The Social and Political Background of the `Abbasid Revolution: The Rise of the `Abbasid Caliphate

Abstract

This paper aims at analyzing the social and political conflict between the different tribal groups within the Umayyad rule and to establish a link between the Islamic values adopted by some of the Umayyad Caliphs and the `Abbasid Revolution. One of the particular concerns of this paper is to see the changes following the `Abbasid Revolution’s victory, mainly the complete assimilation of all members of the Muslim community, Arabs and non-Arabs into the empire. The transfer of the Islamic capital from Damascus to Baghdad had its significance namely the intersection of several trade routes which could give real prosperity to the `Abbasid empire, and subsequently led to the remarkable rapid spread of Islam among the non-Arabs in the east and the far-east including the Malay Archipelago. The remarks in this paper are intended to present a new picture of the conclusion reached in a more detailed study of the `Abbasid Revolution, conclusions which are based on evidence contained in the earliest Arabic sources available to us.