Empire750 CE – 1258 · 508 years
Abbasid Caliphate
The Baghdad-based caliphate that presided over the Islamic Golden Age.
What it was
Founded in 750 CE after the overthrow of the Umayyads, the Abbasids made Baghdad the world's largest and richest city for two centuries. Under patronage from caliphs like Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun, scholars translated Greek philosophy, developed algebra, and built the first paper mills outside China.
Why it mattered
The "Translation Movement" of 8th–10th-century Baghdad preserved much of the Greek scientific corpus that medieval Europe would later rediscover via Arabic.
From Wikipedia
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire was the third Islamic caliphate, ruled by the Abbasid dynasty. The dynasty was descended from Muhammad's uncle Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib after whom it is named. The Abbasids rose to power in 750, when the Abbasid Revolution overthrew the preceding Umayyad Caliphate, and they ruled as caliphs from their metropole in Iraq until 1258, with Baghdad as their capital for most of their history.
Wikipedia: Abbasid Caliphate·CC BY-SA 4.0
Borders & accuracy
Solid borders are reconstructed from canonical historical-basemap data or hand-crafted from scholarly atlases.
- SOURCEaourednik / historical-basemaps
- DETAILhistorical-basemaps:800:Abbasid Caliphate
- SNAPSHOT800 CE
- MATCHEDAbbasid Caliphate
- POLITY TYPEstate
extent shown is the c.800 peak; the caliphate contracted to Iraq after c.945
Wars of this empire39
Conflicts whose belligerents name this polity, best-documented first.
- Major conflict · 2.0M dead
- Major conflict · 1.0M dead
- Major conflict · 200K dead
- Zanj Rebellion (Iraq)869–883 CEMajor conflict
- Abbasid-Byzantine Wars798 CE–1000Significant · 200K dead
- Battle of Talas751 CESignificant · 100K dead
- Significant · 100K dead
- Early Islamic civil wars632–763 CESignificant
- Third Fitna744–750 CESignificant
- Wars of the Seljuk Empire1037–1194Significant
- Tang dynasty military campaigns618–907 CERegional
- Battle of Zab750 CERegional
- Abbasid Conquest of Ifriqiya761–772 CERegional
- Battle of Tawurgah761 CERegional
- Regional
- Battle of Bakhamra763 CERegional
- Battle of Samalu780 CERegional
- Battle of Nicomedia782 CERegional
- Battle of Crasus805 CERegional
- Regional
- Battle of Baghdad809 CERegional
- Battle of Amorium838 CERegional
- Battle of Dazimon838 CERegional
- Battle of Messina843 CERegional
+ 15 more in the atlas.
Open in the atlas →Seeks the timeline to 750 CE and fits the map to these borders.
Cite as: Abbasid Caliphate (750 CE – 1258). War Atlas. https://waratlas.org/e/abbasid-caliphate · Sources & methodology