caliphate

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun 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
noun the territorial jurisdiction of a caliph
noun the office of a caliph

From Medieval Latin calīphātus, equivalent to caliph + -ate.

If, instead of being merely a rebellious Pasha, he had placed himself at the head of the Arabs, and revived the Caliphate, you would have seen something. — Tancred; Or, The New Crusade, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield Disraeli
The Turkish empire, weak, ill-governed, repeatedly threatened with dismemberment, embarrassed internally by the conflict of races, has been preserved for the last hundred years by its incorporation with the faith of Islam, by the Sultan's claim to the Caliphate. — Studies in Literature and History, Alfred C., Sir Lyall

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