Abbasid (, ) is the dynastic name generally given to the
caliph of
Baghdad, the second of the two great
Sunni dynasties of the
Arab Empire, that overthrew the
Umayyad caliphs from all but
Spain. It was built by the descendant of
Muhammad's youngest uncle,
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. It seized power in
750 CE and shifted the capital from
Damascus to
Baghdad. It flourished for two centuries, but slowly went into decline with the rise to power of the
Turkish army it had created, the
Mamluks. Within 150 years of gaining power across
Iran, they were forced to cede power to local dynastic
amirs who only nominally acknowledged their power, and had to cede
Al Andalus to an escaped Umayyad royal and the
Maghreb and
Ifriqiya to independent entities such as the
Aghlabids and the
Fatimids. Their rule was ended in 1258, when
Hulagu Khan, the
Mongol conqueror,
sacked Baghdad. While they continued to claim authority in religious matters from their base in
Egypt, the dynasty's secular authority had ended. Descendants of the Abbasids include the al-Abbasi tribe who live northeast of
Tikrit in modern-day
Iraq.
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The Abbasids--a dynasty of
Sunni Moslems--took over the
Caliphate from the
Umayyads in 750 and held it until 1258. They established their capital in Bagdad. During their reign, Islamic arts, literature, and culture blossomed and flourished. The location of the capital in Bagdad had a big impact on Islam, transforming it from a distinctly Mediterranean religion to one with more eastern elements.
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