Government, policies and the golden age
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Flip to reveal answersWhat was a vizier (wazir) in the Abbasid state?
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Question
What was a vizier (wazir) in the Abbasid state?
Answer
The caliph's chief minister, who supervised the whole bureaucracy and often ran the empire in practice.
Question
What were the diwans?
Answer
Government departments run by trained officials, each handling one area — such as finance (al-Kharaj), the army (al-Jund) and the post (al-Barid).
Question
Who were the Barmakids?
Answer
A Persian family who dominated Abbasid administration and the vizierate under Harun al-Rashid, until he destroyed them in 803.
Question
When did Harun al-Rashid rule, and why is he famous?
Answer
786–809. His reign was the peak of Abbasid wealth and prestige — the legendary '1001 Nights' court.
Question
When did al-Ma'mun rule?
Answer
813–833, after winning a civil war against his brother al-Amin. He was the great scholar-caliph.
Question
What was the Bayt al-Hikma?
Answer
The House of Wisdom in Baghdad, a centre of scholarship expanded under al-Ma'mun and the heart of the translation movement.
Question
What did the translation movement achieve?
Answer
Scholars translated Greek, Persian and Indian learning into Arabic, preserving ancient knowledge later passed on to Europe.
Question
What was the Mihna?
Answer
Al-Ma'mun's inquisition from 833, forcing officials to accept that the Qur'an was created — a bid to control religious doctrine.
Question
What were the dinar and dirham?
Answer
The Abbasid currency: the gold dinar for high-value trade and taxes, and the silver dirham for everyday use.
Question
What were the two economic foundations of Abbasid wealth?
Answer
Irrigated agriculture in the Tigris-Euphrates lands (tax revenue) and long-distance trade through Baghdad.
Question
Why was Baghdad so important economically?
Answer
It was a commercial hub linking Asia and the Mediterranean, where Chinese silk, Indian spices and African gold were traded.
Question
Compare Abbasid domestic and foreign policy at the golden age.
Answer
Domestic: patronage, administration and learning. Foreign: a mainly defensive frontier held against the Byzantine Empire.
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Topic 8.2 hub
Case study 1 — the Abbasid Caliphate (Middle East)
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