Abbasid Caliphate | ||||||||||||||||||||
ٱلْخِلافَةُ ٱلْعَبَّاسِيَّة | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Abbasid Caliphate at its greatest extent, c. 850.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Capital |
Kufa (750–762) Baghdad (762–796, 809–836, 892–1258) Raqqa (796–809) Samarra (836–892) Cairo (1261–1517) |
|||||||||||||||||||
Languages | Arabic (central administration); various regional languages | |||||||||||||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam | |||||||||||||||||||
Government | Caliphate | |||||||||||||||||||
Caliph | ||||||||||||||||||||
• | 750–754 | As-Saffah (first) | ||||||||||||||||||
• | 1242–1258 | Al-Musta'sim (last Caliph in Baghdad) | ||||||||||||||||||
• | 1508–1517 | al-Mutawakkil III (last Caliph in Cairo) | ||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||
• | Established | 750 | ||||||||||||||||||
• | Disestablished | 1517 | ||||||||||||||||||
Currency |
Dinar (gold coin) Dirham (silver coin) Fals (copper coin) |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
The Abbasid Caliphate (/əˈbæsɪd/ or /ˈæbəsɪd/ Arabic: ٱلْخِلافَةُ ٱلْعَبَّاسِيَّة al-Khilāfatu al-‘Abbāsīyah) was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammad's youngest uncle, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its name. They ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 CE (132 AH).
The Abbasid caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, near the Sasanian capital city of Ctesiphon. The Abbasid period was marked by reliance on Persian bureaucrats, most notably of the Barmakid family, to govern the territories conquered by Arab Muslims, as well as an increasing inclusion of non-Arab Muslims in the ummah. Persianate customs were broadly adopted by the ruling elite, and they started supporting artists and scholars. Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and invention during the Golden Age of Islam.