700-765 [new] Jun 2026

: Because sensory information is imperfect, the path to a decision is not a straight line but a "noisy" walk.

At the turn of the century, the Umayyad Caliphate was the dominant superpower of the Western world. Under rulers such as Abd al-Malik (d. 705) and his successors, the state underwent significant Arabization, with Arabic replacing Greek and Persian as the language of administration. 700-765

While Islam’s great powers reorganized, a Christian dynasty was consolidating its grip on Francia. Charles Martel (died 741) had already stopped a Muslim raiding party at Tours/Poitiers in 732. His son, Pepin the Short, deposed the last Merovingian king in 751 and was anointed king of the Franks. By 765, Pepin’s son—the future Charlemagne—was a 23-year-old prince preparing to inherit a kingdom ready for expansion. : Because sensory information is imperfect, the path

However, the transition was not smooth. In , shortly after the founding of Baghdad, a major rebellion broke out. Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya ("The Pure Soul"), a descendant of the Prophet via his grandson Hasan, led a revolt against the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur. Though the rebellion was crushed and Muhammad killed, it established the theological and political divide between the Abbasids and the Shi'a that persists to this day. 705) and his successors, the state underwent significant