The Abbasid Caliphate: A History

by Tayeb El-Hibri

The period of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258) has long been recognized as the formative period of Islamic civilization with its various achievements in the areas of science, literature, and culture. This history of the Abbasid Caliphate from its foundation in 750 and golden age under Harun al-Rashid to the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 examines the Caliphate as an empire and institution, and probes its influence over Islamic culture and society. Ranging widely to survey the entire five-century history of the Abbasid dynasty, Tayeb El-Hibri examines the resilience of the Caliphate as an institution, as a focal point of religious definitions, and as a source of legitimacy to various contemporary Islamic monarchies. The study revisits ideas of 'golden age' and 'decline' with a new reading, tries to separate Abbasid history from the myths of the Arabian Nights, and shows how the legacy of the caliphs continues to resonate in the modern world in direct and indirect ways.

Genres: History, Islam, Middle East, Nonfiction, Politics

360 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2021

About the author

Tayeb El-Hibri is currently professor of Arabic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He obtained his BA in History from Stanford University (1986) and Ph.D. in Islamic history from Columbia University (1994). He has published: Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (1999), and Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History: The Rashidun Caliphs (2010), and a range of articles in journals such as: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Journal of Near Eastern Studies and Der Islam

Reviews

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Within the span of half a century this mecca of commerce became an arbiter of style to other cities and populations, giving rise to a new Arabic term, tabaghdada (to act like a Baghdadi), which connoted someone projecting urban sophistication -- the equivalent of modern pretensions in cities such as Paris and New York." (60-1)

"The Abbasids, unlike the Umayyads, understood the cost of military expansion in term of social dissidence -- especially since they had grown out of one such movement -- and they tried to curtail the tide of jihad. ... Over time it became evident that the problem was not so much that Baghdad was eager to rule far-off peoples, but that people from far-off lands wanted to rule Baghdad." (278-9)

[Erik Champenois · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Abbasid Caliphate" by El-Hibri fills an important gap in books on Islamic history. Covering the caliphate that succeeded the Umayyads, this book successfully covers both the Abbasid caliphate at the height of its power and the caliphate during the time it functioned more as a religious figurehead with temporal power falling under the Seljuks and other Islamic dynasties. As such, this was an important introduction not only to the history of the caliphate, but to the wider Islamic history of the period coincident with the caliphate.

[Ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very informative. I didn't know the caliph became something like the office of the Pope - imbued with religious authority but no official political or military power. The book also clarified the different Islamic dynasties to me - most of them sought legitimacy from the caliph.

[Junaid Rana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got confused with the names all the time a bit russian writing style... An informative masterpiece if you want to wrape your head around all the things going on after the Rashidun period of islam.