Information about the four caliphs after muhammad

A caliph is the supreme religious and political leader of an Islamic state known as the caliphate.^[1][2] Caliphs (also known as 'Khalifas') led the Muslim Ummah as political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad,^[3] and widely-recognised caliphates have existed in various forms for most of Islamic history.^[4]

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 to have been the most virtuous and pure caliphs. They were chosen by popular acclamation or by a small committee, in contrast with the following caliphates, which were mostly hereditary.^[5] On the other hand, Shiites only recognise Ali and consider the first three caliphs to be usurpers.

The Rashidun caliphate ended with the First Fitna, which transferred authority to the Umayyad dynasty that presided over the Umayyad Caliphate, the largest caliphate and the last one to actively rule the entire Muslim world.^[6]

The Abbasid Revolution overthrew the Ummayads and instituted the Abbasid dynasty which ruled over the Abbasid Caliphate.^[7] The Abbassid Caliphate was initially strong and united, but gradually fractured into several states whose rulers only paid lip service to the caliph in Baghdad. There were also rivals to the Abbasids who claimed the caliphates for themselves, such as the Isma'ili ShiaFatimids, the Sunni Ummayyads in Córdoba and the Almohads, who followed their own doctrine. When Baghdad fell to the Mongols, the Abbassid family relocated to Cairo, where they continued to claim caliphal authority, but had no political power, and actual authority was in the hands of the Mamluk Sultanate.

After the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil III was taken to Constantinople, where he surrendered the caliphate to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. The caliphate then remained in the House of Osman until after the First World War. The Ottoman Sultanate was abolished in 1922 by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The head of the House of Osman, Abdülmecid II, retained the title of caliph for two more years, after which the caliphate was abolished in 1924.

In March 1924, when the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished, Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz proclaimed himself Caliph. In October 1924, facing defeat by Ibn Saud, he abdicated and was succeeded as king by his eldest son Ali bin Hussein. After Hejaz was subsequently completely conquered by the Ibn Saud-Wahhabi armies of the Ikhwan, on 23 December 1925, Hussein surrendered to the Saudis, bringing the Kingdom of Hejaz, the Sharifate of Mecca and the Sharifian Caliphate to an end.^{[nb 1][8]}

Rashidun Caliphate (632–661)

Main articles: Rashidun and Rashidun Caliphate

Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)

Main article: Umayyad Caliphate

Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258)

Main article: Abbasid Caliphate

During the later period of Abbasid rule, Muslim rulers began using other titles, such as Amir al-umara and Sultan.

Mamluk Abbasid dynasty (1261–1517)

Main article: Mamluk Sultanate

The Cairo Abbasids were largely ceremonial Caliphs under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate that existed after the takeover of the Ayyubid dynasty.^[9][10]

Ottoman Caliphate (1517–1924)

Main article: Ottoman Caliphate

The head of the Ottoman dynasty was just entitled Sultan originally, but soon it started accumulating titles assumed from subjected peoples.^[11][12]Murad I (reigned 1362–1389) was the first Ottoman claimant to the title of Caliph; claimed the title after conqueringEdirne.^[13]

The Office of the Ottoman Caliphate was transferred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey which dissolved the office on March 3, 1924, in keeping with the policies of secularism that were adopted in the early years of the Republic of Turkey by its PresidentMustafa Kemal Atatürk. After the abolition of the Caliphate, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey founded the Presidency of Religious Affairs as the new highest Islamic religious authority in the country.

Other caliphates

Hasan ibn Ali's Caliphate (661)

Main article: Hasan ibn Ali

It was an extension of the Rashidun Caliphate. After Ali was killed, the governor of Syria Mu'awiya led his army toward Kufa, where Ali's son Hasan ibn Ali had been nominated as Ali's successor. Mu'awiya successfully bribed Ubayd Allah ibn Abbas, the commander of Hasan's vanguard, to desert his post, and sent envoys to negotiate with Hasan. In return for a financial settlement, Hasan abdicated and Mu'awiya entered Kufa in July or September 661 and was recognized as caliph. This year is considered by a number of the early Muslim sources as 'the year of unity' and is generally regarded as the start of Mu'awiya's caliphate. Hasan abdicated as caliph after ruling for six or seven months.

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's Caliphate (684–692)

Main article: Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, a grandson of the first caliph Abu Bakar and a nephew of Aisha, the third wife of Muhammad, led an uprising against the Umayyad Caliphate in 684 AD. He was proclaimed caliph in Mecca. He ruled Mecca and Medina, the most important places in Islam, for about eight years; outlasting three Ummayad rulers: Yazid ibn Muawiyah, Muawiyah ibn Yazid, and Marwan ibn Al-Hakam. Islamic scholars consider him to be the rightful caliph instead of Marwan ibn Al-Hakam. He was eventually defeated and killed in Mecca in 692 AD after a six-month siege by general Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.^[20]

Talib al-Haqq (747–748)

Main article: Talib al-Haqq

Fatimid Empire(909–1171)

Main articles: Fatimid Caliphate and List of Fatimid caliphs