The Process of the Decline of the Translation Movement during the Reign of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muʿtasim (833–842 CE)

Abstract

With the accession of al-Muʿtasim, the eighth Abbasid caliph, and the transfer of the capital of the caliphate from Baghdad to Samarra in 836 CE, together with his preference for Turkish military slaves over other groups, conditions emerged that encouraged scholars, scientists, and translators to migrate away from the center of the caliphate, while the Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom) gradually lost its former prestige. The principal objective of the present study is to examine the factors contributing to the decline of the Translation Movement. The central research question is concerned with the factors that caused the golden age of the Translation Movement to enter a period of decline despite the relatively recent establishment of the Bayt al-Hikma. This article seeks to explain the factors underlying the decline of the Translation Movement and the process through which this transformation occurred. The decline of the Translation Movement was directly associated with the transfer of the Abbasid capital from Baghdad to Samarra. The caliphs’ diminished attention to the sciences during this period, the significant weakening of the caliphal administration resulting from the increasing influence of opponents and challengers to the Abbasid court, competition among political elites, and the declining prestige of the Bayt al-Hikma were among the principal factors contributing to the decline of the Translation Movement. The findings indicate that there was a relationship between the transfer of the capital of the caliphate from Baghdad to Samarra and the decline of the Translation Movement. This study employs a descriptive-analytical research method and is theoretical in nature.