Caliph
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: Calif
Successors of Mohammed in temporal and spiritual matters; after the first four successors of Mohammed the caliphate passed through various dynasties — Umayyad, Abbasid, Seljuk, Turkoman, etc. In 1538 the Sultan of Turkey, Selim I, declared himself Caliph and the title rested with the sultanate until 1922 when both sultanate and caliphate were suppressed.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Caliph” mean?
Successors of Mohammed in temporal and spiritual matters; after the first four successors of Mohammed the caliphate passed through various dynasties — Umayyad, Abbasid, Seljuk, Turkoman, etc. In 1538 the Sultan of Turkey, Selim I, declared himself Caliph and the title rested with the sultanate until 1922 when both sultanate and caliphate were suppressed.
Is “Caliph” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.