Editing History of Qatar (section)

===Abbasid period (750–1253)===
{{Main|Abbasid Caliphate}}
{{See also|Islamic Golden Age}}
Several settlements, including [[Murwab]], were developed during the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] period.<ref name="ibp"/> Over 100 stone-built houses, two mosques, and an Abbasid fort were constructed in Murwab during this era.<ref name="rahmanh"/><ref name="vine4"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Qatar, 2012 (The Report: Qatar)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1JsAZouLOVQC|publisher=Oxford Business Group|year=2012|page=233|isbn=978-1907065682}}</ref> Murwab fort is the oldest intact fort in the country and was built over the ruins of a previous fort which was destroyed by fire. The town was the site of the first sizable settlement established off the coastal area of Qatar.<ref name="embassy"/> A similar site, containing [[Tang dynasty|T'ang]] stoneware and dating to the 9th and 10th centuries, was discovered in Al Naman (north of [[Zubarah]]).<ref name="vine4"/>

[[File:Abbasids850.png|thumb|235px|[[Abbasid Caliphate]] at its greatest extent, c. 850.]]
Substantial development in the pearling industry around the Qatari Peninsula occurred during the Abbasid era.<ref name="rahmanh"/> Ships from [[Basra]] en route to [[India]] and [[China]] would make stops in the port of Qatar during this period. Chinese porcelain, West African coins and pieces from Thailand have been discovered in Qatar.<ref name="fromherz"/> Archaeological remains from the 9th century suggest that Qatar's inhabitants used greater wealth, perhaps from the pearl trade, to construct higher quality homes and public buildings. However, when the caliphate's prosperity declined in Iraq, so too did it in Qatar.<ref>{{cite book|last=Russell|first=Malcolm|title=The Middle East and South Asia 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v6RjBAAAQBAJ|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|page=151|year=2014|isbn=978-1475812350}}</ref>

Most of Eastern Arabia, particularly Bahrain and the Qatari Peninsula, were sites of revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate around 868.<ref>Mohamed Althani, p. 17</ref> Mohammed ibn Ali, a revolutionary, roused the people of Bahrain and Qatar into a rebellion, but the rebellion was unsuccessful, and he relocated to Basra. He was later successful in instigating the [[Zanj Rebellion]].<ref>Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir. ''The History of al-Tabari, Volume XXXVI: The Revolt of the Zanj.'' Trans. David Waines. Ed. Ehsan Yar-Shater. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-7914-0764-0}}. p. 31</ref>

A radical [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili]] group called the [[Qarmatians]] established a utopian republic in Eastern Arabia in 899.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zizek|first=Slavoj|title=First as Tragedy, Then as Farce|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqKK3WFeSKcC|publisher=Verso|page=121|year=2009|isbn=978-1844674282}}</ref> They considered the pilgrimage to [[Mecca]] a superstition and once in control of the Bahraini state they launched raids along the pilgrim routes crossing the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. In 906, they ambushed the pilgrim caravan returning from Mecca and massacred 20,000 pilgrims.<ref>{{cite book|last=Saunders|first=John Joseph|title=A History of Medieval Islam|publisher=Routledge|year=1978|page=130}}</ref>

Qatar is mentioned in 13th-century Muslim scholar [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]]'s book, ''Mu'jam Al-Buldan (Dictionary of Countries)'', which alludes to the Qataris' fine striped woven cloaks and their skills in improvement and finishing of spears, known as khattiyah spears.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qatarembassy.net/page/history|title=History|publisher=qatarembassy.net|access-date=18 January 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217204727/http://qatarembassy.net/page/history|archive-date=17 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The spears acquired their name as an homage to the region of Al-Khatt which encompassed present-day [[Qatif]], [[Uqair]] and Qatar.<ref name="vine4">{{Harvnb|Casey|Vine|1991|p=18}}</ref>