In this episode we talk about the end of the Umayyads with the Abbasid revolt, focusing not only on the major battles, but why the Abbasids were successful in overthrowing the Umayyad Caliphate. We discuss how the caliphate changes over time and how the historical circumstances of the Abbasids, geography, and technology shape the new government. We explore the Persian contributions to Islam and how the religion and the caliphate are both shaped by the Sassanian predecessors. Finally we dissect the so-called "golden age" with a discussion about the intellectual development of the Islamic world under the Abbasid regime.