78 • 6 THE HIGH CALIPHATEconjecture would prove true for the Abbasid Empire under its fifth caliph,
Harun al-Rashid (r. 786-809).
The Building of Baghdad
When Abu al-Abbas, Harun's great-uncle, was acclaimed as the first Ab¬
basid caliph by Kufa's people in 749, Baghdad was just a tiny Persian vil¬
lage a few miles up the Tigris River from the ruined Sasanid capital,
Ctesiphon. The early Abbasids wanted to move the government to Iraq,
and after trying a few other cities, Abu al-Abbas's brother and successor,
Abu Ja'far al-Mansur, eventually chose that site in 762 for his capital. He
officially named it the "city of peace," but it soon became better known by
the name of the Persian village it replaced, Baghdad. It was located at ex¬
actly the point where the Tigris and Euphrates come closest together (see
Map 6.1). A series of canals linking the rivers there made it easier to de¬
fend the site and also put Baghdad on the main trade route between the
Mediterranean (hence Europe) and the Persian Gulf (hence Asia). River
irrigation in Iraq was raising agricultural output. It was also an area in
which Persian and Aramean culture remained strong. Finally, it was closer
to the political center of gravity for an empire still stretching eastward to¬
ward India and China.
Mansur wanted a planned capital, not a city that, like Kufa or Damascus,
had long served other purposes. His architects gave him a round city. The
caliphal palace and the main mosque fronted on a central square. Around
them stood army barracks, government offices, and the homes of the chief
administrators. A double wall with four gates girdled the city, and soon
hundreds of houses and shops surrounded the wall. Across the Tigris rose
the palace of the caliph's son, with a smaller entourage. The later caliphs
built more palaces along the Tigris, which was spanned by a bridge of
boats. The building of Baghdad was part of a public works policy by which
the Abbasids kept thousands of their subjects employed and their immense
wealth circulating. It was a popular policy, for it led to the construction of
mosques, schools, and hospitals throughout the empire, but its success de¬
pended on general prosperity, for the people paid high taxes to support it.
Public Piety
The Abbasids made a public display of their piety, which had been their
main justification for seizing power from the high-living Umayyads.
Mahdi, the third Abbasid caliph, loved wine, music, and perfumed slave