Abbasid was the dynastic name generally given to the caliphs of Baghdad, the second of the two great Sunni dynasties of the Muslim empire, that overthrew the Umayyid caliphs. Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (AD 566-652), one of the youngest uncles of the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., by virtue of which descent they regarded themselves as the rightful heirs of the Prophet as opposed to the Umayyads.
The Abassids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their secularism, their moral character and their administration in general. The Abassids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as Mawali, who remained outside the kinship-based society of Arab culture and were at best second-class citizens within the Umayyad empire. Muhammad ibn 'Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign for the return of power to the family of the Prophet, the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II.
During the reign of Marwan II this opposition culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim, the fourth in descent from Abbas, who, supported by the province of Khorasan, achieved considerable successes, but was captured (747) and died in prison. The quarrel was taken up by his brother Abdallah, known by the name of Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah, who finalyy crushed the Umayyads and proclaimed Caliph after a decisive victory on the Greater Zab river in 750.
The Abassids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads. Abu al-'Abbas' successor, Mansur, moved their capital from Damascus to the new city of Baghdad and welcomed non-Arab Muslims to their court. While this helped integrate Arab and Persian cultures, it isolated many of their Arab supporters, particularly the Khorosanian Arabs who had supported them in their battles against the Umayyads, which had led to immediate problems.
The Abassids also found themselves at odds with the Shia, many of whom had supported their war against the Umayyads, since the Abassids claimed legitimacy by their familial connection to Muhammad. Once in power, the Abassids embraced Sunni Islam and denied any support for Shi'a beliefs. That led to numerous conflicts, culminating in an uprising in Mecca in 786, followed by widespread bloodshed and the flight of many Shi'a to the Maghreb, where the survivors established the Idrisid kingdom. Shortly thereafter Berber Kharjites set up an independent state in North Africa in 801.
At the same time the Abassids faced challenges closer to home. The Byzantine Empire was fighting Abassid rule in Syria and Anatolia. Former supporters of the Abassids had broken away to create a separate kingdom around Khorosan in northern Persia. Harun al-Rashid (786 - 809) added to these troubles by turning on the Barmakids, the Persian family that had supplied the caliphate with competent administrators, over a personal dispute.
Faced with these challenges from within, the Abassids decided to create an army loyal only to their caliphate, drawn mostly from Turkish slaves, known as Mamluks, with some Slavs and Berbers participating as well. This force, created in the reign of al-Ma'mun (813 - 833), and his brother and successor al-Mu'tasim, prevented the further distintegration of the empire.
The empire ended lastly under the reign of Motawakkil III, when the Abassid Dynasty was experiencing a great loss of life.
Reference link: http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/history/abbasid.htm
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