A Dangerous Liaison

Abstract

In 750, the ruler of the Muslim world was Abu l-‘Abbas.¹ He was the first in a long line of caliphs who became known as the ‘Abbasids thanks to their descent from the Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbas. The ‘Abbasids lost their temporal power in 945 but continued as spiritual leaders of the Muslim world until the Mongols invaded and destroyed their capital, Baghdad, in 1258. Even after that calamity, a surviving line of the dynasty retained influence as symbolic figureheads to the worldwide Muslim community, providing a link back to the days of the Prophet, until the last of them was swept off to Istanbul by the Ottomans in 1517.