How many Islamic caliphates were there?

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).

When was the caliphate established?

632 A.D.
The first caliphate was established in 632 A.D. after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Caliphates rose and fell in the Muslim world until 1924, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the Ottoman caliphate, essentially putting an end to the institution.

How was the institution of caliphate created?

After his death, there was no one, who could legitimately claim to be the next Prophet of Islam. No rule was made regarding the institution. That’s why after his death Islamic authority was transferred to the Ulema. In this way, the institution of Caliphate was created.

What is Islamic Caliphate?

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.

How did the Islamic Caliphate grow into a world power?

During their reigns, despite the challenges and instability that they had to deal with, the Caliphate grew from being a purely Arabian power into the largest empire world history had seen up to that point.

What challenges did the Umayyad caliphs face?

Despite these setbacks to their universalist ambitions, the Umayyad caliphs ruled a vast state, one of the largest empires in world history. This expansion caused severe stresses within the empire. Regional populations which had for centuries viewed each with hostility now found themselves living within the same political system.

What was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate?

The Umayyad dynasty. Under the Umayyads (reigned 661-750), the capital of the Caliphate was moved from Medina in Arabia to Damascus in Syria. The empire continued to expand vastly, taking in North Africa, most of Spain and much of Portugal, Transoxania in central Asia and western India.

What happened to the Caliphate after the Abbasid caliphs?

Almost as soon as the Abbasids had taken over from the Umayyads, the Caliphate began to fragment. Spain fell to a surviving member of the Umayyad clan, and owed only loose allegiance to the Caliph in distant Iraq. Elsewhere, governors drifted out of the control of the court in Baghdad.