The Abbasid Caliphate
Learn about the Abbasid Caliphate — the Islamic dynasty that built Baghdad, patronized the House of Wisdom, and presided over the Islamic Golden Age.
The Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE) overthrew the Umayyads by promising a more inclusive Islamic state — one that would treat all Muslims equally regardless of ethnicity. They moved the capital from Damascus to a purpose-built city: Baghdad, the "Round City," strategically located at the crossroads of trade routes connecting the Mediterranean, Central Asia, India, and China.
Under the Abbasids, Islamic civilization reached its intellectual zenith. The House of Wisdom in Baghdad became the world's greatest center of learning, where scholars translated the entire corpus of Greek, Persian, and Indian knowledge into Arabic and then built upon it. Mathematicians developed algebra, astronomers refined the astrolabe, physicians wrote medical encyclopedias that would remain authoritative for centuries. This was not mere preservation — it was active, creative synthesis.
The Abbasid political story is more complicated. Real central authority faded after the 9th century as regional governors, military commanders, and rival dynasties carved out autonomous territories. The caliphs increasingly became symbolic figureheads. Yet the cultural and commercial networks they had established continued to thrive, making the dar al-Islam the most interconnected civilization on earth until the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 brought the caliphate to a devastating end.