The Abbassids

The Abbassids are among the most outstanding ruling families in the Islamic world and in the history of Islam. They ruled the Islamic empire for several centuries. The other factor which increases the importance of the Abbasids in the Islamic history studies is the fact that a great number of religious sect, and also political, cultural, and social trends in the Islamic world were born in the Abbasids era. The present study in an encylopediac manner attempts to convey the major points and information related to the chronicle of the Abbasid caliphate and the major theories regarding their caliphate. The pivotal source of information in this study is the legacy of researches done on the history of Abbassid caliphate by the western scholars in the field of Islamic studies from the 19 th century up to the last half of the 20 th century. Of course, a number of the researches done by the Muslim researches have also been beneficial for this study. The use of almost the main and the most outstanding scientific theories ever cited (till the last part of the 20 th century) makes this study on the history of the Abbassid Caliphate a very unique one,which has increased the scientific value of this research.