ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

The Islamic State or the Islamic Caliphate is a term used to describe the historical period of successive states that governed under the umbrella of Islam or the Islamic Khilafah in a long period of time covering most of the Middle Ages on a vast geographical area extending from China's borders in Asia to Western Asia, North Africa, and reaching as far as Al-Andalus.

It began since the beginning of the Islamic call by Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah then the establishment of the Islamic state in Medina through the Umayyad state in Damascus which extended from China's borders to the Pyrenees mountains north of Al-Andalus then the Abbasid state, including the emirates and sultanates and states such as the Seljuk and Buyid dynasties in the Maghreb, the Idrisids, Almoravids, and Almohads in Morocco, the Hamdanids and Zengids in Syria, and the Fatimids in Egypt.

The chronological sequence

The Rashidun Caliphate

The Rashidun Caliphate or the Rashidi state is the first of the Islamic Khilafah states that emerged after the death of the Prophet Muhammad on Monday, 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, year 11 AH, corresponding to June 7, 632 AD. Medina was its capital and it was the only khilafah state where rule was not hereditary but based on consultation (shura), unlike subsequent khilafah states whose rule was based on inheritance.

The Umayyad Caliphate

The Umayyad Caliphate or the Abbasid Khilafah or the State of Banu Umayyah (41-132 AH/662-750 AD) is the second khilafah in Islamic history and the largest state in Islamic history. Banu Umayyah were the first ruling families, having ruled from 41 AH (662 AD) to 132 AH (750 AD), with Damascus as their capital. The Umayyad Caliphate reached its peak under the tenth caliph Hisham bin Abd al-Malik, extending its borders from China's eastern borders to southern France in the west, and conquering Ifriqiya, Al-Andalus, and South Gaul.

The Abbasid Caliphate

The Abbasid Caliphate or the Abbasid Khilafah is the third Islamic khilafah in history and the second Arab-Islamic dynasty. The Abbasids succeeded in overthrowing Banu Umayyah from power and took over the caliphate in 750 AD under the first caliph Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah, following the Abbasid Revolution that originated in Khurasan and resulted in the execution of most adult males of Banu Umayyah for various reasons including preventing their attempts to return to power and the killing of many relatives of the Prophet's family. The Abbasids also inherited most of the territories conquered by the Umayyads.

The Abbasid era witnessed a global opening and an end to tribal discrimination against non-Arabs, as well as the construction of Baghdad under the second caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur, establishing security in the lands, developing and transferring Arab trade routes, sciences, arts, and literature. The caliph Abdullah al-Ma'mun was particularly interested in this, and the Abbasid Caliphate lasted for more than 508 years in reality, but it experienced periods of decline and weakness after the rise of Turkish generals and later the arrival of the Buyids.