The Caliphs
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Episode 90: Conclusions
Now that we've completed our journey through the primary sources, it's time to reflect on all we've covered. We search for insights, not just about the umma's social evolution, but also how it…
Episode 89: Al Muttaqi, al Mustakfi, and al Muti’
The Abbasid fall from grace was long and messy. It’s been a while since the dynasty produced a powerful caliph, the last one being the almighty restorer al Mu’tadid who reigned until the opening…
Episode 88: Amir al umara’
The creation of the role of amir al umara’ transformed the political landscape in Baghdad. It attracted men of influence to court, and they did not come seeking to serve the caliph, but to dominate…
Episode 87: Al Radi the irrelevant
We’ve reached the end of the road as far as Abbasid authority is concerned. Although it had waxed and waned before, there would be no recovering from the lows it had fell to this time. The caliph had…
Episode 86: Al Qaher’s folly
A chaotic period followed al Muqtadir’s death in battle. Although officials quickly reached a consensus on the elevation of his successor, the very fact that the last caliph had been killed meant…
Episode 85: Third time’s the charm
Considering the absurd levels of official mismanagement, it’s astounding how long the caliphate survived during al Muqtadir’s inept administration. Although it never collapsed, over the course of two…
Episode 84: General Mu’nis
Having discussed the disorder in the caliphate’s civil bureaucracy we’ll turn our attention to the state of its military. The sharp contrast between the state of the two is in large part thanks to…
Thoughts on Palestine
My personal experiences and opinions on a subject close to my heart and fate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xottY-7m3k At first, I found YouTube's needless tag about the Holocaust on…
Episode 83: War of the wazirs
For the very first time in Arab history, a child became the umma’s caliph. The 13 year old had not yet left his royal harem and was totally under his mother’s control. She used her influence over al…
Episode 82: The rise of al Muqtadir
After all our recent foreshadowing, we’ve finally arrived at the period of Abbasid collapse. It’s a relatively long period, stretching from the start of al Muqtadir’s reign in 908 until around the…
Episode 81: Splintering of the Shi’a
Cataloguing the tapestry of Islamic traditions is a task that lies well beyond our scope, but every now and again the topic overlaps with the subjects we are interested in. It’s important to…
Episode 80: Al Muktafi
Reading about this caliph’s reign in our sources is a bewildering experience: everything is simultaneously great and on the brink of destruction. Later histories pick apart developments in the…
Episode 79: Fortune favors the brute
Before you even hit play it should already be clear to you that the caliphate is only going to get stronger over the course of our discussion today. Al Mu’tadid seems to have been incapable of doing…
Episode 78: Al Mu’tadid
Get ready for a blast from the past! Perhaps I should have prepared you for a weak pun instead. Hearing about this caliph’s reign will transport us back to his great-grandfather al Mu’tasim’s days.…
Episode 77: His brother’s keeper
Al Mu’tamid’s reign lasted from 870 to 892. The Abbasid Caliphate was reborn during these decades, midwifed by the caliph’s brother Talha, better known in history by his title al Muwaffaq. The new…
Episode 76: Homegrown competition
Having covered the caliphate’s East last time, we must now do the same for its west. The anarchy left such a deep impact on the caliphate that we really need to take our time discovering its…
Episode 75: Masters of Khurasan
We have been focused exclusively on the capital province of Iraq ever since the outbreak of anarchy. While we had good reasons to keep a close eye on developments there, Khurasan can no longer be…
Episode 74: The false prophet of Basra
Now that the anarchy was over, a reduced but reunited Abbasid military could finally face up to the multitude of threats facing the caliphate. A slave insurrection in the south of Iraq was one of the…
Episode 73: Al Mu’tamid and the birth of a new order
The death of Salih ibn Waseef left Musa ibn Bugha in charge of the caliphate’s armies. This newfound unity effectively ended the Anarchy in Samarra which had plagued the Abbasid state for almost a…
Episode 72: Al Muhtadi and the settling of the dust
Dilapidated by years of internal conflict and ruinous mismanagement, the caliphate was a mere shadow of its former self. The void left by its collapse had led to the rise of adversaries which now…
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The Caliphs has published 91 episodes since June 2019, covering topics in Documentary, History.
The Caliphs is currently dormant with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 29m.
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