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Decline of the Abbasid Caliph's Authority in Baghdad (1070s)

Type Event Region Asia Time 1071–1080

In the 1070s the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad retained the highest religious nominal authority in the Islamic world, but real political, military, and …

Timeline

  1. 1071–1074Baghdad · IraqSince the Seljuks entered Baghdad in 1055 the Abbasid caliphs had depended on Turkic armies to maintain rule; by the early 1070s the court's finances depended on disbursements from Seljuk governors and viziers, and the caliph's own guard was limited in size.
  2. 1075–1078Baghdad · IraqIn 1075 al-Qa'im succeeded his brother as caliph, while real power was held by Seljuk Sultan Malik-Shah and his vizier Nizam al-Mulk; the caliph presided over religious ceremonies and invested the sultan, but could not independently appoint governors or mobilize armies.
  3. 1078–1080Baghdad · IraqNizam built schools throughout the empire and Baghdad remained a scholarly center, but the caliphal government could not reverse its military dependence on the Seljuks; the politics of Iraq in the late 1070s were in essence 'religious orthodoxy in the court, military-political power in Isfahan.'

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