List of Abbasid

caliphs

The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of

the Islamic title of caliph who were
members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch
of the Quraysh tribe descended from the
uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad,
al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The family came to power in the Abbasid
Revolution in 748–750, supplanting the
Umayyad Caliphate. They were the rulers
of the Abbasid Caliphate, as well as the
generally recognized ecumenical heads of
Islam, until the 10th century, when the
Shi'a Fatimid Caliphate (established in
909) and the Caliphate of Córdoba
(established in 929) challenged their
primacy. The political decline of the
Abbasids had begun earlier, during the
Anarchy at Samarra (861–870), which
accelerated the fragmentation of the
Muslim world into autonomous dynasties.
The caliphs lost their temporal power in
936–946, first to a series of military
strongmen, and then to the Shi'a Buyid
dynasty that seized control of Baghdad;
the Buyids were in turn replaced by the
Sunni Seljuk Turks in the mid-11th century,
and Turkish rulers assumed the title of
"Sultan" to denote their temporal authority.
The Abbasid caliphs remained the
generally recognized suzerains of Sunni
Islam, however. In the mid-12th century,
the Abbasids regained their independence
from the Seljuks, but the revival of Abbasid
power ended with the Sack of Baghdad by
the Mongols in 1258.

Most Abbasid caliphs were born to a

concubine mother, known as umm al-
walad (Arabic: ‫أم اﻟﻮﻟﺪ‬, lit. 'mother of the
child'). The term refers to a slave woman
who had a child from her owner; those
women were renowned for their beauty
and intelligence, in that the owner might
recognize the legitimacy of his children
from them to be legally free and with full
rights of inheritance, and refrain from
trading the mothers afterwards.[1] Those
concubines mostly were Abyssinians,
Armenians, Berbers, Byzantine Greeks,
Turkish or even from Sicily.

List of Abbasid caliphs

Abbasid Caliphs (25 January 750 – E…

20 February 1258)
 Regnal
No. Reign Personal Name Parents Notes
Name

Descendant of al-
Abbas, Muhammad's
Muhammad
uncle.
750 – 10 Abū’l-ʿAbbās ʿAbd ibn Ali ibn
1. as-Saffāḥ Battle of Talas (751)
June 754 Allāh Abdallah
secures Muslim
Raita al-Harsia
predominance in
Central Asia.

Muhammad
Fugitive Umayyad
ibn Ali ibn
prince Abd al-Rahman I
Abdallah
founds the Emirate of
10 June Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Sallamah,
2. al-Manṣūr Córdoba in al-Andalus
754 – 775 Allāh Berber (756).
concubine
Foundation of
from
Baghdad (762).
Nefzaoua

Al-Mansur

775 – 4 al-Mahdī Abū ʿAbd Allāh Umm Musa

3. (Arwa bint
August 785 bi-'llāh Muḥammad
Mansur al-
Himyari)

August 785
Al-Mahdi
– 14 Abū Muḥammad
4. al-Hādī Al-Khayzuran
September Mūsā
bint 'Atta
786

Zaydi Shi'a Idrisid

14 dynasty established in
Al-Mahdi
September Hārūn ar- Morocco (788).
5. Hārūn Al-Khayzuran
786 – 24 Rashīd Aghlabids recognized
bint 'Atta
March 809 as autonomous in
Ifriqiya (800).

6. March 809 al-Amīn Abū Mūsā Harun ar- Civil war of the Fourth
 – 24/25 Muḥammad Rashid Fitna. Al-Amin deposed
September and killed at the Siege
Zubaidah bint
813 of Baghdad.
Ja`far,
granddaughter
of al-Mansur

Victor of the civil war.

Anti-caliphate of
Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi in
Baghdad (817–819)
ends with al-Ma'mun's
return to Baghdad.

Ends persecution of
Ahl al-Bayt

Launch of the
Translation Movement,
major revamp of the
House of Wisdom, and
Harun ar-
systematic support of
September Rashid
Abū'l-ʿAbbās ʿAbd scholars for the
7. 813 – 9 al-Maʾmūn Marajil, gathering and
Allāh
August 833 concubine translation of
from Badghis knowledge from
various civilizations.

Establishment of the
Emirate of Crete
(824/827)

Start of the Muslim

conquest of Sicily
(827)

Start of official support

for Mu'tazilism,
institution of the mihna
(833)
8. 9 August al- Abū Isḥāq Harun ar- Establishment of the
833 – 5 Muʿtaṣim Muḥammad Rashid Turkish ghilman in
January bi-’llāh positions of power.
Marida,
842 Militarization and
probably
centralization of the
Turkish
administration.
concubine
from Sughd Move of the capital to
Region Samarra (836).

5 January Al-Mu'tasim
al-Wāthiq
9. 842 – 10 Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn Qaratis, Greek
bi-'llāh
August 847 concubine

End of official support

Al-Mu'tasim for Mu'tazilism,
abolition of the miḥnah
10 August Shuja,
(848/851). Return to
al- probably
847 – 11 Sunni orthodoxy.
10. Mutawakkil Jaʿfar Turkish
December
ʿalā 'llāh concubine Destroyed the Imam
861
from Husayn Shrine.
Khawarizm Assassinated by his
son Al-Muntasir.

Reigned during the

Al-Mutawakkil Anarchy at Samarra
al-
861 – 7 or Abū Jaʿfar Hubshiya,
11. Muntaṣir Ends persecution of
8 June 862 Muḥammad Greek
bi-'llāh Alids and returned their
concubine
rightful endowments.

Muhammad, Reigned during the

son of al- Anarchy at Samarra.
al-Mustaʿīn Mu'tasim Fled to Baghdad in
12. 862 – 866 Aḥmad
bi-ʾllāh Makhariq, 865, where he was
concubine besieged and deposed
from Sicily by the Turkish military.

13. 866 – 869 al-Muʿtazz Abū ʿAbd Allāh Al-Mutawakkil Reigned during the
 bi-ʾllāh Muḥammad Sabiha Anarchy at Samarra.
(Qabiha), Deposed by the
Greek Turkish military.
concubine

Reigned during the

Al-Wathiq
869 – 21 al-Muhtadī Abū Isḥāq Anarchy at Samarra.
14. Qurb, Greek
June 870 bi-'llāh Muḥammad Assassinated by the
concubine
Turkish military.

Actual power in the

hands of his brother, al-
Muwaffaq (died 891).

Start of the "Abbasid

revival". Repulse of the
21 June Al-Mutawakkil Saffarids and
al-
870 – 15 Fityan, Greek subjugation of the Zanj
15. Muʿtamid Abū'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad
October concubine Revolt.
ʿalā ’llāh
892 from Kufa Establishment of the
autonomous Tulunid
dynasty in Egypt, and
overthrow of the
Tahirids by the
Saffarids in the East.

Height of the "Abbasid

Al-Muwaffaq, revival". Recovery of
regent of the Jazira, Thughur, Jibal.
October Abbasid
al-Muʿtaḍid Caliphate Return of the capital to
16. 892 – 5 Abū'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad
bi-'llāh Baghdad.
April 902 Dirar (Hariz),
Start of the Qarmatian
Greek
missionary activity and
concubine
raids.

17. 5 April 902 al-Muktafī Abū Aḥmad ʿAlī Al-Mu'tadid Recovery of Egypt and
– 13 bi-'llāh Syria from the
Jijak, Turkish
August 908 Tulunids. End of the
concubine
"Abbasid revival".
 First reign

Unsuccessful
usurpation attempt in
favour of Abdallah ibn
Al-Mu'tadid
al- al-Mu'tazz (908).
13 August Shaghab,
18. Muqtadir Abū'l-Faḍl Jaʿfar
908 – 929 Caliphal title also
Greek
bi-'llāh
claimed by al-Mahdi
concubine
Billah of the Fatimids
from 909 and 'Abd ar-
Rahman III of Córdoba
from 929.

Al-Mu'tadid First reign; installed by

Fitna the commander-in-
al-Qāhir bi- Abū al-Manṣūr
19. 929 (Qabul/Qatul), chief Mu'nis al-
'llāh Muḥammad
Berber Muzaffar for a few
concubine days.

Second reign; killed in

battle before Baghdad
929 – 31 al- against Mu'nis al-
20. October Muqtadir Abū'l-Faḍl Jaʿfar See #18 Muzaffar.
932 bi-'llāh Qarmatian sack of
Mecca and Medina
(930).

31 October al-Qāhir bi- Abū al-Manṣūr

21. See #19 Second reign
932 – 934 'llāh Muḥammad

Al-Muqtadir Ibn Ra'iq becomes amīr

934 – 23
ar-Rāḍī bi- Abū'l-ʿAbbās Thaloum, al-umarāʾ (November
22. December
'llāh Aḥmad/Muḥammad Berber 936); end of caliphal
940
concubine temporal power.

23. 940 – 944 al-Muttaqī Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm Al-Muqtadir Beginning of the later
li-'llāh Abbasid period.
Khalub
(Zahrah),
 concubine Overthrown and
blinded by the amīr al-
umarāʾ Tuzun.

Installed by the amīr al-

September Al-Muktafi umarāʾ Tuzun.
944 – 29 al-Mustakfī Ghusn (Amlah Deposed and blinded
24. ʿAbd Allāh
January bi-ʾllāh al-Nas), after the Buyid
946 concubine takeover of Baghdad
and Iraq.

Al-Muqtadir
29 January al-Muṭīʿ li- Shaghla, Installed by the Buyid
25. Abū'l-Qāsim al-Faḍl
946 – 974 ʾllāh concubine emir Mu'izz al-Dawla.
from Sicily

Al-Muti
aṭ-Ṭāʾiʿ li- Deposed by the Buyid
26. 974 – 991 Abd al-Karīm Hazar (Atab),
amri ʿllāh emir Baha' al-Dawla.
concubine

Installed by the Buyid

1 Ishaq bin Al- emir Baha' al-Dawla.
November
al-Qādir bi- Muqtadir
Upholding of Sunni
27. 991 – 29 Aḥmad
'llāh Tumna, orthodoxy; publication
November
concubine of the Baghdad
1031
Manifesto.

28. 29 al-Qāʾim bi- Al-Qadir End and disintegration

November amri 'llāh of the Caliphate of
Badr al-Dija
1031 – 2 Córdoba (1031).
(Qatr al-Nida),
April 1075
Armenian Takeover of Baghdad
concubine by the Seljuk Turks
under Tughril (1055),
end of Buyid rule.
Tughril is recognized
as Sultan by al-Qa'im.

The Almoravids
recognize the Abbasid
 Caliph's religious and
nominal authority (c.
1062).

Muhammad,
2 April son of al-
1075 – al-Muqtadī Abū'l-Qāsim ʿAbd Qa'im
29.
February bi-amri ’llāh Allāh Urjuwuan,
1094 Armenian
concubine

February Al-Muqtadi First Crusade (1096–

al-
1094 – 6 1099); establishment
30. Mustaẓhir Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad Altın, Turkish
August of the Crusader states
bi-'llāh concubine
1118 in the Levant.

6 August Al-Mustazhir
al- Foundation of the
1118 – 29 Lubaba,
31. Mustarshid Abū'l-Manṣūr al-Faḍl Almohad Caliphate in
August Turkish
bi-'llāh the Maghreb (1121).
1135 concubine

Al-Mustarshid
29 August Deposed by the Seljuk
ar-Rāshid Abu Jaʿfar al- Umm al-Sada,
32. 1135 – Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din
bi-'llāh Manṣūr Abyssinian
1136 Mas'ud.
concubine

Al-Mustazhir Siege of Baghdad

1136 – 12 (1157) by the Seljuks
al-Muqtafī Abū ʿAbd Allāh Nasim,
33. March fails. Restoration of the
li-ʾamri ’llāh Muḥammad Abyssinian
1160 Caliph's political
concubine
independence.

Al-Muqtafi
12 March
al- Thawus,
1160 – 20 Abū'l-Muẓaffar
34. Mustanjid Turkish or
December Yūsuf
bi-'llāh Abyssinian
1170
concubine

35. 20 al-Mustaḍīʾ al-Ḥasan Al-Mustanjid End of the Fatimid

December bi-amri ʾllāh Caliphate (1171),
 1170 – 30 Ghadha, restoration of Sunni
March Armenian rule in Egypt under
1180 concubine Saladin.

2 March Al-Mustadi
Recovery of Jerusalem
1180 – 4 an-Nāṣir li- Zumurrud,
36. Abu'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad from the Crusaders
October Dīni’llāh Turkish (1187).
1225 concubine

5 October
aẓ-Ẓāhir bi- An-Nasir
37. 1225 – 11 Muḥammad
amri’llāh Asma
July 1226

11 July Az-Zahir
al-
1226 – 2 Abū Jaʿfar al-
38. Mustanṣir Zahra, Turkish
December Manṣūr
bi-'llāh concubine
1242

2 Al-Mustansir Last Abbasid Caliph in

December al-
Hajer, Baghdad; executed
39. 1242 – 20 Mustaʿṣim ʿAbd Allāh
Abyssinian after the Mongol sack
February bi-'llāh
concubine of Baghdad.
1258

Mamluk Abbasid dynasty

Caliphs of Cairo (13 June 1261 – 22

January 1517)
E…

In 1261, the Abbasid caliphate was re-

established by a cadet branch of the
dynasty at Cairo, under the auspices of the
local Mamluk sultans but these caliphs
were a purely religious and symbolic
figure, while temporal power rested with
the Mamluks. The revived Abbasid
caliphate lasted until the Ottoman
conquest of Egypt in 1517, after which the
caliphal title passed to the Ottoman
dynasty.

The Cairo Abbasids were largely

ceremonial caliphs under the patronage of
the Mamluk Sultanate that existed after
the takeover of the Ayyubid dynasty.[2][3]
 Regnal Personal
No. Reign Parents Notes
Name Name

Installed as Caliph in Cairo,

13 June Egypt by the Mamluk Sultan
al-
1261 – 28 Abū'l-Qāsim Baybars in 1261. Title also
1. Mustanṣir Az-Zahir
November Aḥmad claimed by al-Hakim I, installed
bi-llāh
1261 as caliph by the ruler of Aleppo,
Aqqush al-Burli

Abbasid descent disputed;

16 installed as caliph by ruler of
November al-Ḥākim Aleppo, Aqqush al-Burli, in 1261,
Abū'l-ʿAbbās proclaimed as caliph by Baybars
2. 1262 – 19 bi-Amri'llāh
Aḥmad
January I after al-Mustansir II died.
1302 Fall of the Almohad Caliphate
(1269).

20 January
1302 – al-Mustakfī Abū ar-Rabīʾ
3. Al-Hakim I
February bi-llāh I Sulaymān
1340

February Muhammad,
al-Wāthiq Abū ʾIsḥāq
4. 1340 – 17 son of al-
bi-'llāh I ʾIbrāhīm
June 1341 Hakim I

al-Ḥākim
1341 – Abū'l-ʿAbbas
5. bi-Amri'llāh Al-Mustakfi I
1352 ʾAḥmad
II

1352 – al-Muʿtaḍid Abū al-Fatḥ

6. Al-Mustakfi I
1362 bi-'llāh I Abū Bakr

al- Abū ʿAbd

1362 –
7. Mutawakkil Allāh Al-Mu'tadid I First reign
1377
ʿalā'llāh I Muḥammad

al-
Abū Yaḥya
8. 1377 Mustaʿṣim Al-Wathiq I First reign
Zakarīyāʾ
bi-'llāh
9. 1377 – al- Abū ʿAbd Second reign
1383 Mutawakkil Allāh
ʿalā'llāh I Muḥammad

September
1383 – 13 al-Wāthiq Abū Ḥafṣ
10. Al-Wathiq I
November bi-'llāh II ʿUmar
1386

al-
1386 – Abū Yaḥya
11. Mustaʿṣim Second reign
1389 Zakarīyāʾ
bi-'llāh

1389 – 9 al- Abū ʿAbd

12. January Mutawakkil Allāh Third reign
1406 ʿalā'llāh I Muḥammad

Al-
Became Sultan of Egypt from 7
22 January Mutawakkil I
al-Mustaʿīn Abū al-Faḍl May – 6 November 1412, as a
13. 1406 – 9 Bay Khatun,
bi-'llāh al-ʿAbbas titular figurehead for Shaykh al-
March 1414 Turkish
Mahmudi.
concubine

Al-
Mutawakkil I
1414 – al-Muʿtaḍid Abū al-Fatḥ
14. Kazal,
1441 bi-'llāh II Dāwud
Turkish
concubine

1441 – 29 Al-
al-Mustakfī Abū al-Rabīʿ Mutawakkil I
15. January
bi-llāh II Sulaymān
1451 Bay Khatun

Abū al- Al-

1451 – al-Qāʾim bi-
16. Baqāʾ Mutawakkil I
1455 ʾamr Allāh
Ḥamza Bay Khatun

al- Abū al- Al-

1455 – 7 Mutawakkil I
17. Mustanjid Maḥāsin
April 1479
bi-'llāh Yūsuf Bay Khatun
18. 5 April 1479 al- Abū al-ʿIzz Ya'qub bin
– 27 Mutawakkil ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Al-
September ʿalā'llāh II Mutawakkil I
1497
Haj al-Malik

al- Al-
1497 – Abū al-Ṣabr
19. Mustamsik Mutawakkil First reign
1508 Yaqūb
bi-'llāh II

al-
1508 –
20. Mutawakkil Muḥammad First reign
1516
ʿalā'llāh III

al-
1516 – Abū al-Ṣabr
21. Mustamsik Second reign
1517 Yaqūb
bi-'llāh

Second reign

He formally surrendered the title

al- of caliph as well as its outward

emblems—the sword and mantle
22. 1517 Mutawakkil Muḥammad
ʿalā'llāh III of Muhammad—to Ottoman
Sultan Selim I in 1517, making
him the last caliph from Abbasid
dynasty and the Banu Quraysh.

Genealogy
Genealogical tree of the Abbasid family. In green, the
Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. In yellow, the Abbasid

caliphs of Cairo. Muhammad is included (in caps) to

show the kinship of the Abbasids with him.

See also
Zubaidah bint Ja'far
Abassa bint al-Mahdi
Ulayya bint al-Mahdi
Ubaydallah ibn al-Mahdi
Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi
Al-Qasim ibn Harun al-Rashid
Al-Abbas ibn al-Ma'mun
 Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz

References
1. "Umm al-Walad" . Oxford Islamic
Studies.
2. Bosworth 2004, p. 7
3. Houtsma & Wensinck 1993, p. 3

Bibliography
Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2004)
[1996]. The New Islamic Dynasties: A
Chronological and Genealogical Manual .
New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys (2nd
ed.). Edinburgh University Press.
ISBN 978-0-7486-2137-8.
OCLC 56639413 .
 Houtsma, M. Th.; Wensinck, A. J. (1993).
E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam
1913–1936. IX. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 978-
90-04-09796-4.
Lane-Poole, Stanley (1894). The
Mohammedan Dynasties: Chronological
and Genealogical Tables with Historical
Introductions . Westminster: Archibald
Constable and Company.
OCLC 1199708 .

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