What was the nature of the Abbasid government?
a. The Abbasids outdid the Umayyads in establishing an absolutist government symbolized by the growing powers of the wazirs and the sinister presence of the executioner.
b. The Abbasids continued the policies of the Umayyads virtually without change, including the maintenance of an exclusively Arabic elite.
c. The Abbasid government represented a return to the principles of government in the first days of the Orthodox caliphate.
d. The Abbasids abandoned the formality and absolutism of the Umayyads and established an open and representative government.
Answer: E