Notes on the Abbasids

1. Do Now:
 Take a piece of paper from the counter
 Complete the following:
 Describe the role of Muslim leaders in the
expansion of the Muslim empire after
Muhammad’s death
(Think: Rightly Guided Caliphs and Umayyads)

2. Objectives
 Describe the role of Muslim leaders in
the expansion of the Muslim empire
after Muhammad’s death
 What were the Islamic influences and
achievements developed during
Muslim Empire’s “Golden Age”?

3. What happened after the Ambush?
Abbasid Caliphate
After the collapse
of Umayyad
control, the Muslim
Empire was split
into eastern and
western territories
ain)
im Sp
us (Musl
al- Andal

4. Who were the Abbasids?
 The Abbasids were Arabs who descended from
Muhammad’s family
 Settled in an area that was once part of the
Persian Empire.
 As a result they adopted Persian customs and
hired Persian officials to run the government
 They lived lives of luxury- in the example of old
Persian kings
 Valued learning and educational pursuits
 Began after the overthrow of the Umayyad
caliphs in 750 CE

5.  Capital moved to Baghdad, which
became an important cultural center of
Abbasid Power the Muslim Empire
 Due to poor leadership the Abbasid
Empire fell in the early 800’s
 The Abbasids held onto power in two
ways:
 By Using a Policy of Inclusion
 All Muslims whether Arab or non-
Arab were equal
 By Using Force:
 The Abbasids used a standing
army stationed at points
throughout the empire during
times of peace and war

6. A New Capital: Baghdad
 The Abbasids moved
the capital of the
Muslim Empire from
Damascus to
Baghdad in 762 C.E.
 The reason: to be
closer to the people
who supported the
Abbasids and gave
them power

7. A New Capital
 In 762, the Abbasid caliphs declared Baghdad as the
new capital of the Muslim empire
 Baghdad became the center of trade, culture, and
education in the Muslim world
 Located on the banks of the Tigris River and connected to the
Euphrates River by a canal
 1.5 million people lived there, measured 5 miles across, had
hundreds of mosques, and over 65,000 public bath houses
 Complex irrigation systems to support farming throughout the
city
 Gardens, racetracks, and pavilions
 Baghdad became the center of world trade
 The Islamic world became a mixture of cultures: Arab, Persian,
and various others from around the world

8. Baghdad Today

9. Abbasid Advances
 The Abbasid empire
was responsible for
advances in:
 Medicine
 Mathematics
 Literature and poetry
 Art
 Publishing

10. House of Wisdom
 IN the 830’s the
Abbasids opened
“House of Wisdom” in
Baghdad to meet the
demand for
knowledge
 Housed books on
subjects from all over
the world
 Translated works from
the Greek
philosophers Plato and
Aristotle
 Served as a center for

11. Literature
Literature by
Muslim writers
also began to
become more
and more
popular.
Books such as
“The Arabian
Nights ” were
written during this
period.

12. Mathematics and Science
 Muslim Scholars built
upon the ideas of ancient
Greeks, Egyptians, and
Indians(from India)
 Al-Khwarizmi (born780)
borrowed the numerical
system from Indian
Scholars= Arabic
numbering system which
we still use today
 He also published a set of
calculations which
resulted in Addition

13. Mathematics and Science
 al-Razi wrote about
diseases such as
small pox and
measles. He also
published a series of
medical
encyclopedias, which
included drawings of
human anatomy

14. Hospitals
 Hospitals were set up
throughout the empire
 Treated poor people who
couldn’t pay
 The Hospital in Baghdad
was a teaching hospital
 By 931 Doctors had to
pass examinations in
order to practice

15. The Decline of the
Abbasids
750-1258

16. Essential Question
What challenges led to the decline
of the Abbasid rule?

17. Poor Leadership
 The decline of the Abbasid empire was the result
of economic, social, and political problems of
their own making
 As early as the 800’s the Abbasid rule was
challenged by factions
 Some Abbasid caliphs were found of living a life
of luxury and neglecting their responsibilities
(sounds familiar)
 They did little to protect merchants from attacks,
which hurt trade (a major source of income for
the caliphs), so they raised taxes to make up for
the loss of income

18. Fatimid Revolt
 A group which claimed to be related to
Muhammad’s daughter Fatima
 Challenged the Abbasid rule because they
disliked the extravagant lifestyle of the Abbasid
caliphs
 They drove the Abbasids out of the land which is
Egypt and Tunisia today
 Set up their own caliphate in Northern Africa
 By the 960’s they ruled most of Northern Africa

19. The Seljuk Turks
 1055 the Seljuk Turks from Central Asia
captured Baghdad
 The Seljuk leader became ruler of the empire
and allowed the Abbasid caliph to remain a
religious leader
 Over time the Seljuks converted to Islam,
expanded the size of their empire, and by 1071
captured Jerusalem
 By the late 1090’s threatened the Byzantine
capital Constantinople, which resulted in a
military response by the Christians (Crusades)

20. Mongols Capture Baghdad
 In 1258 the Mongols, lead by
Ghangis Khan, overran
Baghdad destroying the city
 The Mongols murdered over
200,000 people
 The claimed that they would
end corruption in the city
 They allowed the remaining
population of the empire to
keep their religion and
eventually the Mongols
converted to Islam
 The Abbasid caliph was
murdered and with his death
came the end of the Abbasid
Empire

21. Review Question
 Why did the Abbasid rule come to an end?