Middle Ages
Harun al-Rashid (786–809): Caliph of Baghdad's Golden Age
Harun's reign marked the high point of Abbasid wealth and prestige, but his division of the succession led to civil war soon after his death.
Region
Middle East
Middle Ages
Papermaking in Abbasid Baghdad: How Paper Reached Islam
Paper replaced papyrus and parchment across the Islamic world, making books and documents cheaper and fuelling a boom in writing and learning.
Middle Ages
Abul-Abbas: Charlemagne's Elephant from Harun al-Rashid (802)
The elephant reached Charlemagne's court as a diplomatic gift and became a lasting symbol of contacts between the Frankish and Abbasid worlds.
Middle Ages
Al-Khwarizmi and the Birth of Algebra in Abbasid Baghdad
Al-Khwarizmi's books made algebra a distinct field of mathematics and spread Hindu-Arabic numerals to the Islamic world and Europe.
Middle Ages
House of Wisdom: Baghdad's Centre of Translation and Science
The translation movement linked to the House of Wisdom made Greek, Persian and Indian learning available in Arabic and laid foundations for medieval science.
Middle Ages
Great Mosque of Samarra: The Spiral Minaret of the Abbasids
A vast congregational mosque with a spiral minaret was completed in the Abbasid capital; its ruins and the Malwiya survive as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Middle Ages
Banu Musa Brothers and the Book of Ingenious Devices
The brothers produced the earliest surviving Arabic treatise on mechanical devices and influential works on geometry, and became leading patrons of science in Baghdad.
Middle Ages
Zanj Rebellion (869-883): Slave Revolt in Abbasid Iraq
After fourteen years of war the Abbasid regent al-Muwaffaq captured the rebel capital al-Mukhtara in 883 and killed Ali ibn Muhammad, ending the revolt.
Middle Ages
Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171): The Ismaili Empire of Egypt
The Fatimids built a rival caliphate to the Abbasids and founded Cairo, but after a long decline Saladin abolished the dynasty in 1171.
Middle Ages
Buyid Capture of Baghdad (945): The Caliphs Lose Power
The Buyids took control of Baghdad and Iraq; the Abbasid caliphs kept their title and religious role but lost real political power for about 110 years.
Middle Ages
Church of the Holy Sepulchre Destroyed (1009) by al-Hakim
The church and much of the rock-cut tomb were demolished; a smaller church was rebuilt with Byzantine help by about 1048.
Middle Ages
Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics (1011-1021) and Vision
The Book of Optics established the theory that vision is caused by light entering the eye and set a new standard for experimental, mathematical optics in both Islamic and European science.