Hasan ibn Ali's Caliphate (661)

After Ali was killed, the governor of Syria Mu'awiya led his army toward Kufa, where Ali's son Hasan ibn Ali had been nominated as Ali's successor.^[14][15] Mu'awiya successfully bribed Ubayd Allah ibn Abbas, the commander of Hasan's vanguard, to desert his post, and sent envoys to negotiate with Hasan.^[16] In return for a financial settlement, Hasan abdicated and Mu'awiya entered Kufa in July or September 661 and was recognized as caliph. This year is considered by a number of the early Muslim sources as 'the year of unity' and is generally regarded as the start of Mu'awiya's caliphate.^[17][18] Hasan abdicated as caliph after ruling for six or seven months.

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's Caliphate (684–692)

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, the nephew of Aisha, the third wife of Muhammad, led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in 684 AD. He was proclaimed caliph in Mecca but was defeated and killed there in 692 AD after a six-month siege by general Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.^[19]

Talib al-Haqq (747–748)

Fatimid Caliphate (909–1171)

Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031)

(Not universally accepted; actual authority confined to Spain and parts of Maghreb)^[20][21]

Almohad Caliphate (1145–1269)

(Not widely accepted, actual dominions were parts of North Africa and Iberia)^[22][23]

• Ibn Tumart 1121–1130
• Abd al-Mu'min 1130–1163
• Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I 1163–1184
• Abu Yusuf Ya'qub 'al-Mansur' 1184–1199
• Muhammad al-Nasir 1199–1213
• Abu Ya'qub Yusuf II 'al-Mustansir' 1213–1224
• Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid I 'al-Makhlu' 1224
• Abdallah al-Adil 1224–1227
• Yahya 'al-Mutasim' 1227–1229
• Abu al-Ala Idris I al-Ma'mun, 1229–1232
• Abu Muhammad Abd al-Wahid II 'al-Rashid' 1232–1242
• Abu al-Hassan Ali 'al-Said' 1242–1248
• Abu Hafs Umar 'al-Murtada', 1248–1266
• Abu al-Ula (Abu Dabbus) Idris II 'al-Wathiq' 1266–1269

Bornu and Songhai Empires (15th/16th century)

Several rulers of West Africa adopted the title of Caliph. Mai Ali Ghaji ibn Dunama was the first ruler of Bornu Empire to assume the title. Askia Mohammad I of Songhai Empire also assumed the title around the same time.^[24]

Indian caliphates (late medieval/early modern)

Since the 12th century, despite the South Asian domination of numerous Muslim empires, kingdoms and sultanates, Islamic caliphates were not fully attempted to be established across the Indian subcontinent. However, under the sharia based reigns of Sunni emperors such as Alauddin Khalji, Mughal Empire's Aurangzeb, and Mysore's rulers Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, absolute forms of caliphates were clearly to have appeared. These largely impacted the French-Italian emperor Napoleone Bonaparte and soldiers of the British Empire.^{[25][26][27][28]}

Sokoto Caliphate (1804–1903)

(Not widely accepted, actual dominions were parts of West Africa)

Established by Tariqa Islamic scholar and religious leader Usman dan Fodio through the Fulani War (alternatively known as the Fulani Jihad), which sought to reduce the influence of pre-Islamic religious practices and spread a more vigorous form of Islam through the auspices of a Caliphate.

Ahmadiyya Caliphate (1908–present)

The Khalīfatul Masīh (Arabic: خليفة المسيح; Urdu: خلیفہ المسیح; English: Successor of the Messiah), sometimes simply referred to as Khalifah (i.e. Caliph, successor), is the elected spiritual and organizational leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who had taken the titles of Mahdi and Messiah of Islam.^{[nb 2]} The Caliph is believed to be divinely guided and is also referred to by members of current Khalifatul Masih is Mirza Masroor Ahmad.

After the death of Ghulam Ahmad, his successors directed the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community from Qadian in Punjab, British India, which remained the headquarters of the community until 1947 with the independence of Pakistan. From this time on, the headquarters moved to and remained in Rabwah, a town built on land bought in Pakistan by the community in 1948. In 1984, Ordinance XX was promulgated by the government of Pakistan which rendered the Khalifatul Masih unable to perform his duties and put the very institution in jeopardy. Due to these circumstances, Khalifatul Masih IV left Pakistan and migrated to London, England, provisionally moving the headquarters to the Fazl Mosque.^[32]

Sharifian Caliphate (1924–1925)

A last attempt at restoring the caliphal office and style with ecumenical recognition was made by Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz and Sharif of Mecca, who assumed both on 11 March 1924 and held them until 3 October 1924, when he passed the kingship to his son `Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Hashimi, who did not adopt the caliphal office and style.^[33] Like the Fatimid caliphs, he was a descendant of Muhammad through a grandson of Hasan ibn Ali. Hussein's claim for caliphate was not accepted by the Wahhabi and Salafi movements, and in 1925 he was driven from Hejaz by the forces of Ibn Saud as an outcome of the Second Saudi-Hashemite War. He continued to use the title of caliph during his remaining life in exile, until his death in 1931.

Islamic State (2014–present)

On 29 June 2014, the Islamic State proclaimed the return of the Islamic caliphate, with its first caliph as Amir al-Mu'minin Abu Bakr Ibrahim bin Awwad Al-Badri Al-Husaini Al-Hashimi Al-Quraishi As-sammera'i al-Baghdadi.^[34][35] The caliphate's claimed territory at its peak controlled 12 million people. At its height, Islamic State ruled territories in various countries including Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Nigeria, Libya, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Congo, Yemen, and the Sinai region in Egypt, in addition to running guerrilla cells in many other countries.^{[36][37][failed verification]}

In 2014–15, dozens of Salafi Jihadi groups^[38] and scholars^[39] around the world pledged allegiance to ISIL-claimed Caliphate.

On 10 April 2018, during a rally of U.S. President Donald Trump in Elkhart, Indiana in support of Mike Braun’s bid for the US Senate, Vice President Mike Pence referred to ISIS as a Caliphate, claiming "ISIS is on the run, their Caliphate has crumbled, and we will soon drive them out of existence once and for all."^[40]

The Islamic State of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the militant jihadist organization prescribed by many states as a terrorist organization, and the founding organization of the Islamic State caliphate. Were severely degraded in operational capability, subscribers and territorial control during the military intervention in Iraq and Syria by the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh, and in Syria by the Russian military intervention.^[41]

As of early, 2022 Islamic State occupies some territory in Nigeria and has 3 million people under its rule;^[42] and also it continues to maintain control over some rural uninhabited areas in both Iraq and Syria^[43][44]