The center of the world

Around 1000 CE, Baghdad felt like the heart of the known world. A the time, it was one of the greatest cities on the planet. It had about a million residents, which in proportion to today’s population would look like 26 million. It was wealthy and home to many kinds of people, with thriving trade, sciences, and arts. Baghdad was a beautiful city rivaled only by Hangzhou in Song China.

The city rose to these heights as the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate. It was a powerful and large Muslim empire that lasted from 750 CE to 1258 CE. Starting around the eighth century, Muslim empires spread out across Afro-Eurasia. It all started in the middle of the seventh century with a new political structure called the caliphate.

The institution of the caliphate

After the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad in 632 CE, the Muslim community of Arabia was led by a caliph.¹ The caliph was to be a spiritual and political leader, elected by his fellow Muslims. The Rashidun Caliphate lasted from 632 to 661. During this time, the Muslim community elected caliphs who were related to Muhammad or were among his closest supporters.

Under the Rashidun, the state expanded quickly out of Arabia. The neighboring Byzantines and Persians were at risk. Disease, wars, and rival Central Asian groups made them weak, and these empires weren’t able to put up much of a fight. Many Arab soldiers once fought in the Byzantine and Persian armies. They knew their weaknesses so they could conquer them quickly.

However, the state itself was still a loose group of Arab tribes settled in garrison cities² protected by troops. Then came the Umayyads, who ruled from 661 to 750. Under the Umayyads, the caliphate developed a more complex state structure to rule over its vast land. The empire then stretched from Spain to Central Asia. That’s a lot of territory! State officials began translating Persian and Byzantine sources into Arabic. Many of these sources were about how to manage an empire this large.

As the emerging caliphates grew, they were influenced by Persian and Byzantine political structures. The caliph became a ruler with complete power. That power was passed down to his children. The caliph ruled over subjects, much like a Persian king, and less like an elected leader of a community of fellow Muslims. Muslim scholars disagreed with their use of religion to gain power.

From an Arab empire to a Muslim empire

Soon, the caliphs were focused more on ruling than on safeguarding the religion. We often think of the political spread of the Islamic state and the spread of the Islamic religion as the same thing. In fact, caliphs most often did not encourage conquered people to convert to Islam. Non-Muslims could often retain their own religions. They were required to pay a special tax, called a jizya, a source of income for the state.

Arabs were not willing to share their power, though. They remained the ruling class. Many resented the Umayyads and questioned their authority. After all, they were neither elected nor members of Muhammad’s family. To make matters worse, people thought they acted unjustly and broke from Islamic ideals, including equal treatment for all Muslims, Arab or not.

One revolution later, and the Umayyads were out. They were replaced by the Abbasids, who ruled from 750 to 1258. They were related to Muhammad through his uncle. Though the Abbasids were Arab, the empire became a lot less Arab-centered under their rule.

The Abbasids were powerful monarchs, just as the Umayyads were. They weren’t fairer or more Islamic, either. They did, however, create more space for non-Arabs, and many Turks and Persians held sway at the Abbasid court. Also, many Central Asian boys were captured and brought into the area by the Abbasids, who raised them and used them as enslaved soldiers, called mamluks, to ensure a loyal military.

Society under the caliphate

It’s easy to forget that most people living in the empires were not actually Muslims. At least not right away. People were generally not forced to become Muslims, and for the most part, people converted individually for different reasons. These included sincere belief, avoiding the jizya tax, or gaining rights and privileges.

Muslims ruled over many Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Hindus. Many non-Muslim people moved into the empire as enslaved people, often as prisoners of war or through trade. Enslaved men were often soldiers. Enslaved women were often concubines,³ a practice that became more common during Abbasid rule. This affected the structure of families and the status of women. Slavery was not passed down to children, and people could gain freedom and eventually gain considerable power.

Women’s lives were as different as the many societies Islam reached. Islam gave women rights, including property rights, inheritance rights, and the choice to marry.

Women had their own social and economic networks within their private spheres. Women could direct the building of mosques and schools using their own money. They also could buy and sell products and services in their homes.

Women’s rights were put into practice differently depending on region and social class, though. Over time, Islamic texts were often understood in ways that gave men more control. Former Byzantine and Persian areas were more restrictive for women. They covered their bodies in loose outer garments when in public. In other places, such as coastal East Africa or Southeast Asia, Muslim women were less restricted.

From one empire to many

On paper the Abbasids lasted until the thirteenth century when the Mongols sacked Baghdad. However, the truth is that their power declined around the tenth century for a number of reasons. For one, while more people becoming Muslim was good for the religious community, it wasn’t so good for the empire’s finances. There were a lot fewer people paying the jizya. The empire also became so big that it was hard to control. Some governors started taking taxes and revenues for themselves.

And remember those mamluks? It turns out that enslaved soldiers aren’t all that loyal. They eventually gained the power to influence who became caliph. Mamluks became “kingmakers” and, eventually, they started their own dynasties in various regions of the caliphate, in particular Egypt.

Over time, much of the Abbasid land was actually controlled by a number of independent Muslim dynasties, including mamluk-ruled ones. Many of these were devastated by Mongol invasions, while others survived. The Mongol invasions didn’t end the era of Muslim empires, though. In fact, some Mongols converted to Islam and started their own Muslim dynasties.

With so many different dynasties, you’d think the era of a unified Muslim community was entirely over. That wasn’t really true, though. Several things united Muslims. Trade networks crisscrossed the Muslim world, pulling areas into shared systems of production and distribution. Whether in west Africa, north India, or Baghdad, many Muslims in this era lived in wealthy, highly developed societies. They continued to feel they were at the center of the world.

1 A caliph was the leader of the caliphate. The word comes from the Arabic word khalifa, basically meaning a deputy or successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

2 A garrison city is one that is protected by troops.

3 A concubine is a live-in companion, usually sexual, in a polygamous relationship. Concubines are treated as having lower status than wives.