Editing Caliphate (section)

{{Short description|Islamic form of government}}
{{Redirect|Caliph|other uses|Caliph (disambiguation)|and|Caliphate (disambiguation)}}
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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|خِلَافَةْ|translit=khilāfah}} {{IPA|ar|xi'laːfah|}}) 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|خَلِيفَةْ}} {{tlit|ar|khalīfa}} {{IPA|ar|xæ'liːfæh|}}, {{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]]. An attempt to preserve the title was tried, with the [[Sharifian Caliphate]], but this caliphate fell quickly after its conquest by the [[Sultanate of Nejd]] (present-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]] (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.