Hugh Kennedy's book on the Abbasisd rule in Baghdad a great read

Ali Muhammed
  Hugh Kennedy is an author that laments the fall of the Abbasisd rulers in Baghdad. He calls this dynasty that founded Baghdad in 762 the greatest Islamisist caliphate and writes how it was once the center of higher learning and the arts, philosophy. poetry. literary dialogue, and scientific learning. Kennedy recalls the two centuries where the caliphate had real power and ruled over creating a contemporary respected civilization by future historians up to Hugh Kennedy himself. Baghdad was a different place and in a sense a better off place with rule of this as opposed to corrupt dictatorships ruled with an iron fist.

Of course Kennedy doesn't deal with the fact that this golden age wasn't so great for the various minorities of non-Muslims that lived under the rule of this empire Kennedy narrates early Baghdad and how Arab Muslims migrated to  the area negotiating an uneasy peace with the Turkish nomads and Persian princes who they soon intermarried and would rule over. Kennedy details the transition of the Abbasaid dynasty takeover of the Umayyad caliph. The new rule of Mansur and his legacy is presented by facts and earning how Baghdad became headquarters of intellect Islamic world through this dynamic family dynast is intriguing to people who kno little of Iraq's rich history for which the United States has been so involved in the past two decades. Mansur had overcome tremendous challenges to his new rule and soon established a caliphate of solid foundation that would make Osama Bin laden green with jealously and inspire him many centuries later. Usually when radical Muslims talk of returning their rule of their lands they usually mean this time period and Baghdad's success in this epoch. The boom city of Baghdad took off with commerce and trade becoming the wealthiest place on Earth with a bureaucracy that was impressive. The financial administration of Baghdad is also explained along with daily life activities and various other aspects of Baghdad under the rule of the Abbasisd rule which ended about 930 as Turkish warrior slaves seized control. by then the army was in disarray, The Byzantines were on the offensive, and courts ruined by financial crisis and mismanagement. The Abbasisd dynasty was the last real unity of Arabs in the Middle East and various regional powers would take over the region before ottoman Turks once again brought an impressive empire into the region and ruled over the Arab s for four centuries over a depleted ruined Baghdad by the shock and awe of destructive Mongol invasions.