Hasan ibn Ali's caliphate (661) 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 by his followers in Iraq. 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.
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's caliphate (684–692) Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, a grandson of the first caliph
Abu Bakr and a nephew of
Aisha, the third wife of
Muhammad, led
an uprising against the
Umayyad Caliphate in 684 CE. He was proclaimed caliph in
Mecca. He ruled Mecca and
Medina, the most important places in Islam, for about eight years; outlasting three Umayyad 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 after a six-month
siege by general
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.
Talib al-Haqq (747–748) Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031) (Not universally accepted; actual authority confined to Spain and parts of Maghreb) Almohad Caliphate (1145–1269) ambassadors meeting Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtaḍā, from the
Cantigas de Santa Maria.
(Not widely accepted, actual dominions were parts of North Africa and Iberia) •
Abd al-Mu'min 1130–1163 •
Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I 1163–1184 •
Abu Yusuf Ya'qub 'al-Mansur' 1184–1199 •
Muhammad al-Nasir 1199–1213 •
Abu Ya'qub Yusuf II 'al-Mustansir' 1213–1224 •
Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid I 'al-Makhlu' 1224 •
Abdallah al-Adil 1224–1227 •
Yahya 'al-Mutasim' 1227–1229 •
Abu al-Ala Idris I al-Ma'mun, 1229–1232 •
Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid II 'al-Rashid' 1232–1242 •
Abu al-Hassan Ali 'al-Said' 1242–1248 •
Abu Hafs Umar 'al-Murtada', 1248–1266 •
Abu al-Ula (Abu Dabbus) Idris II 'al-Wathiq' 1266–1269 {{tree chart |B1|AC|B3|B4|B5|B6|B7|B8|B9|B10|B11|B12|B13|B14|B15 {{tree chart |AC |C2 | C3 | C4 | C5 | C6 |C7 | ||| C8 | | | | D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 {{tree chart |G1|G2x|G3|G4|G5|G6|G7||||E1|E2|E3| | | |F1|F2|F3|F4 {{tree chart |H1|H2|H3|H4|H5||||I1|I2
Hafsid Caliphate (1249–1574) The Hafsids claimed their descent from
Rashidun caliph
Omar. After the fall of Baghdad,
Marinid sultan
Abu Yusuf Yaqub and
Sharif of Mecca Abu Numayy recognized the Hafsids in 1258 and 1259 respectively.
Bornu and Songhai Empires (15th/16th century) Several rulers of West Africa adopted the title of Caliph. Mai Ali Ghaji ibn Dunama was the first ruler of
Bornu Empire to assume the title.
Askia Mohammad I of
Songhai Empire also assumed the title around the same time.
Indian caliphates (late medieval/early modern) Despite the domination of
South Asia by Muslim empires, kingdoms and sultanates, from the 12th century onwards, Islamic
caliphates were not universally established across the
Indian subcontinent. However, caliphates were established under the
sharia-based reigns of Sunni emperors such as
Alauddin Khalji, the
Mughal Empire's
Aurangzeb, and
Mysore's rulers
Hyder Ali and
Tipu Sultan.
Sokoto Caliphate (1804–1903) (Not widely accepted, actual dominions were parts of West Africa) Established by Tariqa Islamic scholar and religious leader
Usman dan Fodio through the
Fulani War (alternatively known as the Fulani Jihad), which sought to reduce the influence of pre-Islamic religious practices and spread a more vigorous form of Islam through the auspices of a Caliphate.
Ahmadiyya Caliphate (1908–present) The
Khalīfatul Masīh (; ; ), sometimes simply referred to as
Khalifah (i.e. Caliph, successor), is the elected spiritual and organizational leader of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a minority community with followers in different countries, and is the successor of
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, whom the community regards as
Mahdi and
Messiah of Islam.The current Caliph of the Ahmadiyya community is
Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
Sharifian Caliphate (1924–1925) An attempt at restoring the caliphal office and style following the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate was made by
Hussein bin Ali,
King of Hejaz and
Sharif of Mecca, who assumed both on 11 March 1924 and held them until 3 October 1924, when he passed the kingship to his son
Ali bin Hussein, who did not adopted the caliphal office and style. Like the Fatimid caliphs, he was a descendant of Muhammad through a grandson of
Hasan ibn Ali. Hussein's claim for caliphate was not accepted by the
Wahhabi and
Salafi movements, and in 1925 he was driven from Hejaz by the forces of
Ibn Saud as an outcome of the
Second Saudi-Hashemite War. He continued to use the title of caliph during his remaining life in exile, until his death in 1931. 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. ==Notes==