Biography of the four caliphs

List of caliphs

Caliph
خَليفة (khalīfah)
StyleAmir al-Mu'minin
ResidenceMajor caliphates
  • Medina, Saudi Arabia (632–656)
  • Kufa, Iraq (656–661, 750–762)
  • Damascus, Syria (661–744)
  • Mecca, Saudi Arabia (683–692)
  • Harran, Turkey (744–750)
  • Baghdad, Iraq (762–836, 892–1258)
  • Samarra, Iraq (836–892)
  • Cairo, Egypt (1261–1517)
  • Istanbul, Turkey (1517–1924)
  • Mecca, Saudi Arabia (1924–1925)

Parallel regional caliphates

AppointerElective (632–661)
Hereditary (since 661)
PrecursorProphet of Islam
Formation8 June 632, Medina
First holderAbu Bakr
Final holderHussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz
Abolished23 December 1925, Mecca

A caliph is the supreme religious and political leader of an Islamic state known as the caliphate.[1][2] Caliphs (also known as 'Khalifas') led the Muslim Ummah as political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad,[3] and widely-recognised caliphates have existed in various forms for mo The History of the Four Caliphs (Itmam al-Wafa fi Sirat al ...

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