedly gained control (around 716) of one of these sects, known as the Hashimiyya after their original leader (a distant relative of the ‘Abbasids), and managed to transform it into an active and successful conspiratorial, revolutionary organization. Presumably directed from Humaima by the ‘Abbasid family, one branch of the movement operated out of Kufa (a center of vaguely proto-Shi‘ite agitation) and another had its headquarters in Merv, the provincial capital of Khurasan.


The mission in Khurasan was composed of an inner circle of twelve chiefs (nuqaba) and numerous propagandists who fanned out through the province encouraging whatever anti-government sentiment they encountered, most often without explicitly stating their own objectives. In this way, the conspirators built up a large base of support, including armed followers, in the province.


By 747, the authority of the Umayyad dynasty was collapsing everywhere. In Khurasan, the new leader of the clandestine movement, Abu Muslim, involved the ‘Abbasid organization in a general revolt against the last Umayyad governor of Khurasan. After a few months of intrigue and combat, Abu Muslim succeeded in seizing control of the government in Khurasan, eliminating potential rivals, and raising an army that rapidly marched across the Iranian provinces into Iraq and crushed the remaining Umayyad forces. Under circumstances that are anything but clear, the clique of officers commanding the Khurasani forces then hailed as the new caliph a member of the ‘Abbasid family who had been in hiding in Kufa. The reign of this caliph, Abu al-‘Abbas, known as al-Saffah (r. 749-754), was rather weak and insecure. It was his brother and successor, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (r. 754-775), who managed to provide the dynasty with a solid foundation by disciplining the revolutionary forces, eliminating several too-powerful leaders of the 'Abbasid movement (including Abu Muslim), suppressing a variety of anti-‘Abbasid revolts, perfecting propaganda to legitimize ‘Abbasid claims to the caliphate, creating the great capital city of Baghdad, and developing a centralized imperial administration.


The significance of this ‘Abbasid “revolution” is a matter of considerable controversy. In some ways, there was not a dramatic break with the policies of the earlier Umayyad caliphs (for many of whom Mansur expressed admiration). As far as the ‘Abbasids were concerned, the key difference was probably that their dynasty had a religious legitimacy and right to rule that the Umayyads (and by extension other rivals) lacked. However, the advent of ‘Abbasid rule did coincide, deliberately or not, with a number of fundamental changes. These included the displacement of Arab tribesmen as the mainstay of the military forces, the “persianization” of the government in both the norms of statecraft and the numbers of Iranians holding government offices, and a shift in the focus of state concerns away from the Mediterranean and toward the east, hence the placement of the new capital in Iraq. In addition, urbanization and long-distance trade became more important, often to the detriment of the agricultural economy, and a more pronounced emphasis was placed on the Islamic nature of the society. In fact, it was primarily under the ‘Abbasids that Muslim arts, sciences, literature, law, and theology acquired their classical forms.

The 'Abbasid historical period lasting to the 1258 Mongol conquest of Baghdad 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 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 the House of Wisdom (Bayt ul-Hikma) in Baghdad. At the Bayt ul-Hikma, 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 the knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, North African, Greek and Byzantine civilizations.

The reigns of Harun al-Rashid (786–809) and his successors fostered an age of great intellectual achievement. In large part, this was the result of the schismatic forces that had undermined the Umayyad regime, which relied on the assertion of the superiority of Arab culture as part of its claim to legitimacy, and the 'Abbasids' welcoming of support from non-Arab Muslims. It is well established that the 'Abbasid caliphs modeled their administration on that of the Persian Sassanids.

A number of medieval thinkers and scientists living under Islamic rule played a role in transmitting Islamic science to the Christian West. Through 'Abbasid translation and preservation efforts, the 'Abbasids contributed to making Aristotle known in Christian Europe. In addition, the period saw the recovery of much of the Alexandrian mathematical, geometric and astronomical knowledge, such as that of Euclid and Claudius Ptolemy. These recovered mathematical methods were later enhanced and developed by other Islamic scholars, notably by Persian scientists Al-Biruni and Abu Nasr Mansur.

Algebra was significantly developed by Persian scientist Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī during this time in his landmark text, Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala, from which the term algebra is derived. He is thus considered to be the father of algebra by some, although the Greek mathematician Diophantus has also been given this title. The terms algorism and algorithm are derived from the name of al-Khwarizmi, who was also responsible for transmitting Arabic numerals and Hindu-Arabic numeral system beyond the Indian subcontinent.

Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) developed an early scientific method in his Book of Optics (1021). The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, which began among Muslim scientists. Ibn al-Haytham's empirical proof of the intromission theory of light (that is, that light rays entered the eyes rather than being emitted by them) was particularly important. Ibn al-Haytham has been called the "first scientist" because of his development of the scientific method.

Medicine in medieval Islam was an area of science that advanced particularly during the 'Abbasids' reign. During the ninth century of the Christian calendar, Baghdad contained over 800 doctors, and great discoveries in the understanding of anatomy and diseases were made. The clinical distinction between measles and smallpox was described during this time. The famous Persian scientist Ibn Sina (known to the West as Avicenna) produced treatises and works that summarized the vast amount of knowledge that scientists had accumulated.  Ibn Sina was very influential through his encyclopedias, The Canon of Medicine and The Book of Healing. The work of Ibn Sina and many others directly influenced the research of European scientists during the Renaissance.

Astronomy in medieval Islam was advanced by al-Battani, who improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the Earth's axis. The corrections made to the geocentric model by al-Battani, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi and Ibn al-Shatir were later incorporated into the Copernican heliocentric model. The astrolabe, though originally developed by the Greeks, was developed further by Islamic astronomers and engineers, and subsequently brought to medieval Europe.

Muslim alchemists influenced medieval European alchemists, particularly the writings attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber). A number of chemical processes such as distillation techniques were developed in the Muslim world and then spread to Europe.

The best known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights). The original concept is derived from pre-Islamic Iranian (Persian) prototype with reliance on Indian elements. It also includes stories from the rest of the Middle-Eastern and North African nations. The epic took form in the 10th century of the Christian calendar and reached its final form by the 14th century.  During its evolution, 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.

The epic of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights 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 Arabic poetry on romance was Layla and Majnun, which further developed mainly by Iranian, Azerbaijani and other poets in Persian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, and other Turk languages dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet.

Arabic poetry reached its greatest heights 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 the caliphal court in Baghdad during the early 9th century of the Christian calendar, while others such as al-Mutanabbi received their patronage from regional courts.

"Islamic philosophy" is commonly defined as being "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture." Islamic philosophy, under this definition, is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is it exclusively produced by Muslims.  Muslim 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 the spirit of ijtihad   -- the making of a decision in Islamic law (sharia) by personal effort (jihad), independently of any school (madhhab) of jurisprudence (fiqh). 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 Ibn Sina (Avicenna), combined Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam, and Avicennism was later established as a result. Other influential Muslim philosophers in the Caliphates include al-Jahiz, and Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen).

In technology, the Muslim world adopted papermaking from China. The use of paper spread from China into the Muslim world in the eighth century of the Christian calendar, arriving in Spain (and then the rest of Europe) in the 10th century. It was easier to manufacture than parchment, less likely to crack than papyrus, and could absorb ink, making it ideal for making records and making copies of the Qur'an. Islamic paper makers devised assembly-line methods of hand-copying manuscripts to turn out editions far larger than any available in Europe for centuries.  It was from Islam that the rest of the world learned to make paper from linen. 

The knowledge of gunpowder was also transmitted from China via Islamic countries, where the formulas for pure potassium nitrate and an explosive gunpowder effect were first developed.

Advances were made in irrigation and farming, using new technology such as the windmill. Crops such as almonds and citrus fruit were brought to Europe through al-Andalus, and sugar cultivation was gradually adopted by the Europeans. Apart from the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, navigable rivers were uncommon, so transport by sea was very important. Navigational sciences were highly developed, making use of a rudimentary sextant (known as a kamal). When combined with detailed maps of the period, Muslim sailors were able to sail across oceans rather than skirt along the coast. Muslim sailors were also responsible for reintroducing large three masted merchant vessels to the Mediterranean. The name caravel may derive from an earlier Arab boat known as the qārib.

Arab merchants dominated trade in the Indian Ocean until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. Hormuz was an important center for this trade. There was also a dense network of trade routes in the Mediterranean, along which Muslim countries traded with each other and with European powers such as Venice, Genoa and Catalonia. The Silk Road crossing Central Asia passed through Muslim states between China and Europe.

Muslim engineers in the Islamic world made a number of innovative industrial uses of hydropower, and early industrial uses of tidal power, wind power, and petroleum (notably by distillation into kerosene). The industrial uses of watermills in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-wheeled and vertical-wheeled water mills were both in widespread use since at least the 9th century. By the time of the Crusades, every province throughout the Islamic world had mills in operation, from al-Andalus and North Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia. These mills performed a variety of agricultural and industrial tasks.

Muslim engineers also developed machines (such as pumps) incorporating crankshafts, employed gears in mills and water-raising machines, and used dams to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines. Such advances made it possible for many industrial tasks that were previously driven by manual labor in ancient times to be mechanized and driven by machinery instead in the medieval Islamic world. It has been reported that the industrial use of waterpower had spread from Islamic to Christian Spain, where fulling mills, paper mills, and forge mills were recorded for the first time in Catalonia.

A number of industries were given birth during the Arab Agricultural Revolution, including early industries for textiles, sugar, rope-making, matting, silk, and paper. Latin translations of the 12th century passed on knowledge of chemistry and instrument making in particular. The agricultural and handicraft industries also experienced high levels of growth during this period.

While the Abbasids originally gained power by exploiting the social inequalities against non-Arabs in the Umayyad Empire, ironically during Abbasid rule the empire rapidly Arabized. As knowledge was shared in the Arabic language throughout the empire, people of different nationalities and religions began to speak Arabic in their everyday lives. Resources from other languages began to be translated into Arabic, and a unique Islamic identity began to form that fused previous cultures with Arab culture, creating a level of civilization and knowledge that was considered a marvel in Europe.

The dynasty finally ended with Al-Mutawakkil III, who was taken away as a prisoner, by Selim I, to Constantinople where he had a ceremonial role until his death in 1543.

A listing of the 'Abbasid caliphs and the years of their reigns reads as follows:

Caliphs of Baghdad

Abu'l Abbas As-Saffah 750–754

Al-Mansur 754–775

Al-Mahdi 775–785

Al-Hadi 785–786

Harun al-Rashid 786–809

Al-Amin 809–813

Al-Ma'mun 813–833

Al-Mu'tasim 833–842

Al-Wathiq 842–847

Al-Mutawakkil 847–861

Al-Muntasir 861–862

Al-Musta'in 862–866

Al-Mu'tazz 866–869

Al-Muhtadi 869–870

Al-Mu'tamid 870–892

Al-Mu'tadid 892–902

Al-Muktafi 902–908

Al-Muqtadir 908–932

Al-Qahir 932–934

Ar-Radi 934–940

Al-Muttaqi 940–944

Al-Mustakfi 944–946

Al-Muti 946–974

At-Ta'i 974–991

Al-Qadir 991–1031

Al-Qa'im 1031–1075

Al-Muqtadi 1075–1094

Al-Mustazhir 1094–1118

Al-Mustarshid 1118–1135

Ar-Rashid 1135–1136

Al-Muqtafi 1136–1160

Al-Mustanjid 1160–1170

Al-Mustadi 1170–1180

An-Nasir 1180–1225

Az-Zahir 1225–1226

Al-Mustansir 1226–1242

Al-Musta'sim 1242–1258

Caliphs of Cairo

Al-Mustansir 1261–1262

Al-Hakim I (Cairo) 1262–1302

Al-Mustakfi I of Cairo 1303–1340

Al-Wathiq I 1340–1341

Al-Hakim II 1341–1352

Al-Mu'tadid I 1352–1362

Al-Mutawakkil I 1362–1383

Al-Wathiq II 1383–1386

Al-Mu'tasim 1386–1389

Al-Mutawakkil I (restored) 1389–1406

Al-Musta'in 1406–1414

Al-Mu'tadid II 1414–1441

Al-Mustakfi II 1441–1451

Al-Qa'im 1451–1455

Al-Mustanjid 1455–1479

Al-Mutawakkil II 1479–1497

Al-Mustamsik 1497–1508

Al-Mutawakkil III 1508–1517