The Ottoman Caliphate

The Ottoman Caliphate (Turkish: Osmanlı Halifeliği) refers to the title of "caliph" — meaning the general leader who represents Sunni Muslims — as used by the Ottoman sultans over several centuries. The caliphate was not a state separate from the Ottoman Empire; it was a religious office bound up with the office of sultan. Its formal beginning is conventionally dated to 1517, when Selim I conquered the Mamluk state, and its end to 3 March 1924, when the Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolished it.

The Ottoman Caliphate matters in the history of Islamic politics because it was the last time this centuries-old institution had a formal seat. Its fall in 1924 opened a wide debate in the Muslim world: is the existence of a caliph a religious obligation, or a historical form of government that can be replaced? That debate has not ended.

Origins and the account of the 1517 transfer

In 1517, following Selim I's victory over the Mamluks of Egypt, the Abbasid caliph in Cairo, al-Mutawakkil III, was brought to Istanbul. A widely known account holds that he formally transferred the office of caliph to Selim. Many historians argue that this account was created centuries later, and that no contemporary evidence has been found to support such a formal ceremony. The Ottomans had already been using the terms "caliph" and "imam" loosely, as other Muslim dynasties did.

1774: the caliphate as a diplomatic instrument

The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca of 21 July 1774, concluded with Russia after a military defeat, recognized that the Muslims of the Crimean Khanate — which had politically left Istanbul's rule — still had a religious link to the Ottoman sultan as caliph. This was the first time the sultan diplomatically claimed religious authority beyond his own borders. Some analysts describe this as a major shift; others argue that the significance of 1774 has been exaggerated.

Abdul Hamid II and the politics of Islamic unity

Under Abdul Hamid II (1876–1909), the caliphate became an active political instrument. The government used the press, agents abroad, and projects such as the Hejaz Railway to strengthen ties with Muslims living in lands colonized by Britain, France and Russia. The aim was for a state of declining strength to draw power from religious recognition. The colonial powers watched this closely, since hundreds of millions of Muslims lived in their territories.

The Horn of Africa and Ottoman ties

In the Horn of Africa, the Ottomans reached the Red Sea coasts in the 16th century. In 1557 the Habesh Eyalet was established, and Özdemir Pasha took Zeila. Zeila and its surrounding districts were under Ottoman administration for a period, later passing to Egypt (the Khedivate) in the 19th century. These ties were commercial and strategic more than a matter of direct administration; Istanbul's authority on the Somali coasts fluctuated and was not continuous.

The separation of the offices: 1922 and 1924

After defeat in the First World War and the Turkish war of independence, the Grand National Assembly in Ankara abolished the sultanate on 1 November 1922, thereby ending the Ottoman Empire. The office of caliph, however, was retained: in November 1922 the Assembly elected Abdulmejid II as caliph, without political power. A short time later, on 3 March 1924, the same Assembly abolished the caliphate altogether, and the following day Abdulmejid was sent into exile. He died in Paris on 23 August 1944.

Reactions in the Muslim world

In India, the Khilafat Movement (1919–1924) sought to defend the Ottoman Empire and the office of caliph after the war. The movement gained broad support but ended when the office was abolished in 1924. In Egypt, in May 1926, Muslim scholars held a conference in Cairo on the caliphate; King Fuad I was considered, but the conference elected no caliph. In 1925 the Al-Azhar scholar Ali Abd al-Raziq published a book arguing that the caliphate was a historical institution not required by religion — this provoked strong controversy, and he was removed from his post.