Baghdad Burns: Fall of the Abbasids

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Published 2023-08-04
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In the 8th century Middle East, a new dynasty seized control of one of the world’s greatest empires – the Islamic Caliphate. Though little remembered in the west today, the Abbasids reigned for five centuries. They oversaw an era of Islamic military dominance... city-building… brilliant scholarship, and technological innovation. It has come to be remembered as Islam’s ‘golden age’. This is the story of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Thank you to our series historical consultant, Professor Antoine Borrut of the University of Maryland. Find out more about his research and publications here: history.umd.edu/directory/antoine-borrut
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📚 Osprey Publishing books on military forces of the Caliphate::

📖 Armies of the Muslim Conquest www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/armies-of-the-muslim-c…
📖 The Armies of Islam 7th-11th Centuries www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/armies-of-islam-7th11t…
📖 Armies of the Caliphates 862-1098 www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/armies-of-the-caliphat…
📖 Mounted Archers of the Steppe 600 BC–AD 1300 www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/mounted-archers-of-the…
📖 Saracen Faris AD 1050–1250 www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/saracen-faris-ad-10501…
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📚 Some recommended reading provided by Prof. Borrut for those wishing to know about the Abbasids (as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases):

📖 A recent & comprehensive overview of Abbasid Baghdad and Abbasid culture: Emily Selove, Baghdad at the Centre of a World, 8th-13th Century: An Introductory Textbook www.amazon.co.uk/Baghdad-Centre-World-8th-13th-Cen…

📖 The funniest (and excellent) introduction to the topic (comic book): Emily Selove, Popeye and Curly: 120 Days in Medieval Baghdad www.amazon.co.uk/Popeye-Curly-Days-Medieval-Baghda…

📖 The most accessible narrative on the Abbasid dynasty: Hugh Kennedy, When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam’s Greatest Dynasty www.amazon.co.uk/When-Baghdad-Ruled-Muslim-World/d…

📖 To move away from the aura of masculinity surrounding the period: Nadia Maria El Cheikh, Women, Islam, and Abbasid Identity bookshop.org/a/99532/9780674736368 / uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9780674736368

📖 An excellent biography of a major Abbasid caliph: Michael Cooperson, Al-Ma’mun uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9781851683864 / www.amazon.co.uk/Al-Mamun-Makers-Muslim-Michael-Co…

📖 Many more excellent biographies in the same series, “Makers of the Muslim World”: www.simonandschuster.com/series/Makers-of-the-Musl…

📖 A thought-provoking discussion of the making of a discrete Muslim identity in pre-Abbasid times: Fred M. Donner, Muhammad and the Believers: At the Origins of Islam bookshop.org/a/99532/9780674064140 / uk.bookshop.org/a/12275/9780674064140

You can visit our online bookshop to find great books on the Abbasids and other topics:
UK site - uk.bookshop.org/shop/epichistorytv
US site - bookshop.org/shop/epichistorytv
As a bookshop.org affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases while donating 10% of sales to support independent bookshops!
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All Comments (21)
  • @EpichistoryTv
    I hope you enjoy the second and final episode of our epic history of the Abbasid Caliphate! Thank you to our video sponsor Raid: Shadow Legends! Install Raid for Free ✅ IOS/ANDROID/PC: t2m.io/EpicHistoryTVRaid and get a special starter pack with an Epic champion⚡Drake⚡Available only for new players. Thank you to Osprey Publishing for permission to use their fantastic images - check video description for links to some great titles from their range of military history books. Thank you also to Prof Antoine Borrut, our historical consultant, and to all our Patreon supporters! www.patreon.com/EpicHistoryTV
  • @AbsoluteAmoeba
    The only bad thing about these videos is that they end.
  • Narrator's voice itself is very powerful and worthy to host historical documentaries🎉
  • @FlashPointHx
    This is so well done and so well told. I'm really happy that you are shedding light on a period of history that is otherwise overlooked.
  • @alboimatri1864
    Islamic and chinese history are honestly some of the most slept on subjects. I recommend researching and maybe finding games on them, they’re amazing
  • Epichistory tv is back with blockbuster documentary . Thnks for all the hard work . Your huge fan from 🇱🇰 .
  • I really hope this series continues on to the Ottoman Empire. Not nearly enough content about this period, fantastic video as always!
  • @Nomadictroll
    The famous belle-lettrist Abu Hayyan al-Towhidi (d414/1023) quoted Ebn al-Moqaffa* (d.142/759) as stating the following differences between peoples: The Persians are masters of politics, civility, rules, and protocols. The Greeks have science and philosophy. The Indians have thought, reflection, discernment and magic, and the Turks have courage and audacity. The Africans have joy, endurance and labour. The Arabs have valour, hospitality, loyalty, heroism, generosity, humour and eloquence.
  • @AleCharlie
    This is the best history channel on YouTube. The narration, the editing, the art, the music and the level of research just makes every video a sheer joy to watch!
  • The Byzantine Empire looks terrifyingly small compared this juggernaut. It’s amazing they held on to as much territory as they did
  • @KaiserTwo
    How do you sustain this? These videos are just simply amazing, and are better than most if not all of the documentaries I have watched. They have gotten me re-invigorated into history, yet they only get up to a million or so views! They clearly deserve more, and I am wondering if you can get the funds to keep making videos? Are the sponsorships enough? Love from China 🇨🇳.
  • Barely 5 minutes in and have goose bumps. Dude can draw me into a story better than anyone else on YouTube. 🎉
  • I love them mentioning the Assassins who have inspired the Assassin's Creed series. And the history of the 860s,70s is exactly what we are going to witness soon in the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage!❤
  • @al-qadi3427
    This looks amazing already. There's a thorough video on Arab and Turkic warfare in the later period (11th-14th century) by Schwerpunkt that really deserves as an integration. I'm glad that you've been covering more Islamic warfare in the last couple of months
  • Finally it's here! What a truly epic narration of the early Muslim history. I don't typically hear about much of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates as it's usually always starting with the Ottomans or sometimes hear about the Seljuk Turks and Fatimids during the Crusasdes, but I've always wondered just how the Muslim world came to be and it's often glossed over. And my god, the quote about the Tigris river's waters "running black with ink" from all the books thrown there is such a chilling and badass description. Now I eagerly want to see how you would handle the history of the Mongol Empire from Genghis Khan down to its fall as well. Knowing they were the last Far East Asian power to take on European and Middle Eastern powers until the Japanese's Imperial rise. But of course, in good time. Thank you so much Epic History for covering this period. I'm excited to resume to the conclusion of Napoleon's campaign in Italy and hope there are more about him to cover such as in Egypt and his plans to take power. Seeing as how, Ridley Scott has produced a full motion picture about him!
  • @warriorface31
    The Battle of Manzikert paved way for Crusades and the Turkification of Anatolia which laid the seeds of the Ottoman empire which conquered Constantinople ending Rome and triggering the Age of Discovery which shaped much of the modern world,... A battle can only be this impactful
  • @MunsterBeavis
    Greatly looking forward to each episode of this series! Muslim conquest and culture is so rich that it’s important for everyone to receive its full human story. Thank you EHT!!! 👏👏
  • @rpilo5560
    the end of Hulagu was terrifying. He died naked in the desert of Iraq, barking like a dog in a state of epilepsy, and he was urinating on himself (as mentioned by Muslim historians). He suffered a stroke and also from epilepsy after the defeat of Ain Jalut and the series of many heavy humiliating defeats that he suffered in front of his Muslim cousin Berke Khan and the Muslim Golden Horde espeasiclly his defeat at the river of terek where he lost 200,000 of his soldiers who destroyed Baghdad
  • @ambition112
    0:01: 📜 The Abbasid caliphate, which ruled for five centuries, was a period of military dominance, city construction, scholarly brilliance, and technological innovation in the Islamic world. 4:21: 💥 After a year-long bloody siege, the city fell and the caliph was captured and executed. The new caliph, Al-Ma'mun, formed an alliance with the Alids, a powerful family descended from Ali, the fourth caliph and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. However, this alliance led to major revolts in Baghdad, causing Al-Ma'mun to abandon it and impose new religious doctrines on the caliphate. 8:28: 💥 The IX century saw radical changes in military tactics, including the use of specialized troops armed with petroleum-based weapons and the recruitment of Turkish slave soldiers who became skilled cavalry and archers. 12:36: 💥 The Abbasid caliphate faced internal conflicts and struggles for power, leading to a decade of anarchy and challenges to their authority. 17:24: 💥 The Abbasid authority collapsed in Arabia, with a Shiite group attacking pilgrims and stealing the Black Stone, while Persian dynasties gained independence and the Abbasid caliph became a powerless figurehead. 22:16: 💥 The Abbasid caliphate regained independence in the 12th century but was soon destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. 26:31: 💔 The last Abbasid caliph was captured and taken prisoner by the Ottoman Empire, marking the end of their significant political power. Recap by T