The Abbasid Dynasty Trivia Quiz

Answer: 500 years

The caliphate overthrew the Umayyad Dynasty in 750 CE and remained in power until Baghdad was destroyed in 1258.

The establishment of the original caliphate came into being when the Prophet Muhammad passed away in 632 CE. In the period to 661 CE there were four "rightly guided" caliphs, but the first three did not sit well with the Shia Muslims who wrote them off as usurpers, proclaiming Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin, as the only true caliph. Ali was murdered in 661 CE which opened the door to the absolute monarchy installed by the Umayyads.

To their credit, the Umayyads administered the realm successfully. Their biggest problem was that they ignored those they considered less worthy, applying politics or brute force to keep them in check. This alienated a number of Arab and non-Arab factions, the largest of these being the Shias and the Persians. The Abbasids, who were the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (an uncle of Muhammad), used this division to their advantage, and established a propaganda campaign that would be the fore-runner to their open revolution.

Answer: Battle of the Greater Zab River

When Marwan II became the last of the Umayyad sovereigns in 747 CE, he'd become the head of a disjointed family unit. Unity was non-existent. The oppressed Shias and Persians were voicing their discontent, and the Abbasids orchestrated a meticulous scheme to discredit the Umayyads and lay the foundations for revolt.

What had started as an underground movement reached a climax in 750 CE. At this point Marwan II had become desperate and ordered the killing of Ibrahim, the leader of the Abbasid clan. This placed Abu al-'Abbas, who would given the surname as-Saffah (the bloodthirsty), as leader, and he swore bloody retribution. At the Battle of the Greater Zab River Marwan's forces became panicked and scattered. Marwan fled to Egypt, but was tracked down and killed. Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah was declared the first caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty.

Answer: True

The emissary to the Abbasid imam was sent to prison, briefly, in 741 CE. Whether this was for punishment or by design is not known, however, it is here that he met with Abu Muslim, also known as Abu Muslim al-Khurasani.

Abu Muslim's background, prior to this, is virtually non-existent, though the popular belief is that he was "mawla", a non-Arab Muslim of low status. In 745 CE he was sent to Khorasan to ferment discord. The ground work had already been laid for him by the Abbasids, who had been sowing propaganda in the region for almost two decades. Abu Muslim was able to recruit the discontented factions by preaching a blend of local tradition and Persian culture blurred with elements of Islamic religion. By 747 CE he had formed a coalition of rebel Arabs and Persians and started the fires of revolution that soon spread to provinces outside of Khorasan.

After the defeat of the Umayyads at the Greater Zab River, his services were still required to ensure that order was maintained in the new regime. Despite owing a great deal to Abu Muslim, the Abbasids soon realized that he was a man possessed of shrewd political nous and they became wary of him and the potential threat he held as a rival to the throne. He was stripped of his governorship of Khorasan and murdered when he arrived in court in 755 CE. Abu Muslim was a hero of the people but his death was not avenged. However, the cruel manner in which his life was ended by the new caliph, Ja'far al-Mansur, did create ripples that would slowly change the feelings of the people about the Abbasids.

Answer: China

In July of 751 CE the Abbasid forces clashed with the Chinese Tang dynasty at the Battle of the Talas River. The Abbasid's had allied themselves with the Tibetan Empire while the Chinese were being supported by Karluk Turks. Whilst numbers of participants are difficult to pin down, records indicate that the battle was, initially, a stalemate. That all changed when the Turks defected to the Abbasids and the Chinese were routed.

In part, this led to the cessation of the Chinese expansion west, but it did enable the Abbasids to gain control of the area known as Transoxiana. Today this area is seen to encompass eastern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kazakhstan and southern Kyrgyzstan. This was important to the Abbasids because the Silk Road wound through here and the trade opportunities generated strong economic benefits to the new caliphate.

Another important outcome from this battle was that some 25,000 Chinese soldiers were taken prisoner, and with them they bought paper making technology to the Abbasids. It also opened the door to diplomatic delegations being sent to the Chinese.

Answer: Baghdad

Damascus had been the capital city of the overthrown Umayyad Caliphate, but it was never going to be suitable for the Abbasids, who sought to move away from any links to the previous regime. Al-Mansur would choose an area on the Tigris River, which he deigned would be the perfect site for the city that was to be the centre of the Islamic Empire.

There were three reasons why this site was chosen. First the location sat in the centre of some major trade routes and would provide the city with strategic control of these. The second was the water supply from the river. It had the capacity to provide every household an abundance of fresh water in an area known for its dry climate. The third factor had little to do with strategy, but more with romanticism. Muslim historian al-Tabari noted that an ancient Christian monk had predicted that a great lord by the name of Miklas would build one of the world's greatest cities on the Tigris River. When Al-Mansur heard this he was ecstatic... as a child he had been called Miklas.

Baghdad would, indeed, grow rapidly under the guidance of the Abbasids and become one of the greatest cities of the world.

Answer: False

Al-Mahdi was a completely different ruler to his predecessors. Devout and generous, he took steps to change the reality of cruelty that had been the hallmark of the reigns of al-Saffah and al-Mansur. In particular he made motions to right the wrongs his fathers had done against the Alid communities. He released their captives with dignity and compensated them. However, to have estimated him as soft would have been a gross miscalculation as his responses to any incursions were swift and merciless.

His eldest son was al-Hadi, who he named as his heir, but it was his younger son, Harun al-Rashid, who he favoured. He began his grooming toward the throne early. He would pass away before he could make the formal transfer of power. Al-Hadi became the next caliph and al-Rashid the crown prince. This had the effect of making al-Hadi insecure, and he placed pressure on his younger brother to resign his post. Not liking what he saw, Harun fled the city.

Al-Hadi's reign was a short but sad one. A very insecure ruler, he removed the allowances that his father had granted the Alids, treated them with suspicion and cruelty, and placed spies in their midst. Led by Ali ibn Husayn, the Alids of Hijaz started an uprising and took control of Medina. The caliph would confront ibn Husayn and his armies in the Valley of Fakh where he would defeat and then kill him. The incident would lead to ibn Husayn being named Shahid Fakhkh (the martyr of Fakhkh).

Al-Hadi's mother had also enjoyed a level of power alongside her husband and did not wish to relinquish it. Despite the caliph's wishes, she went out of her way to go against him. Al-Hadi's reign would last a mere 14 months, after which he died of a mystery illness. Considering the turmoil of his reign and the opportunities that existed for others historians debated as to whether it truly was an illness or some nefarious scheme that saw the end of his reign.

Answer: The Grand Library of Baghdad

Ironically, whilst al-Rashid was the catalyst that set up the "Golden Age" of the Abbasids, his actions were also the initial triggers that would lead to its demise.

The Grand Library, also known as the Bayt al Hikma (House of Wisdom), arose from al-Rashid's desire for Muslims to become the world leaders in the arts. The classic works created by the Greeks were bought here and translated into Arabic to feed the minds of his people. He became a patron for the arts and learning.

Harun did not have a great interest in running the state, so he devised a system (call it a government for want of a better word) of "honest men" to administer it. It worked beautifully and the state continued to make great advances. Harun was also strong in battle and when the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I broke the peace, al-Rashid's response was swift. So savage was the beating dished out to the Byzantines that they retreated and accepted a far lesser peace treaty.

Al-Rashid's biggest problem lay in his succession plan. Torn between his two most prominent sons, he handed down the throne to al-Amin and appeased al-Ma'mum by giving him the territories to rule but leaving him a subject of the new caliph. When Harun passed away the two brothers came into conflict and so began a civil war that would become known as the Fourth Fitna or Great Abbasid War (811-819 CE). Al-Amin suffered great losses and then staged a last ditch holdout in Baghdad before surrendering. Despite being welcomed back by his brother, he was soon assassinated. It would be another ten years before the dust would settle on this conflict but the first cracks in the Empire had begun to appear.

Answer: Buyids

After the civil war, the Abbasids endured a long period of decline through the successors to al-Ma'mum. Al-Mu'tasim (reigning 833-842 CE) and al-Wathik (842-847) allowed their Turkish bodyguards too much influence in the court and Al-Mutawakkil (847-861), the "Nero of the Arabs", was assassinated, placing
al-Muntasir (861-862) at the helm. It also elevated a number of senior Turkic officials into the hallways of power, and, under the threat of assassination, al-Muntasir was relegated to being their puppet ruler. This trend would continue with most of the Abbasid's subsequent caliphs.

The fractionalization of the realm created an environment that allowed the Shia faction, the Buyids, to enter and seize Baghdad and demand of caliph al-Mustakfī (944-946) that they be recognized as the sole rulers of the land that they controlled. The Abbasids relented but, essentially, all that changed for them, was the person pulling their strings. For the next 100 years though, the territories controlled by the Buyids were ruled by their own local dynasties.

Earlier, in 909 CE, another faction, the Fatimids, created by the descendants of Fatima, the daughter of the prophet Muhammad, had risen and declared themselves the rightful imams of many Muslim lands. They overran Tunisia and would eventually make Egypt the centre of their caliphate. In the process they had reclaimed some of the lands held by the Abbasids. This caliphate would decline rapidly during the late eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Answer: Seljuks

The Seljuk Empire was a Sunni Muslim empire that was founded in 1037 by Tughril (990-1063). They advanced first into Khorasan and mainland Persia, before eventually conquering Baghdad in 1055. The Buyids were devastated and thrown out of the city by the Seljuks. The Seljuks looked like an overwhelming force and appeared to be unstoppable, however, by the time the Europeans arrived, with their First Crusade, the Seljuks were in a fractured state and in no position to mount a resistance, so they stepped aside. The Abbasids, despite being the nominal leaders of the Muslim race, were powerless and looked on.

By the time of the Second Crusades things had changed thanks to one man, the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. He disposed of the Fatimid factions and brought their lands under the power of the Abbasids. He'd made it his mission to regain the Holy Lands and wage Jihad against the Crusaders. His victory at the Battle of Hattin 1187 was spectacular.

This allowed the Abbasids to regain their military and also some of their authority. The process began with Caliph al-Mustarshid (reigning 1092-1135 CE) and was completed by al-Muktafi (1136-1160). They took over Baghdad and declared complete autonomy. This riled the Seljuks to the point that they mounted several sieges on the city, but the Abbasids held firm.

Answer: Mongol

It seemed that no sooner had the Abbasids regained their standing when they bowled over by the seemingly irrepressible Mongol forces created by the great Genghis Khan. The last "formal" caliph of the Abbasids, al-Must'asim (reigning 1242-1258) made a major blunder. He disbanded the majority of his army and, soon after, accepted the challenge of the Mongol leader Hulegu Khan, grandson of Genghis. The Mongols were ruthless. They leveled the great city and massacred the entire population.

Thanks to a long-held superstition, that a supernatural disaster would strike if the blood of a direct descendant of Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib was spilled, the Mongols held back cutting down the caliph. Instead, they rolled him up in carpet and then allowed horses to trample him to death.

This is seen by most historians as the end of the Abbasid Empire.