GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF ISLÁM (A.D. 749-847), FROM THE ACCESSION OF AṢ-ṢAFFÁḤ TO THE DEATH OF AL-WÁTHIQ
THE general characteristics of the 'Abbásid dynasty, and the nature of the forces which contributed to its establishment General characteristics of the 'Abbásid period. and the overthrow of the Umayyads, have been to some extent discussed in the last chapter. Sir William Muir, in the short introductory remarks which he prefixes to his account of this illustrious house (op. laud., pp. 430-432) emphasises three features in particular Characterised by Sir W. Muir. wherein this period differs from the last; firstly, that the Caliphate was no longer coextensive with the limits of Islám (since Spain never accepted 'Abbásid rule, and the allegiance of Africa was fitful and imperfect); secondly, that the martial vigour of the Arabs declined along with their fervent faith, and that they ceased to play the predominant rôle in the history of Islám; thirdly, that Persian, and later Turkish, influences became all-powerful at the centre of government, now transferred from Syria to 'Iráq.
“With the rise of Persian influence,” he adds (p. 432), “the
roughness of Arab life was softened; and there opened an era
of culture, toleration, and scientific research. The practice of oral
tradition was also giving place to recorded statement and historical
narrative,—a change hastened by the scholarly tendencies introduced
from the East. To the same source may be attributed the ever-
In a similar strain Dozy writes:* —
“The ascendancy of the Persians over the Arabs, that is to say of the conquered over the victors, had already for a long Characterised by Dozy. while been in course of preparation; it became complete when the 'Abbásids, who owed their elevation to the Persians, ascended the throne. These princes made it a rule to be on their guard against the Arabs, and to put their trust only in foreigners, Persians,* especially those of Khurásán, with whom, therefore, they had to make friends. The most distinguished personages at court were consequently Persians. The famous Barmecides were descended from a Persian noble who had been superintendent of the Fire-temple at Balkh. Afshín, the all-powerful favourite of the Caliph al-Mu'taṣim, was a scion of the princes of Usrúshna in Transoxiana. The Arabs, it is true, murmured, and endeavoured to regain their ancient preponderance. The war which broke out between the two brothers al-Amín and al-Ma'mún, the sons of Hárúnu'r-Rashíd, was in its essence merely the renewal of the war waged between the Arab and Persian nationalities for the supremacy. But the Arabs again experienced a check; again, cost them what it might, they had to recognise the supremacy of Persia; again they were compelled to watch as passive spectators a change of government dependent on the defeat of one of these races by the other and resulting from it. The democratic point of view of the Arabs was, indeed, replaced by the despotic ideas of the Persians.”
“Know,” says that charming historian al-Fakhrí,* “that the 'Abbásid dynasty was a treacherous, wily, and faithless dynasty, Characterised by al-Fakhrí wherein intrigue and guile played a greater part than strength and energy, particularly in its latter days. Indeed the later rulers of this House lost all faculty of energy and courage, and relied solely on tricks and stratagems. To this effect speaks the poet Ibn Kushájim,* alluding to the truce observed by the people of the sword and the hostility and enmity of the people of the pen one to another:—
‘Pleasant to the people of the sword be that idleness
Whereby their days are passed in self-indulgence!
How many a man is there amongst them who lives a tranquil
life, and has never stirred forth
To any war, nor ever attacked a resolute and equal adversary!
Evening and morning he struts about, girding to his sword-belt
A sword secure from serious work, which has never risked
fracture.
But as for the people of the pen, at no moment
Are their swords dry of blood.’
“In the same strain sang a certain poet when al-Mutawakkil slew his minister Muḥammad b. 'Abdu'l-Malik az-Zayyát:—
‘The heart was like to leave me for distress
When it was said, “The Wazír is slain!”
O Commander of the Faithful, thou hast slain one
Who was the axle on which your mill revolved!
Gently, O sons of al-'Abbás, gently!
For in truth men's hearts burn at your treachery!’
“Yet withal it was a dynasty abounding in good qualities, richly endowed with generous attributes, wherein the wares of Science found a ready sale, the merchandise of Culture was in great demand, the observances of Religion were respected, charitable bequests flowed freely, the world was prosperous, the Holy Shrines were well cared for, and the frontiers were bravely kept. Nor did this state of things cease until its last days were at hand, and violence became general, government was disturbed, and empire passed from them, all of which will be set forth in its proper place, if God please.”
As it is not my intention to discuss in detail the reigns or characters of the Caliphs of this House, or to repeat anecdotes of Hárúnu'r-Rashíd's nocturnal rambles through the streets of Baghdad in the company of Ja'far the Barmecide and Masrúr the black executioner, which are familiar to all readers of the Thousand and One Nights, and of which a copious selection will be found in the late Professor Palmer's entertaining little volume on that celebrated monarch,* I here append, for the convenience of the reader, a table of the 'Abbásid Caliphs of this earlier period, adapted from Stanley Lane-Poole's excellent Muhammadan Dynasties (London, 1894).
<genealogy>
| 'Alí b. 'Abdu'lláh b. 'ABBÁS | |||||
| Muḥammad | 'Abdu'lláh | Músá | Sulaymán | ||
| Ibráhím | 1. -Ṣaffáḥ | 2. -Manṣúr | 'Ísá | ||
| 3. -Mahdí | |||||
| 4. -Hádí | 5. -Rashíd | -Manṣúr | Ibráhím | ||
| 6. -Amín | 7. -Ma'mún | 8. -Mu'taṣim | |||
| Muḥammad | 9. -Wáthiq | 10. -Mutawakkil | |||
| 12. -Musta'ín | 14. -Muhtadí | 11. -Muntaṣir | 13. -Mu'tazz | 15. Mu'tamid | -Muwaffaq |
| Ibnu'l-Mu'tazz | 16. -Mu'taḍid | ||||
The first century of the dynasty, from its establishment till the death of al-Wáthiq and accession of al-Mutawakkil (A.H. 132-232 = A.D. 750-847), will chiefly be dealt with in this Third Book. It is the Golden Age of the Caliphate, and is characterised by the ascendancy of Persian influence, typified in the celebrated and noble Barmecides (descendants of Barmak), by the wit and learning so much in fashion at the Court, and by the complete dominance of the broad and liberal Mu'tazilite doctrines in the field of religion. With the accession of the tenth Caliph, al-Mutawakkil, Turkish influences (always somewhat barbarous in many aspects, and seldom favourable to free thought and enlightened intellectuality) largely displaced Persian; the Mu'tazilite doctrine, no longer patronised by Royalty, was supplanted by what now passes current as orthodoxy, to the great detriment of philosophical speculation; and for a time a violent anti-Shí'ite bias was displayed. This earlier period of the 'Abbásid Caliphate is therefore well defined, both in respect to racial dominance and religious tendencies, and reached its culminating point in the splendid reign of al-Ma'mún, whose mother* and wife* were both Persians, and whose ministers, favourites, and personal characteristics were, for the most part, Persian also. “We have seen,” says Professor Palmer, “how the Arabs perforce left the actual administration of the conquered countries in the hands of native officials. The 'Abbásids owing their rise entirely to Persian influence, it was only natural that Persian counsels should prevail, and we accordingly find a minister of Persian extraction at the head of affairs, and the Caliphate carried on by almost precisely the same machinery as that by which the Empire of the Sásánians was governed.”