The Abbasids: Islam's Golden Age (All Parts)

in the 8th Century Middle East a new Dynasty seized control of one of the world's greatest Empires the Islamic caliphate though little Remembered in the west today the abbasids reigned for five centuries they oversaw an era of Islamic military dominance city building brilliant scholarship and technological innovation it has come to be remembered as Islam's Golden Age this is the story of the Abbasid [Music] caliphate 632 ad in the Arabian city of Medina the prophet Muhammad lied lies dead his followers professing the new religion of Islam sweep across the Arabian Peninsula uniting it under the rule of Abu Bakr the first cff God's Deputy on Earth then they burst upon the world stage taking on the two superpowers of the Middle East the Eastern Roman and sassin Empires both are vulnerable after Decades of War and the Muslims wage a stunning campaign winning Victory after Victory by 651 they have overrun 2/3 of the Eastern Roman Empire and almost all of the assassinate Empire but in 656 the third cff uthman is assassinated sparking the first Muslim Civil War or fitner Ali cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad has the support of the people but he's opposed by the governor of Syria uthman's Kinsman muawiya 5 years of Bloodshed culminate in Ali's assassination at kufa muawiya emerges triumphant and establishes a new umad caliphate further conquests help to forge one of the largest empires in history but it is Riven by more Civil War One Challenge comes from Hussein son of Ali grandson of the prophet Muhammed he opposes the succession of muawiya's son [Music] yazid but in 680 he and his followers are defeated and killed at the Battle of carala supporters of Ali and his descendants will later become the Shiites they still come commemorate Hussein's death each year on the day of [Music] Ashura the vast umed caliphate continues to expand but it contains serious internal divisions much of what we know about the Ed caliphate comes from later sources often hostile but it seems clear that the small Arab Muslim Elite that dominated this great Empire was increasingly unpopular with many of its subjects including some of those later termed Demi these were non-muslims including Christians Jews and zoroastrians who were treated as an underclass and made to pay extra taxs even those who did convert to Islam known as moali were often treated as second class subjects Decades of discontent were about to boil over the symbol of umad authority was their white Banner but in 747 a new symbol Rises to challenge their rule the black banners of the [Music] [Music] abbasids the abbasids are an Arab family descended from the prophet Muhammad's Uncle alabas from whom they take their name they and their supporters believe this Blood tie to the prophet gives them legitimate claim to the title of cff far more so than the umiads whom the abbasids later portray as decadent and despised the abbasids promise a return to true Islam to correct teachings and moral leadership and send missionaries and agents out across the caliphate to spread their message in 747 with the caliphate once more racked by revolt and Civil War the abids will seize their chance in eastern horasan a general named Abu Muslim probably a Persian convert la es a revolt and takes the Black Banner of the hashemites as his symbol the hashemites descendants of Hashim are the extended family of the Prophet with the abbasids prominent amongst them this Frontier region today comprising Northeastern Iran and parts of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan is particularly ripe for Rebellion here Arabs and non-arab converts live side by side they intermarry and fight alongside each other to defend the frontier for many the umiads are distant and unpopular overlords what's more opposition has been stoked for decades by hashimite agents and missionaries who seek to topple the umiads and replace them with one of their own they have SED the seeds of revolution so when Abu Muslim begins his Revolt he quickly attracts followers Arabs Persians and Central Asians many of whom are experienced Warriors and he proves a brilliant Commander winning a series of Victories over umad forces and occupying kufa capital of Iraq in 749 the abids now assume leadership of this Revolution and the following year their forces meet the army of the umad cff Marwan II at the Zab River most of what we know about the battle that follows comes from Abbasid sources Calif Marwan appears to have been a brave but Reckless Commander launching a head-on cavalry charge against the Abbasid line Abbasid historians tell how their own troops inspired by recent victories Stand Fast their spear walls repel the Cavalry the attack ends in disaster umad morale is broken their army routed Marwan himself flees the battle but is pursued and killed in Egypt other umiads are likewise hunted down and exterminated ated even graves are desecrated one surviving member of the dynasty abdal ramman flees to Spain just a few years later he establishes the Emirate of civa a second umaya Dynasty that would flourish in Iberia for centuries meanwhile Abul abas Al Safar becomes the first Abbasid cff though it will take the abbasids more than a decade to consolidate their hold on power alsafar moves the ciff's residence from haran to kufa closer to the Abbasid power base in Persia in 751 he sends an army to curb the westward expansion of the Chinese Tang Dynasty the campaign culminates in a bloody victory at the Battle of talas but also marks the limit of the calipat its Eastward [Music] expansion many who'd helped overthrow the umiads had sought the end of hereditary rule and a return to cff's elected from within an elite group they are to be disappointed in 754 Al Safar is succeeded by his brother al- mansur the abbasids will be the new ruling Dynasty and al- mansur will prove one of its greatest cffs but his Reign begins inauspiciously with the execution of the brilliant and popular General Abu Muslim now regarded as a potentially dangerous [Music] rival al- mansur faces Rebellion by the alids a powerful Clan descended from The Prophet's son-in-law Ali they resent the growing dynastic power of the abass ID s and press their own claim to rule al- mansur crushes the last major alad Revolt in 762 ushering in an era of stability prosperity and [Music] peace that year he orders the construction of a new capital on the banks of the Tigris River officially it is to be known as medinat ass Salam the city of Peace it will prove his greatest Legacy a city that will become one of the glories of the Medieval World [Music] Baghdad in the reign of al- mansur's grandson harun al- Rashid the caliphate flourishes as never before with Baghdad at its heart there are many Legends told about ciff harun Al Rashid the rightly guided he is after all a central figure in 101 kns the Masterpiece of Arabic literature the image of al- Rashid that reaches us from such sources is of a devout wise and beneficent ruler who prayed a 100 times a day and each morning gave a thousand durhams to good causes in Legend Al rashed wandered the streets of Baghdad disguised as a beggar to see how his subjects lived he was a brilliant Horseman and Patron of the Arts and a keen chess player his court was a place where Rel religion and philosophy could be argued and debated openly even on occasion by a [Music] woman in the caliphate as in the rest of the Medieval World few women held high status in their own right but as mothers wives and concubines they could exert huge influence alhazan once a Yemen slave girl Rose from concubine to cff's wife and wielded significant power during the reign of her husband khif al- Mahi and Son khif Al Rashid famed for her intelligence and learning she held discussions on policy and Military strategy received foreign ambassadors and intervened on questions of Justice much of her own enormous wealth she spent on public works and charity many likened her to a co-ruler or even the real cff the success of al- rashid's Reign was underpinned by efficient government and administration much of it was modeled on that of their predecessors the assassinates and they made extensive use of Persian and Central Asian bureaucrats of particular note was the barmak kid family the barma kids were descended from high Priests of the Buddhist temple of nobahar near Bal in modern Afghanistan as early Abbasid allies they played an important role in government helping to Foster an age of Islamic statecraft imbued with elements of sassanian Persian culture they served the abids well for three generations but the power games of Court could be dangerous ous and unpredictable in 803 al- Rasheed decided the Bak kids had got a little too big for their boots the family experienced a sudden and dramatic fall from favor with many of its members imprisoned or executed their demise ended bakid control of the post of Vier a position that had recently emerged at court as the cff's senior adviser and chief minister it was a role of enormous significance some viers would later wield so much power they overshadowed the califf himself the fame of al- rashid's Court spread far and wide Charlamagne King of the Franks Holy Roman Emperor and the most powerful ruler in Europe sent several embassies to Baghdad in return al- Rashid sent him dazzling gifts including perfume Ivory chessboards a marvelous water clock and even an elephant named Abu Abbas which lived for several years at charlamagne's court in akam cultural life in the caliphate and Baghdad in particular was remarkably Cosmopolitan the Abbasid Court even celebrated Persian holidays such as norus Persian New Year such open-mindedness helped the caliphate to flourish as a center of culture science arts and Medicine the center of learning was the city's famous Library Bal hikma the House of Wisdom though little of its function is known today here and across the caliphate Scholars translated classical works from Greek middle Persian and Sanskrit into Arabic their efforts ensured the survival of countless works that would otherwise have been lost including those by great figures such as Aristotle and galin they also made many of their own original discoveries knowledge that would come to be much sought after by the medieval West baghdad's Scholars led the world in many fields alindi known as the philosopher of the Arabs was a famed polymath who wrote on logic psychology astronomy astrology and many other topics alar isi's contribution to mathematics led to him being dubbed the father of algebra the latinized version of his name algarismos is the origin of our word [Music] algorithm the Christian scholar un iban isak was nicknamed The Shake of translators for his role translating ancient texts into Arabic material culture also flourished under the abbasids with the introduction of glazed Pottery in the 9th century allowing new artistic possibilities many colorful pieces decorated with animals and kufic lettering have been discovered across the former califit from this [Music] period the Abbasid caliphate also benefited from its position arride the Silk Roads the name for the ancient network of trade routes linking Europe and Asia valuable Imports traveled along this route such as silk spices Ivory gemstones and even thoroughbred horses to encourage this trade the abbasids built New Roads as well as ins hospices and Wells for the comfort of Travelers new ideas and Technology also flowed along the Silk Roads Chinese paper making techniques first reached the Muslim World under the umiads but it was under the IDS that paper production really took off much cheaper than parchment or papyri abundant supplies of paper transformed the practice of administration and bookmaking and helped medieval Islam to become one of the most bookish cultures in world [Music] history in the 7th Century the first Arab conquests had pushed the frontier of the Eastern Roman Empire back to the Taurus Mountains since then the caliphate and Empire had been in a state of almost Perpetual war with frequent raids by both sides across the Syrian Frontier twice the Arabs had even besieged Constantinople itself but failed to take the great City in 82 al- Rashid himself had led an Abbasid Force as far as the shores of the Bosphorus by 804 the Eastern Roman Empire was paying annual tribute to the caliphate when Emperor nicar foros stopped the payments an Abbasid Army crossed the taus mountains and took his army by surprise at Clos the Romans suffered a heavy defeat the emperor himself was lucky to escape with his life the cycle of raid and counter raid continued for years with Al rashed even moving the Abbasid Capital to raka to be closer to the frontier but this fixation on his rival to the West may have blinded the cff to trouble in the east in 809 news arrived of Revolt in horasan it was one while traveling East to face down this Rebellion that khif harun Al Rashid became sick and died his 22-year Reign would come to be seen as a golden age for the Abbasid caliphate a time of prosperity stability intellectual and cultural achievement but al- rashid's own efforts to ensure a peaceful succession were about to backfire disastrously and plunged the caliphate back into Civil War the Abbasid caliphate had flourished under the reign of Calif harun al- [Music] Rashid and to ensure its continued success he arranged his succession in a way that he believed would ensure stability and peace his son muham ahed was to be his Heir but in a move common since the time of the Umayyads he also named another son Abdullah as Muhammad's air it proved a recipe for disaster in 809 in Baghdad Muhammad succeeded his father as cff taking the title alamin The trustworthy his half brother Abdullah became governor of horasan with the title al- mun The Trusted one rival factions soon formed at both courts in Baghdad alin's advisers urged him to remove his brother from the succession and just a year into his Reign he tore up his father's Arrangement Almon was Furious fraternal distrust EXP loaded into Civil War al- mamun's korani forces won a great Victory against a much larger Force at Ray and marched on to besiege Baghdad in 812 after a bloody year-long Siege the city fell cff alamin was captured as he tried to flee and executed initially Al Mamon ruled the caliphate from his old base at MV here in an effort to widen his support after the Civil War he fostered a new alliance with the alids this powerful family was descended from Ali fourth ciff and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad they'd later become leaders of Shia Islam the branch of Islam that believes true spiritual ual Authority belongs to Ali's descendants instead of traditional Abid black alon's Court began to wear green a color associated with the alids al- Mamon even married two of his daughters into the Ali family and made Ali Imam Ali ala his Heir Apparent but these policies sparked hostility back in Iraq and led to to major revolts in Baghdad after 6 years the cff moved the capital back there to restore order and abandoned his Allied Alliance alamon is also remembered for his attempts to impose a new religious Doctrine on the caliphate he first invited distinguished Scholars to Baghdad to discuss theological issues such as the Deeds of the companions of the prophet the hadiths and the nature of the Quran however his pronouncement that the Quran was at some point created by God rather than co-eternal with God encountered bitter resistance 18 years of religious persecution followed a period known as the minha or Inquisition which saw dissenting Scholars imprisoned or even executed in 833 Al Mamon was succeeded by his brother who took the title al- mutasim he'd prove far less interested in theological debate than the Clash of [Music] arms [Music] the armies of the Abbasid caliphate renowned in battle were drawn from both Arab and non-arab subjects the koranis soldiers of the frontier province of karasan were the troops who'd helped Propel the abbasids to power during the third fitna or Islamic Civil War drawing on Persian and step Warrior Traditions their ranks included both armored infantry and heavy armored Cavalry similar to European Knights the descendants of koranis who settled near Baghdad were known as abna alhasan sons of the people of horasan famed as Elite and versatile infantrymen they formed the loyal core of the Cali Army other notable contingents included the damis expert skirmishers from the highlands of Northern [Music] Persia while African troops including military slaves and Muslim converts from Ethiopia fought as heavy infantry armed with Shield sword and spear the great cff harun al- Rashid was known to have an elite bodyguard of 40 African soldiers aasad armies were particularly skilled in Siege Warfare and made expert use of catapults manganel and battering rams they even had specialist troops armed with Napa or petroleum based fire weapons no contemporary illustrations are known but they're thought to have been similar to this slightly later Byzantine illustration the 9th century however would see changes so radical that some historians have termed it a military Revolution during the Civil War between Al rashid's Sons Al mutasim had begun to expand his military retinue by purchasing Turkish slave soldiers his favorite supplier was the samon family governors of [Music] transoxiana these slave soldiers were seized from their Villages as boys or bought in slave markets then sent for intensive military training alongside an Islamic education they emerged as formidable cavalrymen and superbly skilled mounted archers Al jahi a contemporary wrote off them with awe the Turks are as good as others with the Lance and in addition if a thousand of their Horsemen are hard pressed they will loose all their arrows in a single volley and bring down a thousand enemy Horsemen no body of men can stand up to such a [Applause] test historians dispute the exact timeline but at some point in the 9th century these Turkish slave soldiers known as mamluks had come to form an elite core within the Abbasid Army one that was personally loyal to the cff and could be used to intimidate his political Rivals Turkish officers despite their initial Outsider status and ignorance of Arabic language and customs began to wield huge influence at the cff's court this offended the old nobility many of whom also stopped receiving traditional Dewan payments for their military service the discontent even pushed some soldiers to Riot in the streets of Baghdad to ease tension Al mutasim constructed a new city for the Turkish military Elite Samara this was where he garrisoned the Turks and rewarded their commanders with land and it's where in 848 work began on the world's largest mosque and its famous spiral minet Al mutas Sim's Reliance on slave soldiers to shore up his power that destroyed centuries of military tradition and it had swn the seeds of future [Music] turmoil 2 years later the califf LED his formidable new Army against the old foe the Eastern Roman or bantine Empire the campaign ended in a great Victory the capture and sack of amorium oh day of the battle of amorium our hopes have returned from you overflowing with honey sweet milk wrote Arab poet Abu tamam but even such victories failed to ease the tension between Turkish officers and Abbasid Nobles some Nobles even plotted to overthrow Al mutasim and expel the Turks but their conspiracy was discovered and they were executed [Music] al- mutasim was succeeded by his eldest son alaik following his Unexpected death a second son Al mutawakil took the throne backed by The Turk generals they'd hoped for a pliable puppet but instead Al mutawakil decided it was time to reassert califo Authority on his orders several Turkish leaders were assassinated and he tried to use Arab and Armenian troops to counterbalance their influence but the Turks struck back in 861 the cff was assassinated by his own bodyguards the chaos and Civil War that followed is known as the decade of Anarchy four cffs took power all puppets of the Turkish military Elite each in turn was violently overthrown order was only restored with the accession of ciff aut tamid in 870 but the Anarchy had irreparably damaged the calf's Authority even before the abbasids came to power the vast caliphate had struggled to maintain control of its many regions abased Authority West of Egypt had long been largely theoretical but now multiple major uprisings broke out as local Governors and Warlords staked out their own claims to rule Egypt fertile and prosperous was an early casualty lost to a rebel Turkish commander who founded his own tulunid Dynasty in southern Iraq a major Revolt broke out among agricultural slaves from Eastern Africa known as Zan the 14-year Uprising devastated the region and severely disrupted Abbasid tax income and and baghdad's food supply in Afghanistan a copper Smith named yakub Al Safar made an astonishing rise to power founding his own saffarid Dynasty and conquering much of Eastern Persia his Advance was only halted at the Battle of D alakul in [Music] 876 in such turbulent times abazid cffs struggled to impose their Authority but there were some successes Cal Al madid engineered a brief Abid Resurgence thanks to military campaigning and shrewd diplomacy notably his marriage to the daughter of the tulunid ruler of Egypt she was the celebrated kral NADA her name means DW drop once scholar described her as one of the most intelligent and Regal women who ever lived when almut Hadid told his bride you've done well for yourself by marrying the cff what more could you thank God for she replied you've done well for yourself this makes my father your subject what more could you thank God for her bold response was a sign of her character as well as the delicate new balance of power between abased cffs and some of their more powerful [Music] subjects during the reign of al- mut hadid's son Al mfi tulunid Egypt was fully reabsorbed into the Abbasid caliphate but elsewhere the news was Dire abased Authority collapsed in Arabia where one Shiite group The carians even began attacking pilgrims on their way to Holy Mecca in 930 they stole the black stone the holy of holies from the cabba a terrible blow to aasd prestige in Central Asia the Persian salmonids carved out their own Empire and declared independence this was the height of the so-called Persian Intero when native Persian dynasties ruled in Persia once more increasingly the Abbasid cff was said to Reign but not rule he'd become a symbol without power often under the thumb of his visier by the 930s the ciff had lost control of both the civilian Administration and army command which was handed over to a new official the Amir al- umara commander of the commanders the final humiliation came in 945 the buids were Shiite Warlords from the dilam mountains of Northwestern Persia but their first success was in fars before they went on to seize control of Persia and Iraq their trium ful entry into Baghdad was a deep humiliation for the Sunni abbasids yet they retained the title of cff as no more than figureheads under buoyed command and Spectators to these turbulent times two decades later another Shiite Dynasty the fatimids swept along the North African Coast conquered Egypt and founded Cairo as the capital of their own caliphate some historians label this the Shiite Century with Shiite dynasties ruling twin caliphates and dominating much of the Muslim world but it was not to last a dangerous new Sunni power was poised to burst out of Central Asia the sjuk Turks [Music] the sjuk Turks were pastoralists nomadic livestock Farmers from the Central Asian step they were Fierce Warriors who became champions of Sunni Islam at the end of the 10th Century possibly in response to climate change they swept South into Horas an the gavid Empire successor to the salmonids was first to fall the seljuk Turks were Unstoppable surging westwards across the Persian Plateau taking Baghdad and toppling the buids crushing a bantine army at maniker and forging the great seljuk Empire their Triumph was tempered by the AR of European Crusaders who took Jerusalem in 1099 and carved out a series of Crusader [Music] States one Shia sect shrouded in Legend struck back at the seljuks with deadly Precision in 1092 nisam al- Muk visier of the seljuk empire was killed by the order of Assassins its hit squad disguised a Sufi Mystic [Music] the Assassins or hashashin as they're known in Arabic were a new isi military order formed in the mountains of Northwestern Persia facing powerful enemies but without an army of their own they turned to subterfuge and assassination to achieve their [Music] goals many fanciful stories are told about the Assassins but the order was real and feared and responsible for scores of political murders over the next two [Music] centuries under the seljuks Abbasid cffs continued to reign as spiritual leaders and figureheads but the 12th century saw the fracturing of the great SEL J Empire a familiar story of disputed successions and local Governors making their bid for power sensing weakness in 1136 Abbasid Calif al- mfi raised his own Army to reassert Abbasid Independence for the first time in nearly two centuries he took control of Baghdad and in 1157 held it against a seljuk Siege after generations of foreign subjugation the abids had reemerged as an independent power but it would soon all come Crashing Down in the 13th century a new force from the East tore through the Islamic World scattering armies and destroying every city that did not submit to them the Mongols first to fall The kmian Empire successor to the seljuks overrun by the Mongol hordes of shenis Khan by 1256 his grandson hulagu was poised to renew the onslaught but first he turned his attention to the Assassins rumored to be plotting his death the order was scattered and crushed 2 years later hulagu Advanced against the Abbasid caliphate as his armies neared Baghdad he sent a Stern War warning to cff al- mustasim demanding the city's surrender despite the Mongols terrifying record of destroying any City that opposed them Al mustasim decided baghdad's walls could keep out any step Nomads he was wrong after half baghdad's Garrison was massacred in a disastrous sorty the city surrendered but hulagu was in no mood for Mercy a contemporary chronicler described the horrors that followed the people of Baghdad were put to the sword and subjected to 40 days of killing pillaging and enslavement they tortured people to extort their wealth they killed men women and children a great part of the city including the cff's mosque was burnt and the city laid in ruins the dead lay like Mounds in the streets and [Music] markets the death toll is unknown but was in the many thousands allegedly only Christians were spared thanks to the intercession of Hulu's Christian wife baghdad's libraries were destroyed their books manuscripts representing centuries of Muslim scholarship were thrown into the Tigris River so that it was said to run black with ink Al mustasim was forced to witness this terrible destruction then according to several sources he was rolled in a carpet and trampled to death as Mongols feared to spill Royal Blood the last C C of Baghdad was dead never again would the abbasids hold meaningful political [Music] power al- mustasim was not the last abased cff the line would continue under the mamluk alterate that now ruled Egypt but his successors in Cairo were merely ceremonial figures religious leaders with little power the last cff Al mutawakil III surrendered to the Ottoman Empire in 1517 and was taken away as a prisoner to Constantinople it was a humiliating fate for a dynasty that had once ruled one of History's Greatest Empires one that had dominated the Middle East that had taken on and defeated the byzantines in the west and Chinese in the East that had overseen a great flourishing of scholarship culture technology and trade and reigned over the era that is remembered as Islam's golden [Music] age for centuries to come Islamic leaders would assert their legitimacy by claiming desent from this one towering Dynasty the abases [Music] big thanks to Osprey publishing for kind permission to use several of their images in this video in the video description we've included links to some of the titles that cover the military history of the cipit with much more brilliant artwork thanks also to our series historical adviser professor antoan borut of the University of Maryland you canite out more about onan's projects and Publications via his university web page using the link in the video description thanks most of all to the epic history TV patreon supporters who make this channel possible visit our patreon page to find out how you can support our work help choose future topics and get adree early access to new videos

Channel: Epic History

Views: 1,018,968

Keywords: epic history tv, history, epic history, abbasid, caliphate, islamic

Id: O8hhwSn1iaU

Length: 47min 20sec (2840 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 01 2023