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  1. Caliphate - Wikipedia

    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).

  2. Caliph | Definition & History | Britannica

    Nov 21, 2025 · Caliph, in Islamic history, the leader of the Muslim community. The title was first used when Abu Bakr, companion of the Prophet Muhammad and an early convert to Islam, was chosen to …

  3. Who Were the Caliphs? - ThoughtCo

    May 8, 2025 · A caliph is a religious leader in Islam, believed to be the successor to the Prophet Muhammad. The caliph is the head of the "ummah," or the community of the faithful.

  4. Islamic Caliphates - World History Encyclopedia

    Dec 3, 2019 · Caliphate (“ Khilafat ” in Arabic) was a semi-religious political system of governance in Islam, in which the territories of the Islamic empire in the Middle East and North Africa and the …

  5. CALIPH Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

    The meaning of CALIPH is a successor of Muhammad as temporal and spiritual head of Islam —used as a title.

  6. List of caliphs - Wikipedia

    The first caliphate, the Rashidun Caliphate, was ruled by the four Rashidun caliphs (Arabic: الخلفاء الراشدون, lit. 'Rightly Guided Caliphs'), Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, who are considered by Sunni Muslims …

  7. Why is the head of an Islamic State called a caliph?

    Nov 10, 2024 · It simply meant that the caliph as head of the Islamic State would implement the law of sharia and look after the affairs of people according to this law. Ibn Khaldun says, “Allah made the …

  8. Caliphate | History, Empire, Meaning, & Definition | Britannica

    Dec 5, 2025 · Caliphate, the political-religious state comprising the Muslim community and the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death (632 ce) of the Prophet Muhammad.

  9. Caliph - New World Encyclopedia

    Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, nation or community of Islam. It is an Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalīfah (listen ) which means “successor,” …

  10. CALIPHATE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

    The meaning of CALIPHATE is the office of a caliph or the land he rules over.