DeCarlo, Carolyn. The Islamic Caliphate. Part of the Empires in the Middle Ages series. 2018. 48p. ISBN 978-1-68048-783-1. Available at 909.09 ISL on the library shelves.
Following the death of Muhammad, his closest allies created the Caliphate to settle who would lead Islam. Established both as a successor to the prophet and as his deputy, the Caliph was nominally in charge of both the political and religious side of Islam. Created in 632 CE, the Caliphate survived for over 600 years, until Mongol invasions sacked Baghdad and destroyed its remnants.
Over the course of centuries, the Caliphate evolved through four distinct phases. The Rightly Guided Caliphate transformed from a relatively remote, Arab-dominated religion to a vast Empire stretching from North Africa to India, and incorporating numerous prosperous cultures into a coherent Muslim civilization. The Umayyad Caliphate seized power away from members of Muhammad’s immediate family and expanded the borders of the Empire. Unfortunately, tribal rivalries and military conflicts with the Byzantine Empire forced another transfer of power. The Abbasid Caliphate led to a cultural boom and the growth of scholarship, as well as an improvement in administration, and is often considered the golden age of the Caliphate. Finally, the Fatimid Caliphate, first arising as a rival Caliphate to the Abbasid, eventually absorbed territories.
With crusaders coming from the West and Turks and Mongols pushing in from the East, the Caliphate was squeezed on all sides and was eventually defeated in 1258. The newly formed Ottoman Empire briefly revived the office of Caliph, to assert their claim of leadership over the Islamic world, but it soon lapsed again. The name Caliphate continues to enflamme passions. More recently, ISIS instaured a Caliphate over the areas it controlled in Syria and Iraq, but was ultimately defeated by the United States and its allies.
Titles in the Empires in the Middle Ages series include:
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