Paper Title
Effects of Sports Activities In Baghdad on Social Life in Abbasid Caliphate Period

Abstract
Abbasid palaces contributed greatly to the development of social activities as places of entertainment and spectacle. Especially caliphates’ and court’s support, coupled with the support of the society provided many activities the chance to hand them down the next generations. As the Abbasid capital, Baghdad was one of the major centers to host various entertainment types and sports activities. Baghdad, where the golden age of Abbasid Caliphate’s urbanization and cosmopolitanization were experienced, surpassed all of the old cities with the acceleration it gained. In this period, when the welfare and luxury were regarded as rules, a multicolored and highly complex structure of life, which was completely contradicting with the simplicity of the old periods, was implemented. Sports was immediately effected from this and reflected its age’s ideals. The first change was observed in the variety of the games played. In addition to hunting, which even the Abbasid Caliphates joined, many fighting skill training games such as horse racing, archery, polo, wrestling, running, chess and nerd had a rather significant position as activities reflecting their ages’ ideals and cultural aspects. Keywords- Abbasid Caliphate, Baghdad, Sports, Culture