Caliphate (Noun)
Meaning 1
The era of Islam's ascendancy from the death of Mohammed until the 13th century; some Moslems still maintain that the Moslem world must always have a calif as head of the community; "their goal was to reestablish the Caliphate".
Classification
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations.
Examples
- The Ottoman Empire claimed to be the rightful heir to the caliphate, the Islamic institution that had governed much of the Middle East for centuries.
- In the aftermath of the Prophet's death, the Islamic world was united under the Rashidun Caliphate, a period of Islamic history that is still revered by many Muslims today.
- Their goal was to reestablish the Caliphate and create a global Islamic state based on Sharia law.
- The Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled from 661 to 750, was marked by a period of rapid expansion and conquest of new territories.
- Some Islamist groups still believe that the caliphate must be reestablished in order to restore the Islamic world to its former glory.
Meaning 2
The territorial jurisdiction of a caliph.
Classification
Nouns denoting spatial position.
Examples
- The Islamic caliphate at its peak encompassed a vast territory stretching from Spain to India.
- The Abbasid caliphate flourished in the Middle Ages, with Baghdad as its capital and center of learning.
- After the Mongol invasions, the caliphate's territorial control was severely diminished.
- The Rashidun caliphate, the first of its kind, lasted from the death of the Prophet Muhammad to the end of the Second Fitna.
- The vast caliphate of the Umayyad dynasty in the 8th century encompassed territories in Europe, Africa, and Asia.