Now that we’ve covered Haroon al Rashid’s foreign wars, we can get started with the messy conflicts which took place within the umma, and within his administration itself. The caliphate’s distant west slowly broke away during his reign, but his armies faced off and defeated various challengers across the rest of his lands. The Abbasid state was still powerfu ... Show More
Aug 2022
Episode 53: Downfall of the Baramika
Royal advisors, court attendants, and other officials began to hold some real political power in the Abbasid caliphate, a development which progressed with every caliph who came after the micromanaging al Mansur. The Baramika during al Rashid’s reign represented the pinnacle of t ... Show More
30m 21s
Feb 2014
#13 - E. Zhou 2: The Widening Gyre
Spheres of domination, intrafamiliar betrayal, and tangled alliances are the markers of the second portion of the Spring and Autumn period, called the Age of Encroachments. All of this leading to the major powers of the Zhou Empire to engage in decades-long draw out proxy-wars al ... Show More
31m 46s