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Al-Faḍl b. Sahl b. Zādhānfarrūkh (b. c. 154/771, d. 202/817–8) was an important ʿAbbāsid administrator ( kātib, wazīr, and amīr). He served as mentor to ʿAbdallāh al-Maʾmūn, the son of the caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd (r. 170–93/786–809), and then as al-Maʾmūn’s advisor, secretary, governor general in the east, and head of his civil and military administration (al-Maʾmūn was to reign as caliph 198–218/813–33). Because al-Faḍl’s brother, al-Ḥasan b. Sahl (d. 236/850–1), worked for al-Maʾmūn in Baghdad since the fourth ci…

This entry examines the title, conventions, periodisation, and institutions of the caliphate up to 923/ 1517, when the Ottomans conquered Egypt and relocated the last ʿAbbāsid caliph, al-Mutawakkil III, to Istanbul, their capital. The Arabic word khalīfa (pl. khulafāʾ or khalāʾif ) means literally “successor,” “deputy,” “vice-gerent,” “inheritor,” and “substitute.” It is used as a title of the leader of the Muslim community after the death of the prophet Muḥammad (10/632). Various forms of the word were used to denote not only the ruler ( khalīfa) but also his office and reign ( khilāfa…