The Abassids
According to tradition, Abh Hashim, a son of the Alid claimant Muhammad b. al Hanafiya [Ali's descendant via his
Hanafite wife], was poisoned by Sulaiman in 716, but before he died he bequeathed his claims to Muhammad b. Ali, great grandson
of Abbas, an uncle of the prophet.
The Abassid party, led by Muhammad Ali, took over the principal Alid sect in Kufa. They then
began a vigorous propaganda campaign in Khurasan. In 743, Ibrahim succeeded Muhammad Ali and entrusted
management of his affairs to a Persian slave, Abu Muslim, who recruited large numbers of
followers. These recruits were chiefly mawali, who were eager to follow one of their own. Unfortunately,
he also further antagonized the Qays-Kalb conflict.
In June of 747, at Merv in Khurasan, the Abassid chief, Imam Ibrahim's name was inserted in place
of the caliph at Friday services and the black banner of the Abassids was raised.
At first, the Omayyad government did not fully realize the gravity of the situation, for several reasons:
- The frequent suppression of other revolts gave them a false sense of security
- The government of Khurasan had warned Marwan II but misinterpreted the revolt
as one of anti-Arab, not anti-Omayyad sentiment
- Marwan II was very busy suppressing revolts all over the empire and was unable to
devote adequate resources to this one.
When Marwan II discovered Ibrahim's connection with the revolt, he had him imprisoned, where he died,
making him a Hashimite martyr. Abu Muslim was able to conquer Iran with little resistance, followed
by Syria, which also provided little in the way of a struggle. In November of 749, Abu'l-Abbas,
Ibrahim's brother, was enthroned in Kufa as Commander of the Faithful. The following year, at the
Battle of Great Zab, the last Omayyad army was routed. Marwan had been unable to raise much
of an army in Syria, having himself recently put down their militia.
Q:WHY DID THE OMAYYAD DYNASTY FALL SO EASILY?
A: - The threat was not taken seriously at first
- The rulers did not realize the movement was directed specifically at them
- Marwan II was busy putting down too many other revolts to devote time to this one
- The empire was largely discontented with the Umayyads and offered little resistance
- After the death of Hisham, the clan was too disunited to oppose the rebels
The traditional support of the ruling clan had been broken up into many factions, warring with one another.
After the revolution, the remaining Omayyads princes were ruthlessly hunted down and exterminated
by the Abassids.
Q:IN WHAT WAY WAS THE REVOLUTION A BETRAYAL OF THOSE WHO SUPPORTED IT?
A: The extremist group which brought the Abassids to power was crushed, and Abu Muslim and other companions
were executed. The more Islamic minded government promised to the pious followers was not delivered,
and instead a Persian-modeled absolute monarchy was established. The pious minded were no longer
instituting their demands on the basis of ethnic complaints, since for the most part the ethnic
discrimination had been done away with inside the Muslim community. Many had expected an 'Alid to
be appointed caliph, and were disappointed when the Abassids made themselves rulers. Their power
base now gone, they had to either accept the Abassids or continue thier opposition on some new
historical basis.
Q: IN WHAT WAY WERE THE ABASSIDS SUCCESSFUL IN CREATING A BROAD BASE OF SUPPORT, WHERE
THE OMAYYADS HAD FAILED?
A: By making the mawali equal to Arabs in all respects, they gained non-Arab support. By moving
the capital to Iraq and adopting Persian monarchial customs, in addition to filling much of the
bureaucracy with Persians, they gained large support from that province.
Next: The Abassid Caliphs