Asharq Al Awsat Standing tall southeast of Rabigh governorate in Makkah Region and a few kilometers from Miqat Al-Juhfah, the historic Alia Palace is a testament to one of the ancient Hajj pilgrimage ...

Supporters of the Islamic State march in Mosul, Iraq, in 2014, the year the militant group declared a new caliphate in Iraq and Syria. (Associated Press) Shadi Hamid is a senior fellow in the ...

The palace-city of Samarra, capital of the former Abbasid Caliphate, was home to an advanced industry of glass production and trade, according to a new study.

That’s a question addressed by Tayeb El-Hibri in this scholarly evaluation of the Abbasid dynasty and, in so doing, he constantly emphasises the valuable insights to be gleaned from such a study and ...

In the 8th century Middle East, a new dynasty seized control of one of the world’s greatest empires – the Islamic Caliphate. Though little remembered in the west today, the Abbasids reigned ...

The Islamic Golden age began during the Abbasid caliphate which was centred around the city of Baghdad. In 1258, the Mongol armies from the east destroyed Baghdad and ended Abbasid rule.

The apogee of the Abbasid caliphate coincides with the heydays of the Tang Dynasty in China (619-907). In the Accounts imperial China is painted as a highly organised and regulated society.

It’s easy to understand why the battle of Talas in 751 between the Abbasid Caliphate’s Arab-Persian army and the Chinese army is often said to be one of the most important battles in Central ...

W hat is caliphate? What does the term mean? What is the history of the idea? Is it an ancient irrelevance, only interesting as a voice from a past that is safely consigned to history? Or is it a ...