The Abbasid caliphate was an era of glory and power in the Middle East during the eighth and ninth centuries. It was the center of trade, art, and power, during a time when the rest of the world was ever so oblivious.
Why did the definitive break-up of the Islamic State begin only in the 9th Century and not before?
The Abbasid caliphate was an era of glory and power in the Middle East during the eighth and ninth centuries. It was the center of trade, art, and power, during a time when the rest of the world was ever so oblivious. The eventual decline of the caliphate occurred amidst political, financial and economic turmoil in Baghdad. There were several factors which instigated the break-up of the Islamic State in the 9th century, and led to the creation of smaller successor states. The domination of Turks in the military, along with minor rebellions in Iraq led to the development of religious sects and permanent damage of the Abbasid caliphate.
The Turkish military created by Mu’tasim in the early 9th century was the beginning of the Islamic State break-up. Although the Turkish soldiers provided the government with a stable force to deal with foreign and domestic problems, they also damaged the structure of the empire. Mu’tasim began to purchase Turkish slaves from their masters in Baghdad and central Asia. These Turks formed the entire military, and were loyal and devoted to their master. However, the local Baghdadi’s were not too pleased. “The locals saw them as brutal barbarians who could not even speak Arabic and who rode through the streets knocking down men and women and trampling children under foot.” (Kennedy, Baghdad, 218) In order to avoid these tensions, Mu’tasim thought it was best to move the center of the government from Baghdad to Samarra, as to separate the troops from the civilians. What the caliph assumed to be helpful, turned out the be the first event leading to the break-up of the Islamic State.
The army and bureaucracy were moved to Samarra, a site that was cheaply acquired with no natural obstacles to limit expansion. Mu’tasim was surrounded by his loyal troops who owed their fortunate luck to him. Unfortunately for Mu’tasim, “he could not have realized how this isolation in the middle of his troops would make Samarra a prison and ultimately a death trap for his successors.” (Kennedy, Baghdad, 220) By isolating the Turkish troops away from Baghdad, he prevented the merging of the locals and Turks, thus creating a barrier which was never to be filled. He allowed the Turkish military to conquer Samarra and create their own independent community, resulting in future clashes and rebellions against Baghdadi’s.
Although Mu’tasim organized a new and efficient army and launched a series of successful battles, the Muslims felt angered and alienated by the new regime. Upon the caliph’s death in 842, the power of the military was evident. “The power remained firmly in the hands of Mu’tasim’s cabinet, the Turkish soldiers Ashinas, Itakh, and Wasif. It was they who managed the succession and effectively conducted the government.” (Kennedy, Baghdad, 231) After the election of al-Mutawwakil as caliph, the tension between Baghdad and Samarra was brewing.
The election of al-Mutawwakil was the last tincture of hope for the Muslim civilians. He attempted to diversify the troops by bringing in soldiers from North Africa and Armenia, and killed important Turkish figures such as Itakh. These steps in attempt to undermine the military were bold, but insufficient, and resulted in his murder in 861. It was at this point when protests against the Turkish military coup became more common. After a season of political unrest, the Turks elected a new caliph in Samarra signifying that war between the two cities was inevitable. Baghdadi’s were armed with clubs, iron nails and bows and arrows. “Hatred of the Turks and, no doubt, the desire to see their city once more the capital mobilized a wide cross-section of society.” (Kennedy, Baghdad, 278) By the middle of the ninth century, the Muslims were angered enough to wage a war, a war in which took a toll on the empire.
The constant battles between Samarra and Baghdad led to the downfall of the Islamic State. People of the villages and small towns along the route to Baghdad suffered, farms were ruined, crops were destroyed and travelers were robbed. “There was a continuing financial crisis. Long term decline in agricultural revenues had been accelerated by the damage done in the wars.” (Kennedy, Baghdad, 283) The agriculture of Baghdad was being burned and flooded, and as the armies crisscrossed the lands of Iraq, they threw wastes and polluted the land. Agriculturally, Iraq was suffering.
Politically, the government did not have the time and money to invest in cleaning up Iraq. “The demands of the military were immediate and very pressing. Good government and stewardship of the lands would have to wait.” (Kennedy, Baghdad, 283) The Turks demanded large sums of money in which the Baghdadi’s had no access to. This chaos in the center led to the collapse of caliphal authority in the provinces. Abbasid troops had to withdraw from outlying areas to help one side or another, thus decreasing the size of the empire. Rebellions soon rose in multiple provinces including areas such as Syria, Armenia, Egypt and much of Arabia, and those slipped away from caliphal control as well. “With the loss of territories went the loss of their revenues, adding other elements to the vicious downward spiral.” (Kennedy, Baghdad, 283)
The Abbasid Caliphate was dwindling agriculturally and politically, and this led to a major loss of money. The military was determined to ensure their economic survival, and with a reduced empire, these revenues were impossible to obtain. There were major demonstrations of Baghdadi’s crying out “hunger, hunger,’ in demand of food and lower prices due to the hardships being caused. The caliphate was now reduced to financial crisis and much of Baghdad lay in ruins. It was at this time that tribes began to conquer and rule over various parts of Iraq, composing small successor states. All these conflicts could not have occurred earlier than the 9th century because the Turkish military had not arrived yet. Their arrival into Iraq acted as a domino effect, dwindling down each positive aspect of the empire.
While the Turkish military was in conflict with the Muslims, a rebellion broke out in 869 in Basra. The Zanj was the name given to the slave population of southern Iraq. They wanted to rise up against their masters in hopes of freedom and prosperity. “They threatened the very survival of the caliphate and the struggle against them was a war to the death.” (Kennedy, Age of the Caliphates, 179) The rebellion enjoyed an unchallenged success for almost ten years. The Abbasid response came along in 879, and was systematic and effective. The rebels were besieged and their ships were destroyed. However, this rebellion came at a time when Iraq was already in decline. They could not invest much time or money to recuperate the damage that had been caused. “Slave farming and large-scale reclamation of land were never begun again and it seems unlikely that the city of Basra ever fully recovered.” (Kennedy, Age of the Caliphates, 181) Due to the destruction of the Zanj, Basra joined the rest of the smaller cities in their decline and division into successor states.
In the ninth century, Iraq was constantly in conflict from all angles, and the agriculture and economy was heavily damaged. However, it was also at this time in history that Muslims were forming their separate sects. In 873, the eleventh imam died in Iraq, and many of his followers believed his infant son would return as a messianic figure. The Shi’is who awaited the twelfth imam came to be known as “Twelvers,” and shifted their loyalty to an unseen divine-like imam. Non Shi’is began to tolerate them since they had no immediate candidate for the caliphate, and their cause became passive. The events of this decade however, led to a future Shi’i prominence. “The intellectual prominence of Shi’is at the time probably resulted from the developments of the preceding period. In the Iraq many of the old families inherited the Shi’ism of Kufah.” (Hodgson, Venture of Islam, 37)
The Isma‘ili movement of the Fatimids also had the same origin. This is due to the fact that in the ninth century, there was a tendency for those outside the center to become Shi’is rather than Kharijis. Since the central power had broken up, it was the very outsiders who were seizing power. Although their political power did not last for long, it led to the rise of the Shi’is as a separate Muslim faction. Their claim of a twelfth, messianic imam proved to have been too far-reaching to allow compromise with other Muslims. Therefore, the religious events of the ninth century changed the shaping of the Abbasid caliphate, and religion in the Middle East for eternity.
The break-up of the Islamic state was caused by a number of events occurring in the ninth century. The Turkish military system is the main focus because they weakened the Abbasid power, and disabled them to repair other aspects of their empire such as the damage of the Zanj. The war between the Baghdadi’s and the Turkish soldiers also led to the withdrawal of Abbasids from the provinces. This withdrawal cost them to lose additional revenues, and also allowed the Shi’is more power and independence in the future. By the end of the ninth century, it had become inevitable for the Islamic state not to break up due to the constant turmoil, and the smaller successor states were able to gain control over Islamdom.
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