It’s the 8th century C.E. The Umayyad Caliphate had ruled over a vast
empire for almost a hundred years. It was the second major caliphate that was
established after the death of Prophet Muhammad. At the height of its power the Umayyad caliphate
was the 7th largest empire in history, expanding its’ territories to almost every corner
of the known world. But the final years of the caliphate’s history
were marked by constant turmoil, and internal strife. And now, a new dynasty is rising in the East… Ethnic tensions were brewing for decades within the
Umayyad caliphate between the Arab ruling elite and the largely non-Arab inhabitants
of the empire, who resented the discrimination they were being subjected to by the Umayyad
aristocracy. Treated as second-class citizens, the non-Arabs
were excluded from high ranking positions within the administration and barred from
serving in the officer corps within the army, often forced to pay the Jizya tax. These tensions would soon culminate with the
Great Berber revolt in 739 CE, marking the first secession from the caliphate, when most of western Maghreb was torn forever from the Umayyads. The secession of the Berbers reverberated
throughout the Caliphate, acting as the catalyst for further developments that were about to
unfold. On February 6th, 743 CE, Caliph Hisham died and
was succeeded by his nephew Al-Walid II. However, Al-Walid’s succession was not well-received
by several members of the Umayyad aristocracy and there was also discontent around the empire,
since the new Caliph had the reputation of being interested more in earthly pleasures
than in religion or ruling the state. It wasn’t long before a contender to the
throne rose up in open rebellion. In April 744, Yazid III, entered Damascus,
seized the town and proclaimed himself Caliph. At that point, most of Al Walid’s followers
abandoned him, and he was eventually hunted down and killed. Unfortunately, Yazid’s reign didn’t last
long, with the new caliph dying just 6 months later, which further destabilized the realm and created a power vacuum that would accelerate the chaos within. It was at this point that one of the protagonists of this period rose up and made his bid for the throne. His name was Marwan and would become known
to history as Marwan II. Having previously served as governor of Armenia
and Azerbaijan, Marwan oversaw numerous campaigns against the Byzantines and the Khazars, on
the Caliphate’s northwestern frontiers. With his experienced and veteran army, Marwan
marched into Syria and after defeating another contender in battle, he entered Damascus peacefully
in December 744. It took another two years, with numerous sieges and battles in Syria, to completely pacify the region. But while Marwan was busy quelling revolts in Syria, both Egypt and Iraq rose up against his rule. The Caliph was forced to dispatch a large
army to Egypt, and successfully quelling the revolt there. He then rushed east, mobilizing his troops
in Syria, to intercept the rebel army at al-Ghazz, in late summer 746, successfully killing the
rebel leader and forcing the remnants of his army to abandon Upper Mesopotamia. This continuous turmoil after Marwan’s ascension
to the position of Caliph came to be known as the “Third Fitna”, or the Third Muslim
civil war, which lasted for most of his reign. But just as Marwan was trying to consolidate
his position in Syria and Mesopotamia, another flag of rebellion was raised in the east. It was the Abbasids, from the north eastern
province of Khorasan. The Abbasids were an Arabic dynasty, descended
from one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad. They claimed to be the true successors of
the Prophet by virtue of their closer bloodline to him. Their revolution, however, was far from spontaneous. Instead, it was an outcome of decades long
planning and preparation. Abbasid missions ushered a campaign of proselytism
that lasted for decades. They sought to gather support behind "a member
of the House of the Prophet who shall be pleasing to everyone”, but being especially careful
not to make explicit mention of the Abbasids. Both Arabs and non-Arabs flocked to their
banner, although it is thought that, because of ethnic tensions created by Umayyad policies,
the non-Arab followers of the Abbasids played a major role, as the discontentment was especially
prominent among the Iranian peoples in the eastern parts of the caliphate. The harsh measures adopted by the Umayyads
in repressing Iranian customs and culture was a point of friction that ultimately created
the spark of insurrection, and the Abbasids used this in their carefully thought-out plans
for a revolution, to create a common rallying cry for all anti-Umayyad elements within the
Caliphate. In 747, the legendary military leader of the
Abbasid revolution, a man most probably of Iranian descent who went by the name of Abu
Muslim, was sent by Ibrahim, the Imam of the Abbasid family, to initiate the revolution
in Khorasan. On June 9 of the same year, Abu Muslim raised
the black standard of the Abbasids that was chosen as a direct rebuke to the white banner
of the Umayyads. The revolution had begun… With a force of about 10,000 men, Abu Muslim
marched on Merv, and by February 14th, 748 he expelled the Umayyad governor of Khorasan
and took the city. Abu Muslim’s officer, Qahtaba ibn Shabib,
was quickly dis patched against Sayyar, chasing him all the way to Qumis, in western Iran. Qahtaba was soon intercepted by an Umayyad force of 10.000 men at Gorgan, which he quickly defeated. Meanwhile, Sayyar was able to regroup and
was reinforced by the Caliph at Rey, but he was again defeated. The Umayyad commander died while trying to
reach the city of Hamedan, while being pursued by the undefeated Abbasid commander. Qahtaba’s victories continue, and in March
of 749 he was able to defeat another, even larger Umayyad force of around 50.000 men
at Isfahan. Nahavand remained as the last bastion of the
Umayyads in the eastern part of the empire. Remnants of their defeated armies joined those
already garrisoned in the city, but after Qahtaba defeated yet another Umayyad relief contingent from Syria, resistance collapsed in the region. At the same time Abu-Muslim was being busy
consolidating Abbasid grip on power in the eastern side of Khorasan, wiping out any opposition and pacifying any
rebel elements that remained. After almost nine decades, Umayyad rule in
Khorasan was over. The victorious Abbasids were now free
to advance onto Mesopotamia Their objective was the city of Kufa, which was the epicenter of the Abbasid revolution in the area. In August 749, another Umayyad commander attempted to stop the forces of Qahtaba before they could reach Kufa. But the cunning and charismatic Abbasid general
remained one step ahead. Qahtaba launched a night-time attack against
the Umayyads while they were unprepared, and his army was once more victorious. Unfortunately for the Abbasids one of their few loses was the brave and charismatic Qahtaba himself. As the vestiges of the defeated Umayyads were besieged within Wasit, Abu Muslim led his army
across the Euphrates and took Kufa. On Friday, November 28, 749 CE, As-Saffah, the
great-grandson of Muhammad’s uncle, was proclaimed the new caliph in Kufa, with the
backing of Abu Muslim and his army. The new Caliph, aiming to cement Abbasid rule,
appointed members of his own family to command the armies of the revolution, thus his brother,
Abdullah ibn Ali was given the supreme command of Abu-Muslim’s army, even-though the actual
command was still in the hands of Abu Muslim. Now, with the strategically important city
of Kufa under Abbasid control, Abu Muslim marched towards Mosul, with more Abbasid contingents
joining the main bulk of the army on its march. At this point, Marwan II who had amassed a large army in Harran, advanced toward Mesopotamia in order to meet the Abbasid contesters… The exact numbers of both sides are uncertain,
but the Umayyad army under Marwan is thought to have been around 120.000 men strong. On the other hand, the Abbasid army under
Abu Muslim was significantly smaller, and would not have exceeded 35.000 to 40.000 men. Despite the numerical disparity between the
two forces, Abu Muslims army was highly motivated, with pristine morale and battle hardened due
to their repeated victories, while the Umayyad army’s support for Marwan was lukewarm and their morale was damaged. It was a cold morning on January 25, 750 when
the two armies finally met on the eastern bank of the Greater Zab river. The soldiers of both armies turned towards
Mecca, lifting their hands in prayer. When the Morning Prayer was finished, the
battle drums of both sides started thumping. The outcome of this clash would decide who
would be the ruler of the Islamic world. On a muster call, both armies fell into compact
battle arrays: cavalry first, then the infantry,
with archers and pike-men. To the one side flew the white banners of
the Umayyad dynasty. To the other one, the black banners of the
Abbasids. The Abbasid commander knew that in order to
have any chance of prevailing against the overwhelming force of his enemy, his army
needed to rely on steadfastness, discipline, determination, and tactics. While the Umayyad Caliph’s battle plan relied
heavily on the sheer and brute force of his massive army and the renowned strength and
momentum of his cavalry. On a signal, hostilities were initiated by
the skirmishers of both armies. Thousands of arrows were unleashed, with each
side probing for weaknesses and testing the resilience of their adversaries. Soon, the hail of arrows subsided and the
archers retreated behind their respective main lines. An eerie silence fell over the field of battle,
interrupted only by the sound of flapping banners and the occasional clanging of spears
and shields. Abu-Muslim’s infantry then advanced slightly,
presenting a solid line of spears to their Umayyad adversaries, trying to provoke them
into action. All of a sudden, Marwan unsheathed
his sword and cried out: ”To God we belong, to him we shall return!” It is impossible to estimate the exact number
of Umayyad cavalrymen that charged against Abu Muslim’s tightly arrayed spearmen that
day, but they were several thousand. One Abbasid soldier described the large Umayyad
army by saying that “the Syrians” attacked them
as if they were a mountain of iron… This mountain of innumerable thundering hooves
swept through the field, heading straight toward their enemy, endeavoring to once and for all destroy the pretenders. But Abu Muslim was prepared for this eventuality,
and had his army specifically trained to receive the charge of Marwan’s cavalry. Despite the horrifying prospect of the impending
impact with thousands of galloping horses, the Abbasid troops held their nerve and stood
their ground. It wasn’t long before the two forces clashed! Thousands fell from both sides during the
initial impact, and the tremendous momentum of the cavalry almost caused the solid Abbasid
line to give way. But… Abu Muslim’s disciplined spearmen were able to retain their formation and neutralize the initial shock of the charge. Now the battle devolved into chaotic individual combat, with numerous Umayyad horsemen dismounting in order to fight more effectively in close
quarters. But the dogged Abbasid spearmen began to get
the upper hand. With loses mounting for the Umayyad cavalrymen,
the Abbasid troops were able to synchronize their efforts and gradually push back their
foe. At this critical moment, Abu Muslim ordered
his entire army forward. It was more than the spent Umayyads could
handle and they soon broke and fled across the entire line. Abbasid cavalry mercilessly chased down the
retreating enemy. Seeing their vanguard broken, the rest of
Marwan’s army decided that the best course of action was to abandon the battlefield. But with the river Zab at their back
blocking their line of retreat, thousands more drowned
during the massive rout. By noon of that fateful Saturday, all that
could be heard at the shores of the greater Zab were the desperate screams of Umayyad
troops, falling in their thousands, and the frantic battle cries of the Abbasids. Abu Muslim and the Abbasids were triumphant. The Umayyad Caliphate was no more… Marwan managed to survive the carnage of the
battle by fleeing to Syria and then to Egypt. But he was chased down, captured and eventually
executed. Marwan’s death signaled the end of the Umayyads,
and the victorious Abbasids proceeded to eradicate almost the entire Umayyad dynasty. By April, Damascus fell, which effectively
put an end to Syrian domination of the Muslim world. Abul Abbas as-Saffah became the first caliph
of the Abbasid caliphate, and the ruthless and charismatic Abu Muslim, who spearheaded
the new regime, made sure that power shifted away from Syria and to the east, by setting
up the capital at the city of Kufa. This signaled the dawn of the Abbasids, which
ushered a new age of cultural and scientific blossoming in the Islamic world that would
last for centuries to come...
