The death of the caliph Hisham (724-43) marked the beginning of the end of the Umayyad caliphate, with the dynasty torn apart by internal rivalries, and beset by rebellious forces, including ‘Alids in southern Iraq, and discontented lords and warriors from Khorasan. The years 743-744 would be marked by a series of coups, and in 748 the Abbasid revolution began, bringing about the destruction of the caliphate in 750.
The two selections here refer to both of these periods. The first is the Persian historian al-Tabari’s (d. 923) account of the rebellion of Yazid III (744) against his cousin, al-Walid II (743-44). The second has three brief accounts of the Abbasid revolution, dating from the late-8th, and the 9th centuries, all written in Persian lands.
Specific response guidelines:
Read the passages and consider one or more of the following:
What factors were at play in the justification for these acts of rebellion? Religious? Secular? What other sorts of tensions are at work here?
What sorts of criticisms were the Umayyads the target of?
Were these justified?
Were the enemies of the Umayyads united?
Is the story about the King of Ethiopia believable? What does it tell us?
General response guidelines:
Here is what counts as addressing a reading: In order to get full credit, you will need to either quote a passage, explicitly refer to a specific line/ paragraph, or discuss an argument or concept brought up in the readings. You may respond to as many or as few of the prompts provided, as long as you are able to address the minimum number of readings. When in doubt about a person, place, event, or term… Google it!
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