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Al-Mu'tasim, (833–842) was an Abbasid caliph, patron of the art and a powerful military leader. Al-Wathiq, (r. 842–847) was an Abbasid caliph, he was well educated and with a considerable interest in scholarship. Al-Mutawakkil, (r. 847–861) was the tenth Abbasid caliph, under his reign the Abbasid Empire reached its territorial height.
One of the first major changes effected by Abbasid rule was the move of the caliphate's center of power from Syria to Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). This was closer to the Persian mawali support base of the Abbasids and the move addressed their demand for reduced Arab dominance in the empire. [18] However, no definitive capital was yet selected.
Support for the Abbasid revolution came from people of diverse backgrounds, with almost all levels of society supporting armed opposition to Umayyad rule. [9] This was especially pronounced among Muslims of non-Arab descent, [10] [11] [12] though even Arab Muslims resented Umayyad rule and centralized authority over their nomadic lifestyles.
Abbasid rule returned between 905 and 969, the first 30 years of which was direct rule from Baghdad (905–935), and the rest was through the Ikhshidid governors of Egypt (935–969). [64] The mother of Caliph al-Muqtadir (r. 908–932) had wooden porches built under all the city gates and repaired the Dome of the Rock. [61]
The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came to power in the Abbasid Revolution in 748–750, supplanting the Umayyad Caliphate.
Large numbers of troops were what originally gave the city such a dense population, but as the army continued to need supplies, more people came to the city for jobs, thus being another reason Baghdad became a center of commerce. [17] Baghdad also being named the new capital of the Abbasid caliphate drew in people for the prestige and name alone.
Even though the Fatimids ultimately failed in their ambitions—their rule was ended by Saladin in 1171, who restored Sunnism and Abbasid suzerainty to Egypt [149] —they transformed Egypt, and their capital, Cairo, founded to be the seat of a universal empire, has since then been one of the main centres of the Islamic world. [150]
After that Muslim dynasties rose; some of these dynasties established notable and prominent Muslim empires, such as the Umayyad Empire and later the Abbasid Empire, [1] [2] Ottoman Empire centered around Anatolia, the Safavid Empire of Persia, and the Mughal Empire in India. [citation needed]