According to Peter R. Brown, author of The World of Late Antiquity, AD 150 to 750, what was the impact of the Abbasids moving the capital from Damascus to Baghdad? The new capital allowed the Arab conquerors to live a more isolated life, away from those they had conquered.

Moving the capital turned the Abbasids away from the Hellenistic Mediterranean, thus marking the end of the Late Classical period.

The new capital was closer to Constantinople, a source of trade and religious influence.

Moving the capital meant that the Abbasids could now concentrate on the unity of their tradition with Christianity and Judaism.