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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Abbasid

A 14th century depiction of the siege of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, which brought the Abbasid Caliphate to an end. Source: Public Domain

Medieval Baghdad: Rise and Fall of the City of Peace (Video)

The history of Medieval Baghdad epitomizes the grandeur and eventual demise of a cultural epicenter. Emerging as the Abbasid Caliphate's capital in the 8th century, Baghdad burgeoned into a thriving...
Representative image of a soldier from the Abbasid Caliphate. Source: Harry / Adobe Stock

From Splendor to Ruin: The Epic Tale of the Abbasid Caliphate

The Abbasid Caliphate was an Arabic dynasty that ruled over much of the Muslim world for over 500 years. It rose from bloody beginnings to become the center of the Muslim world during the Islamic...
Abbasid palace in Baghdad, Iraq. Source: pop_gino/Adobe Stock

The End of an Empire - The Fall of the Abbasids (Video)

In the 8th century Middle East, the Abbasid Caliphate rose to power, overseeing an era later hailed as Islam's golden age. However, internal strife marked its decline. Caliph Harun al-Rashid's well-...
AI representation of Hadi Sultan of the Abbasid Caliphate.	Source: Studio shunalamya/Adobe Stock

Islam's 'Golden Age' - Rise of the Abbasids (Video)

In the 8th-century Middle East, the rise of the Abbasids marked a significant chapter in Islamic history. Seizing control of the vast Islamic Caliphate , the Abbasids held sway for five centuries,...
The ancient city Madinat al-Salam - Baghdad’s Round City

The Punctilious Planning, Design, and Construction of the Ancient Round City of Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq but whereas the country of Iraq was founded only in 1958, the city of Baghdad had been established about 1200 years before by the Abbasids . Baghdad was built...
9th century painting of Jean Baptist Huysmans showing an Islamic Egyptian family during an evening prayer.

A History of Islam: The Second Largest Religion in Today’s World Began With a Divine Revelation

The word ‘Islam’ means ‘submission or surrender to the will of God’. Islam is one of the major world religions, and with over 1 billion adherents, is the second largest religion in the world today...
Drawing of the house of wisdom

The House of Wisdom: One of the Greatest Libraries in History

Adding to the list of names among the greatest libraries of the past, the Bayt al-Hikmah (translated as ‘The House of Wisdom’) was established in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire, around...
The Funeral of a Viking

The 10th century chronicle of the violent, orgiastic funeral of a Viking chieftain

For the 10 th century holy man and jurist Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, the violent, orgiastic, drunken spectacle put on by mourning Vikings in Bulgaria must have been shocking. In Ibn Fadlan’s Muslim tradition...