Abbasid+Caliphate+Essa

The Abbasid Caliphates ruled the Islamic Empire for many years. From the defeat of the Umayyad Caliphates to the Battle of Baghdad in 1258, there were caliphs who ruled and had their own ways of control and power. Every caliph was different and some were not so successful in ruling the entire empire but there were some who achieved great things and made a big impact on the development of the Abbasids. __Leaders today can learn through the mistakes and successes of past Abbasid Caliphs and influential figures.__

Because the Abbasid Empire was so large, it was easy for the Abbasids to create alliances, but also make enemies. It all began when the great grandson of al-Abbas began protesting in Persia to promote his belief of having a caliph who descended from the Prophet Muhammad reign over the Islamic Empire. Later, another descendant of the Abbas, Abu'al Abbas as-Saffah, continued the rebellion and led the Battle of the Great Zab. He wiped out the majority of the Umayyad Caliphates and from then on, Abu'al Abbas al-Saffah became caliph of the new Islamic Empire, Abbasid Caliphate. A remaining Umayyad survivor, Abd ar-Rahman I , took power from a local Muslim leader in 765; already making an enemy of the Abbasids. The Abbasids also shifted their culture to more Persian-influenced. They allowed non-Arabs and Persians to have government positions and that made many of the Abbasids’ supporters turn away from them. The Abbasids even abandoned Shi’ite beliefs; that angered the Shi’ites and they revolted in 786. Although the Abbasids did have determination and a great purpose, they should not have made so many enemies. Present leaders should not make enemies because if they do, it can result to a great downfall.

One of the biggest mistakes made by the Abbasid Caliphs was isolating themselves from their people. The caliphs believed that they were chosen by God so they secluded themselves and controlled the empire without any contact with the ‘outside world’. Although caliphs had ultimate power over the government, they did not take part in the decisions made by the ministers and leaders. But, if the caliphs’ power was threatened by the other influential leaders, they would most likely be killed or their political power would be taken away. Leaders today should not isolate themselves from their country and their people. Leaders are looked up to by people and the Abbasids did not allow them to do that. Isolation can lead to a disappointed nation, country or even empire.

Because of the caliphs had immense power over the people of the empire, they were able to easily influence them. Unlike some other caliphs, Harun ar-Rashid made a positive influence by introducing art, music, architecture and education to the Abbasids. He built a palace in Baghdad and filled it with artists, scholars, poets and musicians. Through Harun ar-Rashid the first book of law, biographies, book of mechanics and many more were written. And discoveries were made; Muhammad al-Razi diagnosed smallpox and measles and even educated others about birth control. Baghdad was able to flourish and grow through this influential caliph. Leaders today can learn from Harun ar-Rashid by letting people have the freedom to make discoveries and learn new things.  Therefore, there are many things that we can learn from the Abbasid Caliphates. Creating enemies can result to a big downfall, leaders should not close themselves off from their own people and everyone should have the freedom to explore new things and use their knowledge for new discoveries. The Abbasid Caliphates may have fallen and is now a historical empire, but we can still learn new things from their mistakes and successes .

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