An account of the tumultuous history of the "city of peace", in its time of glory as the seat of the Abbasid Caliphs, up to its sack by the Mongols.

An online exhibition from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) offers a profile of the caliphate, and illustrations of their cultural and artistic achievement.

A summary of the second Arab Caliphate, their achievements, and threats to their rule. Also covers the development of the Mamluks, and the decline of the dynasty.

An account of the dynasty, with particular reference to their impact on the city of Baghdad.

"The Book of Golden Meadows" was written about 940 CE; these excerpts cover the lives of several Abbasid caliphs.

Covers the impact of Abbasid rule on Egypt, and the rise of the Tulunids.

Chapter 5 of a book by Gaston Wiet describes the intellectual, cultural and scientific ferment of the Abbasid court.

A description of the city under Abbasid rule by Yakut (c. 1000 CE); from the Medieval Sourcebook.

Brief profile of the second Abbasid Caliph.

Biography of one of the most influential Muslim mathematicians, born in a town in what is present day Uzbekistan around 770.

Summary article of the family which formed the last Arab Caliphates; also covers their decline, until only symbolic value remained. From Encyclopaedia of the Orient

A history of the Abbasids, first as rulers in their own right, later under the protection of the Seluk Dynasty.

Part of a longer article on the history of Islam; outlines the Abbasid caliphate, independent and alongside other dynasties, then under the protection of the Seljuks until the death of Abdullah al-Musta'sim and the start of the Khanid dynasty.