A PhD thesis at the University of Basra discusses: The deaths of the Abbasid caliphs, a historical study, (136-656 AH / 753-1258 AD)
A PhD thesis in the Department of History at the College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Basra, entitled: The Deaths of the Abbasid Caliphs, a Historical Study, (136-656 A.H. / 753-1258 A.D.) by Saadi Abdul-Rahim Manea.
The thesis dealt with the deaths of the Abbasid caliphs, their causes, methods, and the circumstances and circumstances that surrounded them, starting with the death of the first Abbasid caliph Abdullah bin Muhammad, known as al-Saffah, in the year 136 AH / 753 AD, until the end of the Abbasid state in Baghdad, with the killing of the last Abbasid caliph Abdullah bin al-Mustansir, nicknamed al-Musta’sim Billah in the year 656 AH. / 1258 m 0
The study consisted of an introduction and five chapters with a conclusion. The first chapter was titled The Dialectic of the Abbasid Caliphate, and it represents the points of disagreement between historians about some topics related to the Abbasid state, such as the hadiths contained in the Abbasid caliphate, the theory of the Abbasid caliphate and the number of Abbasid caliphs, while the second chapter dealt with diseases and their impact on The deaths of the Abbasid caliphs The third chapter dealt with the killing of the Abbasid caliphs, their methods and causes, while the fourth chapter dealt with the commandments of the Abbasid caliphs, and how to deal with the bodies of the caliphs such as washing, shrouding and burial with exposure to the places of the caliphs’ graves, while the fifth chapter dealt with the preacher and consideration in the deaths of the Abbasid caliphs.
The thesis aims to reveal the circumstances of the events of the Abbasid caliphs, and to discuss the accounts that dealt with those incidents, and their impact on the internal and external policy of the Abbasid state, as they do not represent the end of a person's life only, but rather represent the end of a political era, and the entry into a new era, which differs in its internal and external politics and relations, and what follows. It is a struggle and competition for power
The study reached a number of important results related to this aspect, including the impact of diseases and epidemics that swept the Islamic world during the rule of the Abbasid state throughout its long history, which claimed the lives of a large number of people during that era, and the Abbasid caliphs were not immune from these waves, which It posed a threat to the lives of the caliphs, so many of them died because of it, at different ages and most of them were young. He mentioned the place and date of their death, which makes it very likely that their death was either due to old age, or due to a sudden illness that was not known at the time, while the Abbasid state witnessed, throughout its long history, many cases of assassination and killing that affected the Abbasid caliphs, and claimed their lives, and they were numerous The causes and methods of killing varied, according to the different interests and purposes of the competitors, and the different circumstances surrounding the caliphs.
With regard to the graves of the Abbasid caliphs, they were scattered according to the places in which they died, and some of them are located at great distances from the capital of the Abbasid state, whether in Baghdad or Samarra, and other places. The caliphs did not know a special cemetery except during the time of the Caliph Al-Radi (323-329 AH / 934- 940 AD), and it is the cemetery known as Turb al-Khalifa, and it is located on the side of Rusafa, south of Mashhad Abu Hanifa, on the side of the Tigris River. Historians who witnessed its existence during that period, or provide evidence of its existence after this date.
