Caliphs subordinate to non-Arabs

Caliphs subordinate to non-Arabs

Early in the first half of the 10th century, the fourth century in the Islamic calendar, there was a drastic change in ruling ethnicity, when the Abbasids became unprecedentedly weak and gave way to the Persian Buyid dynasty. For a time, Abbasids and Buyids shared the throne, only for the latter to become the very sultans who eclipsed the caliph, which ultimately became nothing more than an honorary position.

In the 11th century, the fifth in the Islamic calendar, the Seljuk Empire emerged to replace the Buyid dynasty, while the Abbasid caliph remained unscathed in his Baghdad-based palace.

The Mongol siege of Baghdad began in mid-January 1258 and lasted a mere two weeks. Entering the city, the Mongols laid waste to its mosques, hospitals, libraries, and palaces. It is said that so many books were thrown into the Tigris that the river ran black with the ink

In 1063, for the first time in the history of Sunni caliphates, Caliph Al-Qa'im Bi-Amrillah had no choice but to agree to marry his daughter to Seljuk Sultan Tughril, who perhaps was seeking to establish a new dynasty of Turkish and Arab blood. He never realised such aspirations, however, since he died without leaving an heir apparent.

In 1258, the Mongols entered Baghdad and killed Caliph Al-Musta'sim Billah. Several years later, Mamluk Sultan Baibars summoned one of the Abbasids to Cairo and appointed him as the new caliph, naming him Al-Hakim Bi-Amrillah.

Baibars' move can be interpreted as an attempt to legitimise Mamluk rule, given that Sunni Mamluks, owing to their non-Arab origins could not claim the title for themselves, not to mention the fact that they were originally slaves of unknown parentage.

The Abbasid caliphs were barely any different from their ancestors the Buyids and Seljuks. Their main role was basically to lead prayers and public congregations.

A  notable change to the dialectic of the ruling race occurred in 1517, when Ottoman Sultan Selim I defeated Mamluks in the Battle of Ridaniya, forcing Caliph Al-Mutawakkil III to step down, thus becoming the first ever caliph with Turkish origins. His sons and grandsons inherited the caliph title until Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the Islamic Caliphate. Abdulmecid II was the last caliph of Islam.