A dynasty and a new capital
The Abbasids took power in 750 after a revolt that overthrew the Umayyad dynasty. They were descendants of al-Abbas, an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, and they gained support from many groups who felt excluded under the Umayyads, including non-Arab Muslims, especially in Persia and the eastern provinces. After the victory, the early caliphs searched for a base away from Damascus.
In 762 the caliph al-Mansur began building a new city on the Tigris River, in what is now Iraq. The location was practical. It lay near the older Persian capital region, had access to river transport, and sat between farmland and trade routes. Accounts describe a circular plan with walls, a central area for the caliph’s palace and the main mosque, and gates opening onto roads to the provinces. Archaeological traces are limited because the modern city sits over the site, so much of our knowledge comes from later written descriptions, which may idealize it. Within a few decades the city spread beyond the round core into busy districts on both banks of the river.
The court
At its height, the caliph’s court was a place of ritual and display. Ceremonies kept visitors at a distance, and officials, poets, physicians and musicians competed for patronage. The stories about Harun al-Rashid, who ruled from 786 to 809, are partly shaped by later tales such as the collection known in English as the Arabian Nights, so historians separate the documented ruler from the legendary figure. His son al-Ma’mun (r. 813-833) is better known for supporting scholarship, a topic tied to the translation movement.
The court exchanged embassies and gifts with the Byzantine Empire and with distant rulers. It also served as a political arena. Rival princes, military commanders and officials struggled over succession, and disputes between sons could lead to civil war, as happened between al-Ma’mun and his brother after Harun’s death.
How rule was held
Governing a realm from Iberia’s edge to Central Asia’s borders was never easy, and the Abbasids relied on several tools.
- A bureaucracy. Departments handled taxes, correspondence, the army’s pay and public works. Many senior secretaries were trained in Persian administrative traditions. The vizier, a chief minister, could be among the most powerful people in the state. The Barmakid family, who served Harun al-Rashid, held great influence until the caliph removed them.
- Taxes. Revenue came mostly from land taxes, trade duties and the poll tax on non-Muslims. Iraq’s farmland was an important source of income, supported by irrigation canals that needed constant upkeep.
- Messengers and information. A state courier and postal network, known as the barid, carried official messages along roads. It also gave the caliph a channel for reports from local officials, which helped him check on governors.
- Governors and armies. Provincial governors collected revenue and kept order. The early Abbasid armies drew on forces from Khurasan in the east. Later caliphs came to depend on professional soldiers, many of them Turkish and often of slave origin, a decision that had major consequences.
- Religious legitimacy. The caliph presented himself as leader of the Muslim community, supported by scholars of religious law. Judges (qadis) applied Islamic law in the courts, and the state sometimes tried to impose doctrinal positions, as in the mid-ninth century inquiry into whether the Quran was created.
Paper, markets and the city’s life
Baghdad grew into an immense commercial center. Goods arrived from the Persian Gulf, Central Asia and the Mediterranean, and the wider spice trade fed its markets. Paper production, which reached the region in the eighth century, made it easier to copy books and to keep state records, and a book trade grew. Population estimates for the city vary widely, and anything stated precisely is uncertain, but it was certainly among the largest cities of its age. Markets, bathhouses, hospitals, mosques and schools shaped everyday life, and the scholars in the city came from many backgrounds, including Christians, Jews and Persians.
Losing control
From the ninth century the caliph’s practical power weakened. Provinces such as Egypt, Khurasan and North Africa came under governors who passed their positions to heirs. The Abbasids struggled with large revolts, including a long uprising of enslaved laborers in southern Iraq. In 836 the caliph al-Mu’tasim moved the court to Samarra, north of Baghdad, partly to separate his Turkish troops from the city’s residents. The caliphs returned later in the century, but the soldiers had become kingmakers, and some caliphs were deposed or killed.
In 945 the Buyids, a Shia dynasty from northern Iran, entered Baghdad and ruled in the caliph’s name. In the following century the Seljuk Turks displaced them, and gave the caliph some religious authority but kept the real power themselves. This reflects the larger Sunni and Shia divisions of the era. The caliph was still a respected symbol, and rulers sought his recognition.
The end in 1258
In 1258 a Mongol army led by Hulagu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, besieged Baghdad, and the city fell after a short siege. The last Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, al-Musta’sim, was killed. Sources describe widespread killing and destruction, but exact numbers differ and are widely regarded as uncertain. The event is discussed further in the article on the fall of Baghdad. Baghdad lost its political prominence in the wider Mongol conquests, and the Abbasid line continued only as figureheads under the Mamluks in Cairo.
Why it matters
The Abbasid caliphate showed that a large state could be held together through bureaucracy, a common religion and economic exchange, even when central military control weakened. It also showed the limits: a distant caliph could not command every province, and dependence on professional soldiers carried risks. The city’s reputation outlasted the state that built it.