The Abbasids Dynasty
The Shiites continued to work against the Sunni Umayyad leaders. A building resentment for the Umayyads was furthered by their mistreatment of non-Arab Muslims. These non-Arabs were considered second class citizens. They paid higher taxes, and had fewer rights.
In A.D. 747 the Shiites and non-Arab Muslims gathered together an army under the leadership of Abu’ l-‘ Abbas, who was a direct descendant of Muhammad.
After defeating the Umayyads, Abbas established himself as caliph. He and his descendants would rule Islam until A.D. 1258. They would become known as the Abbasids Dynasty.
Abbas commissioned the building of a new city. A city that would grow to become one of the wealthiest cities in the region. He named his new capital city Baghdad. By A.D. 900 over one million people lived and worked in Baghdad.
