Nadene Goldfoot
- The Abbasid Caliphate ruled a vast Islamic empire from 750 to 1258 A.D., centered in Baghdad. The Abbasid era was a Golden Age for Islamic art and science, preserving and expanding classical knowledge.The fall of Baghdad in 1258 ended the Abbasid Caliphate's power, but its cultural legacy lived on.
ʿAbbasid caliphate, second of the two great dynasties of the Muslim empire of the caliphate. It overthrew the Umayyad caliphate in 750 ce and reigned as the Abbasid caliphate until it was destroyed by the Mongol invasion in 1258.
Or, some people say that the Abbasid Caliphate was the third major Islamic caliphate, ruled by the Abbasid dynasty from 750 CE to 1258 CE. a total o 508 years, but The historical region of Judah (part of Palestine/the Holy Land) was under Abbasid-affiliated rule for a total of 192 years, split across two main time periods. The relationship between the Abbasid Caliphate and the historical geographic region of Judah (known during the Islamic era as Jund Filastin, or the province of Palestine) spans the 8th through 13th centuries. Because the ancient Kingdom of Judah no longer existed as a political entity by this time, the intersection of these two concepts centers on Abbasid geopolitical rule over the region and their administrative relationship with the Jewish population.
2. Religious & Administrative Status of Jews
Under Abbasid Islamic law, Jews living in the territory of Judah and across the wider empire were classified as dhimmis (protected non-Muslim monotheists-2nd class citizens).
- Autonomy and Taxation: Jews were granted religious freedom and a degree of internal judicial autonomy. In return, they were required to pay a poll tax (jizya) and a land tax (kharaj). [1]
- Institutional Shift: During this era, the global center of Jewish authority shifted away from the Land of Israel toward the Abbasid capital. The Geonim (the leaders of the rabbinic academies of Sura and Pumbedita) and the Exilarch relocated to Baghdad. From there, they institutionalized the authority of the Babylonian Talmud over Jewish communities worldwide, eclipsing the older traditions of the Jerusalem Talmud.
3. Abbasid Focus on Jerusalem
While the region was governed as a province, the Abbasid caliphs retained a strong ideological and religious interest in Jerusalem. Several early caliphs, including the empire's founder Al-Mansur and Al-Ma'mun, financed the restoration of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) complex after regional earthquakes, solidifying Islamic presence on the site of the ancient Judean Temples.
After the fall of the central Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad—culminating in the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 CE and later the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517—political power in the Islamic world fragmented into several major empires and regional dynasties.
Major Successor Powers
- Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517): Based in Cairo, Egypt, the Mamluks defeated the Mongols, took in surviving Abbasid family members as ceremonial caliphs (1261–1517), and ruled Egypt, the Levant, and the Hejaz. The Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517) ruled over the historical region of Judah (Judea/Palestine) for nearly three centuries, treating it as an administrative district within the larger province of Bilad al-Sham (Islamic Syria) governed from Damascus. During this era, the official name "Judah" or "Judea" was not used; instead, the Mamluks divided the Holy Land into six city-based districts, including Jerusalem, Hebron, Gaza, Ramla, Nablus, and Safed.
- Ilkhanate (1206–1353): A southwestern branch of the Mongol Empire that ruled over Persia, Iraq, and surrounding regions after destroying Baghdad. It never held permanent control over the region of Judah (Palestine/the Levant). Instead, Judah served as a heavily contested borderland between the Ilkhanate and their primary rivals, the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt,
- The Ottoman Empire controlled the ancient land of Judah (the Land of Israel / Palestine) from 1517 to 1917, following Sultan Selim I’s defeat of the Mamluks. Ottoman Empire (1299–1923): Originating in Anatolia,Turkey in Asia Minor, Jews lived here already had a synagogue in the old capital of Brusa in 1326. There was a conquest of Jewish communities and Salonica was captured in 1430. and Constantinople in 1453. After 1492, the sultans opened the gates of the Ottoman Empire to the Jewish refugees from Spain; later from Portugal and other lands and now the Turkish Jewish community was Sephari and became important to Judean Jews. The Ottomans eventually conquered the Mamluks in 1517, claimed the caliphate, and built a vast empire spanning southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.The Ottoman Empire conquered the Land of Israel (historical Judea) from the Mamluks in 1517 and ruled it until 1917. Conquest: Sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks and took control of the region in 1517 (with Jerusalem falling in 1516–1517). End of Rule: The Sultans applied the normal Moslem code against the Jews (2nd class citizens) but not strictly. Thus persons such as Joseph Nasi and Solomon Ashkenazi were able to exercise great influence in the state. After the 16th century, circumstances were not so favorable. Anti-Jewish restrictions were being were applied more rigidly, but there was no general reaction. Even the pseudo-messianic movement of SHABBETAI TZEVI, who could have been charged with disloyalty, did not undermine the position of Turkish Jewry, though the outcome weakened it spiritually. Down to the 19th century, the position of the community remained almost no longer seemed especially enlightened as compared with other countries. It was the 3rd largest empire in the world. Pop. 350,000 by 1900. The losing of the empire meant Judeans were under different rulers that were worse. This continued to the Balkan War and World War I. when the Turkish Empire was destroyed. Ottoman rule in the region ended in 1917 during World War I when British forces captured Jerusalem and Palestine.
- Unimportant Empires
- Timurid Empire (1307–1507): Founded by Timur (Tamerlane) in Greater Iran and Central Asia, famous for its patronizing of arts, architecture, and science. Even during Timur's massive military expansions into the Levant around 1400–1401 CE, his forces only advanced as far south as Aleppo and Damascus in modern-day Syria. The Timurid army sacked these northern cities but never marched further south into the historic geographic region of Judah (modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories), which remained under the control of the Mamluk Sultanate
- Safavid Empire (1501–1722): Established in Iran, it established Twelver Shi'ism as the state religion and shaped the modern identity of Iran.
- Mughal Empire (1526–1858): A gunpowder empire in the Indian subcontinent founded by descendants of the Timurids and Mongols. Baghdadi Jewish Trade Networks. Beginning in the late Mughal era, Jewish merchants fleeing persecution in the Middle East—many tracking their lineage directly back to the Babylonian captivity of Judah—established thriving trading ports in Mughal India. These communities, known as the Baghdadi Jews, later became central economic pillars under both late Mughal and British colonial administration, dominating trade networks in silk, indigo, and spices.
- As the Mughal Empire expanded, Persian-speaking Jewish merchants, mystics, and travelers migrated into India. The most prominent figure connecting Jewish tradition to the Mughal throne was Sarmad Kashani, a 17th-century Armenian Jewish merchant who converted to Islam (and later adopted Sufism). Sarmad became a highly influential spiritual guide and close adviser to Dara Shikoh, the crown prince and eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan. During the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, a court scholar named Niamat Ullah Harvi compiled the Makhzan-e-Afghani (1612 CE). This text popularized a theory that the Pashtun people of Afghanistan and Pakistan were descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel and Judah. While modern genetics and historical consensus do not support this lineage, it reflects how elite Mughal historians explicitly integrated Israelite and Judean biblical genealogies into their own regional origins. Suleiman I (6 November 1494 – 6 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent, was the Ottoman sultan from 1520 to 1566. The longest reign, 46 years, among the Ottoman sultans. His rule brought about a notable peak in the Ottoman Empire's economic, military and political power, and raised the number of the empire's subjects to at least 25 million people.
Imperial Expansion & Safe Haven (16th–17th Centuries): Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt Jerusalem’s city walls. Sephardic Jewish refugees flourished in regional centers like Safed, which became the global hub of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism).
Old Yishuv & Zionist Aliyah (19th Century): The Jewish population grew steadily throughout the 1800s. Driven by European pogroms, the First Aliyah (1882) and Second Aliyah (1904) brought thousands of Zionist pioneers who founded modern agricultural settlements and revived spoken Hebrew. Here, the fall of Jerusalem to British. During the First Aliyah (1882–1903), Jewish settlers primarily hired local Arab guards (often including Bedouin tribesmen and mainly Circassians) to ride horses, patrol fields, and protect their colonies (moshavot) from thieves and marauders. Their society is guided by the Adyghe Khabze (or Habze), an unwritten traditional code of honor, ethics, hospitality, duty, and respect. Most Circassians are Sunni Muslims, though their traditions blend with pre-Christian and ancient folk beliefs. Following the protracted Russo-Circassian War and the 1864 Circassian genocide carried out by the Russian Empire, about 95% of the population was expelled or exiled. [I had Circassian boys in my English class in Safed from 1980-1985. They had to manage their language as well as Arabic and Hebrew and English. They were well behaved. It was either in 8th or 9th grades].
However, during the Second Aliyah (1904–1914), Jewish pioneers shifted toward a philosophy of total self-sufficiency (Hebrew Labor and Hebrew Guarding). This led to the creation of Jewish defense organizations, most notably Allenby riding into Jerusalem
- Fall of Ottoman Rule (1917): During World War I, British forces led by General Allenby captured Jerusalem, ending 400 years of Ottoman control. This coincided with the issuance of the British Balfour Declaration, which supported the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.The Date & Document:
- On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent a short, 117-word letter to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, intended for transmission to the Zionist Federation.
- The Core Promise: The letter stated that the British government viewed "with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" and would use its best endeavors to facilitate this goal.
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- The Caveat: The text included a clause stating that "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine" (who made up over 90% of the population at the time), nor the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country. Jews all over seemed to worry about their status with the creation of a Jewish State. Chaim Weizmann, chemist, Zionist leader, international reputation for his discoveries to the fermentation of acetone-butyl, the manufacture of dyes and cancer-producing substances nd production of synthetic rubber rubber from organic substances of digestible proteins from vegetable matter. He saved Britain with his help on weapons, helping to win their war. The problem was that Faisal also had a horse in this race; he had also helped Britain and felt they owed him.
- Chaim Weizmann met with Emir Faisal/Hussein Ibn Feisal (1885-1933)—the son of Sharif Hussein of Mecca—at the Paris Peace Conference on January 3, 1919. Husseini,; the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was the opposition to peace, causing attacks on Jews. Faisal and Weizmann had been getting along fine. Feisal was king of Iraq from 1921, had led the Arab rising against Turkey from 1916-1918 and was designated King of Syria. Britain favored the Arabs more.
