Rulers of the Islamic World Throughout History
The Islamic world has been shaped over the centuries by a succession of rulers across different dynasties. From the Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidūn to the Abbasid and Ottoman houses, each era left its own mark, in form and in substance. What follows is a timeline of Islamic leadership, listing the principal rulers and the years of their reigns.
The Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidūn (11–41 AH / 632–662 CE):
- Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (raḍ.) (11-13 AH)
- ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍ.) (13-23 AH)
- ʿUthmān b. ʿAffān (raḍ.) (23-30 AH)
- ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (raḍ.) (30-40 AH)
- al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (raḍ.) (40-41 AH)
Umayyad Dynasty (41–132 AH / 661–750 CE)
- Muʿāwiyah b. Abī Sufyān (41-60 AH)
- Yazīd b. Muʿāwiyah (60-64 AH)
- Muʿāwiyah b. Yazīd (64-64 AH)
- Marwān
- ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān (65-86 AH)
- al-Walīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik (86-96 AH)
- Sulaymān b. ʿAbd al-Malik (96-99 AH)
- ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (99-101 AH)
- Yazīd b. ʿAbd al-Malik (101-105 AH)
- Hishām b. ʿAbd al-Malik (105-125 AH)
- al-Walīd b. Yazīd (125-126 AH)
- Yazīd b. al-Walīd (126-126 AH)
- Ibrāhīm b. al-Walīd (126-127 AH)
- Marwān b. Muḥammad (127-132 AH)
Abbasid Dynasty (132–656 AH / 750–1258 CE)
- ʿAbd al-ʿAbbās (132-136 AH)
- Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr (136-158 AH)
- Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Mahdī (158-169 AH)
- Mūsā al-Hādī (169-170 AH)
- Hārūn al-Rashīd (170-193 AH)
- al-Amīn b. Hārūn (193-198 AH)
- al-Maʾmūn b. Hārūn (198-218 AH)
- al-Muʿtaṣim b. Hārūn (218-227 AH)
- al-Wāthiq Billāh (227-232 AH)
- al-Mutawakkil ʿAlā Allāh (232-247 AH)
- al-Muntaṣir Billāh (247-248 AH)
- al-Mustaʿīn Billāh (247-252 AH)
- al-Muʿtazz Billāh (252-255 AH)
- Abū Isḥāq al-Mahdī (255-256 AH)
- Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Muʿtamid (256-279 AH)
- al-Muʿtaḍid Billāh (279-289 AH)
- al-Muktafī Billāh (289-295 AH)
- al-Muqtadir Billāh (295-317 AH)
- Abū al-Faḍl (317-320 AH)
- Abū Manṣūr al-Qāhir (320-322 AH)
- al-Rāḍī Billāh (322-329 AH)
- Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Muttaqī Billāh (329-333 AH)
- al-Muṭīʿ Lillāh (334-363 AH)
- al-Ṭāʾiʿ Lillāh (363-381 AH)
- al-Qādir Billāh (381-422 AH)
- al-Qāʾim bi-Amri Allāh (422-467 AH)
- al-Muqtadī Billāh (467-487 AH)
- al-Mustaẓhir Billāh (487-512 AH)
- al-Mustarshid Billāh (512-529 AH)
- al-Rāshid Billāh (529-530 AH)
- al-Muqtafī li-Amri Allāh (530-555 AH)
- al-Mustanjid Billāh (555-566 AH)
- al-Mustaḍīʾ Billāh (566-575 AH)
- al-Nāṣir li-Dīni Allāh (575-622 AH)
- al-Ẓāhir bi-Amri Allāh (622-623 AH)
- al-Mustanṣir Billāh (623-640 AH)
- al-Mustaʿṣim Billāh (640-656 AH)
Ottoman Dynasty (698–1342 AH / 1299–1924 CE)
- ʿUthmān Ghāzī b. Erṭughrul (698-726 AH)
- Orḥān Ghāzī b. ʿUthmān (726-763 AH)
- Murād al-Awwal (the First) b. Orḥān (763-791 AH)
- Bāyazīd al-Awwal (791-804 AH)
- Muḥammad Çelebi al-Awwal (816-824 AH)
- Murād al-Thānī (the Second) (824-855 AH)
- Muḥammad al-Thānī (al-Fātiḥ) (855-886 AH)
- Bāyazīd al-Thānī (886-918 AH)
- Salīm al-Awwal (918-926 AH)
- Sulaymān al-Qānūnī (926-974 AH)
- Salīm al-Thānī (974-982 AH)
- Murād al-Thālith (the Third) (982-1003 AH)
- Muḥammad al-Thālith (1003-1012 AH)
- Aḥmad al-Awwal (1012-1026 AH)
- Muṣṭafā al-Awwal (1026-1027 AH)
- ʿUthmān al-Thānī (1027-1031 AH)
- Murād al-Rābiʿ (the Fourth) (1032-1049 AH)
- Ibrāhīm al-ʿAṣabī (1049-1058 AH)
- Muḥammad al-Rābiʿ (1058-1099 AH)
- Sulaymān al-Thānī (1099-1102 AH)
- Aḥmad al-Thānī (1102-1106 AH)
- Muṣṭafā al-Thānī (1106-1110 AH)
- Aḥmad al-Thālith (1110-1143 AH)
- Maḥmūd al-Awwal (1143-1168 AH)
- ʿUthmān al-Thālith (1168-1171 AH)
- Muṣṭafā al-Thālith (1171-1187 AH)
- ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Awwal (1187-1203 AH)
- Salīm al-Thālith (1203-1222 AH)
- Muṣṭafā al-Rābiʿ (1222-1223 AH)
- Maḥmūd al-Thānī (1223-1255 AH)
- ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Awwal (1255-1277 AH)
- ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Shahīd (1277-1293 AH)
- Murād al-Khāmis (the Fifth) (1293-1293 AH)
- ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Thānī (1293-1327 AH)
- Muḥammad Rashād al-Thānī (1327-1336 AH)
- Muḥammad Waḥīd al-Sādis (the Sixth) (1336-1341 AH)
- ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Thānī (the last caliph of Islam) (1341-1342 AH) – (Khilafah abolished in 1924)
Typed up by ʿAbd al-Ḥannān, with help from Riḍwān.