The Transition of the Caliphate from the Umayyads to the Abbasids and Ṭabarī's Approach to what happened during the Abbasid Revolution

Abstract

The way Islamic historians handle the change in Islamic history is just as significant as how the caliphate changed hands from the Umayyads to the Abbasids. To demonstrate their knowledge of historiography and whether they are impartial in the face of history in this setting, Islamic historians' approaches or perspectives on this subject are crucial. Our research focuses on how the caliphate was evaluated by Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923), recognized as an authority in Islamic history relating the developments over the transition period from the Umayyads to the Abbasids. Our objective is to identify Ṭabarī's historical perspective, influencing historians who came after him and all Muslims in light of the change in authority. No other study's content has mainly addressed the topic we include in our report. The methodology of our research is to make use of the aforementioned historian's Tārīkh al-rusul wa'l-anbiyāʾ wa'l-mulūk wa'l-khulafāʾ, Akhbār al-rusul wa'l-mulūk, or Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, which is more commonly used today and translated into Turkish as Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī. The political conflict between the Abbasids and the Umayyads, who were fierce competitors before Islam, resumed during the caliphate of Uthman after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, especially Hazrat Uthman. With the death of Hazrat Ali, the Umayyads seized the caliphate and converted it into a reign. The Abbasids, who claimed that the caliphate had its own rights while accusing the Umayyads of taking the caliphate and engaging in non-religious practices, violently overthrew the Umayyad state in 750 and turned to non-religious practices like beheading prominent members of this family and even setting their graves on fire. It is probable to argue that al-Ṭabarī, who lived during the Abbasid period, did not examine the transition and form of power in question objectively, but rather displayed a pro-Abbasid view. For instance, he does not mention of atrocities like the Abbasids' sword-based massacre of the Umayyads or their removal of some of the corpses and subsequent burning. The fact that the mentioned historian lived around the time of the Abbasids, who were enemies of the Umayyads, and produced his work during this time strongly suggests that he supported an Abbasid stance. Likewise, at this era, as in the case of the -Mihna- example, a historian would be persecuted or even punished by the current political administration if they believed that the Abbasids and the Umayyads were equally right in their political fights or if they praised the Umayyads. As a result, this period, which encompasses the first two centuries of Islamic history and can be referred to as the first period of Islamic history, has been touched upon by taking into account the perspectives of early Islamic historians, and the events that occurred have been analyzed. This indicates that absolute objectivity in historiography is nearly unattainable, because historians, whether directly or indirectly, were influenced by the religious-political structures dominating at the time. It has been found that al-Ṭabarī, an essential early historian, stated events under the influence of the Abbasid state, the dominating force during his day.