Abbasid Research Paper

Words: 703
Pages: 3

The Abbasid Caliphate, the third of the Islamic Caliphates to succeed Muhammad, overthrew the Umayyads and claimed the Muslim empire to themselves in 750 CE. Although both the Abbasid and the Umayyad dynasties were Muslim, the Abbasids moved the Muslim empire into a new direction. Governing from their capital, Baghdad, the Abbasids transformed the Muslim faith into a worldwide religion that spread across North Africa and Euro-Asia. The Abbasids constituted a new direction from the Umayyads by the expansion of the bureaucratic class which led to a strong from of absolutism, the acceptance of new religions, and the increase of the merchant class. Under Sharia law, the Abbasids created a bureaucracy that built a strong, unified absolutist order. Baghdad, the new central hub of the Muslim world, contained the continuous growth of the bureaucrats, servants, and slaves who …show more content…
The Abbasid era renewed the Afro-Eurasian trading system and the western commercial system. Merchants used dhows, sailing vessels that allowed them to bring goods to not only the whole empire but to the whole world which made them very wealthy. Merchants also took charge of the luxurious items for the elites in the society. The enormous revenues that trading brought in was invested into new land, profitable businesses, and lavish homes. Furthermore, the money from trading also went to building mosques, schools and helping the poor. The amount of hospitals built in the Abbasid empire and the excellence of their doctors surpassed everyone during that time period. The development of cities encouraged the growth of a wide range of new industries. Privately-owned industries increased the production of furniture, carpets, and leather. The countryside was owned by the upper-class who hired peasants or slaves to work the land. Trade greatly influenced the development of the Abbasid