The Caliphate

The caliphate was the central institution of Sunni political Islam — the office of the caliph, successor to the Prophet as leader of the Muslim community.

At a glance

When the Prophet ﷺ died in 632 he left no undisputed arrangement for the leadership of the community, and the question of who should succeed him became the most consequential in Islamic history — the fault line from which the Sunni–Shiʿi division grew. The leader who emerged was called the khalīfa, the “successor” or “deputy,” and the office the caliphate. The first four, revered in Sunni tradition as the Rightly-Guided (Rāshidūn), were followed by the hereditary dynasties: the Umayyads at Damascus, the Abbasids at Baghdad — under whom the caliphate became as much a symbol as a government — and eventually the Ottoman sultans, who claimed the title.

In theory the caliph was to uphold the religion and administer justice under the sacred law; in practice the office's real power waned as regional rulers and sultans took over government while leaving the caliph a spiritual and legitimising role. Rival caliphates also arose — the Shiʿi Fāṭimids in Cairo and the Umayyads of Córdoba both claimed the title.

The Ottoman caliphate was abolished by the new Turkish Republic in 1924, ending the institution as a continuous office and prompting debate, which continues, over its meaning and possible revival. Chronicle maps the caliphates and their successor states across its States, Rulers and River of Islam views.

Related in Chronicle

Curated reference on Islamic belief and thought. On matters where traditions differ, positions are attributed rather than adjudicated; verify points of doctrine with qualified scholars.