The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. It was established by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its name.
Under the Abbasid, the caliphate started a new phase. Instead of concentrating, as the Umayyads had done, on the West—on North Africa, the Mediterranean, and southern Europe—the caliphate now turned eastward. The capital was moved from Damascus, Syria to the new city of Baghdad, and events in Persia and Transoxania were closely watched.