1. The Abbasid Revolution
Islamic History: the First 150 Years
The Abbasid Revolution
Richard Cawley
Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff University

2. Session Plan The Banu al-Abbas
Mukhtar’s Legacy, the Black Flags & the Fall of the Umayyads
The First 150 Years of Islam: a Brief Overview

3. Section I: The Banu al-Abbas

4. The Banu al-Abbas
The Banu al-Abbas (or family of Abbas) are named after al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (see Family Tree)
In other words, Abbas was the paternal uncle of Muhammad and Ali
He was therefore an important figure within the Bani Hashim
Abbas does not seem to have immediately become a Muslim
However, after his conversion, given his relationship to Muhammad, Abbas was an important figure within the early Muslim community (dying in 32AH or 652CE)
His descendents were also important
His son, Abdullah ibn Abbas was an important companion of Muhammad and later became an acknowledged expert on Quranic exegesis (tafsir)
Abdullah seems to have died in 68AH/687CE

5. The Banu al-Abbas
Both Abbas and his son Abdullah were supporters of Ali, although they remained on reasonable terms with Muawiya
Abdullah seems to have paid homage to Yazid I
He also seems to have been particularly close to Ali’s third son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya
An apocryphal source, Akhbar al-Abbas, states that Muawiya attempted to place Abdullah at the head of the Hashim clan, which failed (fol. 13a, Omar, 61)
At any rate, both Muhammad and Abdullah were expelled from Mecca by Ibn al-Zubayr for failing to pledge allegiance
Abdullah’s son Ali appears to have been the first member of the family with overtly political ambitions
Known as al-Sajjad (‘The Prostrator’) and Dhu al-Nafathat (‘Owner of Callouses’)
Ali was thus viewed by the Umayyads as a potential threat and was thus watched closely
Despite this, he seems to have a good relationship with Abd al-Malik

6. The Banu al-Abbas
Under Abd al-Malik’s son, al-Walid, Ali was twice flogged
For marrying the widow of Abd al-Malik
Political intrigues
He was also accused of murdering his brother Salit ibn Abdullah and was exiled to Humayma, in the Syrian countryside on the road to Mecca
Ali died in 118AH/736CE and his son Muhammad then became prominent
Muhammad seems to have continued and expanded his father’s intrigues and also seems to have been particularly close to ibn al-Hanafiyya’s son, Abdullah (known more widely as Abu Hashim)
Abu Hashim was also a suspect in the eyes of the Umayyad and was forced to live in Damascus

7. Section II: Mukhtar’s Legacy, the Black Flags & the Fall of the Umayyads

8. Mukhtar’s Legacy
As we saw last week, the revolt of al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi involved a number of interesting religious ideas
We also looked at Mukhtar’s claim to be the representative of ibn al-Hanafiyya
Although defeated, some supporters of Mukhtar continued to believe in the charisma of Ibn al-Hanafiyya
As we saw, some of them believed that he was the Mahdi and held that he had not actually died, and would soon return as an avenging Messianic figure
Others believed that he had died and that his legacy and authority (in religious and political terms) had passed to his son Abu Hashim
Our sources state that some among these groups believed that the imam was more than merely human
Although such ideas do seem to have circulated amongst these groups, we also have to account for the bias of our sources
Generally speaking, such beliefs are considered heretical and are labelled ‘extremist’ (ghuluww)

9. Abu Hashim At any rate, the main point is clear
Abu Hashim was the leader of a small group of devoted followers
Some of these followers believed he had ‘magical powers’ and was more than simply human
Furthermore, it is also interesting to note that there do seem to have been differences of belief/opinion within the Hashim clan
That is, the Hasanid, Husaynid and Jafarid lines were essentially debating who was the real imam, or the inheritor of Ali’s legacy
The claims of Abu Hashim and the Abbasids also reveal further differences of opinion
In any case, Abu Hashim dies in 98AH/ CE, without issue
Our sources indicate that before his death, Abu Hashim passed on his imamate (or rather his claim to it) to Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas
In other words, Muhammad was now the imam of Abu Hashim’s supporters
As this claim was the original justification for the Abbasid revolution we might justly wonder about its actual authenticity

10. Abu Hashim
In some senses, however, its veracity is of secondary importance: the important point being that it was accepted as such
Baladhuri (Ansab al-Ashraf fol. 746b) states that Abu Hashim was poisoned by the Umayyads:m
‘We thought that the Imamate and the affair [the caliphate] were in us but now there is no doubt that you are the Imam and the caliphate is in your sons’
Other sources differ somewhat in the details, but this is unimportant for our purposes
Muhammad seems to have begun organising his followers into an effective underground movement
However, his moves came to the notice of the Umayyad government
Hashim ibn Abd al-Malik is said to have sharply criticised him:
‘Wait for the realm which you expect and on which you relate traditions ascribed to the Prophet and put up your youngsters as candidates for it’
‘Wait for the black flags and your debt will be paid’ (Ansab fol. 748b; Akhbar fol. 82a)

11. The Da’wa Most tellingly, he is also said to have remarked that the…
‘Bani Hashim have turned the Prophet into a market [selling false traditions ascribed to him]’ (Ansab fol. 72a)
Although this can be seen as Umayyad propaganda, it also suggests that there were an increasing number of Prophetic Traditions in circulation
Muhammad’s supporters began drawing others to their cause
He concentrated particularly upon Kufa (the home of the Shia)
He also concentrated upon the Arab tribes based in Khurasan
As we saw previously, these were made of large contingents from Kufa and Basra (many of whom were the most disruptive)
Muhammad’s organisation was simply known as al-Da’wa (‘The Call’) and based itself on calls for ‘vengeance for the Ahl al-Bayt’ and by stressing that they had a better title to rule than the Umayyads
In other words, the Da’wa was part of the broad Shiite milieu and must, therefore, be considered as another expression of the ideas we looked at in the last session

12. Al-Rida min Aal Muhammad
The Da’wa seems to have strictly organised and to have prohibited premature uprisings, as well as any support for Alid contenders
It thus did not co-operate in Zayd’s revolt, nor in that of Abdullah ibn Muawiya
Their most famous slogan was to appoint ‘the Chosen from the family of Muhammad’ (al-Rida min Al Muhammad)
This meant that the exact leader of the movement was kept secret
This was presumably to escape Umayyad hands, as well as attempting to appeal to as broad a Shiite audience as possible
After Muhammad’s death in 125AH/742-3CE, leadership passed to his son Ibrahim
With Ibrahim, an active and militant phase began
Propaganda efforts were stepped up a number of new agents were recruited
The most important of these was a man called Abu Muslim
Abu Muslim (whose name literally means ‘Father of Muslim’) seems to have been a Persian
However, there is much uncertainty about this man’s origins

13. The Death of Ibrahim ibn Muhammad
At any rate, Abu Muslim was able to recruit a large number of malcontents into the Abbasid organisation
In other words, the time for action was fast approaching
However, before these plans could come to fruition, the Umayyad government discovered the identity and whereabouts of the Abbasid leader Ibrahim
He was swiftly arrested and executed in 131AH/749CE
This was a devastating blow to the Abbasid movement and his two brothers barely escaped
Leadership then passed to the senior brother, Abdullah (who became the first Abbasid caliph, al-Saffah)
At this point, no doubt realising that is was now or never, al-Saffah ordered his agents and partisans to proclaim the revolt publicly
Abu Muslim is then said to have unfurled the black flags of the movement in Khurasan
These black were understood to be apocalyptic symbols and were apparently modelled on Muhammad’s own standard

14. The Black Flags of Khurasan
Abu Muslim’s revolt could not have come at a worse time for the Umayyad forces in Syria
Marwan II, who had only recently become caliph, was facing widespread rebellion
Indeed, Sulaiman (a disgruntled relative) had made off with most of his treasury
There were also a number of revolts throughout the empire, including a number of khariji inspired uprisings
Abu Muslim’s forces quickly outmanoeuvred the governor Khurasan, Nasr in Sayyar, who soon found himself besieged in Merv
A revolt at Kufa was also instigated by the Abbasid agent there, Abu Salama
Thus the Umayyad Syrian troops based at Wasit in Iraq were effectively tied down
Although the details are complex, Abu Muslim’s forces (said to be some 50,000 strong) swept into Iraq
Marwan’s forces marched to the Zab river to await the onslaught
And in 132AH, the two sides met in battle (Battle of the Zab)
Tabari gives quite a long account of the battle and its various phases (see Tab. 3.38) onwards

15. Abbasid Victory
Umayyad forces were completely routed and the Khurasani troops of the Abbasids entered Damascus
Once firmly established there, the Abbasid general ordered a purge of the Umayyad family
The sources relate that almost the entire Umayyad clan was put to death
Despite this, an Umayyad prince managed to escape to Spain where he eventually founded a small, rival caliphate at Corduba
With the Abbasid capture of Damascus, the conflict effectively ceased
However, there was not an immediate return to stability
Al-Saffah died shortly afterwards and his brother, known as al-Mansur (‘the Victorious’) became caliph
Before his rule was established, he had to face a serious Alid uprising in Kufa and Medina
This was led by Muhammad ibn Abdullah, better known to history as Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya (or ‘the Pure Soul’)
This marked the effective end of Abbasid links with the broad Shia milieu from which it emerged
Subsequent Abbasid caliphs based their rule on a supposed testament from the Prophet to al-Abbas (thereby circumventing Ali)

16. Questions?

17. Section III: The First 150 Years: a Brief Overview

18. Overview
Essentially, in this overview, we will attempt to draw together our study of the first 150 years of Islamic history through a number of key themes
Sources
Impact of Muhammad
Claiming Muhammad's legacy
As we have seen, there is a vast range of sources for early Islamic sources
Although each individual source has its particular strengths and weaknesses, they can be drawn together to form a reasonably coherent whole
We have seen that a number of scholars have done this, from within and beyond the Islamic tradition
Methodological approaches to these sources have given rise to differing accounts
The traditional Muslim picture
The ‘revisionist’ accounts of scholars such as Crone and Wansbrough

19. Overview Impact of Muhammad
Although we have not looked at the life of Muhammad during this course, the figure of the Prophet looms large
Muhammad’s life and teaching radically altered the religious, cultural, social and political norms of Arabian life
These ‘changes’ are wrapped up in the concept of Prophetic Sunna
Muhammad’s role as the last Prophet also seems to have been generally acknowledged almost immediately
That is, the early Muslim community seems to have been aware from its very beginnings that there would be no prophet after him
This again underlined his importance, especially with regards to the attention given to preserving the revelation he received (the Quran) and his own apparent words (the Hadith)
Claiming Muhammad’s Legacy
His importance is again strongly emphasised by subsequent Islamic history which, in many senses, was about a ‘debate’ (often violent) about had the right to hold and develop his legacy
Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali
Growth of a religious party
Use of Prophetic statements to support all manner of ideas and beliefs