the.com/caliph
a successor playing king, prophet, and pope, all while everyone argues who deserves the chair
means A caliph is the supreme political and religious leader of the Muslim community, regarded as a successor to the Prophet Muhammad in governing the faithful.
from From Arabic khalifa, meaning 'successor' or 'deputy' — the one who follows and stands in for another. The title khalifat rasul Allah, 'successor to the Messenger of God,' was claimed after Muhammad's death, and the word travelled into European languages through Latin and French as 'caliph.' That single idea of 'standing in someone's place' is the whole drama folded into a noun.
- title meaning
- Arabic for successor or deputy of Muhammad
- baghdad library
- Abbasid caliphs funded the era's greatest knowledge boom
- abolished 1924
- Turkey's republic erased the office overnight
- succession fight
- The debate over who counts split Islam permanently
- caliph of crime
- Word later mocked any pompous self-made ruler
umayyad caliphate — islamic empire 661-750 ce spanning from spain to central asia under caliphs like abd al-malik
abbasid caliphate — islamic empire 750-1258 ce centered in baghdad, produced figures like harun al-rashid and al-ma'mun
ottoman caliphate — turkish islamic empire 1299-1922 claiming caliphate from 1517 under sultans like suleiman the magnificent