List of Abbasid caliphs

Khalifa خَليفة Abbasid Caliphs
As-Saffah first Abbasid Caliph
Style	Amir al-Mu'minin
Residence	Al-Kūfah (Kufa) Baġdād (Baghdad) Sāmarra (Samarra)
Formation	25 January 750
First holder	As-Saffah
Abolished	20 February 1258

The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.

The family came to power in the Abbasid Revolution in 748–750, supplanting the Umayyad Caliphate. They were the rulers of the Abbasid Caliphate, as well as the generally recognized ecumenical heads of Islam, until the 10th century, when the Shi'a Fatimid Caliphate (established in 909) and the Caliphate of Córdoba (established in 929) challenged their primacy. The political decline of the Abbasids had begun earlier, during the Anarchy at Samarra (861–870), which accelerated the fragmentation of the Muslim world into autonomous dynasties. The caliphs lost their temporal power in 936–946, first to a series of military strongmen, and then to the Shi'a Buyid dynasty that seized control of Baghdad; the Buyids were in turn replaced by the Sunni Seljuk Turks in the mid-11th century, and Turkish rulers assumed the title of "Sultan" to denote their temporal authority. The Abbasid caliphs remained the generally recognized suzerains of Sunni Islam, however. In the mid-12th century, the Abbasids regained their independence from the Seljuks, but the revival of Abbasid power ended with the Sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258.

Most Abbasid caliphs were born to a concubine mother, known as umm al-walad (Arabic: أم الولد‎, lit. 'mother of the child'). The term refers to a slave woman who had a child from her owner; those women were renowned for their beauty and intelligence, in that the owner might recognize the legitimacy of his children from them to be legally free and with full rights of inheritance, and refrain from trading the mothers afterwards.^[1] Those concubines mostly were Abyssinians, Armenians, Berbers, Byzantine Greeks, Turkish or even from Sicily.

Abbasid Caliphs (25 January 750 – 20 February 1258)

Further information: Abbasid Caliphate

No.	Reign	Regnal Name	Personal Name	Parents	Notes
1.	750 – 10 June 754	as-Saffāḥ	Abū’l-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh	[[Muhammad ibn Arafay Raita al-Harsia	Descendant of al-Abbas, Muhammad's uncle. Battle of Talas (751) secures Muslim predominance in Central Asia.
2.	10 June 754 – 775	al-Manṣūr	Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh	Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah Sallamah, Berber concubine from Nefzaoua	Fugitive Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman I founds the Emirate of Córdoba in al-Andalus (756). Foundation of Baghdad (927_45).
3.	775 – 4 August 785	al-Mahdī bi-'llāh	Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad	Al-Mansur Umm Musa (Arwa bint Mansur al-Himyari)
4.	August 785 – 14 September 786	al-Hādī	Abū Muḥammad Mūsā	Al-Mahdi Al-Khayzuran bint 'Attia
5.	14 September 786 – 24 March 809	Hārūn al-Rashīd	Hārūn	Al-Mahdi Al-Khayzuran bint 'Atta	Zaydi Shi'a Idrisid dynasty established in Morocco (788). Aghlabids recognized as autonomous in Ifriqiya (800).
6.	March 809 – 24/25 September 813	al-Amīn	Abū Mūsā Muḥammad	Harun al-Rashid Zubaidah bint Ja`far, granddaughter of al-Mansur	Civil war of the Fourth Fitna. Al-Amin deposed and killed at the Siege of Baghdad.
7.	September 813 – 9 August 833	al-Maʾmūn	Abū'l-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh	Harun al-Rashid Marajil, concubine from Badghis	Victor of the civil war. Anti-caliphate of Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi in Baghdad (817–819) ends with al-Ma'mun's return to Baghdad. Ends persecution of Ahl al-Bayt Launch of the Translation Movement, major revamp of the House of Wisdom, and systematic support of scholars for the gathering and translation of knowledge from various civilizations. Establishment of the Emirate of Crete (824/827) Start of the Muslim conquest of Sicily (827) Start of official support for Mu'tazilism, institution of the mihna (833)
8.	9 August 833 – 5 January 842	al-Muʿtaṣim bi-’llāh	Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad	Harun al-Rashid Marida, probably Turkish concubine from Sughd Region	Establishment of the Turkish ghilman in positions of power. Militarization and centralization of the administration. Move of the capital to Samarra (836).
9.	5 January 842 – 10 August 847	al-Wāthiq bi-'llāh	Abū Jaʿfar Hārūn	Al-Mu'tasim Qaratis, Greek concubine
10.	10 August 847 – 11 December 861	al-Mutawakkil ʿalā 'llāh	Jaʿfar	Al-Mu'tasim Shuja, probably Turkish concubine from Khawarizm	End of official support for Mu'tazilism, abolition of the miḥnah (848/851). Return to Sunni orthodoxy. Destroyed the Imam Husayn Shrine. Assassinated by his son al-Muntasir.
11.	861 – 7 or 8 June 862	al-Muntaṣir bi-'llāh	Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad	Al-Mutawakkil Hubshiya, Greek concubine	Reigned during the Anarchy at Samarra Ends persecution of Alids and returned their rightful endowments.
12.	862 – 866	al-Mustaʿīn bi-ʾllāh	Aḥmad	Muhammad, son of al-Mu'tasim Makhariq, concubine from Sicily	Reigned during the Anarchy at Samarra. Fled to Baghdad in 865, where he was besieged and deposed by the Turkish military.
13.	866 – 869	al-Muʿtazz bi-ʾllāh	Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad	Al-Mutawakkil Sabiha (Qabiha), Greek concubine	Reigned during the Anarchy at Samarra. Deposed by the Turkish military.
14.	869 – 21 June 870	al-Muhtadī bi-'llāh	Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad	Al-Wathiq Qurb, Greek concubine	Reigned during the Anarchy at Samarra. Assassinated by the Turkish military.
15.	21 June 870 – 15 October 892	al-Muʿtamid ʿalā ’llāh	Abū'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad	Al-Mutawakkil Fityan, Greek concubine from Kufa	Actual power in the hands of his brother, al-Muwaffaq (died 891). Start of the "Abbasid revival". Repulse of the Saffarids and subjugation of the Zanj Revolt. Establishment of the autonomous Tulunid dynasty in Egypt, and overthrow of the Tahirids by the Saffarids in the East.
16.	October 892 – 5 April 902	al-Muʿtaḍid bi-'llāh	Abū'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad	Al-Muwaffaq, regent of the Abbasid Caliphate Dirar (Hariz), Greek concubine	Height of the "Abbasid revival". Recovery of Jazira, Thughur, Jibal. Return of the capital to Baghdad. Start of the Qarmatian missionary activity and raids.
17.	5 April 902 – 13 August 908	al-Muktafī bi-'llāh	Abū Aḥmad ʿAlī	Al-Mu'tadid Jijak, Turkish concubine	Recovery of Egypt and Syria from the Tulunids. End of the "Abbasid revival".
18.	13 August 908 – 929	al-Muqtadir bi-'llāh	Abū'l-Faḍl Jaʿfar	Al-Mu'tadid Shaghab, Greek concubine	First reign Unsuccessful usurpation attempt in favour of Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz (908). Caliphal title also claimed by al-Mahdi Billah of the Fatimids from 909 and Abd al-Rahman III of Córdoba from 929.
19.	929	al-Qāhir bi-'llāh	Abū al-Manṣūr Muḥammad	Al-Mu'tadid Fitna (Qabul/Qatul), Berber concubine	First reign; installed by the commander-in-chief Mu'nis al-Muzaffar for a few days.
20.	929 – 31 October 932	al-Muqtadir bi-'llāh	Abū'l-Faḍl Jaʿfar	See #18	Second reign; killed in battle before Baghdad against Mu'nis al-Muzaffar. Qarmatian sack of Mecca and Medina (930).
21.	31 October 932 – 934	al-Qāhir bi-'llāh	Abū al-Manṣūr Muḥammad	See #19	Second reign
22.	934 – 23 December 940	al-Rāḍī bi-'llāh	Abū'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad/Muḥammad	Al-Muqtadir Thaloum, Berber concubine	Ibn Ra'iq becomes amīr al-umarāʾ (November 936); end of caliphal temporal power.
23.	940 – 944	al-Muttaqī li-'llāh	Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm	Al-Muqtadir Khalub (Zahrah), concubine	Beginning of the later Abbasid period. Overthrown and blinded by the amīr al-umarāʾ Tuzun.
24.	September 944 – 29 January 946	al-Mustakfī bi-ʾllāh	ʿAbd Allāh	Al-Muktafi Ghusn (Amlah al-Nas), concubine	Installed by the amīr al-umarāʾ Tuzun. Deposed and blinded after the Buyid takeover of Baghdad and Iraq.
25.	29 January 946 – 974	al-Muṭīʿ li-ʾllāh	Abū'l-Qāsim al-Faḍl	Al-Muqtadir Shaghla, concubine from Sicily	Installed by the Buyid emir Mu'izz al-Dawla.
26.	974 – 991	al-Ṭāʾiʿ li-amri ʿllāh	Abd al-Karīm	Al-Muti Hazar (Atab), concubine	Deposed by the Buyid emir Baha' al-Dawla.
27.	1 November 991 – 29 November 1031	al-Qādir bi-'llāh	Aḥmad	Ishaq ibn al-Muqtadir Tumna, concubine	Installed by the Buyid emir Baha' al-Dawla. Upholding of Sunni orthodoxy; publication of the Baghdad Manifesto.
28.	29 November 1031 – 2 April 1075	al-Qāʾim bi-amri 'llāh		Al-Qadir Badr al-Dija (Qatr al-Nida), Armenian concubine	End and disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba (1031). Takeover of Baghdad by the Seljuk Turks under Tughril (1055), end of Buyid rule. Tughril is recognized as Sultan by al-Qa'im. The Almoravids recognize the Abbasid Caliph's religious and nominal authority (c. 1062).
29.	2 April 1075 – February 1094	al-Muqtadī bi-amri ’llāh	Abū'l-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh	Muhammad, son of al-Qa'im Urjuwuan, Armenian concubine
30.	February 1094 – 6 August 1118	al-Mustaẓhir bi-'llāh	Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad	Al-Muqtadi Altın, Turkish concubine	First Crusade (1096–1099); establishment of the Crusader states in the Levant.
31.	6 August 1118 – 29 August 1135	al-Mustarshid bi-'llāh	Abū'l-Manṣūr al-Faḍl	Al-Mustazhir Lubaba, Turkish concubine	Foundation of the Almohad Caliphate in the Maghreb (1121).
32.	29 August 1135 – 1136	al-Rāshid bi-'llāh	Abu Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr	Al-Mustarshid Umm al-Sada, Abyssinian concubine	Deposed by the Seljuk Sultan Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud.
33.	1136 – 12 March 1160	al-Muqtafī li-ʾamri ’llāh	Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad	Al-Mustazhir Nasim, Abyssinian concubine	Siege of Baghdad (1157) by the Seljuks fails. Restoration of the Caliph's political independence.
34.	12 March 1160 – 20 December 1170	al-Mustanjid bi-'llāh	Abū'l-Muẓaffar Yūsuf	Al-Muqtafi Thawus, Turkish or Abyssinian concubine
35.	20 December 1170 – 30 March 1180	al-Mustaḍīʾ bi-amri ʾllāh	al-Ḥasan	Al-Mustanjid Ghadha, Armenian concubine	End of the Fatimid Caliphate (1171), restoration of Sunni rule in Egypt under Saladin.
36.	2 March 1180 – 4 October 1225	al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh	Abu'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad	Al-Mustadi Zumurrud, Turkish concubine	Recovery of Jerusalem from the Crusaders (1187).
37.	5 October 1225 – 11 July 1226	aẓ-Ẓāhir bi-amri’llāh	Muḥammad	Al-Nasir Asma
38.	11 July 1226 – 2 December 1242	al-Mustanṣir bi-'llāh	Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr	Al-Zahir Zahra, Turkish concubine
39.	2 December 1242 – 20 February 1258	al-Mustaʿṣim bi-'llāh	ʿAbd Allāh	Al-Mustansir Hajer, Abyssinian concubine	Last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad; executed after the Mongol sack of Baghdad.

Caliphs of Cairo (13 June 1261 – 22 January 1517)

Further information: Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)

In 1261, the Abbasid caliphate was re-established by a cadet branch of the dynasty at Cairo, under the auspices of the local Mamluk sultans but these caliphs were purely religious and symbolic figures, while temporal power rested with the Mamluks. The revived Abbasid caliphate lasted until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, after which the caliphal title passed to the Ottoman dynasty.

The Cairo Abbasids were largely ceremonial caliphs under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate that existed after the takeover of the Ayyubid dynasty.^[2][3]

No.	Reign	Regnal Name	Personal Name	Parents	Notes
1.	13 June 1261 – 28 November 1261	al-Mustanṣir bi-llāh	Abū'l-Qāsim Aḥmad	Az-Zahir	Installed as Caliph in Cairo, Egypt by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars in 1261. Title also claimed by al-Hakim I, installed as caliph by the ruler of Aleppo, Aqqush al-Burli
2.	16 November 1262 – 19 January 1302	al-Ḥākim bi-Amri'llāh I	Abū'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad		Abbasid descent disputed; installed as caliph by ruler of Aleppo, Aqqush al-Burli, in 1261, proclaimed as caliph by Baybars after al-Mustansir II died. Fall of the Almohad Caliphate (1269).
3.	20 January 1302 – February 1340	al-Mustakfī bi-llāh I	Abū ar-Rabīʾ Sulaymān	Al-Hakim I
4.	February 1340 – 17 June 1341	al-Wāthiq bi-'llāh I	Abū ʾIsḥāq ʾIbrāhīm	Muhammad, son of al-Hakim I
5.	1341 – 1352	al-Ḥākim bi-Amri'llāh II	Abū'l-ʿAbbas ʾAḥmad	Al-Mustakfi I
6.	1352 – 1362	al-Muʿtaḍid bi-'llāh I	Abū al-Fatḥ Abū Bakr	Al-Mustakfi I
7.	1362 – 1377	al-Mutawakkil ʿalā'llāh I	Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad	Al-Mu'tadid I	First reign
8.	1377	al-Mustaʿṣim bi-'llāh	Abū Yaḥya Zakarīyāʾ	Al-Wathiq I	First reign
9.	1377 – 1383	al-Mutawakkil ʿalā'llāh I	Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad		Second reign
10.	September 1383 – 13 November 1386	al-Wāthiq bi-'llāh II	Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar	Al-Wathiq I
11.	1386 – 1389	al-Mustaʿṣim bi-'llāh	Abū Yaḥya Zakarīyāʾ		Second reign
12.	1389 – 9 January 1406	al-Mutawakkil ʿalā'llāh I	Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad		Third reign
13.	22 January 1406 – 9 March 1414	al-Mustaʿīn bi-'llāh	Abū al-Faḍl al-ʿAbbas	Al-Mutawakkil I Bay Khatun, Turkish concubine	Became Sultan of Egypt from 7 May – 6 November 1412, as a titular figurehead for Shaykh al-Mahmudi.
14.	1414 – 1441	al-Muʿtaḍid bi-'llāh II	Abū al-Fatḥ Dāwud	Al-Mutawakkil I Kazal, Turkish concubine
15.	1441 – 29 January 1451	al-Mustakfī bi-llāh II	Abū al-Rabīʿ Sulaymān	Al-Mutawakkil I Bay Khatun
16.	1451 – 1455	al-Qāʾim bi-ʾamr Allāh	Abū al-Baqāʾ Ḥamza	Al-Mutawakkil I Bay Khatun
17.	1455 – 7 April 1479	al-Mustanjid bi-'llāh	Abū al-Maḥāsin Yūsuf	Al-Mutawakkil I Bay Khatun
18.	5 April 1479 – 27 September 1497	al-Mutawakkil ʿalā'llāh II	Abū al-ʿIzz ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz	Ya'qub ibn al-Mutawakkil I Haj al-Malik
19.	1497 – 1508	al-Mustamsik bi-'llāh	Abū al-Ṣabr Yaqūb	Al-Mutawakkil II	First reign
20.	1508 – 1516	al-Mutawakkil ʿalā'llāh III	Muḥammad		First reign
21.	1516 – 1517	al-Mustamsik bi-'llāh	Abū al-Ṣabr Yaqūb		Second reign
22.	1517	al-Mutawakkil ʿalā'llāh III	Muḥammad		Second reign He formally surrendered the title of caliph as well as its outward emblems—the sword and mantle of Muhammad—to Ottoman Sultan Selim I in 1517, making him the last caliph from Abbasid dynasty and the Banu Quraysh.

Genealogy

Genealogical tree of the Abbasid family. In green, the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. In yellow, the Caliphs of Cairo. Muhammad is included (in caps) to show the kinship of the Abbasids with him.

References

1. "Umm al-Walad". Oxford Islamic Studies.
2. Bosworth 2004, p. 7
3. Houtsma & Wensinck 1993, p. 3

Bibliography

• Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1996). The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-2137-7.
• Houtsma, M. Th.; Wensinck, A. J. (1993). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936. IX. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-09796-4.
• Lane-Poole, Stanley (1894). The Mohammedan Dynasties: Chronological and Genealogical Tables with Historical Introductions. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Company. OCLC 1199708.