samarra was built as a new capital for the abbasids in 762.
what city was built as a new capital for the abbasids in 762?
samarra
in 762 the caliph al-mansur founded a new capital of baghdad on the tigris, which soon grew to one of the largest cities in the world. in 836 the caliph al-mu'tasim transferred the capital to samarra. the abbasids began to lose control over the outlying parts of the empire, with local dynasties gaining effective independence in khorasan (samanids) in eastern iran, egypt (tulunids) and ifriqiya (aghlabids). the caliph al-mu'tamid, by now the effective ruler only of iraq, moved his capital back to baghdad in 889. in 945 the buyids, followers of shia islam, became effective rulers as amirs, while the abbasid caliphs retained their nominal title. with caliph al-nasir (1179-1225) the abbasids once again gained control of iraq, but the sack of baghdad by the mongols in 1258 brought the abbasid caliphate to an end.
abbasid architecture
following their takeover of the caliphate, the abbasids tried to ensure the alids' acquiescence through honours and pensions. however, some alids remained opposed to abbasid rule, going into hiding and once again trying to rouse the discontented against the new regime. chief among them were muhammad ibn abdallah and his brother ibrahim. both had been groomed by their father as leaders since their youth, and some sources even claim that he had received the "bay'ah" (oath of allegiance) of the "hashimiyya" leaders, including the future caliph al-mansur (r. 754–775), in 744, before the abbasid revolution. muhammad was often called "the pure soul" ("al-nafs al-zakiyya") for his noble character, but he was also "a somewhat unworldly, even romantic, individual" (hugh n. kennedy) and apparently less capable or learned than his younger brother ibrahim. when the abbasids took power, the two brothers refused to accept what they regarded as the usurpation of their legitimate rights and went into hiding. from there they continued their work of proselytism, which reportedly brought them as far as the sindh, although mostly they stayed in arabia. the first abbasid caliph, al-saffah (r. 750–754), was content to mostly ignore their activities, but his successor al-mansur launched a manhunt against them. in 758, al-mansur arrested their brother abdallah when he refused to reveal their whereabouts, followed in early 762 by their cousins and nephews. the captive alids were taken to kufa, where they were mistreated so that many of them died.
alid revolt of 762–763