The Early Caliphs and Dynasties of Islam
After the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, a new leader of the Muslim community was selected. This leader was known as a "caliph," which comes from from the Arabic word "khalifah" meaning "successor selected by God".
The caliph led a political-religious government known as a caliphate, which soon grew into an empire.
The first four caliphs are known as the Rashidun Caliphate, meaning the "Rightly Guided Caliphs". Each was connected to Muhammed and known for their leadership and piety.
During their reigns, the caliphate grew from being a purely Arabian power into one of the largest empires in history. The Islamic Empire covered territory from Egypt in the West to Persia in the East.
By the end of the Rashidun Caliphate in 661, the Islamic Empire controlled the Arabian Peninsula, much of North Africa, the Iranian Plateau, and parts of Central Asia and South Asia in the east.
The first of the Rashidun Caliphate was Abu Bakr, who led from 632-634. Abu Bakr was known as "The Truthful". He successfully stopped rebellions in the region and firmly established the Caliphate as the ruler of the region.
The second caliph was Umar ibn al-Khattab who ruled from 634-644. He greatly expanded the Islamic Empire and successfully took control of the Middle East and neighboring regions of Egypt, Syria, and North Africa.
The third caliph, Uthman, ruled from 644-656. He was a second cousin and son-in-law to Muhammad. As caliph, Uthman established and standardized the Quran as the official holy book of Islam.
The last caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate was Ali ibn Abi Talib who ruled from 656-661. He was known for his wisdom and speeches. Ali was assassinated in 661 and shortly after the the Umayyad Dynasty took control of the Islamic Empire. The Umayyad Caliphate would rule nearly the next hundred years.
Under the Umayyad Dynasty, the empire expanded rapidly to include parts of Northern Africa, Western India, and Spain.
At its peak, the Umayyad Dynasty was one of the largest empires in the history of the world. The Umayyad unified the empire through several efforts such as making Arabic the official language and establishing a common form of currency and system of measurements.