Caliphate

A caliphate is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with <a href="/facts/Khalifa/drD7FD5N">the title</a> of caliph (/ˈkælɪf, ˈkeɪ-/; خَلِيفَةْ khalīfa [xæ'liːfæh], pronunciationⓘ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet <a href="/facts/Muhammad/5VcA7XrT">Muhammad</a> and a leader of the entire <a href="/facts/Muslim_world/n9vVGogr">Muslim world</a> (<a href="/facts/Ummah/WCfqSyKF">ummah</a>). Historically, the caliphates were <a href="/facts/Polities/0R8Wr4CL">polities</a> based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.
During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the <a href="/facts/Rashidun_Caliphate/UBtWHvDj">Rashidun Caliphate</a> (632–661), the <a href="/facts/Umayyad_Caliphate/gdW8JwoK">Umayyad Caliphate</a> (661–750), and the <a href="/facts/Abbasid_Caliphate/mPeLAbXt">Abbasid Caliphate</a> (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Caliphate/Gw2v4wyj">Ottoman Caliphate</a>, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517 until the Ottoman caliphate was <a href="/facts/Abolition_of_the_Caliphate/jycbKs26">formally abolished</a> as part of the <a href="/facts/Atat%25C3%25BCrk%2527s_reforms/kR518f4R">1924 secularisation of Turkey</a>. An attempt to preserve the title was tried, with the <a href="/facts/Sharifian_Caliphate/X2kKkE1A">Sharifian Caliphate</a>, but this caliphate fell quickly after its conquest by the <a href="/facts/Sultanate_of_Nejd/I1c29QHk">Sultanate of Nejd</a> (present-day <a href="/facts/Saudi_Arabia/uyUpe1J2">Saudi Arabia</a>), leaving the claim in dormancy. Throughout the history of Islam, a few other Muslim states, almost all of which were <a href="/facts/Hereditary_monarchies/IIUYbG8x">hereditary monarchies</a>, have claimed to be caliphates.
Not all Muslim states have had caliphates. The <a href="/facts/Sunni_Islam/WYo0zeq0">Sunni</a> branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. <a href="/facts/Shia_Muslims/JIQl7ooz">Shia Muslims</a>, however, believe a caliph should be an imam chosen by God from the <a href="/facts/Ahl_al-Bayt/GtYDcqpF">Ahl al-Bayt</a> (the "Household of the Prophet"). Some caliphates in history have been led by Shia Muslims, like the <a href="/facts/Fatimid_Caliphate/jgmF2I5C">Fatimid Caliphate</a> (909–1171). From the late 20th century towards the early 21st century, in the wake of the <a href="/facts/Soviet%25E2%2580%2593Afghan_War/nBl7TvtD">invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR</a>, the <a href="/facts/War_on_terror/CTGl4eto">war on terror</a> and the <a href="/facts/Arab_Spring/IJrjLoll">Arab Spring</a>, various <a href="/facts/Islamist/4u3G2nEf">Islamist</a> groups have claimed the caliphate, although these claims have usually been widely rejected among Muslims.

Caliphate open-in-new

Caliphate