ABSTRACT
The annals of the ʿAbbásid dynasty from the accession of Saffáḥ) (A.D. 749) to the death of Mustaʿṣim, and the destruction of Baghdád by the Mongols (A.D. 1258) make a round sum of five centuries. I propose to sketch the history or this long period in three chapters, of which the first will offer a general view of the more important literary and political developments so far as is possible in the limited space at my command; the second will be devoted to the great poets, scholars, historians, philosophers, and scientists who flourished in this, the Golden Age of Muḥammadan literature; while in the third some account will be given of the chief religious movements and of the trend of religious thought.
