Caliphate Inclusive years Leaders Significant contributions

Rāshidun Caliphate 632–661 Abū Bakr (reigned The Rashidun Caliphate

632–634), greatly expanded Islam
Umar ibn al-Khattab beyond
(reigned 634–644), Arabia, conquering all
Uthman of Persia, besides Syria
ibn Affan (reigned (637),
644–656), andAli ibn Armenia (639), Egypt
Abi (639) and Cyprus (654).
Talib (reigned 656–661). Under Umar, the
Rashidun forces
decisively defeated the
Eastern Roman Empire,
ending their rule in
Syria and claiming it for
the Muslims. This, along
with other key victories,
brings great wealth to
the caliphate. Umar
decides to start
distributing it in the
form of allowances to
various important
figures, including
Muhammad’s surviving
family and the earliest
Muslims.

Umar institutes the

Muslim calendar, which
starts in the
year 639, in reference
to the Hejira,
Muhammad’s journey
from Mecca to Medina.
Umayyad Caliphate 661 to 750 Abu Sufyan ibn Harb •Built some of the most
revered buildings of
Islamic history including
the Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem and the
Umayyad Mosque in
Damascus.
Abbāsid Caliphate 750 to 754 As-Saffah • Supporting the
mawali, or non-Arab
Muslims, by moving the
capital to Baghdad in
762 CE. The Persian
 bureaucracy slowly
replaced the old Arab
aristocracy as the
Abbasids established
the new positions of
vizier and emir to
delegate their central
authority.
Abbasid Caliphs at 920 to 1258 Al-Musta'sim •Their time represented
Baghdad a scientific, cultural and
religious flowering.
Islamic art and music
also flourished
significantly during their
reign. Their major city
and capital
Baghdad began to
flourish as a center of
knowledge, culture and
trade. This period of
cultural fruition ended
in 1258 with the sack of
Baghdad by the
Mongols under Hulagu
Khan.
Under the Mamluk 1261 to 1517 Al-Mutawakkil III It provided the
Sultanate of Cairo government with a
stable force to address
domestic and foreign
problems.
However, creation of
this foreign army and
al-Mu'tasim's transfer
of the capital from
Baghdad to Samarra
created a division
between the caliphate
and the peoples they
claimed to rule. In
addition, the power of
the Mamluks steadily
grew until al-Radi (934–
941) was constrained to
hand over most of the
royal functions to
Muhammad ibn Ra'iq
Fatimid Caliphate 909 to 1171 Abdullah Contributed to
 al-Mahdi Billah humanity's
intellectual and
cultural evolution.
They were extremely
ambitious to build
academic
organizations and
libraries. These
caliphs encouraged
scientific research and
philosophy as well.
•Represented the peak
of Ismaili political
success.
•The Fatimids achieved
great accomplishments
in astronomy and
building enormous
astronomical towers
such as Al-Jayush, built
in Cairo and Al-Ma-
mun. In 1006, a Muslim
astronomer named Ali
bin Radwan saw a
supernova and wrote a
book about his detailed
observations.
Almohad Caliphate 1147 to 1269 Ibn Tumart •Was a North African
Berber Muslim empire
founded in the 12th
century. The Almohads
first established a
Berber state in Tinmel
in the Atlas Mountains.
Ayyubid Caliphate 1171 to 1260 Saladin •The Ayyubid Empire
overtook the Fatimids
by incorporating the
empire into the Abbasid
Caliphate. However,
Saladin himself has
been a widely
celebrated Caliph in
Islamic history.
Ottoman Caliphate 1517 to 1924 Osman I •During the period of
Ottoman expansion,
Ottoman rulers claimed
caliphal authority since
 the conquest and
unification of Muslim
lands under Selim I
between 1516 and
1517, which bestowed
the title of Defender of
the Holy Cities of Mecca
and Medina upon him
and strengthened the
Ottoman claim to
caliphate in the Muslim
Bornu Caliphate 1472 to 1893 Kanem- Bornu •Its rulers held the title
of Caliph until 1893,
when it was absorbed
into the
British Colony of Nigeria
and Northern
Cameroones
Protectorate. The
British recognized them
as the
'Sultans of Bornu,' one
step down in Muslim
royal titles. After
Nigeria became
independent, its rulers
became the 'Emirs of
Bornu,' another step
down.