Daily Medieval

Part 1 is here . Hulagu Khan did not execute the Abbasid leader, Caliph al-Musta'sim, immediately; he wanted him punished for his foolis...

The House of Wisdom was a marvelous repository of knowledge from all over the world. It also functioned as an informal university long befo...

Established during the Golden Age of Islam in the newly founded capital of Baghdad , the Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) had a simple goal:...

Harun al-Rashid (c.763 - 24 March 809) was the fifth ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate , his reign considered the start of Islam's Golden A...

The red pin is Kufa, the purple pin is Baghdad, about 170 km north. The Abbasids had taken over from the Umayyads, and in order to make...