The Mercenaries Who Became the Power Behind the Abbasid Caliphs
The Abbasid Caliphate (750 – 1258) was the second of two hereditary dynasties that claimed suzerainty over the Islamic world. At the height of their power, the Abbasids’ realm stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the borders of China, and from Central Asia to India’s borders. Things fell apart when shortsighted caliphs hired Turkish mercenaries, then failed to control them. It began in the ninth century, with al Mu’tasim, a younger son of the dynasty’s most famous caliph, Harun al Rashid – a contemporary of Charlemagne and a recurring character in the Arabian Nights fables.
Al Mu’tasim created a private army of Turkish mercenaries and slaves, and formed them into a Turkish Guard that helped him secure power in 833. Unfortunately, the Turks engaged in widespread robberies and assaults that made them hugely unpopular with the civilian population. So in a bid to reduce the friction between his subjects and soldiers, al Mu’tasim relocated his capital in 835 from Baghdad to a new city, Samarra. That calmed things down for a while, but did not solve the core conundrum of how to control the Turkish mercenaries.
