Chapter 7 Decline of Abbasid

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Abbasid dynasty

Control over empire begins to slide in 9th century Reasons for decline

Decline

Difficulty in communication and moving armies across the large empire Local administrators not always obeying Excess of court of empire

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Al-Mahdi

3rd Abbasid caliph

Try to reconcile the moderates among the Shi i opposition

Failed which meant Shi'as revolts and assassinations would continue to end of the dynasty

Love the good life- excess of luxury

Habit passed on to later caliphs Financial drain

Fail to solve problem of succession

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Harun al-Rashid

One of most famous and enduring Abbasid caliph Reputation for living the luxurious life One Thousand and One Nights based on his court Dependent on Persian royal advisors

Young when he took the throne. Only 23

Will eventually resist their 4/28/12 influence- reliance will become

Harun al Rashid death will cause several full-scale civil wars over succession

Precedent set by struggle for throne deeply damaging Also end the real power of the Caliphs Convince candidates for the throne that they need a personal army

Often slave soldiers

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Turkic speaking nomads from central Asia

Mercenary Armies

Leaders of slave mercenary armies will be the real power behind the Abbasid throne

4 caliphs will be murder or poison by the mercenary forces

A disruptive force in life of Baghdad and other cities

Bully Catalyst for food riots

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Imperial Breakdown

Constant civil wars drain the treasury

Alienated the people

Caliphs wanting to escape turmoil of Baghdad established new capitals

Add to already high cost of government

Cost of maintaining the mercenary armies Spiraling taxation falling to peasantsleast able to pay 4/28/12

Agricultural economy will be disrupted by

Spiraling taxation Destruction of irrigation Mercenaries pillaging villages

Often led to abandonment of the villages

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Women increasingly under complete control of men

Decline in Position of Women

Harems

seclusion of wives and concubines

Concubines- slaves who sometimes could win freedom and gain power by having rulers sons

Restricted to forbidden parts of imperial palace

veiling

Why? 4/28/12

Abbasid elite will have a great demand for slaves

Both male and female Most captured or purchased from nonMuslim regions Prized for beauty and intelligence.

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Busy with struggles at home and in the central provinces, caliphs were powerless to prevent loss of outer territorties

Egypt Syria Buyids

Persian Shi ites

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Buyids

945 CE

A regional splinter dynasty

Captured Baghdad

Caliph- puppet government Buyids even took the title of Sultans

Arabic for victorious Muslim rulers

Control the court but could not stop the disintegration of empire 4/28/12

1055 Seljuk Turks

Nomadic invaders from central Asia via Persia Brought down the Buyids

Two centuries Turk military leaders rule the Abbasid Empire in name of caliphs Staunch Sunnis

Purge Shi i officials Rid empire of Shi I influence

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Military machine will be successful for a while

End threat of Shi i dynasty in Egypt Defeat Byzantine attempt to regain long last land

Important because it open the way to settlement of Asia Minor

Later home to Ottoman Empire now Turkey

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Seljuks faced challenge by Christian Crusaders

Knights from western Europe who wanted to control the holy lands

Christian crusaders were successful between 1069-1099 due to

Muslim political divisions Element of surprise

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1099 Jerusalem the main objective

8 Crusades over two centuries Seljuk Turks

United by Saladin Reconquered lost territory

Last crusader kingdom was lost with the fall of Acre in 1291
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Impact on

Greater on Christians than Muslims Intensified European borrowing from the Muslims

Weapons Building fortifications Words Games

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Chess

Of greater significance was the exchange was largely one way Muslims show little interest in learning or institutions of the West

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Persian influence

Persian language

replaced Arabic as primary written language at Abbasid court Arabic remain language of religion, law and natural sciences Persian was chief language of high culture

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Shah-Nama

Book of Kings Written by Firdawsi History of Persia from beginnings of time to Islamic conquest

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Science

Islamic civilization ahead of others in scientific discoveries and technologies

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