1. what city was built as the new capital for the abbasids
Baghdad Raqqa Samarra
title: Abbasid architecture text: and Kufa to Mecca, levelled the surface and built walls and ditches in some areas, and built stations for the pilgrims with rooms and a mosque in which to pray. 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 title: Abbasid Caliphate text: Euphrates. Finally, in 836, al-Mu'tasim moved the capital to a new site that he created along the Tigris, called Samarra. This city saw 60 years of work, with race-courses and game preserves to add to the atmosphere. Due to the dry remote nature of the environment, some of the palaces built in this era were isolated havens. Al-Ukhaidir Fortress is a fine example of this type of building which has stables, living quarters, and a mosque, all surrounding inner courtyards. Other mosques of this era, such as the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, in Cairo, and the Great Mosque of Kairouan title: Abbasid Caliphate text: were also eliminated. Immediately after their victory, As-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas. The noble Iranian family Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad, introduced the world's first recorded paper mill in the city, thus beginning a new era of intellectual rebirth in the Abbasid domain. As-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions. The first change the Abbasids, under Al-Mansur, made was to move the empire's capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. title: History of Iran text: end of the Arab empire and the beginning of a more inclusive, multiethnic state in the Middle East. One of the first changes the Abbasids made after taking power from the Umayyads was to move the empire's capital from Damascus, in the Levant, to Iraq. The latter region was influenced by Persian history and culture, and moving the capital was part of the Persian mawali demand for Arab influence in the empire. The city of Baghdad was constructed on the Tigris River, in 762, to serve as the new Abbasid capital. The Abbasids established the position of vizier like Barmakids title: Abbasid architecture text: 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. Early Abbasid architecture was very similar to the architecture of the Sassanid Empire, as exemplified by the Palace of Ukhaidhir. It used the same techniques, the same materials of mud brick, baked brick and rough