PhD thesis in the Department of History - College of Education for Humanities (Disasters and crises and their impact on pilgrims in the Abbasid era)
The thesis presented by the student Haider Nouri Dahsh Badai Al-Maliki aims to highlight the most important natural and human difficulties and risks, in addition to political conflicts and their impact on pilgrims and the establishment of Hajj ceremonies and signs during the Abbasid era. The problem of water shortages on the Hajj route, the occurrence of floods, the spread of famine and high prices, and the spread of diseases and epidemics that were killing pilgrims in some years were among the most natural disasters facing pilgrims. The thesis also addressed the causes of political crises and their impact on pilgrims through the intensification of conflicts and political competition over the Two Holy Mosques, between the Abbasid state and the independent emirates competing with it. Some intellectual movements hostile to the Abbasid authority also posed an imminent danger to the Hajj caravans, which were represented by the movements of the Arabs and the Qarmatians. The pilgrims tasted the woes of them, due to the Abbasid state losing its ability to Protecting pilgrims and preserving the roads leading to the Two Holy Mosques.
The thesis included an introduction, four chapters, a conclusion, a list of sources and references, and a summary in Arabic and English. The first chapter included disasters in Islamic heritage, while the second chapter was titled natural disasters, the third chapter included political competition, and the fourth chapter was titled political and administrative competition between the Abbasid authority and those who rebelled against it.
The thesis reached many conclusions, the most important of which is that the journey to Hajj was not an easy matter, but rather fraught with dangers and difficulties, and at the top of those difficulties were natural disasters. The weakness of the Abbasid authority in the administrative and military aspects also contributed to the increase in the number of deaths among the pilgrims, through neglecting water projects on the Hajj road and caring for the Hajj caravan, and not providing security on the Hajj roads. Political competition over the Two Holy Mosques also obstructed the Hajj rituals, and the matter sometimes developed into the outbreak of fighting during the season, which caused many deaths among the pilgrims. Despite these difficulties and others, the Hajj caravans continued to travel to the Sacred House of God to perform the duty despite the many dangers and the simplicity of the transportation methods used by the pilgrims in that time period
