Rafi Ahmad Fidai
A Concise History of the Muslim World - Volume 3 continues Rafi Ahmad Fidai’s chronological survey with the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transformation of political, intellectual, and cultural life across the medieval Muslim world.Beginning with the establishment of Abbasid rule, the volume examines leading caliphs including Abul Abbas al-Saffah, Abu Ja’far al-Mansur, al-Mahdi, al-Hadi, Harun al-Rashid, al-Ameen, al-Mamun, al-Mu’tasim, al-Wasiq, and al-Mutawakkil. Alongside succession, revolts, military campaigns, and relations with the Romans, the narrative considers ministers, administration, Baghdad as the capital, learning, religious belief, and the cultural development associated with the Abbasid period.The book then follows the gradual weakening of centralized Abbasid authority and the emergence of regional dynasties and powers, including the Saffarids, Samanids, Tahirids, Tulunids, Hamadanis, Ziyarids, Buyahids, Fatimids, Saljuqs, and Ayyubids.Separate chapters treat the Crusades, Nuruddin Zengi, Saladin Ayyubi, and the subsequent Mongol invasions under Chengiz Khan and Hulagu Khan, including the sack of Baghdad and the political changes that followed. The narrative continues to Ghazan Khan, whose reign opens a new phase in the Ilkhanid period.The closing chapter surveys arts and literature, including figures such as al-Biruni, Avicenna, Firdousi, Omar Khayyam, al-Ghazali, Jalaluddin Rumi, Sa’di, Hafiz, and Jami.The manuscript also states that Qur’ānic verses are presented by translation of meaning and that Hadith citations are accompanied by source references. Suitable for students, researchers, libraries, Islamic studies collections, and readers seeking a structured historical introduction to the Abbasid and post-Abbasid Muslim world.
