''History of the Caliphs'' () is a book written by
al-Suyuti (c. 1445-1505), the classic
Sunni scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...
. It was published in English in 1881 in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
and republished in English at Oriental Press in 1970.
The book covers several periods:
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Rashidun Caliphate
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Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
*
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
*
Fatimid Caliphate
Translation
''The History of the Khalifahs who took the Right Way'' is a partial translation of ''History of the Caliphs''.
Its translator, Abdassamad Clarke, chose to translate the biographies of the first four "Rightly Guided Caliphs" adding to them Imam
Hasan ibn Ali
Hasan ibn Ali ( ar, الحسن بن علي, translit=Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; ) was a prominent early Islamic figure. He was the eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He briefly ruled as caliph from Jan ...
, because of his action in healing the divisions in the early community and, according to Sunni Muslims' opinion, legitimately handing power over to
Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
.
External links
Review of Suyuti's Tarikh al-Khulafah (History of the Caliphs)Urdu Translation of Suyuti's Tarikh al-Khulafa
15th-century history books
Caliphs
Sunni literature
Books about monarchs
Books by al-Suyuti
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