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Religion / branch / eraPhase 4b · Caliphates, schools & sectsMain personality

Abbasid Caliphate

الخلافة العباسية

132-656 AH / 750-1258 CE (Baghdad); shadow caliphate in Cairo to 923 AH / 1517 CE

The dynasty descended from al-Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, which overthrew the Umayyads in 750 CE and ruled from Baghdad. Its era saw the flowering of hadith collection, the four Sunni schools, theology and science, until the Mongol sack of 1258 CE.

Biography

The Abbasid revolution, launched from Khurasan under Abu Muslim, used the slogan of 'the chosen one from the family of Muhammad', attracting many Shia sympathisers, but power went to the descendants of al-Abbas (al-Saffah, al-Mansur, who founded Baghdad in 145 AH / 762 CE). Under Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun, Baghdad's House of Wisdom became a centre of translation and science.

Al-Ma'mun imposed the Mu'tazili doctrine of the created Quran (the Mihna, 218 AH), resisted by Ahmad ibn Hanbal; al-Mutawakkil later ended it. The six canonical hadith collections (Bukhari d. 256 AH, Muslim d. 261 AH, etc.) were compiled in this era. Political power fragmented to Buyids, Seljuks and others; the Mongols under Hulagu sacked Baghdad in 656 AH / 1258 CE. Abbasid shadow caliphs continued under the Mamluks in Cairo until the Ottoman conquest of 1517 CE.

Sources & explanation

۞ Qur'an

No specific verses cited for this node.

📜 Hadith verified on sunnah.com

No verified hadith attached yet. Only references checked against sunnah.com are listed.

💬 Explanation Unverified

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's perspective

Methodological note (not a direct quote): Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's widely known approach is to build narratives primarily on the Quran and Sahih Hadith, to set aside Israiliyat (Judeo-Christian lore absorbed into later tafsir) and weak or fabricated narrations, and to avoid sectarian framing. Applied to this node: Presented as history; the Mihna episode illustrates the importance placed on Quran and Sunnah over imposed theology.

Empires in their lifetime

  • Tang dynasty 618 CE – 907 CE
    Tang and Abbasid armies fought at the Battle of Talas (751).
  • Abbasid Caliphate 750 CE – 1258 CE
    Topic node for the same caliphate.
  • Samanid Empire 819 CE – 999 CE
    Ruled as governors acknowledging the Abbasid caliph.
  • Tulunid dynasty 868 CE – 905 CE
    Ruled Egypt and Syria autonomously under nominal Abbasid authority.
  • Volga Bulgaria c. 880 CE – c. 1240 CE
    Its ruler sought Abbasid support; Ibn Fadlan's embassy came from Baghdad in 921–922.
  • Qarmatian state of Bahrayn 899 CE – 1077 CE
    Raided Abbasid Iraq and sacked Makkah in 930.
  • Buyid dynasty 934 CE – 1062 CE
    Controlled the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad from 945.
  • Ikhshidid dynasty 935 CE – 969 CE
    Ruled under nominal Abbasid authority.
  • Great Seljuk Empire 1037 – 1194 CE
    Seljuk sultans ruled in the name of the Abbasid caliph.
  • Ayyubid Sultanate 1171 – 1260 CE
    The Ayyubids ruled in the name of the Abbasid caliph.
  • Mongol Empire 1206 – 1368 CE
    Mongol forces under Hulagu sacked Baghdad and ended the Abbasid caliphate there in 1258.
  • Mamluk Sultanate 1250 – 1517 CE
    Hosted the line of Abbasid caliphs in Cairo (1261–1517) after the fall of Baghdad.
  • Ilkhanate 1256 – 1335 CE
    Hulagu's army destroyed Baghdad and killed the caliph al-Musta'sim in 1258.

Further references

  • Tarikh al-Tabari (historical)
  • Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya (historical)

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