This note is made in reference to the recommended essential readings and chapters from Zhou Yiliang’s Universal History of the World and the Soviet edition of World History when studying the section on the Abbasid Dynasty of the Arab Empire.
The Abbasid Dynasty was established by the feudal lord Abbas and Mansur after overthrowing the Umayyad Dynasty through the Musuri’m uprising. The early monarchs mainly included Abbas, Mansur, Mahdi, Harun al-Rashid (786–809), Amin, Mamon (813–833), and Mutasim. During Mahdi’s period, domestic affairs were overseen by his wife, a Yemeni slave girl named Hajar. From the praise of his son Fakhiraid, he was considered more progressive, and the social economy also developed. Subsequently, the periods of Rashid and Mamon, which had more materials and were relatively progressive, saw the gradual decline of the Arab Empire in the later stages of Mamon due to the expansion of large landowner economy.
Rashid is the king in the book One Thousand and One Nights. He emphasized water conservancy and agricultural development. Drawing on Egypt’s rich experience, he opened rivers and dug canals in Iraq, built dams, and diverted the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to various regions, making the river systems in the Mesopotamian basin extensive and fertile. Agriculture in other parts of the empire also prospered. Southern Iraq, near Damascus, southern Persia, and regions between Samarkand and Bukhara in Central Asia were praised as the “Four Great Paradises of the World.”
To ensure treasury income, Rashid reformed the tax law, abolishing the traditional “area-based” system and implementing a “profit-sharing” system. Land taxes were no longer levied based on land area but according to the harvest of the year. The new tax law alleviated the burden on farmers to some extent, increased their enthusiasm for production, promoted development, and increased revenue.
During Rashid’s era, not only was agriculture prosperous, but handicraft workshops also flourished. In Baghdad alone, there were 4,000 glass workshops and 30,000 porcelain shops. Although these figures may be somewhat exaggerated by Arabs, the rapid development and unprecedented prosperity of handicrafts during Rashid’s time are undeniable. Textiles, glassware, porcelain, swords, and armor produced throughout the empire enjoyed great fame in Europe.
However, with land annexation and the expansion of the large landowner economy of the Abbasid Dynasty, despite dismissing the hereditary prime minister family Barmak when Rashid came to power, he could not avoid appointing large landowners, such as in 796 when Rashid appointed the Iraqi landlord Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan as governor of Khorasan. Ali’s brutal exploitation and oppressive fiscal measures in the province caused strong dissatisfaction among local landlords and triggered the Kharijite uprising. In April 805, increasingly loud complaints reached Harun’s ears. When he personally inspected the situation, Ali brought 30 million dinars—generously distributing this wealth among the caliph’s attendants and family. As a result, Rashid not only retained Ali but even accompanied him part of the way back, demonstrating his compromise with the large landowners.
Rashid’s compromise was reflected in the succession issue: under pressure from Iraqi landlords, he installed Amin, a follower of the Jurchen, as heir, and divided Iran’s territory to Mamon, making Mamon the immediate successor. The division of east and west was not due to the incompetence of bourgeois humanist theory but was a reflection of the internal struggle between two ruling class factions. After Amin, the agreement was torn up, and he refused to recognize Mamon as heir. Mamon then launched the Arab version of the “Jingnan Campaign,” killing his way from Tehran to Baghdad to declare himself king.
The reason for comparing Mamon to Zhu Di of the legalist school is because Mamon initially pursued a progressive route. He suppressed monastery estates and supported the Mu’tazilite faction, which promoted dualist theology, encouraged scientific and philosophical research, and denied the divine nature of the Quran (denying that the Quran and Allah are co-eternal, claiming it was created, thus undermining the authority of religious monks who interpret the Quran). They argued that the Quran should not be interpreted literally (meaning that the Quran should be interpreted according to one’s interests, breaking the monopoly of the monastery landowning groups over Quran interpretation). Mamon also encouraged scientific research, built the Wisdom Palace, and paid scholars to translate Greek classics into Arabic, rewarding translators with gold equal in weight to the translated manuscripts. Medieval Europe was long shackled by Scholastic philosophy, which later contributed to the Renaissance borrowing knowledge from Arab countries.
However, like Rashid, Mamon could not avoid appointing large landowners; later, he adopted Confucian policies, granting hereditary governorships to some Persian landlords, and indulged in lavish banquets. His successor, Mutasim, faced large-scale bankruptcies among small farmers in Khorasan, making it difficult to maintain a standing army, leading to the implementation of the Mamluk system (similar to the Byzantine Empire’s hired Varangian Guard after its decay; bourgeois historians often superficially mention Mutasim’s mother being a Turkic slave girl, implying an abstract trust in Turkic mercenaries, but in reality, there were also Scandinavians and others. This phenomenon should be analyzed from a materialist historical perspective, similar to the conscription system of the Tang Dynasty), relying on Turkic mercenaries to form the imperial guard (actually mercenaries) to oppose large landowners, but ultimately, Mutasim was sidelined by the Mamluks, and the caliph became a puppet with no command over Baghdad.
Haizulan in Arab history is close to China’s Lü Hou and Wu Zetian in terms of their positions, both being “regents” who held power behind the throne. At that time, the gold coins of the Abbasid Dynasty bore her portrait (which essentially acknowledged her as the ruler of the Abbasid Empire). Haizulan had two sons, one was Harun al-Rashid, and the other was Hadi. Hadi was originally designated by Haizulan as a nominal caliph (actual power was in her hands, and the caliph was just a rubber stamp), but Hadi was a Confucian loyalist, which led to fierce conflicts with Haizulan, ultimately resulting in his death. Harun al-Rashid was also appointed as caliph by Haizulan before her death, and he never had conflicts with her. This was not because Harun al-Rashid was biding his time or secretly plotting, because even after Haizulan’s death, he did not seize the opportunity to retaliate or take power. Instead, after continuing her mother’s Legalist policies, he said that if a woman could be as excellent as his mother, there was no reason to feel ashamed of sharing power with her. It can be considered that Haizulan was the pioneer of Harun al-Rashid’s Legalist route, which also fully refutes the modern prejudice that Arabs are inherently discriminatory against women. Arabs are not only not inherently misogynistic, but during times of progress, they could entrust women with national affairs, even allowing women to become emperors (such as Shajar al-Durr of the Mamluk Sultanate and Queen Aziza of Yemen). Conversely, during reactionary periods, whether in European Christianity, Arab Islam, Asian Buddhism, or East Asian Confucianism, women were persecuted. It is clear that those who mock Arabs for discriminating against women under the guise of Islam, or even insult the Arab people, are a bunch of idle, arrogant, and nationalist prejudiced clowns.
Ma Meng and his brother originally divided the territory equally, then Ma Meng became the successor to the Caliph after A Ming, the brother, died. However, after their father died, A Ming refused to recognize Ma Meng as his heir and even wanted to kill him. Therefore, Ma Meng, like Zhu Di, launched the “Jing Nan Campaign,” rebelled from Iran, and fought all the way to Baghdad, killing the new Caliph. Ma Meng, like Zhu Di, dared to violate the reactionary religious teachings about brotherly loyalty and filial piety, daring to despise the “orthodox” ideas. As the Confucian route was about to be fully restored, they did not stick to the benevolence and righteousness of Confucianism but chose rebellion, and they also succeeded against the odds, winning with fewer forces against many, which is closely related to their Legalist route. Chairman Mao said that if the central government ever became revisionist, the localities should rebel, and this is a historical example. However, after Hua Xiu launched a counterrevolutionary coup, the rebels in Shanghai directly surrendered, which can be considered a negative example.