<jats:p>The article examines Hugh Kennedy’s contribution to the study of the Abbasid Caliphate through a comparative historiographical analysis. Particular attention is paid to his interpretation of the army, Samarra, the Faraghina, Turkish ghilman, and the crisis of the ninth century. Kennedy’s approach is compared with the works of Barthold, Bosworth, Pipes, Gordon, de la Vaissière, and Northedge, taking into account archaeological and source-based evidence on Samarra.</jats:p>