 阿拉伯帝国 The term caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) refers to the first form of government inspired by Islam. It was initially led by Muhammad's disciples as a continuation of the political authority the prophet established, known as the 'rashidun caliphates'. It represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah, and was the world's fist major welfare state on such a large scale. The term is also used to refer to a state which implements such a government.
Sunni Islam dictates that the head of state, the caliph, should be selected by Shura, elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam believe the caliph should be an imam descended in a line from the Ahl al-Bayt. From the time of Muhammad until 1924, after the Rashidun period; caliphates, sometimes two at a single time real and illusory, were ruled by dynasties; firstly the Umayyads, then the Abbasids, the Fatimids, and finally the Ottomans.
The caliphate was "the core political concept of Sunni Islam, by the consensus of the Muslim majority in the early centuries.".
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