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{{Short description|Islamic form of government}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2024}}
{{Caliphate}}
{{Islam|history}}
{{Basic forms of government}}

A '''caliphate''' ({{langx|ar|خلافة|translit=khilāfa}} {{IPA|ar|xiˈlaːfa|}}) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with [[Khalifa|the title]] of '''caliph'''<ref>{{cite book |last=Hassan |first=Mona |title=Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History |chapter=CONCEPTUALIZING THE CALIPHATE, 632–1517 CE |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2016 |jstor=j.ctt1q1xrgm.9 |pages=98–141}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=March |first=Andrew F. |year=2019 |title=The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Harvard University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctvp2n3ms |jstor=j.ctvp2n3ms |isbn=978-0-674-98783-8 |s2cid=204443322}}</ref><ref>{{The Abbasid Caliphate: A History|pages=284–285}}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|æ|l|ɪ|f|,_|ˈ|k|eɪ|-}}; {{lang|ar|خليفة}} {{tlit|ar|khalīfa}} {{IPA|ar|xaˈliːfa|}}, {{Audio|Ar-khalifa.ogg|pronunciation}}), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]] and a leader of the entire [[Muslim world]] (''[[ummah]]'').<ref name="Bowering2013" /> Historically, the caliphates were [[polities]] based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EAMqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=Demystifying the Caliphate: Historical Memory and Contemporary Contexts |last1=Al-Rasheed |first1=Madawi |last2=Kersten |first2=Carool |last3=Shterin |first3=Marat |year=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-932795-9 |page=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=History of International Relations |chapter=4. The Muslim Caliphates |chapter-url=http://books.openedition.org/obp/9091 |publisher=Open Book Publishers |year=2020 |access-date=7 April 2022 |isbn=978-1-78374-024-6 |pages=73–100 |series=OBP collection |first1=Erik |last1=Ringmar |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407164823/https://books.openedition.org/obp/9091 |url-status=live}}</ref>

During the medieval period, three major caliphates succeeded each other: the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] (632–661), the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] (661–750), and the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] (750–1517). In the fourth major caliphate, the [[Ottoman Caliphate]], the rulers of the Ottoman Empire claimed caliphal authority from 1517 until the Ottoman caliphate was [[Abolition of the Caliphate|formally abolished]] as part of the [[Atatürk's reforms|1924 secularisation of Turkey]]. The [[Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz|Sharif of Mecca]] then claimed the title, but [[Sharifian Caliphate|this caliphate]] fell quickly after its conquest by the [[Sultanate of Nejd]] (the predecessor of modern-day [[Saudi Arabia]]), leaving the claim in [[#Period of dormancy|dormancy]]. Throughout the history of Islam, a few other Muslim states, almost all of which were [[hereditary monarchies]], have claimed to be caliphates.

Not all Muslim states have had caliphates. The [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives.<ref>{{cite web |date=16 December 2002 |title=The Roots of Democracy in Islam |url=http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_1601_1650/roots_of_democracy_in_islam.htm |access-date=30 June 2014 |publisher=Irfi.org |archive-date=22 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222023908/http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_1601_1650/roots_of_democracy_in_islam.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Shia Muslims]], however, believe a caliph should be an imam chosen by God from the [[Ahl al-Bayt|''Ahl al-Bayt'']] (the "Household of the Prophet"). Some caliphates in history have been led by Shia Muslims, like the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] (909–1171). From the late 20th century towards the early 21st century, in the wake of the [[Soviet–Afghan War|invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR]], the [[war on terror]] and the [[Arab Spring]], various [[Islamist]] groups have claimed the caliphate, although these claims have usually been widely rejected among Muslims.

== Etymology ==
Before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title {{tlit|ar|ALA|[[malik]]}} 'king', or another from the same [[Semitic root]].<ref name="Bowering2013">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2013 |title=caliph, caliphate |encyclopedia=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |publisher=Princeton University Press |last1=Bowering |first1=Gerhard |page=87 |isbn=978-0-691-13484-0 |last2=Crone |first2=Patricia |last3=Mirza |first3=Mahan}}</ref> The term ''caliph'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|eɪ|l|ɪ|f|,_|ˈ|k|æ|l|ɪ|f}}<ref>{{Cite Dictionary.com|caliph|access-date=2024-10-26}}</ref>) derives from the [[Arabic]] word {{tlit|ar|ALA|[[khalīfah]]}} ({{lang|ar|خليفة}}, {{Audio|Ar-khalifa.ogg|pronunciation}}), meaning 'successor', 'steward', or 'deputy', and has traditionally been considered a shortening of {{tlit|ar|ALA|Khalīfah rasūl Allāh}} 'successor of the messenger of God'. However, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was 'successor selected by God'.<ref name="Bowering2013" />

== Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) ==
{{Main|Rashidun|Rashidun Caliphate}}

=== Succession to Muhammad ===
{{Main|Succession to Muhammad}}
{{See also|Saqifa}}
In the immediate aftermath of the death of Muhammad, a gathering of the [[Ansar (Islam)|Ansar]] (natives of [[Medina]]) took place in the ''saqifa'' (courtyard) of the [[Banu Sa'ida]] clan.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=3}} The general belief at the time was that the purpose of the meeting was for the Ansar to decide on a new leader of the [[Muslim community]] among themselves, with the intentional exclusion of the [[Muhajirun]] (migrants from [[Mecca]]), though this has later become the subject of debate.<ref>{{cite book |first=Wilferd |last=Madelung |title=The Succession to Muhammad |year=1997 |page=[https://archive.org/details/TheSuccessionToMuhammadByWilferdMadelung/page/n50 31] |url=https://archive.org/details/TheSuccessionToMuhammadByWilferdMadelung}}</ref>

Nevertheless, [[Abu Bakr]] and [[Umar]], both prominent companions of Muhammad, upon learning of the meeting became concerned of a potential coup and hastened to the gathering. Upon arriving, Abu Bakr addressed the assembled men with a warning that an attempt to elect a leader outside of Muhammad's own tribe, the [[Quraysh]], would likely result in dissension as only they can command the necessary respect among the community. He then took Umar and another companion, [[Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah]], by the hand and offered them to the Ansar as potential choices. He was countered with the suggestion that the Quraysh and the Ansar choose a leader each from among themselves, who would then rule jointly. The group grew heated upon hearing this proposal and began to argue among themselves. Umar hastily took Abu Bakr's hand and swore his own allegiance to the latter, an example followed by the gathered men.<ref>{{harvtxt|Madelung|1997|page=32}}</ref>

[[File:First_Islamic_coins_by_caliph_Uthman-mohammad_adil_rais.jpg|thumb|230px|right| [[File:Rashidun_coin_Pseudo-Byzantine_types.jpg|thumb|230px|right]]First picture; [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanid style]] coins during Rashidun, ([[Pahlavi scripts]], [[Crescent and star (symbol)|crescent-star]], [[fire altar]], depictions of [[Khosrow II]], ''[[Basmala|bismillāh]]'' in margin). Unlike known historical figures such as [[Ibn Zubayr]] and [[Mu'awiya I]], there are no coins minted in the names of caliphs titled rashidun as evidence of political dominancy.<ref>As the Arabs of the Ḥejāz had used the drahms of the Sasanian-style, the only silver coinage in the world at that time, it was natural for them to leave many of the Sasanian mints in operation, striking coins like those of the emperors in every detail except for the addition of brief Arabic inscriptions like besmellāh in the margins.https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/coins-and-coinage-</ref> Second picture; A [[Byzantine coinage|Byzantine style]] coin with depictions of the [[Constans II]] holding the [[Christian cross|cross-tipped staff]] and ''[[globus cruciger]]'' pointing out there was no specific Islamic-religious identity with sharp boundaries in the early Islamic period.<ref>Under the [[Umayyad caliphate|Umayyad caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān]], the [[Dome of the Rock]] was built in [[Jerusalem]] (691–692). There the word ''[[Islam|Islām]]'' appears for the first time. Until this moment the Muslims called themselves simply "[[Mumin|believers]]", and coins were minted in the Arabic empire showing Christian symbols. Ibn Marwān also plays a major role in the [[History of the Quran|reworking of the Quranic text]]. See: Patricia Crone / Michael Cook: ''Hagarism'' (1977) p. 29; Yehuda D. Nevo: ''Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State'' (2003) pp. 410-413; Karl-Heinz Ohlig (Hrsg.): ''Der frühe Islam. Eine historisch-kritische Rekonstruktion anhand zeitgenössischer Quellen'' (2007) pp. 336 ff.</ref>]]

Abu Bakr was near-universally accepted as head of the Muslim community (under the title of caliph) as a result of ''Saqifah'', though he did face contention as a result of the rushed nature of the event. Several companions, most prominent among them being [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], initially refused to acknowledge his authority.<ref>{{harvtxt|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=3}}</ref> Ali may have been reasonably expected to assume leadership, being both cousin and son-in-law to Muhammad.<ref>Valerie J. Hoffman, ''The Essentials of Ibadi Islam'' (2012), p. 6</ref> The theologian [[Ibrahim al-Nakha'i]] stated that Ali also had support among the Ansar for his succession, explained by the genealogical links he shared with them. Whether his candidacy for the succession was raised during Saqifah is unknown, though it is not unlikely.<ref>{{harvtxt|Madelung|1997|pages=32–33}}</ref> Abu Bakr later sent Umar to confront Ali to gain his allegiance, resulting in [[Attack on Fatima's house|an altercation]] which may have involved violence.<ref>{{harvtxt|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=186}}</ref> However, after six months, the group made peace with Abu Bakr and Ali offered him his fealty.<ref>{{harvtxt|Fitzpatrick|Walker|2014|p=4}}</ref>

=== Rashidun caliphs ===
{{See also|Early Muslim conquests}}
[[File:Mohammad adil-Rashidun-empire-at-its-peak-close.PNG|thumb|left|Rashidun Caliphate at its greatest extent under Uthman]]
Abu Bakr nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed. Umar, the second caliph, was killed by a Persian slave called [[Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz]]. His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors ([[majlis]]). Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. [[Ali]] then took control but was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt and later by some of his own guard. He faced two major rebellions and was assassinated by [[Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam]], a [[Khawarij]]. Ali's tumultuous rule lasted only five years. This period is known as the [[First Fitna|Fitna]], or the first Islamic civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shi'a ("shiaat Ali", partisans of Ali.<ref name="The Economist-2013">{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/05/economist-explains-19 |newspaper=The Economist |title=What is the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims? |date=28 May 2013 |access-date=13 July 2017 |archive-date=25 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725153328/http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/05/economist-explains-19 |url-status=live}}</ref>) minority sect of Islam and reject the legitimacy of the first three caliphs. The followers of all four Rāshidun Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali) became the majority Sunni sect.

Under the Rāshidun, each region ([[Sultan]]ate, [[Wilayah]], or [[Emirate]]) of the caliphate had its own governor (Sultan, [[Wāli]] or [[Emir]]). [[Muawiyah I|Muāwiyah]], a relative of Uthman and governor (''wali'') of [[Syria]], succeeded Ali as caliph. Muāwiyah transformed the caliphate into a [[Inheritance|hereditary]] office, thus founding the Umayyad [[dynasty]].

In areas which were previously under [[Sasanian Empire]] or [[Byzantine]] rule, the caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy (to their delegated governors), greater religious freedom for Jews and some indigenous Christians, and brought peace to peoples demoralised and disaffected by the casualties and heavy taxation that resulted from the decades of [[Roman–Persian Wars|Byzantine–Persian warfare]].<ref>[[John Esposito]] (1992)</ref>

=== Ali's caliphate, Hasan and the rise of the Umayyads ===
Ali's reign was plagued by turmoil and internal strife. The Persians, taking advantage of this, infiltrated the two armies and attacked the other army causing chaos and internal hatred between the [[Companions of Muhammad|companions]] at the [[Battle of Siffin]]. The battle lasted several months, resulting in a stalemate. To avoid further bloodshed, Ali agreed to negotiate with Mu'awiyah. This caused a faction of approximately 4,000 people, who would come to be known as the [[Kharijites]], to abandon the fight. After defeating the Kharijites at the [[Battle of Nahrawan]], Ali was later assassinated by the Kharijite Ibn Muljam. Ali's son [[Hasan ibn Ali|Hasan]] was elected as the next caliph, but abdicated in favour of Mu'awiyah a few months later to avoid any conflict within the Muslims. Mu'awiyah became the sixth caliph, establishing the Umayyad dynasty,<ref>''The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam''. Cyril Glasse. pp. 39–41, 318–319, 353–354, {{ISBN?}}</ref> named after the great-grandfather of Uthman and Mu'awiyah, [[Umayya ibn Abd Shams]].<ref>Uthman was the son of [[Affan ibn Abi al-'As|`Affan]], the son of [[Abu al-'As ibn Umayyah|Abu-l`As]], the son of [[Umayya ibn Abd Shams]]. Mu'awiyah was the son of [[Abu Sufyan]], the son of [[Harb ibn Umayya|Harb]], the son of Umayya ibn Abd Shams.</ref>

== Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) ==
{{Main|Umayyad Caliphate}}
[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|The caliphate, 622–750 {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under Muhammad, 622–632}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the Rashidun Caliphs, 632–661}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750}}]]
Beginning with the Umayyads, the title of the caliph became hereditary.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_m14NlQQMYC&pg=PA129 |last=Cavendish |first=Marshall |title=Islamic Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures |chapter=6 |page=129 |year=2010 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7926-0}}</ref> Under the Umayyads, the caliphate grew rapidly in territory, incorporating the [[Caucasus]], [[Transoxiana]], [[Sindh]], the [[Maghreb]] and most of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] ([[Al-Andalus]]) into the Muslim world.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harari |first=Yuval Noah |title=Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind |publisher=Penguin Random House |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-09-959008-8 |location=London |page=244 |translator-last=Harari |translator-first=Yuval Noah |author-link=Yuval Noah Harari |translator-last2=Purcell |translator-first2=John |translator-last3=Watzman |translator-first3=Haim |translator-link=Yuval Noah Harari |translator-link3=Haim Watzman}}</ref> At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 5.17&nbsp;million square miles (13,400,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), making it the [[largest empire]] the world had yet seen and the [[List of largest empires#Empires at their greatest extent|seventh largest ever to exist]] in history.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd-al Malik and the collapse of the Umayyads |first=Khalid Yahya |last=Blankinship |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-7914-1827-7 |page=37}}</ref>

Geographically, the empire was divided into several provinces, the borders of which changed a number of times during the Umayyad reign.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}} Each province had a governor appointed by the caliph. However, for a variety of reasons, including that they were not elected by [[Shura]] and suggestions of impious behaviour, the Umayyad dynasty was not universally supported within the Muslim community.<ref>{{Cite book |title=World Religions |url=https://fscj.pressbooks.pub/worldreligions/front-matter/world-religions/ |chapter=History of Muhammad |chapter-url=https://fscj.pressbooks.pub/worldreligions/chapter/history-4/ |publisher=Florida State College |location=Jacksonville |year=2017 |access-date=22 October 2023 |archive-date=22 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222190741/https://fscj.pressbooks.pub/worldreligions/front-matter/world-religions/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Some supported prominent early Muslims like [[Zubayr ibn al-Awwam]]; others felt that only members of Muhammad's clan, the [[Banu Hashim]], or his own lineage, the descendants of Ali, should rule.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE) |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-umayyad-caliphate-661-750-ce |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org |archive-date=27 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027180017/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-umayyad-caliphate-661-750-ce |url-status=live}}</ref>

There were multiple rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks (notably, the rivalry between [[Qays and Yaman tribes|Yaman and Qays]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Qays/Mudar and Yaman |url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/islamiccivilizations/8025.html |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=www.brown.edu |archive-date=27 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027175520/https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/islamiccivilizations/8025.html |url-status=live}}</ref> At the command of Yazid son of Muawiya, an army led by Umar ibn Saad, a commander by the name of Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan killed Ali's son [[Hussein ibn Ali|Hussein]] and his family at the [[Battle of Karbala]] in 680, solidifying the [[Shia-Sunni split]].<ref name="The Economist-2013" /> Eventually, supporters of the Banu Hashim and the supporters of the lineage of Ali united to bring down the Umayyads in 750. However, the ''Shi‘at ‘Alī'', "the Party of Ali", were again disappointed when the [[Abbasid dynasty]] took power, as the Abbasids were descended from Muhammad's uncle, [[‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib]] and not from Ali.<ref name="BritannicaAbbasids">{{Cite encyclopedia |date=2023-10-09 |title=Abbasid caliphate|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Abbasid-caliphate |access-date=2023-10-11 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815061941/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Abbasid-caliphate |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Abbasid Caliphate (750–1517) ==
{{Main|Abbasid Caliphate}}

=== Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad ===
[[File:Mustansiriya University CPT.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Mustansiriya Madrasah]] in [[Baghdad]]]]
In 750, the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown by another family of [[Mecca]]n origin, the Abbasids. Their time represented a scientific, cultural and religious flowering.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HIST 210 – Lecture 16 – The Splendor of the Abbasid Period |url=https://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-210/lecture-16 |access-date=2023-10-11 |publisher=Open Yale Courses |archive-date=28 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028163238/https://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-210/lecture-16 |url-status=live}}</ref> Islamic art and music also flourished significantly during their reign.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Yalman |first1=Suzan |last2=Komaroff |first2=Linda |title=The Art of the Abbasid Period (750–1258) |date=October 2001 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abba/hd_abba.htm |access-date=2023-10-11 |department=Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705200631/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abba/hd_abba.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Their major city and capital [[Baghdad]] began to flourish as a center of knowledge, culture and trade. This period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the [[sack of Baghdad]] by the Mongols under [[Hulagu Khan]]. The Abbasid Caliphate had, however, lost its effective power outside Iraq already by c. 920.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/295642/Islamic-arts/61832/Early-period-the-Umayyad-and-Abbasid-dynasties |title=Islamic arts |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2 June 2022 |archive-date=27 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527004608/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/295642/Islamic-arts/61832/Early-period-the-Umayyad-and-Abbasid-dynasties |url-status=live}}</ref> By 945, the loss of power became official when the [[Buyids]] conquered Baghdad and all of Iraq. The empire fell apart and its parts were ruled for the next century by local dynasties.<ref name="BritannicaAbbasids" />

In the ninth century, the [[Abbasids]] created an army loyal only to their caliphate, composed predominantly of Turkic Cuman, Circassian and Georgian slave origin known as Mamluks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Georgian Mameluks in Egypt |url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/military-info/organization/c_mameluks1.html |access-date=7 May 2021 |website=www.napoleon-series.org |archive-date=26 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026164635/http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_mameluks1.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The Mamlukes |url=https://egyptian-history.com/blogs/history-of-egypt/mamluks |access-date=7 May 2021 |website=Egyptian History |archive-date=21 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621181523/https://egyptian-history.com/blogs/history-of-egypt/mamluks |url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}} By 1250 the Mamluks came to power in Egypt. The Mamluk army, though often viewed negatively, both helped and hurt the caliphate. Early on, it provided the government with a stable force to address domestic and foreign problems. However, creation of this foreign army and al-Mu'tasim's transfer of the capital from Baghdad to Samarra created a division between the caliphate and the peoples they claimed to rule. In addition, the power of the Mamluks steadily grew until [[Ar-Radi]] (934–941) was constrained to hand over most of the royal functions to [[Muhammad ibn Ra'iq]].

=== Under the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo (1261–1517) ===
{{Main|Mamluk Sultanate}}
In 1261, following the [[Mongol conquest of Baghdad]], the Mamluk rulers of Egypt tried to gain legitimacy for their rule by declaring the re-establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in [[Cairo]].{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}} The Abbasid caliphs in Egypt had no political power; they continued to maintain the symbols of authority, but their sway was confined to religious matters.{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}} The first Abbasid caliph of Cairo was [[Al-Mustansir II|Al-Mustansir]] (r. June–November 1261). The Abbasid caliphate of Cairo lasted until the time of [[Al-Mutawakkil III]], who ruled as caliph from 1508 to 1516, then he was deposed briefly in 1516 by his predecessor [[Al-Mustamsik]], but was restored again to the caliphate in 1517.{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}}

The Ottoman sultan [[Selim I]] defeated the Mamluk Sultanate and made Egypt part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Al-Mutawakkil III was captured together with his family and transported to Constantinople as a prisoner where he had a ceremonial role. He died in 1543, following his return to Cairo.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Hugh N. |author-link=Hugh N. Kennedy |title=The Historiography of Islamic Egypt: (c. 950–1800) |year=2001 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004117945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-iu6u8GkvkC}}</ref>

=== Parallel regional caliphates in the later Abbasid era ===
The Abbasid dynasty lost effective power over much of the Muslim realm by the first half of the tenth century.

The Umayyad dynasty, which had survived and come to rule over [[Al-Andalus]], reclaimed the title of caliph in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031.

==== Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031) ====
{{Main|Umayyad state of Córdoba|Al-Andalus}}
[[File:Califato de Córdoba - 1000-en.svg|thumb|right|Map of the Caliphate of Cordoba c. 1000]]
During the Umayyad dynasty, the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was an integral province of the Umayyad Caliphate ruling from [[Damascus]]. The Umayyads lost the position of caliph in Damascus in 750, and [[Abd al-Rahman I]] became Emir of Córdoba in 756 after six years in exile. Intent on regaining power, he defeated the existing Islamic rulers of the area who defied Umayyad rule and united various local fiefdoms into an emirate.

Rulers of the emirate used the title "emir" or "sultan" until the tenth century, when [[Abd al-Rahman III]] was faced with the threat of invasion by the Fatimid Caliphate. To aid his fight against the invading Fatimids, who claimed the caliphate in opposition to the generally recognised Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, [[Al-Mu'tadid]], Abd al-Rahman III claimed the title of caliph himself. This helped Abd al-Rahman III gain prestige with his subjects, and the title was retained after the Fatimids were repulsed. The rule of the caliphate is considered as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula, before it fragmented into various [[taifa]]s in the eleventh century. This period was characterised by a flourishing in technology, trade and culture; a number of the buildings of [[al-Andalus]] were constructed in this period.

==== Almohad Caliphate (1147–1269) ====
{{Main|Almohad Caliphate}}
[[File:Empire almohade.PNG|thumb|The Almohad empire at its greatest extent, {{circa|1180–1212}}]]
The Almohad Caliphate ({{langx|ber|Imweḥḥden}}, from {{lang|ar|الموحدون}} ''{{transliteration|ar|al-Muwaḥḥidun}}'', "[[monotheism|the Monotheists]]" or "the Unifiers") was a Moroccan<ref>[[Bernard Lugan]], ''Histoire du Maroc'', {{ISBN|2262016445}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Carlos |last=Ramirez-Faria |title=Concise Encyclopedia Of World History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGKsS-9h4BYC |year=2007 |publisher=Atlantic |isbn=978-8126907755 |pages=23, 676 |access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref> [[Berbers|Berber]] [[Muslim]] movement founded in the 12th century.<ref name="BritannicaAlmohads">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16820/Almohads |title=Almohads |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2 June 2022 |archive-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516025233/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/16820/Almohads |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Almohad movement was started by [[Ibn Tumart]] among the [[Masmuda]] tribes of southern Morocco. The Almohads first established a Berber state in [[Tinmel]] in the [[Atlas Mountains]] in roughly 1120.<ref name="BritannicaAlmohads" /> The Almohads succeeded in overthrowing the [[Almoravid dynasty]] in governing Morocco by 1147, when [[Abd al-Mu'min]] (r. 1130–1163) conquered Marrakech and declared himself caliph. They then extended their power over all of the [[Maghreb]] by 1159. Al-Andalus followed the fate of Africa, and all Islamic Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buresi |first1=Pascal |last2=El Aallaoui |first2=Hicham |title=Governing the Empire: Provincial Administration in the Almohad Caliphate (1224–1269): Critical Edition, Translation, and Study of Manuscript 4752 of the Hasaniyya Library in Rabat Containing 77 Taqādīm ('appointments') |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hl5_--mK8q4C |year=2012 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004233331}}</ref>

The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when [[Muhammad al-Nasir]] (1199–1214) was defeated at the [[Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa]] in the [[Sierra Morena]] by an alliance of the Christian princes of [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]], [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]], [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]] and [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]].{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}} Nearly all of the [[Moorish]] dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Córdoba]] and [[Seville]] falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248, respectively.

The Almohads continued to rule in northern Africa until the piecemeal loss of territory through the revolt of tribes and districts enabled the rise of their most effective enemies, the [[Marinid dynasty]], in 1215.{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}} The last representative of the line, [[Idris al-Wathiq]], was reduced to the possession of [[Marrakesh]], where he was murdered by a slave in 1269; the Marinids seized Marrakesh, ending the Almohad domination of the Western [[Maghreb]].

====Hafsid Caliphate (1249–1574)====
{{Main|Hafsid Calipahte}}
[[File:Hafsid1400.png|thumb|Hafsid Caliphate in 1400]]
The Hafsids had been governors of [[Ifriqiya]] for the Almohads but declared their independence in 1229.<ref name=GES/> They claimed their descent from [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun]] caliph [[Omar]]. The second independent Hafsid ruler [[Muhammad I al-Mustansir]] (r. 1249–1277) declared himself caliph<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fromherz|first=Allen James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5w7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|title=Near West: Medieval North Africa, Latin Europe and the Mediterranean in the Second Axial Age|year=2016|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-1-4744-1007-6|language=en|pages=113f}}</ref> and under his reign, the caliphate reached a peak.<ref name=GES/> After the fall of Baghdad, [[Marinid dynasty|Marinid]] sultan [[Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq|Abu Yusuf Yaqub]] of Morocco, [[Sharif of Mecca]] [[Abu Numayy I|Abu Numayy]] and [[Emir of Granada]] [[Muhammad I of Granada|Muhammad]] recognized the Hafsids in 1258, 1259 and 1264 respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abun-Nasr |first=Jamil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jdlKbZ46YYkC |title=A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1987 |isbn=0521337674 |location=Cambridge |page=120 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Leonard Patrick Harvey |last=Leonard Patrick |first=Harvey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWyXAwAAQBAJ |title=Islamic Spain: 1250 to 1500 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2014 |isbn=9780226227740 |location=Chicago/London |page=27 |language=en}}</ref> In the mid-14th century, Morocco invaded the caliphate. The Hafsids would return to great power with [[Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II]] (r. 1394–1434) and [[Abu 'Amr 'Uthman]] (r. 1435–1488). Between 1535 and 1574, the caliphate was caught between the Ottoman and Spanish fronts and became a protectorate until it was [[Conquest of Tunis (1574)|conquered]] by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Caliphate]].<ref name=GES>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Hafsids|title=Hafsids|encyclopedia=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]|year=1979|edition=3}}</ref>

== Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171) ==
{{Main|Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid dynasty}}
[[File:Fatimid.jpg|thumb|right|Map of the Fatimid Caliphate at its largest extent in the early eleventh century]]

The Fatimid Caliphate was an [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili Shi'i]] caliphate, originally based in [[Tunisia]], that extended its rule across the [[Mediterranean coast]] of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the centre of its caliphate. At its height, in addition to Egypt, the caliphate included varying areas of the [[Maghreb]], Sicily, the [[Levant]] and the [[Hejaz]].

The Fatimids established the Tunisian city of [[Mahdia]] and made it their capital city, before conquering Egypt and building the city of [[Cairo]] there in 969. Thereafter, Cairo became the capital of the caliphate, with Egypt becoming the political, cultural and religious centre of the state. Islam scholar [[Louis Massignon]] dubbed the fourth century AH /tenth century CE as the "[[Ismaili]] century in the history of Islam".<ref>Louis Massignon (1935). "{{lang|fr|italic=no|Mutanabbi devant le siècle ismaëlien de l'Islam}}". ''{{lang|fr|Mémoires de l'Institut Français de Damas}}''.</ref>

The term ''Fatimite'' is sometimes used to refer to the citizens of this caliphate. The ruling elite of the state belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shi'ism. The leaders of the dynasty were [[Imamah (Ismaili doctrine)|Ismaili imams]] and had a religious significance to Ismaili Muslims. They are also part of the chain of holders of the office of the caliphate, as recognised by some Muslims. Therefore, this constitutes a rare period in history in which the descendants of Ali (hence the name Fatimid, referring to Ali's wife [[Fatima]]) and the caliphate were united to any degree, excepting the final period of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] under [[Ali]] himself.

The caliphate was reputed to exercise a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam as well as towards Jews, [[Maltese people|Maltese Christians]] and [[Copts]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wintle |first=Justin |title=History of Islam |publisher=Rough Guides |year=2003 |location=London |pages=136–137 |isbn=978-1-84353-018-3}}</ref>

The Shiʻa [[Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah]] of the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid dynasty]], who claimed descent from Muhammad through his daughter, claimed the title of caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa. Initially controlling [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Libya]], the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150 years, taking Egypt and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], before the Abbasid dynasty was able to turn the tide, limiting Fatimid rule to Egypt. The Fatimid dynasty finally ended in 1171 and was overtaken by [[Saladin]] of the [[Ayyubid dynasty]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Baer |first=Eva |title=Metalwork in Medieval Islamic Art |year=1983 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=978-0-7914-9557-5 |page=xxiii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s__yi4pD-VEC |quote=In the course of the later eleventh and twelfth century, however, the Fatimid caliphate declined rapidly, and in 1171 the country was invaded by [[Saladin|Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn]], the founder of the [[Ayyubid dynasty]]. He restored Egypt as a political power, reincorporated it in the [[Abbasid caliphate]] and established Ayyubid suzerainty not only over Egypt and Syria but, as mentioned above, temporarily over northern Mesopotamia as well. |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref>

== Ottoman Caliphate (1517–1924) ==
{{Main|Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Caliphate}}
[[File:OttomanEmpireMain.png|thumb|right|The Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent in 1683, under Sultan [[Mehmed IV]]]]
[[File:Halife Abdülmecid Efendi ve kızı Dürrüşehvar Sultan.jpg|thumb|[[Abdulmejid II]], the last caliph of Sunni Islam from the [[Ottoman dynasty]], with his daughter [[Dürrüşehvar Sultan]]]]
The caliphate was claimed by the [[sultans of the Ottoman Empire]] beginning with [[Murad I]] (reigned 1362 to 1389),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lambton |first1=Ann |author-link1=Ann Lambton |last2=Lewis |first2=Bernard |author-link2=Bernard Lewis |title=The Cambridge History of Islam: The Indian sub-continent, South-East Asia, Africa and the Muslim west |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4AuJvd2Tyt8C |page=320 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-521-22310-2 |access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref> while recognising no authority on the part of the Abbasid caliphs of the Mamluk-ruled Cairo. Hence the seat of the caliphate moved to the Ottoman capital of [[Edirne]]. In 1453, after [[Mehmed the Conqueror]]'s [[conquest of Constantinople]], the seat of the Ottomans moved to [[Constantinople]], present-day [[Istanbul]]. In 1517, the Ottoman sultan [[Selim I]] defeated and annexed the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo into his empire.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/89726/caliph |title=Caliph  |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2 June 2022 |archive-date=3 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503145209/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/89726/caliph |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sourdel1978" /> Through conquering and unifying Muslim lands, Selim I became the defender of the holy cities of [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]], which further strengthened the Ottoman claim to the caliphate in the Muslim world. Ottomans gradually came to be viewed as the ''de facto'' leaders and representatives of the Islamic world. However, the earlier Ottoman caliphs did not officially bear the title of caliph in their documents of state, inscriptions, or coinage.<ref name="Sourdel1978">Dominique Sourdel, [http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/k-h-ali-fa-COM_0486?s.num=7&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.q=Caliphate "The history of the institution of the caliphate"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224094511/http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/k-h-ali-fa-COM_0486?s.num=7&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.q=Caliphate |date=24 December 2014 }} (1978)</ref> It was only in the late eighteenth century that the claim to the caliphate was discovered by the sultans to have a practical use, since it allowed them to counter Russian claims to protect Ottoman Christians with their own claim to protect Muslims under Russian rule.<ref>{{cite book |last=Karpat |first=Kemal H. |author-link=Kemal Karpat |title=The Ottoman State and Its Place in World History: Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=orEfAAAAIAAJ |page=21 |publisher=Brill |year=1974 |isbn=978-9004039452}}</ref><ref name="Finkel2005">{{Cite book |last=Finkel |first=Caroline |title=Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300–1923 |place=New York |publisher=Basic |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-465-02396-7 |page=111}}</ref>

The outcome of the [[Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774]] was disastrous for the Ottomans. Large territories, including those with large Muslim populations, such as [[Crimea]], were lost to the Russian Empire.<ref name="Finkel2005" /> However, the Ottomans under [[Abdul Hamid I]] claimed a diplomatic victory by being allowed to remain the religious leaders of Muslims in the now-independent Crimea as part of the peace treaty; in return Russia became the official protector of Christians in Ottoman territory.<ref name="Finkel2005" /> According to Barthold, the first time the title of "caliph" was used as a political instead of symbolic religious title by the Ottomans was the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] with the [[Russian Empire]] in 1774, when the Empire retained [[moral authority]] on territory whose sovereignty was ceded to the Russian Empire.<ref name="Finkel2005" /> The [[British Empire|British]] would tactfully affirm the Ottoman claim to the caliphate and proceed to have the Ottoman caliph issue orders to the Muslims living in [[British India]] to comply with the British government.<ref name="Qureshi1999">{{cite book |first=M. Naeem |last=Qureshi |title=Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918–1924 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czKYZPyoyx0C&pg=PA18 |year=1999 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004113718 |pages=18–19}}</ref>

The British supported and propagated the view that the Ottomans were caliphs of Islam among Muslims in British India, and the Ottoman sultans helped the British by issuing pronouncements to the Muslims of India telling them to support British rule from Sultan [[Selim III]] and Sultan [[Abdulmejid I]].<ref name="Qureshi1999" />

Around 1880, Sultan [[Abdul Hamid&nbsp;II]] reasserted the title as a way of countering Russian expansion into Muslim lands. His claim was most fervently accepted by the Sunni Muslims of [[British Raj|British India]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India |last=James |first=Lawrence |year=2000 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=444 |isbn=978-0-312-26382-9}}</ref> By the eve of [[World War&nbsp;I]], the Ottoman state, despite its weakness relative to Europe, represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity. The sultan also enjoyed some authority beyond the borders of his shrinking empire as caliph of Muslims in Egypt, India and Central Asia.{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}}

In 1899, [[John Hay]], U.S. Secretary of State, asked the American ambassador to [[Ottoman Turkey]], [[Oscar Straus (politician)|Oscar Straus]], to approach Sultan Abdul Hamid II to use his position as caliph to order the [[Tausūg people]] of the [[Sultanate of Sulu]] in the Philippines to submit to American [[suzerainty]] and American military rule; the Sultan obliged them and wrote the letter which was sent to Sulu via Mecca. As a result, the "Sulu Mohammedans ... refused to join the insurrectionists and had placed themselves under the control of our army, thereby recognizing American sovereignty."<ref>{{cite book |first=Kemal H. |last=Karpat |title=The Politicization of Islam: Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvVlS3ljx20C&pg=PA235 |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-513618-0 |page=235 |access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Moshe |last=Yegar |title=Between Integration and Secession: The Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma/Myanmar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5q7qxi5LBgC&pg=PA397 |year=2002 |publisher=Lexington |isbn=978-0-7391-0356-2 |page=397}}</ref>

=== Abolition of the Caliphate (1924) ===
{{Main|Abolition of the Caliphate}}
{{See also|Atatürk's reforms}}
{{more citations needed|section|date=December 2012}}
[[File:Portrait Caliph Abdulmecid II.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Official portrait of [[Abdulmejid II]] as caliph]]
{{Islamism sidebar|Concepts}}

After the [[Armistice of Mudros]] of October 1918 with the military [[occupation of Constantinople]] and [[Treaty of Versailles]] (1919), the position of the Ottomans was uncertain. The movement to protect or restore the Ottomans gained force after the [[Treaty of Sèvres]] (August 1920) which imposed the [[partitioning of the Ottoman Empire]] and gave Greece a powerful position in Anatolia, to the distress of the Turks. They called for help and the movement was the result. The movement had collapsed by late 1922.

On 3 March 1924, the first [[List of presidents of Turkey|president of the Turkish Republic]], [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], as part of [[Atatürk's Reforms|his reforms]], constitutionally abolished the institution of the caliphate.<ref name="Britannica" /> Atatürk offered the caliphate to [[Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi]], on the condition that he reside outside Turkey; Senussi declined the offer and confirmed his support for [[Abdulmejid II|Abdulmejid]].{{sfn|Özoğlu|2011|p=5; Özoğlu quotes 867.00/1801: [[Mark Lambert Bristol]] on 19 August 1924}} The title was then [[Sharifian Caliphate|claimed]] by [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca]] and [[Hejaz]], leader of the [[Arab Revolt]], but his kingdom was defeated and annexed by [[ibn Saud]] in 1925.

Egyptian scholar [[Ali Abdel Raziq]] published his 1925 book ''Islam and the Foundations of Governance''. The argument of this book has been summarised as "Islam does not advocate a specific form of government".<ref>Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab. ''Contemporary Arab Thought: Cultural Critique in Comparative Perspective''. Columbia University Press, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0231144896}} p. 40</ref> He focussed his criticism both at those who use religious law as contemporary political proscription and at the history of rulers claiming legitimacy by the caliphate.<ref>Bertrand Badie, Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Leonardo Morlino (eds). ''International Encyclopedia of Political Science'', Volume 1. Sage, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1412959636}} p. 1350.</ref> Raziq wrote that past rulers spread the notion of religious justification for the caliphate "so that they could use religion as a shield protecting their thrones against the attacks of rebels".<ref>Kemal H. Karpat. "The Politicization of Islam: Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State". ''Studies in Middle Eastern History''. Oxford University Press, 2001 {{ISBN|978-0195136180}} pp. 242–243.</ref>

A summit was convened at [[Cairo]] in 1926 to discuss the revival of the caliphate, but most Muslim countries did not participate, and no action was taken to implement the summit's resolutions. Though the title ''Ameer al-Mumineen'' was adopted by the King of Morocco and by [[Mullah Omar|Mohammed Omar]], former head of the [[Taliban]] of [[Afghanistan]], neither claimed any legal standing or authority over Muslims outside the borders of their respective countries.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

Since the end of the Ottoman Empire, occasional demonstrations have been held calling for the re-establishment of the caliphate. Organisations which call for the re-establishment of the caliphate include [[Hizb ut-Tahrir]] and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]].<ref>Jay Tolson, "Caliph Wanted: Why An Old Islamic Institution Resonates With Many Muslims Today", ''U.S News & World Report'' 144.1 (14 January 2008): 38–40.</ref> The [[Justice and Development Party (Turkey)|AKP]] government in Turkey, a former Muslim Brotherhood ally who has adopted [[Neo-Ottomanism|Neo-Ottomanist]] policies throughout its rule, has been accused of intending to restore the caliphate.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.setav.org/en/how-to-interpret-discussions-on-ataturk-and-the-caliphate/ |title=How to interpret discussions on Atatürk and the caliphate |journal=[[Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research|SETA]] |date=4 August 2020 |access-date=7 January 2024 |last=Duran |first=Burhanettin |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107002225/https://www.setav.org/en/how-to-interpret-discussions-on-ataturk-and-the-caliphate/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Khilafat Movement (1919–1924) ====
{{Main|Khilafat Movement}}
{{See also|Partition of the Ottoman Empire}}
The [[Khilafat Movement]] was launched by Muslims in [[British India]] in 1920 to defend the Ottoman Caliphate [[Aftermath of World War I|at the end of the First World War]] and it spread throughout the British colonial territories. It was strong in British India where it formed a rallying point for some Indian Muslims as one of many anti-British Indian political movements. Its leaders included [[Mohammad Ali Jouhar]], his brother Shawkat Ali and [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]], [[Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari]], Hakim Ajmal Khan and Barrister Muhammad Jan Abbasi. For a time it was supported by [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi]], who was a member of the Central Khilafat Committee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indhistory.com/khilafat-movement.html |title=The Khilafat Movement |publisher=Indhistory.com |access-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428192813/http://www.indhistory.com/khilafat-movement.html |archive-date=28 April 2015 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.quaid.gov.pk/politician6.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416001259/http://www.quaid.gov.pk/politician6.htm |url-status=dead |title=The Statesman |archive-date=16 April 2007}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}} However, the movement lost its momentum after the abolition of the caliphate in 1924. After further arrests and flight of its leaders, and a series of offshoots splintered off from the main organisation, the Movement eventually died down and disbanded.

=== Parallel regional caliphates to the Ottomans ===
==== Indian subcontinent ====
{{Main|Islamic rulers in the Indian subcontinent}}
[[File:Aurangzeb-portrait.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Hafiz Muhiuddin [[Aurangzeb]], unlike his predecessors, was considered to be a caliph of India.]]
After the [[Umayyad campaigns in India]] and the conquest on small territories of the western part of the Indian peninsula, early Indian Muslim dynasties were founded by the [[Ghurid dynasty]] and the [[Ghaznavids]], most notably the [[Delhi Sultanate]]. The Indian sultanates did not extensively strive for a caliphate since the [[Ottoman Empire]] was already observing the caliphate.<ref>"Truths and Lies: Irony and Intrigue in the Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī", Soheila Amirsoleimani, ''Iranian Studies'', Vol. 32, No. 2, The Uses of Guile: Literary and Historical Moments (Spring, 1999), 243.</ref>

The emperors of the [[Mughal Empire]], who were the only Sunni rulers whose territory and wealth could compete with that of the Ottomans, started assuming the title of caliph and calling their capital as the ''Dar-ul-khilafat'' ("abode of the caliphate") since the time of the third emperor [[Akbar]] like their Timurid ancestors. A gold coin struck under Akbar called him the "great ''sultan'', the exalted ''khalifah''". Although the Mughals did not acknowledge the overlordship of Ottomans, they nevertheless used the title of caliph to honour them in diplomatic exchanges. Akbar's letter to [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] addressed the latter as having attained the rank of the caliphate, while calling Akbar's empire as the "Khilafat of realms of Hind and Sind."<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas Walker |last=Arnold |author-link=Thomas Walker Arnold |chapter=The Mughal Emperors in India |title=The Caliphate |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=159, 160 |year=1924}}</ref> The fifth emperor [[Shah Jahan]] also laid claim to the Caliphate.<ref>{{cite book |first=Annemarie |last=Schimmel |author-link=Annemarie Schimmel |chapter=The Historical Background |title=Gabriel's Wing A Study Into the Religious Ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal |publisher=Brill |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goE3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA30 |page=30 |year=1963}}</ref> Although the Mughal Empire is not recognised as a caliphate, its sixth emperor [[Aurangzeb]] has often been regarded as one of the few Islamic caliphs to have ruled the Indian peninsula.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Roy |title=Mawlana Mawdudi and Political Islam: Authority and the Islamic State |year=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-95036-0}}</ref> He received support from the [[Ottoman sultans]] such as [[Suleiman II of the Ottoman Empire|Suleiman II]] and [[Mehmed IV]]. As a memoriser of Quran, Aurangzeb fully established [[sharia]] in South Asia via his [[Fatawa 'Alamgiri]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} He re-introduced [[jizya]] and banned Islamically unlawful activities. However, Aurangzeb's personal expenses were covered by his own incomes, which included the sewing of caps and trade of his written copies of the Quran. Thus, he has been compared to the second caliph, [[Umar]] bin Khattab, and Kurdish conqueror [[Saladin]].<ref>Dasgupta, K., 1975. How Learned Were the Mughals: Reflections on Muslim Libraries in India. The Journal of Library History, 10(3), pp. 241–254.</ref><ref>Qadir, K.B.S.S.A., 1936. "The Cultural Influences of Islam in India". ''Journal of the Royal Society of Arts'', pp. 228–241.</ref> The Mughal emperors continued to be addressed as caliphs until the reign of [[Shah Alam II]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas Walker |last=Arnold |author-link=Thomas Walker Arnold |chapter=The Mughal Emperors in India |title=The Caliphate |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=162 |year=1924}}</ref>

Other notable rulers such as [[Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji]], [[Alauddin Khilji]], [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq]], [[Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah]], [[Babur]], [[Sher Shah Suri]], [[Nasir I of Kalat]], [[Tipu Sultan]],  [[Nawabs of Bengal]], and the [[Khwaja Salimullah]] were popularly given the term ''khalifa''.<ref>{{cite book |first=Banarsi Prasad |last=Saksena |author-link=Banarsi Prasad Saksena |chapter=The Khaljis: Alauddin Khalji |editor=Mohammad Habib and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami |title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206–1526) |volume=5 |edition=2nd |year=1992 |orig-year=1970 |publisher=The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ |oclc=31870180 |access-date=13 April 2019 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117131632/https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== West Africa ====
Several rulers of West Africa adopted the title of Caliph. Mai [[Ali Gazi|Ali Ghaji ibn Dunama]] (r. {{circa}} 1472–{{circa}} 1503) was the first ruler of [[Bornu Empire]] to assume the title. [[Askia Mohammad I]] of [[Songhai Empire]] also assumed the title around the same time.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Islam in Africa|author1=Nehemia Levtzion|author-link1=Nehemia Levtzion|author2=Randall Pouwels|publisher=Ohio University Press|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1Ipt5A9mLMC}}</ref>

The Bornu Caliphate (1472–1893), which was headed by the Bornu emperors, began in 1472. A rump state of the larger [[Kanem-Bornu Empire]], its rulers held the title of caliph until 1893, when it was absorbed into the British [[Colony of Nigeria]] and [[British Cameroon|Northern Cameroons Protectorate]]. The British recognised them as the 'sultans of Bornu', one step down in Muslim royal titles. After Nigeria became independent, its rulers became the 'emirs of Bornu', another step down.

The [[Sokoto Caliphate]] (1804–1903) was an Islamic state in what is now [[Nigeria]] led by [[Usman dan Fodio]]. Founded during the [[Fulani War]] in the early nineteenth century, it controlled one of the most powerful empires in [[sub-Saharan Africa]] prior to European conquest and colonisation culminating in the [[Adamawa Wars]] and the [[Battle of Kano]]. The caliphate remained extant through the colonial period and afterwards, though with reduced power.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}} The current head of the Sokoto Caliphate is [[Sa'adu Abubakar]].

The [[Toucouleur Empire]] (1848–1893), also known as the Tukular Empire, was one of the [[Fula jihads|Fulani jihad]] states in sub-saharan Africa. It was eventually pacified and annexed by the [[French Colonial Empire|French Republic]], being incorporated into [[French West Africa]]. Additionally, the [[Massina Empire]] (1818–1862) joined these jihad states in West Africa and claimed to be a caliphate.

==== Yogyakarta Caliphate (1755–2015) ====
The Indonesian [[Yogyakarta Sultanate|sultan of Yogyakarta]] historically used ''Khalifatullah'' (Caliph of God) as one of his titles. In 2015 sultan [[Hamengkubuwono X]] renounced any claim to the caliphate to facilitate his [[Princess Mangkubumi|daughter's]] inheritance of the throne, as the theological opinion of the time was that a woman may hold the secular office of sultan but not the spiritual office of caliph.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/20785/is-yogyakarta-ready-for-a-female-successor-to-sultan-hamengkubowono/ |title=Is Yogyakarta Ready for a Female Successor to Sultan Hamengkubowono? |date=17 May 2015 |access-date=12 October 2018 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222193722/http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/20785/is-yogyakarta-ready-for-a-female-successor-to-sultan-hamengkubowono/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}}

==== Moroccan Caliphate ====
{{main|Moroccan Caliphate}}
France planned to appoint sultan [[Yusef of Morocco]], who served as the leader of the [[French protectorate in Morocco]], as their "Caliph of the West" to strengthen their control over their colonies in Africa and the Middle East after the [[1914 Ottoman jihad proclamation]]. As part of the [[Alawi dynasty]], he claimed to be a descendant of Fatima. France abandoned the plan in the [[Sykes–Picot Agreement]] in 1916 which gave Britain free hand in creating their own caliphate in Arabia which also never came to fruition.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ardıc̦ |first=Nurullah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wql6oCwx1YwC |title=Islam and the Politics of Secularism: The Caliphate and Middle Eastern Modernization in the Early 20th Century |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-67166-8 |language=en|pages=186f}}</ref>

==== Sharifian Caliphate (1924–1931) ====
{{Main|Sharifian Caliphate}}
[[File:Hejaz-English.jpg|thumb|The [[Kingdom of Hejaz]], which would become the [[Sharifian Caliphate]] in green, and the current region in red]]
The '''Sharifian Caliphate''' ({{langx|ar|خلافة شريفية}}) was an Arab caliphate proclaimed by the [[Sharif of Mecca|Sharifian rulers]] of [[Kingdom of Hejaz|Hejaz]] in 1924 previously known as [[Hejaz Vilayet|Vilayet Hejaz]], declaring independence from the [[Ottoman Caliphate]]. The idea of the Sharifian Caliphate had been floating around since at least the fifteenth century.<ref>[[#Tei01|Teitelbaum 2001 p. 42]]{{verify source|date=March 2015}}</ref> In the [[Arab world]], it represented the culmination of a long struggle to reclaim the caliphate from Ottoman hands. The first Arab revolts challenging the validity of the Ottoman caliphate and demanding that an Arab [[Sayyid]] be chosen as caliph can be traced back to 1883 when Sheikh Hamat-al-Din seized [[Sanaa]] and called for the caliphate as a Sayyid.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Series Vol. 7 No. 6 (1 May 1917) |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-392930355 |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=Trove  |archive-date=25 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525103934/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-392930355/view |url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator -->.</ref>

However, it was not until the [[Abolition of the Caliphate|end of the Ottoman caliphate]], abolished by the [[Kemalists]], that Hussein bin Ali was proclaimed caliph in March 1924. His stance towards the Ottoman caliphate was ambiguous, and while he was hostile to it,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Source Records of the Great War Sharif Hussein's Proclamation of Independence from Turkey, 27th June 1916 |url=https://sayyidamiruddin.com/2013/08/13/sharif-husseins-proclamation-of-independence-from-turkey-27-june-1916/#& |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=https://sayyidamiruddin.com/2013/08/13/sharif-husseins-proclamation-of-independence-from-turkey-27-june-1916/#& |archive-date=2023-12-14 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=archive.wikiwix.com}}</ref> he preferred to wait for its official abolition before assuming the title, so as not to break the [[Ummah]] by creating a second caliph alongside the [[Ottoman caliph]]. He also supported financially the late Ottoman dynasty in exile, to avoid them being ruined.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ekinci |first=ekrem |title=How Did the Ottoman Dynasty Survive in Exile? |url=https://www.ekrembugraekinci.com/article/?ID=1395&how-did-the-ottoman-dynasty-survive-in-exile- |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213104431/https://www.ekrembugraekinci.com/article/?ID=1395&how-did-the-ottoman-dynasty-survive-in-exile- |archive-date=2023-12-13 |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=www.ekrembugraekinci.com |language=tr}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}}

His caliphate was opposed by the [[British Empire]], [[Zionists]], and [[Wahhabis]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Al-Momani |first1=Nidal Daoud Mohammad |year=2014 |title=Al-Sharif, Al-Hussein Bin Ali between the Zionists and the Palestinians in 1924 A decisive year in the political history of Al-Hussein |journal=Journal of Human Sciences |volume=2014 |issue=2 |pages=312–335 |doi=10.12785/jhs/20140213 |doi-access=free}}</ref> but he received support from a large part of the [[Muslims|Muslim population]] at the time,<ref>{{cite book |author1=British Secret Service |title=Jeddah Report 1-29 Mars 1924 |date=29 March 1924 |publisher=British Secret Service |location=Jeddah |page=FO 371/100CWE 3356}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kramer |first1=Martin |title=Islam assembled the advent of the Muslim Congresses |year=1986 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=1-59740-468-3}}{{page needed|date=January 2024}}</ref> as well as from [[Mehmed VI]].<ref>{{cite news |date=22 March 1924 |title=Central File: Decimal File 867.9111, Internal Affairs Of States, Public Press., Newspapers., Turkey, Clippings And Items., March 22, 1924 – March 12, 1925 |work=Turkey: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1802–1949 |id={{Gale|C5111548903}}}}</ref> Although he lost the Hejaz and was exiled, then imprisoned by the [[British Empire|British]] on [[Cyprus]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Strohmeier |first1=Martin |date=3 September 2019 |title=The exile of Husayn b. Ali, ex-sharif of Mecca and ex-king of the Hijaz, in Cyprus (1925–1930) |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=733–755 |doi=10.1080/00263206.2019.1596895 |s2cid=164473838}}</ref> Hussein continued to use the title until his death in 1931.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sazonov |first1=Vladimir |title=Cultural Crossroads in the Middle East: The Historical, Cultural and Political Legacy of Intercultural Dialogue and Conflict from the Ancient Near East to the Present Day |last2=Espak |first2=Peeter |last3=Mölder |first3=Holger |last4=Saumets |first4=Andres |year=2020 |publisher=University of Tartu Press |isbn=978-9949-03-520-5}}{{page needed|date=January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bar |first1=Shmuel |date=January 2016 |title=The implications of the Caliphate |journal=Comparative Strategy |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1080/01495933.2016.1133994 |s2cid=157012525}}</ref>

== Non-political caliphates ==
Though non-political, some [[Sufi]] [[tariqa|orders]] and the [[Khalifatul Masih|Ahmadiyya movement]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thelondoneconomic.com/2014/07/10/islamic-caliph-condemns-isis-act-of-un-islamic-terror/ |title=Islamic Caliph condemns ISIS' act of 'Un-Islamic terror' |newspaper=[[The London Economic]] |date=10 July 2014 |access-date=12 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015181038/http://www.thelondoneconomic.com/2014/07/10/islamic-caliph-condemns-isis-act-of-un-islamic-terror/ |archive-date=15 October 2014 |first=Steve |last=Taggart |url-status=live}}</ref> define themselves as caliphates. Their leaders are thus commonly referred to as ''khalifas'' (caliphs).

=== Sufi caliphates ===
In [[Sufism]], [[tariqa]]s (orders) are led by spiritual leaders (''khilafah ruhaniyyah''), the main khalifas, who nominate local khalifas to organise [[zaouia]]s.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Patrick A. |last1=Desplat |first2=Dorothea E. |last2=Schulz |title=Prayer in the City: The Making of Muslim Sacred Places and Urban Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cW5EBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |year=2014 |publisher=Verlag |isbn=978-3-8394-1945-8 |page=82}}</ref> Sufi caliphates are not necessarily hereditary. Khalifas are aimed to serve the ''silsilah'' in relation to spiritual responsibilities and to propagate the teachings of the tariqa.

=== Ahmadiyya Caliphate (1908–present) ===
{{Main|Ahmadiyya Caliphate}}
[[File:Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya 1-2.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[Black Standard#Ahmadiyya flag|Ahmadiyya flag]], first designed in 1939, during the leadership of the [[Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad|Second Caliph]]]]
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a self-proclaimed Islamic revivalist movement founded in 1889 by [[Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]] of [[Qadian]], India, who claimed to be the promised [[Jesus in Islam|Messiah]] and [[Mahdi]], awaited by Muslims. He also claimed to be a follower-prophet subordinate to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.{{Citation needed|date= November 2019}} The group are traditionally shunned by the majority of Muslims.<ref>{{cite dictionary |last=Esposito |first=John L. |author-link=John Esposito |title=Adhmadis |dictionary=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E324pQEEQQcC&pg=PA11 |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975726-8 |page=11 |quote=Rejected by the majority of Muslims as heretical since it believes in ongoing prophethood after the death of Muhammad. Currently based in Pakistan, but forbidden to practice, preach, or propagate their faith as Islam or their places of worship as mosques. |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref>

After Ahmad's death in 1908, his first successor, [[Hakeem Noor-ud-Din]], became the caliph of the community and assumed the title of ''Khalifatul Masih'' (Successor or Caliph of the Messiah).{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}} After Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, the first caliph, the title of the Ahmadiyya caliph continued under [[Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad|Mirza Mahmud Ahmad]], who led the community for over 50 years. Following him were [[Mirza Nasir Ahmad]] and then [[Mirza Tahir Ahmad]] who were the third and fourth caliphs respectively.{{Citation needed|date= January 2018}} The current caliph is [[Mirza Masroor Ahmad]], who lives in London.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.reviewofreligions.org/1772/editorial-68/ |title=Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V |access-date=9 March 2011 |journal=[[The Review of Religions]] |date=May 2008 |issn=0034-6721 |publisher=Islamic Publications |archive-date=27 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727213542/http://www.reviewofreligions.org/1772/editorial-68/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nola.com/religion/index.ssf/2013/11/the_ahmadiyya_muslim_community.html |title=The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community celebrates its new cultural outpost in Kenner |newspaper=[[NOLA.com]] |date=14 June 2017 |access-date=12 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617192640/https://www.nola.com/religion/index.ssf/2013/11/the_ahmadiyya_muslim_community.html |archive-date=17 June 2018 |publisher=[[Advance Local Media LLC]] |first=Juliet |last=Linderman |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Period of dormancy ==
{{Main|Pan-Islamism}}
{{further|Islamism|Islamic revival}}

Once the subject of intense conflict and rivalry among Muslim rulers, the caliphate lay dormant and largely unclaimed since the 1920s. For the majority of Muslims, the caliph, as leader of the [[ummah]], "is cherished both as memory and ideal"<ref>''Washington Post'', "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301816.html Reunified Islam: Unlikely but Not Entirely Radical, Restoration of Caliphate resonates With Mainstream Muslims] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011081130/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301816.html |date=11 October 2017 }}".</ref> as a time when Muslims "enjoyed scientific and military superiority globally".<ref>Andrew Hammond, (2006). ''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20171115010934/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=18746 Islamic caliphate a dream, not reality]}}''. Middle East Online</ref> Muhammad is reported to have prophesied:

{{blockquote |Prophethood will remain with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain, then Allah will raise it up whenever he wills to raise it up. Afterwards, there will be a Caliphate that follows the guidance of Prophethood remaining with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, He will raise it up whenever He wills to raise it up. Afterwards, there will be a reign of violently oppressive rule and it will remain with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, there will be a reign of tyrannical rule and it will remain for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, Allah will raise it up whenever He wills to raise it up. Then, there will be a Caliphate that follows the guidance of Prophethood. |As-Silsilah As-Sahihah, vol. 1, no. 5}}

=== Abu Issa caliphate (1993 – c. 2014) ===
A contemporary effort to re-establish the caliphate by supporters of armed jihad that predates [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]] and the [[Islamic State]] and was much less successful, was "the forgotten caliphate" of Muhammad bin ʿIssa bin Musa al Rifaʿi ("known to his followers as Abu ʿIssa").<ref>Kevin Jackson, "The Forgotten Caliphate", ''Jihadica'', 14 December 2014, quoted in Wood, ''The Way of the Strangers'', 2017, pp. 152–255</ref> This "microcaliphate" was founded on 3 April 1993 on the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, when Abu Issa's small number of "[[Afghan Arabs]]" followers swore loyalty ({{tlit|ar|[[bay'ah]]}}) to him.<ref name="Wood2017 p. 153">Wood, ''The Way of the Strangers'', 2017, p. 153</ref> Abu Issa, was born in the city of [[Zarqa]], Jordan and like his followers had come to Afghanistan to wage jihad against the Soviets. Unlike them he had ancestors in the tribe of [[Quraysh]], a traditional requirement for a caliph. The caliphate was ostensibly an attempt to unite the other jihadis who were not his followers and who were quarrelling among each other. It was not successful.<ref>Interview with Kevin Jackson, 15 December 2015, quoted in Wood, ''The Way of the Strangers'', 2017, p. 153</ref> Abu Issa's efforts to compel them to unite under his command were met "with mockery and then force". Local Afghans also despised him and his followers. Like the later Islamic State he tried to abolish infidel currency and rejected nationalism.<ref name="Wood2017 p. 153" /> According to scholar Kevin Jackson,

{{blockquote|Abu ʿIssa issued 'sad and funny' fatwas, as Abu al-Walid puts it, notably sanctioning the use of drugs. A nexus had been forged between [Abu Issa's group] and local drug smugglers. (The fatwa led one jihadist author to dismiss Abu Issa as the 'caliph of the Muslims among drug traffickers and takfir') Abu ʿIssa also prohibited the use of paper currency and ordered his men to burn their passports.<ref>Kevin Jackson, "The Forgotten Caliphate", ''Jihadica'', 14 December 2014</ref>}}

The territory under his control "did not extend beyond a few small towns" in Afghanistan's [[Kunar Province|Kunar]] province. Eventually he did not even control this area after the Taliban took it over in the late 1990s. The caliphate then moved to London, where they "preach[ed] to a mostly skeptical jihadi intelligentsia about the obligation of establishing a caliphate".<ref name="Wood2017 p. 155">Wood, ''The Way of the Strangers'', 2017, p. 155</ref> They succeeded in attracting some jihadis ([[Yahya al-Bahrumi]], Abu Umar al Kuwaiti) who later joined the Islamic State. Abu Issa died in 2014, "after spending most of his final years in prison in London".<ref name="Wood2017 p. 155" /> Abu Umar al Kuwaiti became a judge for the Islamic state but was later executed for extremism after he "took [[takfir]] to new levels&nbsp;... pronouncing death sentences for apostasy on those who were ignorant of scripture – and then pronouncing takfir on those too reluctant to pronounce takfir."<ref>Wood, ''The Way of the Strangers'', 2017, p. 297, n. 14. {{ISBN?}}</ref>

=== Islamic State (2014–present) ===
{{Main|Islamic State}}{{See also|List of leaders of the Islamic State}}[[File:Territoires de l'Etat islamique juin 2015.png|thumb|upright=1|[[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL]]'s territory, in grey, at the time of its greatest territorial extent in May 2015]]
[[File:Libyan Civil War.png|thumb|upright=1|Military situation in Libya in early 2016:<br /> [[File:Location dot grey.svg|11px]] [[Ansar al-Sharia (Libya)|Ansar al-Sharia]] [[File:Location dot black.svg|11px]] [[Islamic State]]]]
A network of Islamist militants formed the [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq]] affiliate during the [[Iraq War]] (2003–2011). The group eventually expanded into Syria and rose to prominence as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during the [[Syrian Civil War]]. In the summer of 2014, the group launched the [[Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)|Northern Iraq offensive]], seizing the city of [[Mosul]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/caliphate-wont-last-but-its-legacy-may/story-e6frg6zo-1227017262005?nk=51e8f7ae253f68a1dc07a0006cd370bf |work=The Australian |title=Caliphate won't last but its legacy may |date=8 August 2014 |access-date=25 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28560449 |work=BBC News |title=Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Islamic State's driving force |date=30 July 2014 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=31 July 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140731104059/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28560449 |url-status=live}}</ref> The group declared itself a caliphate under [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]] on 29 June 2014 and renamed itself as the "Islamic State".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/isis-palmyra-syria-islamic-state |title=Isis 'controls 50% of Syria' after seizing historic city of Palmyra |first=Kareem |last=Shaheen |newspaper=The Guardian |date=21 May 2015 |access-date=17 March 2017 |archive-date=30 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930133020/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/isis-palmyra-syria-islamic-state |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28082962 |title=Isis rebels declare 'Islamic state' in Iraq and Syria |date=30 June 2014 |publisher=BBC |access-date=23 November 2022 |archive-date=18 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118195906/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28082962 |url-status=live}}</ref> ISIL's claim to be the highest authority of Muslims has been widely rejected.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-icrc-idUSKBN0M921N20150313 |title=Islamic State-controlled parts of Syria, Iraq largely out of reach: Red Cross |newspaper=Reuters |date=13 March 2015 |access-date=1 July 2017 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626142235/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/13/us-mideast-crisis-syria-icrc-idUSKBN0M921N20150313 |url-status=live}}</ref> No prominent Muslim scholar has supported its declaration of caliphate; even [[Salafi jihadist]] preachers accused the group of engaging in political showmanship and bringing disrepute to the notion of Islamic state.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gerges |first=Fawaz A. |title=ISIS: A History |author-link=Fawaz Gerges |pages=283–284 |isbn=978-0-691-17579-9 |year=2017 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}</ref>

ISIL has been at war with armed forces including the [[Iraqi Army]], the [[Syrian Army]], the [[Free Syrian Army]], [[Al-Nusra Front]], [[Syrian Democratic Forces]], and [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]'s [[Peshmerga]] and [[People's Protection Units]] (YPG) along with a 60 nation coalition in its efforts to establish a de facto state on Iraqi and Syrian territory.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/23/world/middleeast/assad-supporters-weigh-benefits-of-us-strikes-in-syria.html?_r=0 |title=Blamed for Rise of ISIS, Syrian Leader Is Pushed to Escalate Fight |date=22 August 2014 |work=The New York Times |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715060520/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/23/world/middleeast/assad-supporters-weigh-benefits-of-us-strikes-in-syria.html?_r=0 |url-status=live}}</ref> At its height in 2014, the Islamic State held "about a third of Syria and 40 percent of Iraq". By December 2017 it had lost 95% of that territory, including [[Mosul]], Iraq's second largest city, and the northern Syrian city of [[Raqqa]], its capital.<ref name="Wilson Center2019" /> Its caliph, Al-Baghdadi, was killed in a raid by U.S. forces on 26 October 2019, its "last holdout", the town of [[Al-Baghuz Fawqani]], fell to [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] on 23 March 2019.<ref name="Wilson Center2019">{{cite web |title=Timeline: the Rise, Spread, and Fall of the Islamic State |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/timeline-the-rise-spread-and-fall-the-islamic-state |website=The Wilson Center |access-date=27 March 2022 |date=28 October 2019 |archive-date=8 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208025300/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/timeline-the-rise-spread-and-fall-the-islamic-state |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ahmadiyya view ===
{{further|Ahmadiyya Caliphate}}
The members of the [[Ahmadiyya]] community believe that the Ahmadiyya Caliphate is the continuation of the Islamic caliphate, first being the ''Rāshidūn'' (rightly guided) Caliphate (of Righteous Caliphs). This is believed to have been suspended with Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad and re-established with the appearance of [[Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]] (1835–1908, the founder of the movement) whom Ahmadis identify as the Promised Messiah and [[Mahdi]].

Ahmadis maintain that in accordance with Quranic verses (such as {{qref|24|55|pl=y}}) and a number of ahadith on the issue, caliphates can only be established by God himself. and is a divine blessing given to "those who believe and work righteousness" and uphold the unity of God, therefore any movement to establish the caliphates centered on human endeavours alone is bound to fail, particularly when the condition of the people diverges from the "precepts of prophethood" and they are as a result disunited, their inability to establish a caliphate caused fundamentally by the lack of righteousness in them. Although the caliph is elected, it is believed that God himself directs the hearts of believers towards an individual. Thus the caliph is designated neither necessarily by right (i.e. the rightful or competent one in the eyes of the people at that time) nor merely by election but primarily by God.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alislam.org/quran/tafseer/?page=1870&region=E1 |title=The Holy Quran |publisher=Alislam.org |access-date=30 June 2014 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626144851/http://www.alislam.org/quran/tafseer/?page=1870&region=E1 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{ssn|date=November 2024}}

According to Ahmadiyya thought, a khalifa need not be the head of a state; rather the Ahmadiyya community emphasises the spiritual and organisational significance of the Khilāfah. It is primarily a religious/spiritual office, with the purpose of upholding, strengthening and spreading Islam and of maintaining the high spiritual and moral standards within the global community established by Muhammad—who was not merely a political leader but primarily a religious leader. If a khalifa does happen to bear governmental authority as a head of state, it is incidental and subsidiary in relation to his overall function as khalifa which is applicable to believers transnationally and not limited to one particular state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Khilafat-e-Rashida.pdf |title=Khilafat-e-Rashidah |access-date=30 June 2014 |archive-date=9 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109181459/http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Khilafat-e-Rashida.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alislam.org/egazette/updates/the-islamic-khilafat-its-rise-fall-and-re-emergence/ |title=The Islamic Khilafat – Its Rise, Fall, and Re-emergence |publisher=Alislam.org |access-date=30 June 2014 |date=3 March 2011 |archive-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331080614/http://www.alislam.org/egazette/updates/the-islamic-khilafat-its-rise-fall-and-re-emergence/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Ahmadi Muslims believe that God has assured them that this caliphate will endure to the end of time, depending on their righteousness and faith in God. The Khalifa provides unity, security, moral direction and progress for the community. It is required that the Khalifa carry out his duties through consultation and taking into consideration the views of the members of the ''Shura'' (consultative body). However, it is not incumbent upon him to always accept the views and recommendations of the members. The Khalifatul Masih has overall authority for all religious and organisational matters and is bound to decide and act in accordance with the Qur'an and sunnah.

==== Islamist call ====
A number of Islamist political parties and [[mujahideen]] called for the restoration of the caliphate by uniting Muslim nations, either through political action (e.g. [[Hizb ut-Tahrir]]), or through force (e.g. [[al-Qaeda]]).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301816_pf.html |title=Reunified Islam |work=Washingtonpost.com |date=13 January 2006 |access-date=30 August 2017 |archive-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803125357/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301816_pf.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Various Islamist movements gained momentum in recent years with the ultimate aim of establishing a caliphate. In 2014, ISIL/ISIS made a claim to re-establishing the caliphate. Those advocating the re-establishment of a caliphate differed in their methodology and approach. Some{{who|date=November 2010}} were locally oriented, mainstream political parties that had no apparent transnational objectives.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}}

[[Abul A'la Maududi]] believed the caliph was not just an individual ruler who had to be restored, but was man's representation of God's authority on Earth:
{{blockquote|''Khilafa'' means representative. Man, according to Islam is the representative of "people", His (God's) viceregent; that is to say, by virtue of the powers delegated to him, and within the limits prescribed by the Qu'ran and the teaching of the prophet, the caliph is required to exercise Divine authority.<ref>Abul A'al Mawdudi, ''Human Rights in Islam'', The Islamic Foundation, 1976, p. 9</ref>}}

The [[Muslim Brotherhood]] advocates [[pan-Islamic]] unity and the implementation of [[Islamic law]]. Founder [[Hassan al-Banna]] wrote about the restoration of the caliphate.<ref>Roy, Olivier, ''Failure of Islamism'', Harvard University Press, (1994) p. 42</ref>

One transnational group whose ideology was based specifically on restoring the caliphate as a pan-Islamic state is [[Hizb ut-Tahrir]] (literally, "Party of Liberation"). It is particularly strong in Central Asia and Europe and is growing in strength in the Arab world. It is based on the claim that Muslims can prove that God exists<ref>William Lane Craig, ''[http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/mackie.html Professor Mackie and the Kalam Cosmological Argument] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115155257/http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/mackie.html |date=15 January 2008 }}''.</ref> and that the Qur'an is the word of God.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} Hizb ut-Tahrir's stated strategy is a non-violent political and intellectual struggle.

In Southeast Asia, groups such as [[Jemaah Islamiyah]] aimed to establish a Caliphate across [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]] and parts of [[Thailand]], the [[Philippines]] and [[Cambodia]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

=== Al-Qaeda's caliphate goals ===
{{Main|al-Qaeda}}
[[Al-Qaeda]] has as one of its clearly stated goals the re-establishment of a caliphate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/irp/world/para/ladin.htm |title=Ladin |publisher=fas.org |access-date=5 June 2011 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604101231/http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ladin.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Its former leader, Osama bin Laden, called for Muslims to "establish the righteous caliphate of our umma".<ref>Interview (21 October 2001) from bin Laden, ''Message to the World'', Verso, 2005, p. 121</ref> [[Al-Qaeda]] chiefs released a statement in 2005, under which, in what they call "phase five" there will be "an [[Islamic state]], or caliphate".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/war-on-terror/alqaeda-chiefs-reveal-world-domination-design/2005/08/23/1124562861654.html |title=Al-Qaeda chiefs reveal world domination design |publisher=Theage.com.au |date=24 August 2005 |location=Melbourne |access-date=1 October 2010 |archive-date=28 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228090853/http://www.theage.com.au/news/war-on-terror/alqaeda-chiefs-reveal-world-domination-design/2005/08/23/1124562861654.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Al-Qaeda has named its Internet newscast from [[Iraq]] "The Voice of the Caliphate".<ref>{{cite news |first=Karl |last=Vick |date=14 January 2006 |title=Reunified Islam: Unlikely but Not Entirely Radical |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301816.html |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011081130/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301816.html |url-status=live |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref> According to author and Egyptian native [[Lawrence Wright]], [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], bin Laden's mentor and al-Qaeda's second-in-command until 2011, once "sought to restore the caliphate... which had formally ended in 1924 following the dissolution of the [[Ottoman Empire]] but which had not exercised real power since the thirteenth century." Zawahiri believes that once the caliphate is re-established, Egypt would become a rallying point for the rest of the Islamic world, leading the ''jihad'' against the West. "Then history would make a new turn, God willing", Zawahiri later wrote, "in the opposite direction against the empire of the United States and the world's Jewish government".<ref>Wright, 46.</ref>

=== Opposition ===
Scholar [[Olivier Roy (professor)|Olivier Roy]] writes that "early on, Islamists replace the concept of the caliphate ... with that of the emir." There were a number of reasons including "that according to the classical authors, a caliph must be a member of the tribe of the Prophet (the Quraysh) ... moreover, caliphs ruled societies that the Islamists do not consider to have been Islamic (the Ottoman Empire)."<ref>Roy, Olivier, ''Failure of Islamism,'' Harvard University Press, (1994) pp. 42–43</ref> This is not the view of the majority of Islamist groups, as both the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir view the Ottoman state as a caliphate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ikhwanweb.com/Article.asp?ID=967&SectionID=91 |title=The Muslim Brotherhood And Copts, Historical Perspective |publisher=Ikhwanweb.com |access-date=5 June 2011 |archive-date=18 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318164625/http://www.ikhwanweb.com/Article.asp?ID=967&SectionID=91 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{ssn|date=November 2024}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Bieliauskas |first=Hana |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200704170005 |title=Campus Radicals – Hizb-ut Tahrir |work=[[New Statesman]] |date=17 April 2007 |access-date=17 January 2008 |archive-date=5 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105041332/http://www.newstatesman.com/200704170005 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}}

== Religious basis ==
{{further|Political aspects of Islam|Divisions of the world in Islam}}

=== Quran ===
The [[Quran]] uses the term ''khalifa'' twice. First, in Surah [[Al-Baqara]] {{qref|2|30|pl=y}}, it refers to [[God in Islam|God]] creating humanity as his ''khalifa'' on Earth. Second, in Surah [[Sad (sura)|Sad]] {{qref|38|26|pl=y}}, it addresses King [[David in Islam|David]] as God's ''khalifa ''and reminds him of his obligation to rule with justice.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Islam: A Brief History |last=Sonn |first=Tamara |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4051-8094-8 |page=38 |author-link=Tamara Sonn |edition=2nd}}</ref>{{Quran}}

In addition, the following excerpt from the Quran, known as the 'Istikhlaf Verse', is used by some to argue for a Quranic basis for a caliphate:
{{blockquote|Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will certainly make them ''successors'' in the land, as He did with those before them; and will surely establish for them their faith which He has chosen for them; and will indeed change their fear into security—˹provided that˺ they worship Me, associating nothing with Me. But whoever disbelieves after this ˹promise˺, it is they who will be the rebellious.|{{qref|24|55|c=y}}}}

Several schools of jurisprudence and thought within Sunni Islam argue that to govern a state by [[Sharia]] is, by definition, to rule via the caliphate and use the following verses to sustain their claim.
{{blockquote|And judge between them ˹O Prophet˺ by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires. And beware, so they do not lure you away from some of what Allah has revealed to you. If they turn away ˹from Allah's judgment˺, then know that it is Allah's Will to repay them for some of their sins, and that many people are indeed rebellious.|{{qref|5|49|c=y}}}}
{{blockquote|O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Should you disagree on anything, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you ˹truly˺ believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is the best and fairest resolution.|{{qref|4|59|c=y}}}}

=== ''Hadith'' ===
The following ''[[hadith]]'' from [[Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal]] can be understood to prophesy two eras of the caliphate (both on the lines/precepts of prophethood).

{{blockquote |Hadhrat Huzaifa narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: Prophethood will remain among you as long as Allah wills. Then Caliphate (Khilafah) on the lines of Prophethood shall commence, and remain as long as Allah wills. Then corrupt/erosive monarchy would take place, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. After that, despotic kingship would emerge, and it will remain as long as Allah wills. Then, the Caliphate (Khilafah) shall come once again based on the precept of [[Prophethood]].<ref>Masnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Mishkat, Chapter Al-Anzar Wal Tahzir</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}}}

In the above, the first era of the caliphate is commonly accepted by Muslims to be that of the [[Rashidun]] Caliphate.

Nafi'a reported saying:
{{blockquote |It has been reported on the authority of Nafi, that 'Abdullah b. Umar paid a visit to Abdullah b. Muti' in the days (when atrocities were perpetrated on the People Of Medina) at Harra in the time of Yazid b. Mu'awiya. Ibn Muti' said: Place a pillow for Abu 'Abd al-Rahman (family name of 'Abdullah b. 'Umar). But the latter said: I have not come to sit with you. I have come to you to tell you a tradition I heard from the Messenger of Allah. I heard him say: One who withdraws his band from obedience (to the Amir) will find no argument (in his defence) when he stands before Allah on the Day of Judgment, and one who dies without having bound himself by an oath of allegiance (to an Amir) will die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyyah.|{{Href|muslim|1851a|b=y}}}}

[[Hisham ibn Urwah]] reported on the authority of Abu Saleh on the authority of [[Abu Hurairah]] that Muhammad said:

{{blockquote |Leaders will take charge of you after me, where the pious (one) will lead you with his piety and the impious (one) with his impiety, so only listen to them and obey them in everything which conforms with the truth (Islam). If they act rightly it is for your credit, and if they acted wrongly it is counted for you and against them.}}

It has been narrated on the authority of [[Abu Hurayra|Abu Huraira]] that the Prophet of Allah said:

{{blockquote|A Imam is a shield for them. They fight behind him and they are protected by (him from tyrants and aggressors). If he enjoins fear of God, the Exalted and Glorious, and dispenses justice, there will be a (great) reward for him; and if he enjoins otherwise, it redounds on him.|{{Href|muslim|1841|b=y}}}}

Narrated Abu Huraira:
{{blockquote|The Prophet said, "The [[Israelites|Israelis]] used to be ruled and guided by prophets: Whenever a prophet died, another would take over his place. There will be no prophet after me, but there will be Caliphs who will increase in number." The people asked, "O Allah's Messenger! What do you order us (to do)?" He said, "Obey the one who will be given the pledge of allegiance first. Fulfil their (i.e. the Caliphs) rights, for Allah will ask them about (any shortcoming) in ruling those Allah has put under their guardianship."|{{Href|bukhari|3455|b=y}}}}

=== Prophesied caliphate of the Mahdi ===
{{See also|Islamic eschatology#Major figures|Mahdi|Second Coming#Islam}}
Many Islamic texts, including several [[ahadith]], state that the Mahdi will be elected caliph and rule over a caliphate.<ref>[[Naeem Bin Hammad]], Kitab Al-Fitan (8584\503\4) أخرج ( ك ) نعيم بن حماد (986) , والحاكم</ref> A number of Islamic figures titled themselves both "caliph" and "al-Mahdi", including the first Abbasid caliph [[As-Saffah]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |edition=2nd |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |volume=5 |pages=1230–1238 |last=Madelung |first=Wilferd |title=al-Mahdī |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |date=1986 |isbn=978-90-04-09419-2}}</ref>

=== The ''Sahaba'' of Muhammad ===
Al-Habbab Ibn ul-Munthir said, when the Sahaba met in the wake of the death of Muhammad, (at the [[Saqifah|thaqifa]] hall) of Bani Sa’ida: {{blockquote|Let there be one Amir from us and one Amir from you (meaning one from the Ansar and one from the Mohajireen).}} Upon this Abu Bakr replied: {{blockquote|It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs (rulers)...}}

Then he got up and addressed the Muslims.<ref>"As-Sirah" of [[Ibn Kathir]]</ref><ref>"Tarikh ut-Tabari" by at-Tabari</ref><ref>"Siratu Ibn Hisham" by [[Ibn Hisham]]</ref><ref>"As-Sunan ul-Kubra" of Bayhaqi</ref><ref>"Al-fasil-fil Milal" by [[Ibnu Hazim]]</ref><ref>"Al-A’kd Al-Farid" of Al-Waqidi</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}

It has additionally been reported<ref>"as-Sirah" of Ibnu Ishaq</ref> that Abu Bakr went on to say on the day of Al-Saqifa: {{blockquote|It is forbidden for Muslims to have two Amirs for this would cause differences in their affairs and concepts, their unity would be divided and disputes would break out among them. The [[Sunnah]] would then be abandoned, the [[Bid‘ah|bida'a]] (innovations) would spread and Fitna would grow, and that is in no one's interests.}}

The Sahaba agreed to this and selected Abu Bakr as their first Khaleef. Habbab ibn Mundhir who suggested the idea of two Ameers corrected himself and was the first to give Abu Bakr the [[Bay'ah]]. This indicates an Ijma as-Sahaba of all of the Sahaba. Ali ibni abi Talib, who was attending the body of Muhammad at the time, also consented to this.

Imam Ali whom the Shia revere said:<ref>Nahj-ul-Balagha (part 1 p. 91)</ref> {{blockquote|People must have an Amir...where the believer works under his Imara (rule) and under which the unbeliever would also benefit, until his rule ended by the end of his life (''ajal''), the booty (''fay’i'') would be gathered, the enemy would be fought, the routes would be made safe, the strong one will return what he took from the weak till the tyrant would be contained, and not bother anyone.}}

=== Views of Islamic theologians ===
Scholars like [[Al-Mawardi]],<ref>[[Al-Ahkam Al-Sultaniyah]] p. 9</ref> [[Ibn Hazm]],<ref>[[Al-Muhalla]], volume 9, p. 360</ref> [[Ahmad al-Qalqashandi]],<ref>Subul Al-Asha, volume 9, p. 277</ref> and [[Al-Sha`rani]]<ref>Al-Mizan, volume 2, p. 157</ref> stated that the global Muslim community can have only one leader at any given time. [[Al-Nawawi]]<ref>Mughni Al-Muhtaj, volume 4, p. 132</ref> and [[Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad]]<ref>Al-Mughni fi abwab Al-Tawheed, volume 20, p. 243</ref> declared it impermissible to give oaths of loyalty to more than one leader.

[[Al-Joziri]] said:<ref>Al-Fiqh Alal-Mathahib Al- Arba’a (the fiqh of the four schools of thought), volume 5, p. 416</ref> {{blockquote|The Imams (scholars of the four schools of thought)- may Allah have mercy on them- agree that the Caliphate is an obligation, and that the Muslims must appoint a leader who would implement the injunctions of the religion, and give the oppressed justice against the oppressors. It is forbidden for Muslims to have two leaders in the world whether in agreement or discord.}}

Shia scholars have expressed similar opinions.<ref>Al-Fasl Fil-Milal, volume 4, p. 62</ref><ref>Matalib Ulil-Amr</ref><ref>Maqalat Al-Islamyin, volume 2, p. 134</ref><ref>Al-Moghni Fi Abuab Al-Tawhid, volume 20, pp. 58–145</ref> However, the Shia school of thought states that the [[Imamah (Shia)|leader]] must not be appointed by the Islamic ummah, but must be appointed by God.

[[Al-Qurtubi]] said that the caliph is the "pillar upon which other pillars rest", and said of the Quranic verse, "Indeed, man is made upon this earth a Caliph":<ref>{{qref|2|30|b=y}}</ref><ref>Tafseer ul-Qurtubi 264/1</ref>
{{blockquote|This Ayah is a source in the selection of an Imaam, and a Khaleef, he is listened to and he is obeyed, for the word is united through him, and the Ahkam (laws) of the Caliph are implemented through him, and there is no difference regarding the obligation of that between the Ummah ...}}

An-Nawawi said:<ref>Sharhu Sahih Muslim p. 205 vol 12</ref>{{blockquote|(The scholars) consented that it is an obligation upon the Muslims to select a Khalif}}

[[Al-Ghazali]] when writing of the potential consequences of losing the caliphate said:<ref>al Iqtisaad fil Itiqaad p. 240</ref>{{blockquote|The judges will be suspended, the Wilayaat (provinces) will be nullified, ... the decrees of those in authority will not be executed and all the people will be on the verge of Haraam}}

[[Ibn Taymiyyah]] said<ref>Siyaasah Shariyyah – chapter: 'The obligation of adherence to the leadership'</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}:

{{blockquote|It is obligatory to know that the office in charge of commanding over the people (ie: the post of the Khaleefah) is one of the greatest obligations of the [[Deen (Arabic term)|Deen]]. In fact, there is no establishment of the Deen except by it....this is the opinion of the [[salaf]], such as [[Al-Fuḍayl ibn ‘Iyāḍ]], [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]] and others}}

== Government ==
=== Electing or appointing a caliph ===
In his book ''The Early Islamic Conquests'' (1981), [[Fred Donner]] argues that the standard Arabian practice during the early caliphates was for the prominent men of a kinship group, or tribe, to gather after a leader's death and elect a leader from among themselves, although there was no specified procedure for this [[shura]], or consultative assembly. Candidates were usually from the same lineage as the deceased leader, but they were not necessarily his sons. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual direct heir, as there was no basis in the majority Sunni view that the head of state or governor should be chosen based on lineage alone. Since the Umayyads, all caliphates have been dynastic.

Traditionally, Sunni Muslim [[madhhab]]s all agreed that a caliph must be a descendant of the Quraysh.<ref>Jan A. Wensinck, ''Concordance de la Tradition Musulmane'' vol. 2, p. 70. [[Leiden]]: [[Brill Publishers]], 1936–1988.</ref> [[Al-Baqillani]] has said that the leader of the Muslims simply should be from the majority.

=== Sunni belief ===
Following the death of Muhammad, a meeting took place at [[Saqifah]]. At that meeting, Abu Bakr was elected caliph by the Muslim community. Sunni Muslims developed the belief that the caliph is a temporal political ruler, appointed to rule within the bounds of Islamic law (Sharia). The job of adjudicating orthodoxy and Islamic law was left to [[Ijtihad#Qualifications of a mujtahid|mujtahids]], legal specialists collectively called the [[Ulama]]. A number of Muslims call the first four caliphs the Rashidun, meaning the "Rightly Guided", because they are believed to have followed the Qur'an and the sunnah of Muhammad.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

=== Shia belief ===
{{Main|Imamate in Shia doctrine}}

With the exception of [[Zaidiyyah|Zaidis]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Francis |author-link=Francis Robinson |title=Atlas of the Islamic World Since 1500 |url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofislamicwo0000robi |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/atlasofislamicwo0000robi/page/47 47] |location=New York |publisher=[[Facts on File]] |year=1984 |isbn=0-87196-629-8}}</ref> Shia Muslims believe in the [[Imamah (Shia doctrine)|Imamate]], a principle by which rulers are imams who are divinely chosen, infallible and sinless and must come from the ''Ahl al-Bayt'' regardless of majority opinion, [[shura]] or election. They claim that before his death, Muhammad had given multiple indications, in the [[hadith of the pond of Khumm]] in particular, that he considered [[Ali]], his cousin and son-in-law, as his successor. For the [[Twelver]]s, Ali and his eleven descendants, the [[Twelve Imams]], are believed to have been considered, even before their birth, as the only valid Islamic rulers appointed and decreed by God. Shia Muslims believe that all the Muslim caliphs following Muhammad's death to be illegitimate due to their unjust rule and that Muslims have no obligation to follow them, as the only guidance that was left behind, as ordained in the [[hadith]] of the [[Hadith of the two weighty things|two weighty things]], was the Islamic holy book, the [[Quran]] and Muhammad's family and offspring, who are believed to be [[infallible]], therefore able to lead society and the Muslim community with complete justice and equity.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://bahai-library.com/momen_introduction_shii_islam%26chapter%3D7 |title=An Introduction to Shi'i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism |chapter=7: Imamate |page=147 |access-date=16 December 2017 |archive-date=10 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210071623/https://bahai-library.com/momen_introduction_shii_islam%26chapter%3D7 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sachedina1981" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ḥusayn |first=Ṭabāṭabāʼī Muḥammad |year=1975 |title=Shiʻite Islam |location=Albany |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-87395-272-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Rafia'a & Derayati 2003: Al-Hashiyah ala al-Usul al-Kafi |language=ar |pages=590–599}}</ref> The Prophet's own grandson, and third Shia imam, [[Husayn ibn Ali|Hussain ibn Ali]] led an uprising against injustice and the oppressive rule of the Muslim caliph at the time at the Battle of Karbala. Shia [[Muslims]] emphasise that values of [[social justice]], and speaking out against [[oppression]] and tyranny are not merely moral values, but values essential to a person's religiosity.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The just ruler (al-sultān al-adil) in Shīite Islam: the comprehensive authority of the jurist in Imamite jurisprudence |last=Sachedina |first=Abdulaziz Abdulhussein |year=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-511915-2 |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Red Shi'ism vs. Black Shi'ism: Social Justice and Salvation for the Masses}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi Greater Sins |last=The Thirtieth Greater Sin: Not Helping the Oppressed}}</ref><ref name="Sachedina1981">{{Cite book |title=Islamic messianism: the idea of Mahdi in twelver Shīʻism |last=Sachedina |first=Abdulaziz Abdulhussein |year=1981 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-87395-442-6 |location=Albany}}</ref>

After these Twelve Imams, the potential caliphs, had passed, and in the absence of the possibility of a government headed by their imams, some Twelvers believe it was necessary that a system of Shi'i Islamic government based on the [[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist]] be developed, due to the need for some form of government, where an Islamic jurist or [[faqih]] rules Muslims, suffices. However, this idea, developed by the [[marja']] Ayatollah [[Ruhollah Khomeini]] and established in Iran, is not universally accepted among the Shia.

Ismailis believe in the Imamate principle mentioned above, but they need not be secular rulers as well.
* The [[Nizari]] continue to have a living imam; the current imam is the [[Aga Khan]].
* The [[Taiyabi Ismaili]] have, since the year 1130, followed the imam's chief officer, the [[Dai al-Mutlaq]], as they believe the imams are in a state of hiding.

=== ''Majlis al-Shura'' ===
{{See also|Majlis-ash-Shura|Shura|Majlis}}
The [[Majlis-ash-Shura|Majlis al-Shura]] (literally "consultative assembly") was a representation of the idea of consultative governance. The importance of this is premised by the following verses of the Qur'an:
* "...who respond to their Lord, establish prayer, conduct their affairs by mutual consultation"({{qref|42|38|pl=y}})
* "...and consult with them in ˹conducting˺ matters. Once you make a decision, put your trust in Allah."({{qref|3|159|pl=y}})

The majlis is also the means to elect a new caliph.<ref name="2muslims.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.2muslims.com/directory/Detailed/225505.shtml |title=Gharm Allah Al-Ghamdy |publisher=2muslims.com |access-date=5 June 2011 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707062249/http://www.2muslims.com/directory/Detailed/225505.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> Al-Mawardi has written that members of the majlis should satisfy three conditions: they must be just, have enough knowledge to distinguish a good caliph from a bad one and have sufficient wisdom and judgement to select the best caliph. Al-Mawardi also said that in emergencies when there is no caliphate and no majlis, the people themselves should create a majlis and select a list of candidates for caliph; then the majlis should select a caliph from the list of candidates.<ref name="2muslims.com" />

Some Islamist interpretations of the role of the Majlis al-Shura are the following: In an analysis of the shura chapter of the Qur'an, Islamist author [[Sayyid Qutb]] argues that Islam only requires the ruler to consult with some of the representatives of the ruled and govern within the context of the Sharia. [[Taqiuddin al-Nabhani]], the founder of a transnational political movement devoted to the revival of the caliphate, writes that although the Shura is an important part of "the ruling structure" of the Islamic caliphate, "(it is) not one of its pillars", meaning that its neglect would not make a caliph's rule un-Islamic such as to justify a rebellion. However, the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest Islamic movement in Egypt, has toned down these Islamist views by accepting in principle that in the modern age the Majlis al-Shura is democracy.

=== Accountability of rulers ===
Al-Mawardi said that if the rulers meet their Islamic responsibilities to the public the people must obey their laws, but a caliph or ruler who becomes either unjust or severely ineffective must be impeached via the Majlis al-Shura. [[Al-Juwayni]] argued that Islam is the goal of the ummah, so any ruler who deviates from this goal must be impeached. Al-Ghazali believed that [[oppression]] by a caliph is sufficient grounds for impeachment. Rather than just relying on impeachment, [[Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani]] stated that the people have an obligation to rebel if the caliph begins to act with no regard for Islamic law. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said that to ignore such a situation is ''[[haraam]]'' and those who cannot revolt from inside the caliphate should launch a struggle from outside. Al-Asqalani used two [[ayah]]s from the Qur'an to justify this:
{{blockquote|And they (the sinners on [[Islamic view of the Last Judgment|qiyama]]) will say, "Our Lord! We obeyed our leaders and elite, but they led us astray from the ˹Right˺ Way. Our Lord! Give them double ˹our˺ punishment, and condemn them tremendously."|{{qref|33|67–68|c=y}}}}

Islamic lawyers commented that when the rulers refuse to step down after being impeached through the Majlis, becoming dictators through the support of a corrupt army, if the majority is in agreement they have the option to launch a revolution. Some noted that this option is to be exercised only after factoring in the potential cost of life.<ref name="2muslims.com" />

=== Rule of law ===
{{See also|Sharia|Islamic ethics}}
The following [[hadith]] establishes the principle of [[rule of law]] in relation to [[nepotism]] and accountability<ref>Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 681</ref>{{primary source inline|date=July 2017}}

{{blockquote |Narrated ‘[[Aisha]]: The people of Quraish worried about the lady from [[Banu Makhzum|Bani Makhzum]] who had committed theft. They asked, "Who will intercede for her with Allah's Apostle?" Some said, "No one dare to do so except Usama bin Zaid the beloved one to Allah's Apostle." When Usama spoke about that to Allah's Apostle; Allah's Apostle said: "Do you try to intercede for somebody in a case connected with Allah’s Prescribed Punishments?" Then he got up and delivered a sermon saying, "What destroyed the nations preceding you, was that if a noble amongst them stole, they would forgive him, and if a poor person amongst them stole, they would inflict Allah's Legal punishment on him. By Allah, if [[Fatimah|Fatima]], the daughter of Muhammad (my daughter) stole, I would cut off her hand."}}

Various Islamic lawyers, however, place multiple conditions and stipulations on the execution of such a law, making it difficult to implement. For example, the poor cannot be penalised for stealing out of poverty, and during a time of drought in the [[Rashidun Empire|Rashidun caliphate]], capital punishment was suspended until the effects of the drought passed.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzCvE-P75CAC&pg=PA61 |title=Islam Today: An Introduction |last=Geaves |first=Ron |date=1 July 2010 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-84706-478-3 |page=61 |access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref>

[[Ulema|Islamic jurists]] later formulated the concept that all classes were subject to the law of the land, and no person is above the law; officials and private citizens alike have a [[duty]] to obey the same law. Furthermore, a [[Qadi]] (Islamic judge) was not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of religion, [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]], [[Human skin color|colour]], [[kinship]] or [[prejudice]]. In a number of cases, caliphs had to appear before judges as they prepared to render their verdict.<ref>{{Harv|Weeramantry|1997|pp=132 & 135}}; Mathieu Tillier, Judicial Authority and ''Qāḍī''s’ Autonomy under the Abbasids, ''al-Masāq'', 26 (2014), p. 119-131.</ref>

According to Noah Feldman, a law professor at [[Harvard University]], the system of legal scholars and jurists responsible for the [[rule of law]] was replaced by the [[Codification (law)|codification]] of Sharia by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the early nineteenth century:<ref>{{cite news |first=Noah |last=Feldman |title=Why Shariah? |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 March 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16Shariah-t.html?ei=5070&em=&en=5c1b8de536ce606f&ex=1205812800&pagewanted=all |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=16 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116110730/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16Shariah-t.html?ei=5070&em=&en=5c1b8de536ce606f&ex=1205812800&pagewanted=all |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Economy ===
{{Main|History of Islamic economics}}
{{See also|Capitalism and Islam|Bayt al-mal}}
During the [[Muslim Agricultural Revolution]], the caliphate understood that real [[incentive]]s were needed to increase [[productivity]] and wealth and thus enhance [[tax revenue]]s. A social transformation took place as a result of changing land [[ownership]]<ref name="Idrisi2005">Zohor Idrisi (2005), [http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/AgricultureRevolution2.pdf The Muslim Agricultural Revolution and its influence on Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625192522/http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/AgricultureRevolution2.pdf |date=25 June 2008 }}, FSTC.</ref> giving individuals of any [[gender]],<ref>[[Maya Shatzmiller]], p. 263.</ref> [[ethnic]] or religious background the right to buy, sell, [[mortgage law|mortgage]] and [[inheritance|inherit]] land for farming or any other purpose. Signatures were required on contracts for every major [[financial transaction]] concerning agriculture, [[Industrial sector|industry]], commerce and employment. Copies of the contract were usually kept by both parties involved.<ref name="Idrisi2005" />

Early forms of proto-[[capitalism]] and [[free market]]s were present in the caliphate,<ref>''The Cambridge economic history of Europe'', p. 437. [[Cambridge University Press]], {{ISBN|0-521-08709-0}}.</ref> since an early [[market economy]] and early form of [[merchant capitalism]] developed between the 8th and 12th centuries, which some refer to as "Islamic capitalism".<ref>Subhi Y. Labib (1969), "Capitalism in Medieval Islam", ''The Journal of Economic History'' '''29''' (1), p. 79-96 [81, 83, 85, 90, 93, 96].</ref> A vigorous [[monetary economy]] developed based on the [[List of circulating currencies|circulation]] of a stable high-value currency (the [[dinar]]) and the integration of previously independent [[monetary]] areas. Business techniques and forms of [[Company|business organisation]] employed during this time included early contracts, [[bills of exchange]], long-distance [[international trade]], early forms of partnership (''mufawada'') such as [[limited partnership]]s (''mudaraba'') and early forms of [[Credit (finance)|credit]], [[debt]], [[Profit (accounting)|profit]], [[Income statement|loss]], [[Capital (economics)|capital]] (''al-mal''), [[capital accumulation]] (''nama al-mal''),<ref name="Banaji2007" /> [[circulating capital]], [[capital expenditure]], [[revenue]], [[cheque]]s, [[promissory note]]s,<ref>Robert Sabatino Lopez, Irving Woodworth Raymond, Olivia Remie Constable (2001), ''Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative Documents'', [[Columbia University Press]], {{ISBN|0-231-12357-4}}.</ref> [[trusts]] (''[[waqf]]''), [[startup companies]],<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Timur |last1=Kuran |date=Fall 2005 |title=The Absence of the Corporation in Islamic Law: Origins and Persistence |journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=785–834 |jstor=30038724 |doi=10.1093/ajcl/53.4.785 |hdl=10161/2546 |url=https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/2546/1/Kuran_The_Absence_of.pdf |hdl-access=free |access-date=24 September 2019 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117131532/https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/2546/Kuran_The_Absence_of.pdf;jsessionid=4326D8A92D6E2F21598EB6C8926E477D?sequence=1 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[savings account]]s, [[transactional account]]s, [[Pawnshop|pawning]], loaning, [[exchange rate]]s, bankers, [[money changer]]s, [[ledger]]s, [[Deposit account|deposits]], [[Assignment (law)|assignments]], the [[double-entry bookkeeping system]],<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Subhi Y. |last1=Labib |date=March 1969 |title=Capitalism in Medieval Islam |journal=The Journal of Economic History |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=79–96 |jstor=2115499 |doi=10.1017/S0022050700097837 |s2cid=153962294}}</ref> and lawsuits.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Ray |last1=Spier |title=The history of the peer-review process |journal=Trends in Biotechnology |volume=20 |issue=8 |pages=357–8 |date=August 2002 |pmid=12127284 |doi=10.1016/S0167-7799(02)01985-6}}</ref> Organisational enterprises similar to corporations independent from the [[Sovereign state|state]] also existed in the medieval Islamic world.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Said Amir |last1=Arjomand |date=April 1999 |title=The Law, Agency, and Policy in Medieval Islamic Society: Development of the Institutions of Learning from the Tenth to the Fifteenth Century |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=263–293 |jstor=179447 |doi=10.1017/s001041759900208x |s2cid=144129603}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Samir |last1=Amin |date=June 1978 |title=The Arab Nation: Some Conclusions and Problems |journal=MERIP Reports |volume=68 |issue=68 |pages=3–14 |doi=10.2307/3011226 |jstor=3011226}}</ref> A number of these concepts were adopted and further advanced in [[medieval Europe]] from the thirteenth century onwards.<ref name="Banaji2007">{{cite journal |first1=Jairus |last1=Banaji |year=2007 |title=Islam, the Mediterranean and the rise of capitalism |journal=[[Historical Materialism (journal)|Historical Materialism]] |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=47–74 |doi=10.1163/156920607x171591 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/15983/1/Islam%20and%20capitalism.pdf |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=12 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412055545/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/15983/1/Islam%20and%20capitalism.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

Early Islamic law included collection of ''[[zakat]]'' (charity), one of the [[Five Pillars of Islam]], since the time of the first Islamic State, established by Muhammad at Medina. The taxes (including ''zakat'' and ''[[jizya]]'') collected in the treasury (''[[Bayt al-mal]]'') of an Islamic government were used to provide income for the needy, including the poor, elderly, orphans, widows and the [[Disability|disabled]]. During the caliphate of Abu Bakr, a number of the Arab tribes, who had accepted Islam at the hand of The Prophet Muhammad, rebelled and refused to continue to pay the Zakat, leading to the [[Ridda Wars]]. Caliph [[Umar]] added to the duties of the state an allowance, paid on behalf of every man woman and child, starting at birth, creating the world's first state run social welfare program.

[[Maya Shatzmiller]] states that the demographic behaviour of medieval Islamic society varied in some significant respects from other agricultural societies. Nomadic groups within places like the deserts of Egypt and [[Morocco]] maintained high birth rates compared to rural and urban populations, though periods of extremely high nomadic birth rates seem to have occurred in occasional "[[baby boom|surges]]" rather than on a continuous basis. Individuals living in large cities had much lower birth rates, possibly due to the use of [[birth control]] methods and political or economic instability. This led to population declines in some regions. While several studies have shown that [[Ulema|Islamic scholars]] enjoyed a life expectancy of 59–75 years between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bulliet |first=Richard W. |date=April 1970 |title=A Quantitative Approach to Medieval Muslim Biographical Dictionaries |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=13 |issue=2 |page=200 |doi=10.1163/156852070X00123}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmad |first=Ahmad Atif |year=2007 |title=''Authority, Conflict, and the Transmission of Diversity in Medieval Islamic Law'' by R. Kevin Jaques |journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |volume=18 |issue=2 |page=246 |doi=10.1093/jis/etm005}}</ref> the overall life expectancy of men in the same societies was lower.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shatzmiller |first=Maya |title=Labour in the Medieval Islamic World |publisher=Brill |year=1994 |isbn=978-90-04-09896-1 |pages=63–66}}</ref> Factoring in [[infant mortality]], Lawrence Conrad estimates the average lifespan in the early Islamic caliphate to be above 35 years for the general population, compared to around 40 years for the population of [[Classical Greece]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Conrad |first=Lawrence I. |title=The Western Medical Tradition |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-47564-8 |pages=15, 137}}</ref> and 31 years for the population of thirteenth-century England.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/241864.stm |publisher=BBC |year=1998 |title=A millennium of health improvement |access-date=18 September 2018 |archive-date=16 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816015345/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/241864.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>

The early Islamic Empire also had the highest literacy rates among pre-modern societies, alongside the city of [[classical Athens]] in the fourth century BC, and later, China after the introduction of printing from the tenth century. One factor for the relatively high literacy rates in the early Islamic Empire was its parent-driven educational marketplace, as the state did not systematically subsidise educational services until the introduction of state funding under [[Nizam al-Mulk]] in the eleventh century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coulson |first=Andrew J. |title=Delivering Education |url=http://media.hoover.org/documents/0817928928_105.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817054244/http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/0817928928_105.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2011 |access-date=22 November 2008 |publisher=[[Hoover Institution]] |page=117}}</ref> Another factor was the diffusion of paper from China, which led to an efflorescence of books and written culture in Islamic society; thus [[papermaking]] technology transformed Islamic society from an oral to scribal culture, comparable to the later shifts from scribal to [[Typography|typographic]] culture, and from typographic culture to the Internet. Other factors include the widespread use of paper books in Islamic society (more so than any other previously existing society), the study [[Hafiz (Qur'an)|and memorisation]] of the Quran, flourishing [[Islamic economics in the world|commercial activity]] and the emergence of the [[kuttab|Maktab]] and [[Madrasah]] educational institutions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burke |first=Edmund |date=June 2009 |title=Islam at the Center: Technological Complexes and the Roots of Modernity |journal=[[Journal of World History]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=177–178 |doi=10.1353/jwh.0.0045 |s2cid=143484233}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of caliphs]]
* [[Al-Muhajiroun]]
* [[Amir al-Mu'minin]]
* [[Caliphate (TV series)|''Caliphate'' (TV series)]]
* [[The Caliphate or the Supreme Imamate (book)|''The Caliphate or the Supreme Imamate'' (book)]]
* [[Khanate]]
* [[Shah]]
* [[Shaykh al-Islām]]
* [[Worldwide caliphate]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Arnold |first=T. W. |editor-last=Houtsma |editor-first=M. Th |title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 |access-date=23 July 2010 |volume=IV |year=1993 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-09790-2 |pages=881–885 |chapter=Khalīfa |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&pg=PA881 |title-link=Encyclopaedia of Islam}}
* {{cite book |title=God's Caliph: Religious Authority in the First Centuries of Islam |last1=Crone |first1=Patricia |author-link1=Patricia Crone |last2=Hinds |first2=Martin |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-32185-3}}
* {{cite book |title=The Early Islamic Conquests |last=Donner |first=Fred McGraw |author-link=Fred Donner |year=1981 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-05327-1 |hdl=2027/heb.00877}}
* {{cite book |first1=Coeli |last1=Fitzpatrick |first2=Adam Hani |last2=Walker |title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God |year=2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-178-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AtvBAAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite EB1911 |last=Goeje |first=Michael Jan de |author-link=Michael Jan de Goeje |wstitle=Caliphate |volume=5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Weeramantry |first=Judge Christopher G. |title=Justice Without Frontiers: Furthering Human Rights |year=1997 |publisher=Brill |isbn=90-411-0241-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |author-link=Lawrence Wright |url=https://archive.org/details/loomingtower00lawr |title=The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 |publisher=Vintage |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4000-3084-2 |location=London |orig-year=2006}}
* {{cite journal |last=Holt |first=Peter M. |year=1984 |title=Some Observations on the 'Abbāsid Caliphate of Cairo |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=501–507 |doi=10.1017/s0041977x00113710 |s2cid=161092185 |author-link=Peter M. Holt}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAhcJj-ij28C&pg=PA6 |title=From Caliphate to Secular State: Power Struggle in the Early Turkish Republic |last=Özoğlu |first=Hakan |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-37956-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Wood |first1=Graeme |title=The Way of the Strangers : Encounters with the Islamic State |year=2017 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8129-8875-8 |pages=128–129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bPoOCwAAQBAJ&q=The+Way+of+the+Strangers+by+wood |access-date=22 March 2022 |ref=GWWotS2017}}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=oALIyvjV0fEC&pg=PA1 The Crisis of the Early Caliphate] By Richard Stephen Humphreys, Stephen (EDT) Humphreys from The History of [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=4J3PJZDYBMoC&pg=PA1 The Reunification of the Abbasid Caliphate] By Clifford Edmund (TRN) Bosworth, from The History of [[Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=GcKhwo8SmlMC&pg=PR25 Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad] By Franz Rosenthal from The History of al-Tabari
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=s04pus5jBNwC&pg=RA1-PA2 Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain (1877–1924)] By Azmi Özcan
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=riIDwZ3K85AC&pg=RA1-PR23 Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate from Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources] By Guy Le Strange
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=m-Wvg__iHPAC&pg=PA1 The Fall of the Caliphate of Cordoba: Berbers and Andalusis in conflict] By Peter C. Scales
*[http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11829711 The abolition of the Caliphate], from ''The Economist'', 8 March 1924
* Hüseyin Yılmaz. ''Caliphate Redefined: The Mystical Turn in Ottoman Political Thought''. Princeton University Press, 2018. {{ISBN|978-1-4008-8804-7}}.
* Laurence, Jonathan. [[Coping with Defeat: Sunni Islam, Roman Catholicism, and the Modern State]]. Princeton University Press, 2021.
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Caliphates}}
* [https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/the-caliph-islamic-history/index.html ''The Caliph''] – A three-part documentary by [[Al Jazeera English]]

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