Arab Caliphate: "The Umayyads and Abbasids: Tales from the Arab Caliphate"

Arab Caliphate

    Caliphate (“Khilafat” in Arabic) was a semi-religious political system of governance in Islam, in which the territories of the Islamic empire in the Middle East and North Africa and the people within were ruled by a supreme leader called Caliph (“Khalifa” in Arabic – meaning successor). Caliphs were initially the sole sovereigns of the empire left behind by Prophet Muhammad and added vast territories of surrounding rival empires. They were initially selected by a group of senior members of a primitive parliament who kept in mind the people's will. The first four caliphs, who were nominated in such a way, are referred to as the Rashidun (rightly guided) caliphs by mainstream Sunni Muslims; Shia Muslims consider only Ali, the fourth one, to be legitimate and discard the claims of the first three by branding them as usurpers.

    The caliphate soon became a hereditary institute when the dynastic system of rule was introduced to the Islamic world by the Umayyads, who were overthrown and replaced by the Abbasids. The Abbasids, After the destruction of Baghdad in 1258 CE, held nothing but the title itself. This was to change when the Ottoman Sultans took over the institute, becoming the first and last non-Arabs to do so and continued it until 1924 CE when it was officially abolished by Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal Pasha (the father of modern Turkey).

Rashidun Caliphate

    One problem with the Prophet Muhammad's demise (632 CE) was that he had not appointed an heir, and since he had no surviving sons, a conflict arose. The closest relative of Muhammad, according to some his rightful heir, was Ali, his cousin and son-in-law (he had married Muhammad's daughter Fatima) – these people came to be known as “Shia't Ali” (the party of Ali) and would later transform into a separate sect of Islam. However the Arabs were not used to a dynastic system of rule, hence the vast majority of the Muslim community supported the claim of the ablest and the closest of Muhammad's companions – Abu Bakr, this group came to be known as the Sunnis (followers of the “Sunna” or the way of the Prophet). Abu Bakr was given the title of caliph (successor of the Prophet), and he also received the sincere support of another senior and respected companion of Muhammad, Umar, who would in time become his successor.

    Abu Bakr (r. 632-634 CE) proved himself a competent leader. Most of the Arabian tribes refused to accept the caliphal authority on the pretext that their loyalty was only to Muhammad as a person, not to Islam – these apostates also joined hands with “imposters” or false prophets who kept on emerging with new and obscure faiths. From his capital in Medina, Abu Bakr responded competently by calling the “faithful” to arms under the banner of Jihad (holy war – contextually). The Muslim armies triumphed over the rebels and Abu Bakr succeeded in uniting the entire Arabian Peninsula. Knowing that tribal affiliations would eventually resurface, Abu Bakr sent the newly formed armies to consolidate hold over Arabian tribes in Sassanian and Byzantine territories. These attacks were meant to be raids but turned into swift and permanent conquests. After Abu Bakr's death in 634 CE, his most powerful supporter – Umar ibn Khattab (r. 634-644 CE) became the next caliph.

Umayyad Dynasty

    Even while Ali was still ruling, Muawiya had audaciously challenged his authority on moral grounds. Using the tragic death of his cousin to propagate his agenda, he managed to strengthen his power. After Ali's death, Muawiya's (r. 661-680 CE) only contender was Ali's eldest son Hasan, who abdicated the office in the former's favor in return for a high pension. The year 661 CE marks the official start of the rule of the Umayyad Dynasty with Muawiya as its first caliph and Damascus as the new capital; power was shifted from Iraq to Syria, and Medina would never regain the political prestige it once had. His 20-year reign was the most stable for the Ummah (Muslim community) since Umar's death. Nearing the end of life, Muawiya appointed his son Yezid (r. 680-683 CE) as his successor, and this was met with much resistance, most notably from Ali's younger son Hussayn, who was killed (a martyr in the eyes of both Sunnis and Shias) along with his army, mostly his family members, by Yezid's forces at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.

    Caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685-705 CE) encouraged centralization in the empire and elevated the status of Arabic, making it the lingua franca of the empire. It was also during his reign that Tunis was conquered (in 693 CE), and the local Berber population accepted Islam and in time would spread the boundaries of the empire into the Iberian Peninsula. The rebellious province of Iraq (because of Shia Muslims) was also kept in check by placing it under the control of a ruthless but loyal governor – Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (l. 661-714 CE).

Abbasid Dynasty

    The Abbasids were the descendants of Prophet Muhammad's uncle Abbas and they used this fact to legitimize their claim to the caliphate. After the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyads in 750 CE, Abu Abbas As-Saffah – “the bloodthirsty” (r. 750-754 CE) was declared caliph. Umayyad graves in Syria were dug out and their remains were burnt, and the living male members were all massacred, all save one – Abd al-Rahman I, who escaped the Abbasids, making a perilous journey to Al Andalus, where he established the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba (in 756 CE), which would rival the Abbasids in elegance and grandeur.

    Al Mansur (r. 754-775 CE), the successor of As-Saffah, created a new capital near the Tigris River – Baghdad (in modern-day Iraq) – a city that surpassed all European cities of the time in every standard. Artists, architects, scholars, poets, historians, scientists, astrologists, mathematicians, and other people of many fields contributed to the elevation of the city, transforming it into a hub of learning and culture in the Islamic empire.

Ottoman Sultanate

    In 1299 CE, a former Turkish vassal to the Seljuks and a tribal chieftain named Osman (r. c. 1299-1324 CE) began expanding his dominion in Asia Minor at the expense of the weakened Byzantine Empire and formed the Ottoman Sultanate (named after Osman). Osman and his descendants, considering jihad and imperial expansion a moral duty, continued to swiftly conquer vast territories. By 1453 CE, from their capital at Edirne (Adrianople), the Ottomans held dominion over territories in Asia Minor, the whole of Anatolia, and many regions in the Balkans. Two major efforts of the European Christendom to halt their advance failed in 1389 CE (Battle of Kosovo) and 1444 CE (Battle of Varna).

    By 1453 CE, Constantinople was all that remained of the Byzantine realm and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1451-1481 CE) was determined to take it. Mehmed's siege turned out to be successful and the city became the Sultanate's new capital. With the possession of the Dardanelles, the Ottomans held the monopoly of the major trade routes (part of the Silk Road) in the Middle East and Eurasia and had no intention of sharing them with the rest of the world. They closed the Silk Road and this forced other Western powers to explore the unknown world – the Age of Exploration – which led to the conquest of the so-called “New World” by European powers.

Publisher: M. Celio Durrani

Source: World History Encyclopedia