ABBASID REVOLUTION AND POLITY (CALIPHATE)

(Abbasid Revolution: short the details according to question)

Before the rise of Abbasids and beginning of Abbasid Revolution, the Umayyad
Caliphate dominated the Islamic world, however, within less than a century of its in-
ception the Umayyads declined due to civil war, rebellions, and military defeats. Its
weakening became a chance to the enemies of the Umayyad Dynasty, especially the
Shia Muslims who believed that relatives of the Prophets should take the helm of the
Islamic community and they continuously plotted to topple the ruling Caliphate. Be-
sides the Shia Muslims, another sect sought to undermine the leadership of the
Umayyads were the Kharijite that emerged along after the First Fitna promoted
equality among races and gave all opportunity to be an Imam or leader of the Islamic
Caliphate. Although united by the religion of Islam, ethnic divide prevailed within
the vast caliphate with the Arabs being in the top of the social hierarchy after a wave
of urbanisation policies in the early 8th century the non-Arab Muslim suffered as sec-
ond-class citizens. Urbanisation also led to racial segregation which led to separation
between Mawali and Arabs during worship, discrimination in civil and military ser-
vice, and prohibition of intermarriage despite the fact that majority of the population
of the Caliphate were non-Arabs. Tribal rivalry turned some Arab tribes against the
Caliphate, Arab soldiers who failed to receive pensions from the Caliphate also fell in
disillusioned. With Umayyad society filling with discontent and dismay, revolution
became imminent.
Along with the rising unpopularity of the Umayyad Caliphate, a faction of Shia
Muslims and the Abbasids, plotted. The Abbasids claimed descent from the uncle of
the Prophet Mohammed, Abbas. They supported the claim of the descendants of the
son of Caliph Ali Mohammed bin al-Hanafiyyah and his son Abu Hashim who at-
tacked the Umayyad. The Hasmiyyah (supporters of Hashim) though faced a leader-
ship transition when Abu Hashim passed away but the Abbasids claimed that Abu
Hashim transferred to them the leadership of Islamic community in the early 8th cen-
tury and Mohammed bin Ali and his son Ibrahim took over the Hashimiyyah network
and among their followers was Abu Muslim who he gained the support of many by
touching the issues of many sectors of the Umayyad society like for the Shia, he pre-
sented the Abbasids as bringers of justice for the death of Hussain, for the Kharijites,
opportunity to fight the corrupt and unjust Umayyad rule and for the Mawali, he of-
fered the Abbasids to bring equality and the fall of Arab domination over the majority
non-Arab population. His Persian background provided more credibility to this prom-
ise. He also gained the support of Arab tribes that rivalled the Umayyads thus the Ab-
basid revolution got support by promising to right the wrongs of the corrupt and dis-
criminating Umayyad Caliphate.
When Marwan II won the civil war that led to his ascension as Caliph, the Ab-
basids sensed their moment and the revolt began as the revolution raged. The
Umayyads imprisoned Ibrahim who sent Abu Muslim to revolt, but even with the im-
prisonment of the head of the Abbasid cause, the revolt spread growing into a revolu-
tion against the Caliphate. Abu Muslim was appointed the new head of the Abbasids,
Then there was battle between Abbasids and Umayyads with Abbasid becoming vic-
torious forcing Caliph Marwan II to step down and later Al-Abbas son of Abu Mus-
lim killed other princes of Umayyad.
The death of the Umayyad princes marked the start of the Abbasid rule. The
Abbasids presented their ascendancy as a Dawala or change – a revolution as argued
by Jonathan Berkley.
After their victory they made true to the promise of equality among races, erasing the
dominance of Arabic culture in the Islamic community. But scholars like Jonathan
Berkley argued that at that time there was no such ethnicity like Shias and they may
have been proto-Shia and he said that the revolution was towards formation of Islam.

(Polity/Caliphates)

Thus Abbasid power came to be based entirely on the support of their

Khurasani soldiery. They were able to assert their authority by restoring peace and
order and by working out compromises with the various groups who had opposed the
Umayyads.
Salim Kidwai explains that the Abbasids then shifted their capital to a new site
and built the city of Baghdad and the shifting of the capital from Damascus to Bagh-
dad was due to conflict between Syria and Iraq. It indicated that now the dominance
of Syria in the affairs of the caliphate was ending and under the Abbasids, no prov-
ince barring Syria was discriminated. They also tried to remove the differential treat-
ment of Arabs and the Mawalis and the opposition from the religious elements was
diffused by them by appointing their learned critics to represent the legal system and
by patronising the Islamic learning, they also widened the base of their power by in-
troducing non-Arabs into the ruling class. The Caliphs now also started building up
autocratic traditions, like their predecessor Sassanian, they even tried to incorporate
the mystic aura of divine glory that the Sassanian rulers had assumed into their politi-
cal behaviour by assuming titles such as “Shadow of God on Earth”. Now the Caliphs
became more and more unapproachable with the courtiers forming an effective co-
coon around them that further increased the distance between the rulers and their sub-
jects. Marshal Hodgson argues that even rituals like kissing the ground before the
caliphs was introduced and the Caliph could also dispense justice. And the piety
minded groups under Abbasid were presented with alternatives to continue their op-
position but on some new historical basis or to accept the settlement offered by the
Abbasid and gradually majority accepted the settlement offered and adopted the black
robes that was the emblem of the dynasty. Abbasids achieved the absolutist state that
Umayyads were trying to built.
Saffah or Abbas, the first Abbasid caliph, began his reign
by slaughter of every member of the Umayyad family. He was succeeded by his
brother al Mansur whose reign saw the betrayal of the main supporters of the Ab-
basid, the Shias, most of the prominent Shias were killed and a Shia uprising in
Mecca was suppressed. Kidwai says he also tightened his hold over the administra-
tion of the empire through a closely controlled bureaucracy that had spies who kept
track of all sources of potential trouble, the financial affairs of the empire were organ-
ised under the supervision of one trusted aide that soon became permanent in the
form of the Wazir. And in terms of fiscal arrangements, they continued with the pol-
icy of Hallaj of heavy investments in Iraq, as commerce was crucial to state income.
Trade was encouraged by expansion of the empire and the reason Baghdad was cho-
sen as the capital was not only because of its control on Iraq but also because it was
situated on major land and river trade routes. Baghdad was also different from the
early Islamic cities as it was not organised on tribal basis and it became the cultural
and economic centre of the caliphate. During his reign Spain also broke away.
Then Al Mansur was succeeded by his son al Mahdi under
whom the financial organisation of the state was improved and attempts were made at
reconciling the Shia opposition, he also faced another threat from Manichaeism. To-
wards the end of his reign there was a Umayyad revolt in Egypt and a Shia revolt in
Arabia that he crushed successfully. The next reign was that of al Hadi and it was a
brief one.
He was succeeded by his brother Harn al Rashid who’s
period was known for its splendour and grandeur as by now the government was
largely left in the hands of the wazir who controlled their departments through secre-
taries and the family of administrators. The Barmakids, came to dominate over the
administration later Harun resented the powers accumulated in the hands of this fam-
ily and the Barmakids fell, this had serious problem as the caliphate were depended
on administrators for governing the empire and now there was constant search for
loyal administrators. Harun had interest in art and he encouraged music and poetry.
Baghdad also became the centre for the study of natural sciences and metaphysics
and even important works of astronomy, medicine and mathematics were translated
from Greek and Sanskrit and the rich in Baghdad now began living in a luxurious
style and this cultural flowering was only possible because of the rapid economic de-
velopment that was taking place and because of the efficiency of the state machinery
to channelise increasing resources and there was formation of an empire encompass-
ing all the major trade routes leading to the growth of commercial activities, with the
increasing commerce, urbanisation also spread and eventually Baghdad became a ma-
jor commercial centre and continued to flourish even when it was abandoned as the
capital. Economic development was accelerated because of the development of the
absolutist state. This economic growth led to a further absolutism of the state.
Hodgson says that the commerce flourished because of the peace that was established
within the empire that allowed merchants to carry merchandise of high value with
safety and there was also number of flourishing ports and markets, banking and credit
facilities also developed. Money was also being invested in handicraft industries, pa-
per making technology was also imported from China and soon paper replaced pa-
pyrus leaves there was production of a large variety of textiles. The peace provided
by the autocratic state activated commercial expansion and the commercial expansion
in turn strengthened the absolutist state by increasing its income. The economic de-
velopments had its effect on religion, vast numbers people migrating to the towns for
commercial activities found it convenient to convert and these new converts carried
into Islam the cultural traditions of their former religions and now the towns became
predominantly muslim and Islam was no longer the privilege of the Arabs but became
a way of life for the masses.
Before dying Harun made a crucial decision, he decided to
divide his empire between his two sons with Al Amin receiving the Fertile Crescent
and the western provinces and the title of caliph and another son Al Mamun received
Khurasan and the eastern provinces along with full autonomy and an army. And this
decision nearly wrecked the state structure built with such effort, there was a civil
war where Al Amin was killed and Al Mamun was proclaimed Caliphate. He had to
face persistent problems of opposition from the Shias and others and his reliance on
his Khurasani soldiery and decision to stay away from Baghdad led the city to revolt
though Mamun crushed the rebellion but he agreed to come back to the city and
meanwhile provincial governors who had been given greater powers and resources to
crush rebellions started behaving like independent rulers.
Al Mutasim who succeeded his brother tried to free himself
from the dependence on the governors and their armies and his own Khurasan army
that was the mainstay of the Caliph’s military might, he started purchasing slaves and
thought he could rely on the cohesive military unit which was totally dependent on
him and therefore loyal to him and even the slaves being Turks would have no links
with local populations. Another major step which he took that deepened the crisis of
the empire was the shifting of his capital to Samarra, that led to loosing his hold over
the state and the dependence of the Caliphs on their slave troops increased further
under the next caliph, Al Wasiq.
The Sawad, the major agricultural area in Iraq and a major source of state income
started losing its productivity as there was lack of irrigation and the decrease in rev-
enue of the empire was complimented by increasing expenditure of the state caused
by the spread of factional fighting and the central control weakened, and due to the
shortage of income corruption among the officers increased further weakening the
state further. And now the factional groups within the slave corps started to compete
for power and the Caliphs increasingly became pawns in their struggle for power.
Mutawakkil designated his three young sons as his suc-
cessors and divided the empire and their commanders were given iqtas or revenue
grants within the provinces that had only been given to royal relatives for civil func-
tions.
The tenth century, saw serious troubles brewing within the economy of the empire
and there was economic crisis, peasants revolted against landlords and authority and
the Turkish slave soldiers added to the problems and the central authority could not
maintain the order and surrendered the power to the Turkish generals. Earlier the
Caliphs had tried every means to of raising cash for their military needs like tax-
farming, auctioning of offices, sale of crown lands and confiscation of property. By
the time of Caliph Mamun the military branch of the empire had come to dominate
completely over the civil and the money that came from the tax farms was insuffi-
cient to pay the army and eventually the central treasury was empty and the military
iqta was the only way in which the provinces could be governed. Declining law and
order also threatened trade because caravans were often targets of attack thus the mil-
itary governors were instructed to protect trade.
 Thus decline of the central authority was reflected in the se-
ries of disturbances which the caliphs had great difficulty in quelling. The new move-
ments against the caliphs tended to be concentrated in territorial blocks and the popu-
lations preferred an effective local governor to an ineffective and distant caliph. In
the ninth century the Aghlabids had become independent in Tunisia then they were
replaced by the Fatimids. The Tulunids and Ikhshidid had ruled successfully over
Egypt but in the second half of the tenth century the Fatimids gained control of
Egypt, then Zaydi Shias had established their independent rule in the Yemen and var-
ious other, finally Buyids who had originated in the lands south of the Caspian Sea
occupied Baghdad and made the caliph their puppet. The Caliphal state from now on
ceased to exist as an independent entity.