Home Region:  Mesopotamia (Southwest Asia)

Abbasid Caliphate II

1191 CE 1258 CE

D G SC WF HS CC PT EQ 2020  iq_abbasid_cal_2 / IqAbbs2

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Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
[continuity; Seljuk Empire] [continuity]   Update here

Succeeding Entity:
No Polity found. Add one here.

The Second Abbasid Period (1191-1258 CE) was mostly remarkable for the city of Baghdad which is usually estimated to have had about 1 million inhabitants at the time of the Mongol sack in 1258 CE.
With the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 CE "the culture, science and learning for which Baghdad had been known for centuries simply disappeared in a period of a week." [1] The city was defended by a garrison of just 10,000 soldiers. [2]
In 1200 CE the Abbasids held Iraq and part of western Iran south of the Caspian, the territories holding perhaps 3.9 million inhabitants. The governance system was still Perso-Islamic with a vizier chief bureaucrat who oversaw government departments. [3]
The reign of al-Nasir (1180-1225 CE) was notable for being absolutely repressive "the caliph’s spies were so efficient and the caliph himself so ruthless that a man hardly dared to speak to his own wife in the privacy of his home." [4]

[1]: (DeVries 2014, 209) Kelly DeVries in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

[2]: (DeVries 2014, 207) Kelly DeVries in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

[3]: (Shaw 1976, 5) Stanford J Shaw. 1976. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press.

[4]: (Bray 2015, xxi) Shawkat M Toorawa ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.

General Variables
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Religion Tolerance Coding in Progress.
Human Sacrifice Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequences Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Abbasid Caliphate II (iq_abbasid_cal_2) was in:
 (1191 CE 1207 CE)   Southern Mesopotamia     Susiana
Home NGA: Southern Mesopotamia

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
38 S

Original Name:
Abbasid Caliphate II

Capital:
Baghdad



Alternative Name:
Abbasid Caliphate

Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
1226 CE
 

Al-Nasir (r.1180-1225 CE)
"Modern scholars, most notably Angelika Hartmann, argue that we was the last truly effective caliph in the Abbasid dynasty and ’restored this specifically Islamic institution to its former prestige." [1]
The Caliphate of the late 12th to early 13th century "was a very different institution than the one into which al-Qadir billah entered ... we should view al-Qadir and al-Nasir’s caliphates as milestones in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Nasir’s caliphate was a culmination of caliphal revitalization, a process that did not follow a distinctly linear path, but rather was affected by the unique actions of each of the previous caliphs, starting with al-Qadir, who began the process with his attempts to reassert the caliphal position in Baghdad." [1]
1226 CE since Az-Zahir built an army.

[1]: (Hanne 2007, 204) Hanne, Eric J. 2007. Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.


Duration:
[1191 CE ➜ 1258 CE]
 

Al-Nasir (r.1180-1225 CE)
Az-Zahir (r.1225-1226 CE)
Al-Mustansir (r.1236-1242 CE)
Al-Musta’sim (r.1242-1258 CE)


Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
eg_ayyubid_sultanate nominal allegiance to iq_abbasid_cal_2
1191 CE 1250 CE

to Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad [1]

[1]: (Marsot 1985, 21)

Suprapolity Relations:
alliance with [---]

Alliance
with Alamut (Ismaili assassins). Alliance between Jalal al-Din Hassan III and Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir. [1]

[1]: (Mirza 1993, 53) Mirza, Nasseh Ahmad. 1993. Syrian Ismailism: The Ever Living Line of the Imamate, AD 1100-1260. Psychology Press.


Supracultural Entity:
Perso-Islamic

"Abbasid architecture was influenced by three architectural traditions: Sassanian, Central Asian (Sogdian) and later, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Seljuk." [1] "traditional Perso-Islamic administrative apparatus developed in late Abbasid times". [2]

[1]: (Petersen 2002, 1)Petersen, Andrew. 2002. Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Routledge.

[2]: (Shaw 1976, 5) Shaw, Stanford J. 1976. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press.


Succeeding Entity:
Il-khanate

Scale of Supracultural Interaction:
3,500,000 km2

km squared. Region of Iraq, Iran, Central Asia, and Afghanistan.


Relationship to Preceding Entity:
continuity

Preceding Entity:
continuity; Seljuk Empire [continuity]    Update here
 

"the majority of extant buildings are in the Abbasid homeland of Iraq." [1]

[1]: (Petersen 2002, 1)Petersen, Andrew. 2002. Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Routledge.


Degree of Centralization:
unitary state

Language
Linguistic Family:
Afro-Asiatic

Language:
Arabic

Religion
Religion Genus:
Islam

Religion Family:
Sunni

Religion:
Hanafi

Alternate Religion Genus:
Islam

Alternate Religion Family:
Shia

Alternate Religion:
Uncoded


Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
1,000,000 people

Inhabitants.
Baghdad is usually estimated to have had about 1 million inhabitants at the time of the Mongol sack in 1258 CE.
For example. Modelski estimated 1m for Baghdad at 1200 CE. [1]

[1]: (Modelski 2003, 63) Modelski, George. 2003. World Cities: -3000 to 2000. FAROS2000. Washington D.C.


Polity Territory:
750,000 km2
1200 CE

in squared kilometers
750,000: 1200 CE.
1207 CE lost Persian territory to Khwarezm Empire.


Polity Population:
3,900,000 people
1200 CE

People.
In 1200 CE the Abbasids held Iraq and part of western Iran south of the Caspian.
McEvedy and Jones [1]
Iraq 1.5m in 1200 CE. Northernmost part of Iraq. Not controlled by Abbasids. However, likely most populated regions were under their control so will estimate 1.4m.
Iran 5m in 1200 CE. However, significant population centers e.g. Shiraz and Gulf coast region, Khurasan not controlled by Abbasids. Will estimate half of total for region: 2.5m

[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 151-153) McEvedy, Colin. Jones, Richard. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. Penguin Books Ltd.


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
[4 to 5]

levels.
1. Capital (Baghdad)
2. Regional city (e.g. Isfahan)3. Smaller city/town (e.g. port, Basra)4. Town/Village5. Hamlet?


Religious Level:
2

levels.
1. Caliph
"As the nominal leader of the Dar al-Islam (Abode of Islam), the caliph was charged with a variety of tasks, both temporal and spiritual." [1]
2. Imams, successors of the prophet and leaders of the muslim world.

[1]: (Hanne 2007, 22) Hanne, Eric J. 2007. Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.


Military Level:
[5 to 6]

levels.
Based on data for preceding polities at least 5 levels.


Administrative Level:
5

levels.
Based on data for preceding polities of the Perso-Islamic type at least 5 levels.
1. Caliph

_Central government_
Totalitarian
The reign of al-Nasir "was unprecedentedly totalitarian ... the caliph’s spies were so efficient and the caliph himself so ruthless that a man hardly dared to speak to his own wife in the privacy of his home." [1]
Mercenary
Recruited mercenaries "from across ethnic and tribal communities that they hoped would be more loyal. Among people they recruited were Turks ... The Abbasid plan backfired, however, and eventually their hired guns took over running the affairs of the state." [2]
Perso-Islamic
"traditional Perso-Islamic administrative apparatus developed in late Abbasid times". [3]
2. Vizier
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
_Provincial government_
2.
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???

[1]: (Bray 2015, xxi) Toorawa, Shawkat M ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.

[2]: (Volk 2015) Volk, Lucia ed. 2015. The Middle East in the World: An Introduction. Routledge.

[3]: (Shaw 1976, 5) Shaw, Stanford J. 1976. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press.


Professions
Professional Soldier:
present

"decentralized administration of the iqta type". [1] Iqta system of land revenue grants used to pay military in late Abbasid times. [2] Recruited mercenaries "from across ethnic and tribal communities that they hoped would be more loyal." [3]

[1]: (Roberts 1973, 529) Roberts, J. 1973. Civilization: The emergence of man in society. CRM Books.

[2]: (Lapidus 2014, 286) Lapidus, Ira M. 2014. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press.

[3]: (Volk 2015) Volk, Lucia ed. 2015. The Middle East in the World: An Introduction. Routledge.


Professional Priesthood:
absent

absent as Islam did not have a professional priesthood. [1]

[1]: Lapidus, A History of Islamic society pp. 133-192


Professional Military Officer:
present

Iqta system of land revenue grants used to pay military in late Abbasid times. [1]

[1]: (Lapidus 2014, 286) Lapidus, Ira M. 2014. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press.


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
present

Merit Promotion:
unknown

Full Time Bureaucrat:
unknown

Examination System:
unknown

Law
Professional Lawyer:
present

"ulama (scholars), both in Baghdad and the outlying provinces." [1] "The Qur’an and all the sciences related in one way or another to the study of this sacred book of Islam found a place in the teaching carried on in the cathedral mosques : traditions (hadīth), exegesis (tafsīr), law and legal theory (fiqh, usūl al-fiqh), grammar (nahw), adab (literature). There, also, professors gave legal opinions (fatwā) and sermons (wa’z), and held disputations on matters of law (munāzara)...On the other hand, a class on law was smaller. For law was a more specialized religious science attracting principally those who were preparing for a professional career" [2]
Ibn al-Sa’i mentions female benefactors who built law schools. [3]

[1]: (Hanne 2007, 22) Hanne, Eric J. 2007. Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.

[2]: (Makdisi, G., 1961. Muslim institutions of learning in eleventh-century Baghdad. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 24(1), pp.1-56. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3D6X5HUM/item-list)

[3]: (Bray 2015, xiv) Toorawa, Shawkat M ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.


Judge:
present

Presumably the late Abbasids employed qadi (judge).
Late Abbasid period: "the religious establishment - that is, the ulama - were responsible for education, administering the awqaf, and the administration of justice". [1]

[1]: (Elbendary 2015, 40) Elbendary, Amina. 2015. Crowds and Sultans: Urban Protest in Late Medieval Egypt and Syria. The American University in Cairo Press.


Formal Legal Code:
present

Islamic law, shari’a.
"Medieval scholars accepted the view that although the caliphs were the legitimate bearers of temporal authority within the Sunni Muslim community, the ulama were the true "heirs of the Prophet" in terms of religious authority." [1]

[1]: (Hanne 2007, 22) Hanne, Eric J. 2007. Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.


Court:
present

multiple references to courts in following sources [1] [2] [3]

[1]: (Tillier, M., 2009. Women before the Qādī under the Abbasids. Islamic Law and Society, 16(3-4), pp.280-301. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7SKACCD7/item-list).

[2]: (Tillier, M., 2009. Qadis and the political use of the mazalim jurisdiction under the’Abbasids. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/I4769ESG/item-list)

[3]: (Ziadeh, F., 1996. Compelling defendant’s appearance at court in Islamic law. Islamic Law and Society, 3(3), pp.305-315. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TWIBVCXP/item-list)


Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
unknown

Irrigation System:
present

Irrigation canals.


Food Storage Site:
unknown

Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present

Roads built to facilitate both commerce and the Hajj.


Port:
present

Canal:
present

Ibn al-Sa’i mentions female benefactors who built waterways. [1]

[1]: (Bray 2015, xiv) Toorawa, Shawkat M ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.


Bridge:
present

Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
unknown

Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present

Manuscripts. [1]

[1]: (Grabar 2006, 142) Grabar, Oleg. Islamic Visual Culture, 1100-1800, Volume 2. 2006. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.


Script:
present

Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
present

Nonwritten Record:
present

Manuscripts. [1]

[1]: (Grabar 2006, 142) Grabar, Oleg. Islamic Visual Culture, 1100-1800, Volume 2. 2006. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.


Non Phonetic Writing:
absent

Mnemonic Device:
unknown

Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present

With the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 CE "the culture, science and learning for which Baghdad had been known for centuries simply disappeared in a period of a week." [1]

[1]: (DeVries 2014, 209) DeVries, Kelly in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.


Sacred Text:
present

Koran.


Religious Literature:
present

With the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 CE "the culture, science and learning for which Baghdad had been known for centuries simply disappeared in a period of a week." [1]

[1]: (DeVries 2014, 209) DeVries, Kelly in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.


Practical Literature:
present

With the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 CE "the culture, science and learning for which Baghdad had been known for centuries simply disappeared in a period of a week." [1]

[1]: (DeVries 2014, 209) DeVries, Kelly in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.


Philosophy:
present

With the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 CE "the culture, science and learning for which Baghdad had been known for centuries simply disappeared in a period of a week." [1]

[1]: (DeVries 2014, 209) DeVries, Kelly in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.


Lists Tables and Classification:
present

History:
present

Ibn al-Sa’i (1197-1276 CE), "a Baghdadi man of letters", historian and librarian who wrote "Consorts of the Caliphs, Both Free and Slave" about influential women just before 1258 CE. [1] This time was "an age of historians." [2]

[1]: (Bray 2015, xviii, xix, xx) Toorawa, Shawkat M ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.

[2]: (Bray 2015, xviii) Toorawa, Shawkat M ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.


Fiction:
present

Poets, including many female poets. [1] Poets included "almost any contemporary Arabic speaker with any claim to literacy and social competence." [2]

[1]: (Bray 2015, xiv) Toorawa, Shawkat M ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.

[2]: (Bray 2015, xxiv) Toorawa, Shawkat M ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press.


Calendar:
present

Islamic calendar.


Information / Money
Token:
unknown

Precious Metal:
present

Baghdad was a metropolis and a trade center.


Paper Currency:
absent

Indigenous Coin:
present

Dinars. "Toward the end of the Abbasid reign, from 1160 to 1258, a series of poorly struck, light-weight coins were issued in Baghdad. Most of these coins were, in effect, no more than coin ingots and were not consistent with any definite monetary standard." [1]

[1]: http://www.muslimheritage.com/article/abbasid-coins-750-1258ce


Foreign Coin:
unknown

Article:
present

Baghdad was a metropolis and a trade center.


Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
unknown

General Postal Service:
present

"As long-distance trade grew, so, too, did the institutions supporting it. Investment patterns, for example. shifted from mostly land based in the late eighth century to a variety of commercial applications, including ships, horses, and shops in the ninth century. A private express courier service augmented the official Abbasid courier system." (Gutelius 2015, 2) [1]

[1]: (Pomeranz, K., Northrup, C.C., Bentley, J.H., Topik, S., Eckes Jr, A.E. and Manning, P., 2015. Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present: From Ancient Times to the Present. Routledge.)


Courier:
unknown

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
present

Earlier Abbasids employed spiked wooden barriers. [1]

[1]: (Kennedy 2001, 189) Kennedy, H. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs. Routledge. London.


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
absent

Stone Walls Mortared:
present

Around Baghdad but by 1258 CE had suffered decades of neglect. [1]

[1]: (DeVries 2014, 207) Devries, Kelly in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
unknown

Modern Fortification:
absent

Moat:
present

Moats were used in this region in the Middle Ages. No specific reference.


Fortified Camp:
unknown

Earth Rampart:
present

Earth ramparts were used in this region in the Middle Ages. No specific reference.


Ditch:
present

Ditches were used in this region in the Middle Ages. No specific reference.


Complex Fortification:
unknown

around Baghdad?


Military use of Metals
Steel:
present

Present in Caliphate armies. [1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Iron:
present

Present in Caliphate armies. [1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Copper:
absent

Bronze:
absent

Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
present

The earlier Abbasids had the manjaniq, a swing beam engine similiar to the Western Trebuchet. [1] The Manjaniq was man-powered [2] not gravity powered.

[1]: Kennedy, The Armies of the Caliphs p. 184

[2]: (Nicolle 2003, 14) Nicolle, David. 2003. Medieval Siege Weapons (2): Byzantium, the Islamic World and India AD 476-1526. Osprey Publishing.


Sling Siege Engine:
present

First known use of the counter-weight trebuchet was in 1165 CE by the Byzantines at the siege of Zevgminon. [1] Need to confirm with an expert source whether a scholar named Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi created an "instruction manual" on the counter-weight trebuchet for Saladin (Ayyubid Sultanate) in 1187 CE. It’s logical copies would soon be made of this effective new technology.

[1]: (Turnball 2002) Turnball, S. 2002. Siege Weapons of the Far East (1): AD 612-1300. Osprey Publishing.


Sling:
unknown

In first Abbasid period there was a poem about a siege that mentions "the evil man that loads the sling" [1] which could also refer to a siege engine.

[1]: (Kennedy 2001, 110)


Self Bow:
absent

Under the earlier Abbasids, ’Arab’ and Persian’ bows mentioned in sources, both composite bows. [1] More powerful composite bow likely used at the expense of the self bow.

[1]: (Kennedy 2001, 177-178) Kennedy, Hugh N. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the early Islamic State. Vol. 352. Routledge.


Javelin:
present

The thrown spear was present as a weapon of war during the first Abbasid [1] period and under the Buyids. [2]

[1]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing.

[2]: (Bosworth 1998, 113) in Bosworth, C E and Asimov M S. and Bosworth CE. 1998. History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4. UNESCO.


Handheld Firearm:
absent

Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

Crossbow:
present

Earlier Abbasids had the crowboss. [1] Abbasids referred to the crossbow as the qaws al-rijl, first mentioned in 881 CE. [2]

[1]: Kennedy, Hugh N. The armies of the caliphs: military and society in the early Islamic state. Vol. 3 Routledge, 2001. pp. 168-182

[2]: Nicolle,David, Medieval Siege Weapons (2): Byzantium, the Islamic World and India AD 476-1526(Osprey Publishing 2003)


Composite Bow:
present

Under the Abbasids, ’Arab’ and Persian’ bows mentioned in sources, both composite bows. [1] The Abbasids used Turkish mercenaries who likely used the composite bow.

[1]: (Kennedy 2001, 177-178) Kennedy, Hugh N. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the early Islamic State. Vol. 352. Routledge.


Atlatl:
absent

Handheld weapons
War Club:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] Earlier Abbasids had the mace. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Nicolle and Hook 1998) Nicolle D, Hook A. 1998. Armies of the Caliphates 862-1098. Osprey Publishing.


Sword:
present

Earlier Abbasids carried broadswords and short-swords. [1]

[1]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing.


Spear:
unknown

thrown-spears are known. were handheld-spears such as a lance used?


Polearm:
present

Long pikes may have been present, as they were under the earlier Abbasids. [1]

[1]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing.


Dagger:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] Earlier Abbasids had the dagger. [2] had daggers.

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Nicolle 1982, 20) Nicolle, D. 1982. The Armies of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries. Osprey Publishing.


Battle Axe:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] Earlier Abbasids had the battle axe. [2] had battle axes.

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Nicolle and Hook 1998, Cover Illustration) Nicolle D, Hook A. 1998. Armies of the Caliphates 862-1098. Osprey Publishing.


Animals used in warfare
Horse:
present

The Buyids employed the Turks to be their cavalry [1] and the late Abbasids also hired mercenary Turks, which presumably were cavalry.

[1]: Busse, H. 1975. Iran under the Būyids. In Frye, R. N. (ed.) The Cambridge History of Iran. Volume 4. The period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuq’s. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.251


Elephant:
absent

Certainly the Arabs of Sind, the Saffarids, and the later Buyids made almost no use of them at all." [1]

[1]: (Wink 1997, 102-103) Andre Wink. 1997. Al-Hind. The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Volume II. The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest 11th-13th Centuries. BRILL. Leiden.


Donkey:
unknown

Dog:
absent

Camel:
present

Were they used as pack animals?


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] Used for shields by the preceding Abbasids [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Shield:
present

Widely available for soldiers in the armies of the earlier Abbasids. [1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Scaled Armor:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] The earlier Abbasids had scale armour. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Plate Armor:
absent

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.


Limb Protection:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] Some evidence of lamellar leggings in the sources for soldiers in the armies of the earlier Abbasids. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Leather Cloth:
present

Used for shields in the armies of the earlier Abbasids. [1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Laminar Armor:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] The earlier Abbasids likely used lamellar e.g. for leg protection. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Helmet:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] Widely available for soldiers in the armies of the earlier Abbasids. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Chainmail:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] "The early Islamic sources treat the coast of mail as a standard piece of military equipment." [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: (Kennedy 2001, 168) Kennedy, H. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs. Routledge. London.


Breastplate:
present

"In the seventh century the Arab Caliphate overran the Sāssānian Empire and, as far as we can tell, no great changes took place in the Persian equipment then or for a long time afterwards." [1] Some evidence of breastplates in the sources in the armies of the earlier Abbasids. [2]

[1]: (Robinson 1967) Robinson, H. Russell. 1967. Oriental Armour. Walker and Co. New York.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178


Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
present

Likely had some military vessels as they had a southern port on the Gulf, but not extensive.


Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
unknown

Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown


Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions