Relationship Between Abbasid Caliphate

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Most people have heard the timeless adage “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” This sentiment applies perfectly when describing the relationship between Charles the Great’s Carolingian Dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate in the eighth century CE. These two expanding empires faced mutual enemies in both the Ummayad Caliphate as well as the Byzantine Empire. The Ummayad Caliphate had been disrupting Charlemagne’s empire from Spain; this eventually led to the creation of the Spanish March, a buffer zone intended to control his Muslim enemies. This caliphate also was naturally against the Abbasid Caliphate, as the two different groups each sought to be the dominant Caliphate in the Muslim world. Additionally, the Byzantines under Empress Irene inhibited …show more content…

Charles the Great first led an invasion of the Ummayad Caliphate into Spain in 778 CE. This invasion ended unsuccessfully and forced a Carolingian retreat back to France (Royal Frankish Annals). More importantly, this defeat illustrated the power the weakened Ummayad Caliphate still possessed. Spain clearly was still a remaining stronghold for the Ummayads. Consequently, Charlemagne was wary of his enemies in Spain, and control of the Spanish March was a constant objective and priority during the rest of his reign. He foresaw the need for future assistance against his Ummayad enemies, so he turned to the Abbasid Caliphate as allies. The Abbasids were the first to successfully depose the Ummayads in the Middle East, as they were mostly responsible for labeling the Ummayads as infidels and sparking a revolution against them in 750 CE (Marin-Guzman, 227). Though they were the first faction to find success toppling the Ummayad regime, they were not the first to try. A notable historian offers that “The Abbasids succeeded where others failed because of their efficient, determined organizational skills and their clever exploitation of popular discontent and religious ideology” (Elton n.p.). Clearly, the Abbasid Caliphate had a history of fighting the Ummayads and had proven their ability to defeat them. For these reasons, Charlemagne agreed to an alliance with the Abbasids against his Muslim neighbors in Spain. Overall, their experience against the Ummayad Caliphate allowed them to perfectly complement Charlemagne’s military

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