This study surveys the administration of the Islamic State during the reign of the Abbasid Caliphs. As the Islamic state increased and flourished, new groups and cultures (e.g. Byzantine, Coptic and Persian) were incorporated within Islamic society, creating the need for a new administration organize the increased diverse population. The Umaiyad created new central Diwans (offices) to govern the distant provinces and regions of the new state. The Abbasid caliph AL-Saffah maintained this situation, as the state was passing through times of crisis.
AL-Mansur, however, was interested in administration, and after establishing the city of Baghdad he organized Diwans such as the post office and the confiscation office.
His successor, the caliph AL-Mahdi, also reigned an era of peace, and consequently the Diwans became better organized and more stable. His son, the caliph Al-Rashid, followed his father’s example, but the influence of the Barmaids was an obstacle to the control of his ministries.