18/01/2021
"Caliph" redirects here. For other uses, see
Caliph (disambiguation) and Caliphate (disambiguation) .
A caliphate (Arabic : ﺧِﻠَﺎﻓَﺔ khilāfah ) is an Islamic state under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (/ ˈkælɪf, ˈkeɪ-/ ; Arabic:
ﺧَﻠِﻴﻔَﺔ khalīfah , pronunciation ( help ·info )), a person considered a politico-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world (ummah ). [1] Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. [2] During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661), the
Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258). In the fourth major caliphate, the Ottoman Caliphate, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517. Throughout the history of Islam , a few other Muslim states, almost all hereditary monarchies such as the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) and Ayyubid Caliphate, [3][4] have claimed to be caliphates. [1]
Prior to the rise of Muhammad, Arab tribes followed a pre-Islamic Arab polytheism and lived as self-governing sedentary and nomadic tribal communities.[5][6] Following the early Muslim conquests by Muhammad, the region became politically unified under Islam. [6]
The first caliphate, the Rāshidun Caliphate, immediately succeeded Muhammad after his death in 632. [7] The four Rāshidun caliphs were chosen through shura, a process of community consultation that some consider to be an early form of Islamic democracy . [8] The fourth caliph,
Ali , who, unlike the prior three, was from the same clan as Muhammad ( Banu Hāshim ), is considered by Shia Muslims to be the first rightful caliph and Imam after Muhammad. [9] Ali reigned during the First Fitnā (656–661), a civil war between supporters of Ali and supporters of the assassinated previous caliph,
Uthman, from Banu Umayya, as well as rebels in Egypt; the war led to the esta
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate