The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad, with the Abbasid dynasty descending directly from Muhammad's uncle, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its actual name. The Abbasids ruled as caliphs for most of their period from their capital city of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 AD. Persianate customs were broadly adopted by the ruling elite, along with a great financial support to the arts, with commissions of important monuments and to scholars.The capital city of Baghdad became a centre of science, culture, philosophy and invention during the Golden Age of Islam.
The political power of the caliphs largely ended with the rise of the Iranian Buyids and the Seljuq Turks. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was gradually reduced to a ceremonial religious function, the dynasty retained control over its Mesopotamian demesne. This period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, re-centred themselves in the Mamluk capital of Cairo in 1261. Though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim nominal authority along moral and spiritual influence as the heads of Orthodox Sunni Islam in religious matters until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. It is not until the Abbasid period that a distinct type and style of ceramic ware emerged that can be distinguished technically as ‘Islamic’. The first clear departure from pre-Islamic designs becomes evident from the middle of the 9th century. New methods of manufacture and innovative decorative and glazing techniques, combined with a new range of shapes and decorative motifs that had not previously been seen on the market, produced a whole range of ceramics that met the demands of local tastes and satisfied the desire of the elite classes.