Rise of regional powers[edit]

Regional powers born out of the fragmentation of the Abbasid caliphate

The Abbasids soon became caught in a three-way rivalry among Coptic Arabs, Indo-Persians,

and immigrant Turks.[104] In addition, the cost of running a large empire became too great.[105] The
Turks, Egyptians, and Arabs adhered to the Sunnite sect; the Persians, a great portion of the
Turkic groups, and several of the princes in India were Shia. The political unity of Islam began
to disintegrate. Under the influence of the Abbasid caliphs, independent dynasties appeared in
the Muslim world and the caliphs recognized such dynasties as legitimately Muslim. The first
was the Tahirid dynasty in Khorasan, which was founded during the caliph Al-Ma'mun's reign.
Similar dynasties included the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids and Seljuqs. During this time,
advancements were made in the areas of astronomy, poetry, philosophy, science, and
mathematics.[106]

High Baghdad Abbasids[edit]

Early Middle Ages

Upon Al-Amin's death, Al-Ma'mun became Caliph. Al-Ma'mun extended the Abbasid empire's

territory during his reign and dealt with rebellions.[107] Al-Ma'mun had been named governor of
Khurasan by Harun, and after his ascension to power, the caliph named Tahir as governor of his
military services in order to assure his loyalty. Tahir and his family became entrenched in Iranian
politics and became powerful, frustrating Al-Ma'mun's desire to centralize and strengthen
Caliphal power. The rising power of the Tahirid dynasty became a threat as Al-Ma'mun's own
policies alienated them and other opponents.
Al-Ma'mun worked to centralize power and ensure a smooth succession. Al-Mahdi proclaimed
that the caliph was the protector of Islam against heresy, and also claimed the ability to declare
orthodoxy. Religious scholars averred that Al-Ma'mun was overstepping his bounds in
the Mihna, the Abbasid inquisition which he introduced in 833 four months before he died.
[108]
 The Ulama emerged as a force in Islamic politics during Al-Ma'mun's reign for opposing the
inquisitions. The Ulema and the major Islamic law schools took shape in the period of Al-
Ma'mun. In parallel, Sunnism became defined as a religion of laws. Doctrinal differences
between Sunni and Shi'a Islam became more pronounced.

During the Al-Ma'mun regime, border wars increased. Al-Ma'mun made preparations for a major
campaign, but died while leading an expedition in Sardis. Al-Ma'mun gathered scholars of many
religions at Baghdad, whom he treated well and with tolerance. He sent an emissary to the
Byzantine Empire to collect the most famous manuscripts there, and had them translated into
Arabic.[109] His scientists originated alchemy. Shortly before his death, during a visit to Egypt in
832, the caliph ordered the breaching of the Great Pyramid of Giza to search for knowledge and
treasure. Workers tunnelled in near where tradition located the original entrance. Al-Ma'mun
later died near Tarsus under questionable circumstances and was succeeded by his half-
brother, Al-Mu'tasim, rather than his son, Al-Abbas ibn Al-Ma'mun.

As Caliph, Al-Mu'tasim promptly ordered the dismantling of al-Ma'mun's military base at Tyana.
He faced Khurramite revolts. One of the most difficult problems facing this Caliph was the
ongoing uprising of Babak Khorramdin. Al-Mu'tasim overcame the rebels and secured a
significant victory. Byzantine emperor Theophilus launched an attack against Abbasid fortresses.
Al-Mu'tasim sent Al-Afshin, who met and defeated Theophilus' forces at the Battle of Anzen. On
his return he became aware of a serious military conspiracy which forced him and his successors
to rely upon Turkish commanders and ghilman slave-soldiers (foreshadowing
the Mamluk system). The Khurramiyyah were never fully suppressed, although they slowly
declined during the reigns of succeeding Caliphs. Near the end of al-Mu'tasim's life there was an
uprising in Palestine, but he defeated the rebels.

During Al-Mu'tasim's reign, the Tahirid dynasty continued to grow in power. The Tahirids were
exempted from many tribute and oversight functions. Their independence contributed to Abbasid
decline in the east. Ideologically, al-Mu'tasim followed his half-brother al-Ma'mun. He continued
his predecessor's support for the Islamic Mu'tazila sect, applying brutal torture against the
opposition. Arab mathematician Al-Kindi was employed by Al-Mu'tasim and tutored the
Caliph's son. Al-Kindi had served at the House of Wisdom and continued his studies in Greek
geometry and algebra under the caliph's patronage.[110]

Al-Wathiq succeeded his father. Al-Wathiq dealt with opposition in Arabia, Syria, Palestine and
in Baghdad. Using a famous sword he personally joined the execution of the Baghdad rebels.
The revolts were the result of an increasingly large gap between Arab populations and the
Turkish armies. The revolts were put down, but antagonism between the two groups grew, as
Turkish forces gained power. He also secured a captive exchange with the Byzantines. Al-
Wathiq was a patron of scholars, as well as artists. He personally had musical talent and is
reputed to have composed over one hundred songs.[111]

Minaret at the Great Mosque of Samarra.

When Al-Wathiq died of high fever, Al-Mutawakkil succeeded him. Al-Mutawakkil's reign is

remembered for many reforms and is viewed as a golden age. He was the last great Abbasid
caliph; after his death the dynasty fell into decline. Al-Mutawakkil ended the Mihna. Al-
Mutawakkil built the Great Mosque of Samarra[112] as part of an extension of Samarra eastwards.
During his reign, Al-Mutawakkil met famous Byzantine theologian Constantine the Philosopher,
who was sent to strengthen diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Caliphate
by Emperor Michael III. Al-Mutawakkil involved himself in religious debates, as reflected in his
actions against minorities. The Shīʻi faced repression embodied in the destruction of the shrine of
Hussayn ibn ʻAlī, an action that was ostensibly carried out to stop pilgrimages. Al-Mutawakkil
continued to rely on Turkish statesmen and slave soldiers to put down rebellions and lead battles
against foreign empires, notably capturing Sicily from the Byzantines. Al-Mutawakkil was
assassinated by a Turkish soldier.

Al-Muntasir succeeded to the Caliphate on the same day with the support of the Turkish faction,
though he was implicated in the murder. The Turkish party had al-Muntasir remove his brothers
from the line of succession, fearing revenge for the murder of their father. Both brothers wrote
statements of abdication. During his reign, Al-Muntasir removed the ban on pilgrimage to the
tombs of Hassan and Hussayn and sent Wasif to raid the Byzantines. Al-Muntasir died of
unknown causes. The Turkish chiefs held a council to select his successor, electing Al-Musta'in.
The Arabs and western troops from Baghdad were displeased at the choice and attacked.
However, the Caliphate no longer depended on Arabian choice, but depended on Turkish
support. After the failed Muslim campaign against the Christians, people blamed the Turks for
bringing disaster on the faith and murdering their Caliphs. After the Turks besieged Baghdad,
Al-Musta'in planned to abdicate to Al-Mu'tazz but was put to death by his order. Al-Mu'tazz was
enthroned by the Turks, becoming the youngest Abbasaid Caliph to assume power.

High Abbasids
Jurisprudence

Four constructions of Islamite law

 Abu Hanifa (Iraq teacher)

 Malik bin Anas (Medina
Imam)
 Muhammad ibn Idris ash-
Shafi`i (Egyptian Iman)
  Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Baghdad
teacher)
Early Abbasids
Literature and Science
 Hunayn ibn Ishaq, physician,
Greek translator;
 Ibn Fadlan, explorer;
 Al Battani, astronomer;
 Tabari, historian and
theologian;
 Al-Razi, philosopher, medic,
chemist;
 Al-Farabi, chemist and
philosopher;
 Abu Nasr Mansur,
mathematician;
 Alhazen, mathematician;
 Al-Biruni, mathematician,
astronomer, physicist;
 Omar Khayyám, poet,
mathematician, and astronomer;
 Mansur Al-Hallaj, Sufism
mystic, writer and teacher

Al-Mu'tazz proved too apt a pupil of his Turkish masters, but was surrounded by parties jealous
of each other. At Samarra, the Turks were having problems with the "Westerns" (Berbers
and Moors), while the Arabs and Persians at Baghdad, who had supported al-Musta'in, regarded
both with equal hatred. Al-Mu'tazz put his brothers Al-Mu'eiyyad and Abu Ahmed to death. The
ruler spent recklessly, causing a revolt of Turks, Africans, and Persians for their pay. Al-Mu'tazz
was brutally deposed shortly thereafter. Al-Muhtadi became the next Caliph. He was firm and
virtuous compared to the earlier Caliphs, though the Turks held the power. The Turks killed him
soon after his ascension. Al-Mu'tamid followed, holding on for 23 years, though he was largely a
ruler in name only. After the Zanj Rebellion, Al-Mu'tamid summoned al-Muwaffak to help him.
Thereafter, Al-Muwaffaq ruled in all but name. The Hamdanid dynasty was founded by Hamdan
ibn Hamdun when he was appointed governor of Mardin in Anatolia by the Caliphs in 890. Al-
Mu'tamid later transferred authority to his son, al-Mu'tadid, and never regained power.
The Tulunids became the first independent state in Islamic Egypt, when they broke away during
this time.

Al-Mu'tadid ably administered the Caliphate. Egypt returned to allegiance and Mesopotamia was
restored to order. He was tolerant towards Shi'i, but toward the Umayyad community he was not
so just. Al-Mu'tadid was cruel in his punishments, some of which are not surpassed by those of
his predecessors. For example, the Kharijite leader at Mosul was paraded about Baghdad clothed
in a robe of silk, of which Kharijites denounced as sinful, and then crucified. Upon Al-Mu'tadid's
death, his son by a Turkish slave-girl, Al-Muktafi, succeeded to the throne.

Al-Muktafi became a favourite of the people for his generosity, and for abolishing his father's
secret prisons, the terror of Baghdad. During his reign, the Caliphate overcame threats such as
the Carmathians. Upon Al-Muktafi's death, the vazir next chose Al-Muqtadir. Al-Muqtadir's
reign was a constant succession of thirteen Vazirs, one rising on the fall or assassination of
another. His long reign brought the Empire to its lowest ebb. Africa was lost, and Egypt nearly.
Mosul threw off its dependence, and the Greeks raided across the undefended border. The East
continued to formally recognise the Caliphate, including those who virtually claimed
independence.

At the end of the Early Baghdad Abbasids period, Empress Zoe Karbonopsina pressed for an
armistice with Al-Muqtadir and arranged for the ransom of the Muslim prisoner [113] while the
Byzantine frontier was threatened by Bulgarians. This only added to Baghdad's disorder. Though
despised by the people, Al-Muqtadir was again placed in power after upheavals. Al-Muqtadir
was eventually slain outside the city gates, whereupon courtiers chose his brother al-Qahir. He
was even worse. Refusing to abdicate, he was blinded and cast into prison.

His son Ar-Radi took over only to experience a cascade of misfortune. Praised for his piety, he
became the tool of the de facto ruling Minister, Ibn Raik (amir al-umara; 'Amir of the Amirs').
Ibn Raik held the reins of government and his name was joined with the Caliph's in public
prayers. Around this period, the Hanbalis, supported by popular sentiment, set up in fact a kind
of 'Sunni inquisition'. Ar-Radi is commonly regarded as the last of the real Caliphs: the last to
deliver orations at the Friday service, to hold assemblies, to commune with philosophers, to
discuss the questions of the day, to take counsel on the affairs of State; to distribute alms, or to
temper the severity of cruel officers. Thus ended the Early Baghdad Abbasids.

In the late mid-930s, the Ikhshidids of Egypt carried the Arabic title "Wali" reflecting their
position as governors on behalf of the Abbasids, The first governor (Muhammad bin Tughj Al-
Ikhshid) was installed by the Abbasid Caliph. They gave him and his descendants the Wilayah
for 30 years. The last name Ikhshid is Soghdian for "prince".

Also in the 930s, 'Alī ibn Būyah and his two younger brothers, al-Hassan and Aḥmad founded

the Būyid confederation. Originally a soldier in the service of the Ziyārīds of Ṭabaristān, 'Alī was
able to recruit an army to defeat a Turkish general from Baghdad named Yāqūt in 934. Over the
next nine years the three brothers gained control of the remainder of the caliphate, while
accepting the titular authority of the caliph in Baghdad. The Būyids made large territorial
gains. Fars and Jibal were conquered. Central Iraq submitted in 945, before the Būyids
took Kermān (967), Oman (967), the Jazīra (979), Ṭabaristān (980), and Gorgan (981). After this
the Būyids went into slow decline, with pieces of the confederation gradually breaking off and
local dynasties under their rule becoming de facto independent.[114]

Middle Baghdad Abbasids[edit]

Early High Middle Ages

Dirham of Al-Muttaqi

At the beginning of the Middle Baghdad Abbasids, the Caliphate had become of little
importance. The amir al-umara Bajkam contented himself with dispatching his secretary to
Baghdad to assemble local dignitaries to elect a successor. The choice fell on Al-Muttaqi.
Bajkam was killed on a hunting party by marauding Kurds. In the ensuing anarchy in Baghdad,
Ibn Raik persuaded the Caliph to flee to Mosul where he was welcomed by the Hamdanids. They
assassinated Ibn Raik. Hamdanid Nasir al-Dawla advanced on Baghdad, where mercenaries and
well-organised Turks repelled them. Turkish general Tuzun became amir al-umara. The Turks
were staunch Sunnis. A fresh conspiracy placed the Caliph in danger. Hamdanid troops helped
ad-Daula escape to Mosul and then to Nasibin. Tuzun and the Hamdanid were stalemated. Al-
Muttaqi was at Raqqa, moving to Tuzun where he was deposed. Tuzun installed the blinded
Caliph's cousin as successor, with the title of Al-Mustakfi. With the new Caliph, Tuzun attacked
the Buwayhid dynasty and the Hamdanids. Soon after, Tuzun died, and was succeeded by one of
his generals, Abu Ja'far. The Buwayhids then attacked Baghdad, and Abu Ja'far fled into hiding
with the Caliph. Buwayhid Sultan Muiz ud-Daula assumed command forcing the Caliph into
abject submission to the Amir. Eventually, Al-Mustakfi was blinded and deposed. The city fell
into chaos, and the Caliph's palace was looted.[115]

Significant Middle Abbasid

Muslims

 Ibn Rushd (Averroes),
philosopher;
 al-Farabi, Persian (Soghdian)
philosopher;
 Al-Mutanebbi, Arabic poet;
 Abu Ali Husain ibn Abdallah
ibn Sina (Avicenna), physician,
philosopher, and scientist

Once the Buwayhids controlled Baghdad, Al-Muti became caliph. The office was shorn of real
power and Shi'a observances were established. The Buwayhids held on Baghdad for over a
century. Throughout the Buwayhid reign the Caliphate was at its lowest ebb, but was recognized
religiously, except in Iberia. Buwayhid Sultan Mu'izz al-Dawla was prevented from raising a
Shi'a Caliph to the throne by fear for his own safety, and fear of rebellion, in the capital and
beyond.[116]

The next Caliph, Al-Ta'i, reigned over factional strife in Syria among the Fatimids, Turks, and
Carmathians. The Hideaway dynasty also fractured. The Abbasid borders were the defended only
by small border states. Baha' al-Dawla, the Buyid amir of Iraq, deposed al-Ta'i in 991 and
proclaimed al-Qadir the new caliph.[117]

During al-Qadir's Caliphate, Mahmud of Ghazni looked after the empire. Mahmud of Ghazni, of

Eastern fame, was friendly towards the Caliphs, and his victories in the Indian Empire were
accordingly announced from the pulpits of Baghdad in grateful and glowing terms. Al-Qadir
fostered the Sunni struggle against Shiʿism and outlawed heresies such as the Baghdad
Manifesto and the doctrine that the Quran was created. He outlawed the Muʿtazila, bringing an
end to the development of rationalist Muslim philosophy. During this and the next
period, Islamic literature, especially Persian literature, flourished under the patronage of the
Buwayhids.[118] By 1000, the global Muslim population had climbed to about 4 percent of the
world, compared to the Christian population of 10 percent.

During Al-Qa'im's reign, the Buwayhid ruler often fled the capital and the Seljuq dynasty gained
power. Toghrül overran Syria and Armenia. He then made his way into the Capital, where he
was well-received both by chiefs and people. In Bahrain, the Qarmatian state collapsed in Al-
Hasa. Arabia recovered from the Fatimids and again acknowledged the spiritual jurisdiction of
the Abbasids. Al-Muqtadi was honoured by the Seljuq Sultan Malik-Shah I, during whose reign
the Caliphate was recognized throughout the extending range of Seljuq conquest. The Sultan was
critical of the Caliph's interference in affairs of state, but died before deposing the last of the
Middle Baghdad Abbasids.[119]