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Muhammad Al-Qaim Bi-Amrillah

Muhammad al-Qaim Bi-Amrillah

Imam Muhammad al-Qaim Bi-Amrillah (893 - 17 May, 946) was the second Caliph of the Fatimids in Ifriqiya and ruled from 934 to 946. Imam Al-Qaim was born in Salamya in Syria in 893 with the name Abd ar-Rahman. After his father Imam Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah (910-934) seized power in Ifriqiya he was named heir to the throne in 912, and helped put down several revolts. However campaigns into Egypt faltered against the resistance of the Abbasids (914-915 and 919-921), with heavy casualties. In 934 Imam Al-Qaim succeeded his father as Caliph, after which he never again left the royal residence at Mahdia. Nevertheless, the Fatimid realm became an important power in the Mediterranean. After the re-conquest of Sicily the Byzantine province of Calabria and the coast of Italy and France were plundered. But from 944 to 947 the realm was plunged into crisis by the revolt of Abu Yazid, who had united the Kharijite Berber tribes of the Aurès Mountains of eastern Algeria and overrun Ifriqiya.Imam Al-Qaim was able to hold out in Mahdia with the help of the navy for over a year, but died (17th May 946) before the revolt could be put down. He was succeeded by his son Imam Ismail al-Mansur (946-953). Category:893 births Category:946 deaths Category:Fatimid caliphs

893

Events


- Simeon I succeeds Vladimir as king of Bulgaria.
- Galindo II Aznárez succeeds Aznar II Galíndez as Count of Aragon.
- Nicholas Mysticus becomes Patriarch of Constantinople (first of two periods).
- Asser writes Life of King Alfred.

Births


- Louis the Child, last Carolingian ruler of the East Franks

Deaths


- King Aznar II Galíndez of Aragon
- Stephen I, Patriarch of Constantinople Category:893 ko:893년 ja:893

17 May

May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). There are 228 days remaining.

Events


- 1521 - Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.
- 1590 - Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
- 1642 - Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (1612–1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.
- 1673 - Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Continental Congress bans trade with Canada.
- 1792 - The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
- 1809 - Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
- 1814 - Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
  - Norwegian constitution signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Fredrik elected King of Norway by the Constitutional assembly.
- 1846 - The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax.
- 1863 - Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, her first book in the Galician language.
- 1865 - The International Telegraph Union (the later International Telecommunication Union) is established.
- 1875 - Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
- 1900 - Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.
- 1902 - Archaeologist Spyridon Stais finds the Antikythera mechanism.
- 1915 - The last British Liberal Party government (Herbert Henry Asquith) falls.
- 1919 - Committee of One Thousand forms to oppose Winnipeg General Strike.
- 1933 - Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.
- 1940 - World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
- 1943 - World War II: Surviving RAF Dam Busters return.
  - The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC.
- 1944 - Type IX U-boat: U-884 is launched.
- 1954 - The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
- 1967 - Six-Day War: President Abdul Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.
- 1969 - Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
- 1970 - Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean.
- 1973 - Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
- 1974 - Police in Los Angeles, California, raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
  - Thirty-three people are killed by terrorist bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland.
- 1980 - General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
- 1983 - Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
- 1984 - Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend," sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
- 1987 - Iran-Iraq War: The USS Stark (FFG-31) is struck by a missile from an Iraqi Mirage fighter killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
- 1992 - In Thailand, the so-called Black May begins. Thai police and protestors start attacking one another. By midnight, the current Thai government declares a state of emergency, and military troops, equipped with M-16 rifles, open fire.
- 1995 - After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France.
- 1999 - Ehud Barak is elected prime minister of Israel.
- 2003 - Mozilla Firefox. Browser renamed from Phoenix to Firebird.
- 2004 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts.

Births

1155 to 1899


- 1155 - Jien, Japanese poet and historian (d. 1225)
- 1443 - Edmund, Earl of Rutland, brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (d. 1460)
- 1551 - Martin Delrio, Flemish theologian and occultist (d. 1601)
- 1628 - Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria, Regent of the Tyrol (d. 1662)
- 1706 - Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (d. 1780)
- 1718 - Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat and politician (d. 1778)
- 1743 - Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (d. 1784)
- 1749 - Edward Jenner, English medical researcher (d. 1823)
- 1758 - John St Aubyn, British fossil collector (d. 1839)
- 1768 - Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (d. 1821)
- 1768 - Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general (d. 1854)
- 1794 - Anna Brownell Jameson, British writer (d. 1860)
- 1821 - Sebastian Kneipp, German naturopathist (d. 1897)
- 1836 - Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player (d. 1900)
- 1844 - Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar (d. 1918)
- 1866 - Erik Satie, French composer (d. 1925)
- 1873 - Henri Barbusse, French novelist and journalist (d. 1935)
- 1873 - Dorothy Richardson, English writer (d. 1957)
- 1879 - Simon Petlyura, Ukrainian independence fighter (d. 1926)
- 1886 - Alfonso XIII of Spain (d. 1941)
- 1888 - Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)
- 1897 - Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- 1898 - Alfred Joseph Casson Canadian painter (d. 1992)

1900 to 1999


- 1900 - Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Muslim cleric (d. 1989)
- 1901 - Werner Egk, German composer (d. 1983)
- 1903 - Cool Papa Bell, baseball player (d. 1991)
- 1904 - Jean Gabin, French actor (d. 1976)
- 1906 - Zinka Milanov, Croatian soprano (d. 1989)
- 1911 - Lisa Fonssagrives, supermodel (d. 1992)
- 1911 - Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish actress (d. 1998)
- 1918 - Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano
- 1919 - Merle Miller, American biographer (d. 1986)
- 1921 - Dennis Brain, English French horn player (d. 1957)
- 1935 - Dennis Potter, English writer (d. 1994)
- 1936 - Dennis Hopper, American actor and director
- 1937 - Hazel R. O'Leary, United States Secretary of Energy
- 1938 - Jason Bernard, American actor (d. 1996)
- 1940 - Alan Kay, American computer scientist
- 1942 - Taj Mahal, American singer and guitarist
- 1945 - Tony Roche, Australian tennis player
- 1946 - Udo Lindenberg, German musician
- 1946 - F. Paul Wilson, American novelist
- 1948 - William Bruford, English drummer and songwriter
- 1950 - Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian politician
- 1955 - Bill Paxton, American actor
- 1956 - Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
- 1956 - Bob Saget, American actor
- 1956 - Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist
- 1959 - Paul Di'Anno, English singer (Iron Maiden)
- 1959 - Jim Nantz, American broadcaster
- 1961 - Enya, Irish singer and songwriter
- 1962 - Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
- 1965 - Trent Reznor, American singer and songwriter
- 1971 - Shaun Hart, Australian footballer
- 1973 - Josh Homme, American musician, singer and songwriter
- 1974 - Andrea Corr, Irish singer (The Corrs)
- 1975 - Sasha Alexander, American actress
- 1975 - Jonti Picking, cartoonist
- 1975 - Laura Voutilainen, Finnish singer
- 1981 - Leon Osman, English footballer

Deaths

1189 to 1899


- 1189 - Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (b. 1159)
- 1336 - Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (b. 1288)
- 1365 - Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1328)
- 1464 - Thomas de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros, English politician (executed) (b. 1427)
- 1510 - Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)
- 1521 - Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, English politician
- 1536 - George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, English diplomat
- 1575 - Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1504)
- 1626 - Juan Pujol, Catalan composer (b. 1570)
- 1643 - Giovanni Picchi, Italian composer
- 1727 - Catherine I of Russia
- 1729 - Samuel Clarke, English philosopher (b. 1675)
- 1765 - Alexis Claude Clairault, French mathematician (b. 1713)
- 1797 - Michel-Jean Sedaine, French dramatist (b. 1719)
- 1801 - William Heberden, English physician (b. 1710)
- 1809 - Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (b. 1722)
- 1829 - John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1745)
- 1838 - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French diplomat (b. 1754)
- 1839 - Archibald Alison, Scottish author (b. 1757)
- 1875 - John C. Breckinridge, Vice President of the United States (b. 1821)
- 1888 - Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)

1900 to 1999


- 1917 - Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, ruler of Sarawak (b. 1829)
- 1935 - Paul Dukas, French composer (b.1865)
- 1947 - George William Forbes, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
- 1985 - Abe Burrows, songwriter, composer, and writer (b. 1910)
- 1987 - Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- 1992 - Lawrence Welk, American musician (b. 1903)
- 1996 - Kevin Gilbert, American singer, composer and instrumentalist (b. 1966)

2000 onwards


- 2000 - Donald Coggan, 101st Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1909)
- 2002 - Dave Berg, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2002 - Davey Boy Smith, English professional wrestler (b. 1962)
- 2002 - Ladislao Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer (b. 1927)
- 2004 - Jørgen Nash, Danish artist (b. 1920)
- 2004 - Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)
- 2004 - Ezzedine Salim, leader of Iraqi Governing Council (b. 1943)
- 2005 - Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances


- Día das Letras Galegas ("Galician Literature Day") — holiday in Galicia, honouring the Galician language
- Norwegian Constitution Day — Syttende Mai
- Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
  - Paschal Baylon or Pascal Baylon
  - Solochon
  - Pamphamer
  - Pamphalon
  - Adrian of Alexandria
  - Saint Victor
- Bahá'í Faith — Feast of 'Azaamat (Grandeur) — First day of the fourth month of the Bahá'í Calendar

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/17 BBC: On This Day] ---- May 16 - May 18 - April 17 - June 17 – listing of all days ko:5월 17일 ja:5月17日 simple:May 17 th:17 พฤษภาคม

Caliph

:This article is on the highest religious and/or temporal title, aspiring universal authority, in Islam; :for lower, notably gubernatorial, uses of the Arabic title khalifa, see that article Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. It is an Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalīfah () which means "successor", that is, successor to the prophet Muhammad. Some academics prefer to transliterate the term as Khalîf. The caliph has often been referred to as Ameer al-Mumineen (أمير المؤمنين), or "Prince of the Faithful," where "Prince" is used in the context of "commander." After the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib) the title was claimed by the Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans, as well as by other, competing lineages in Spain, Northern Africa, and Egypt. Most historical Muslim rulers simply titled themselves sultans or emirs, and gave token obedience to a caliph who often had very little real authority. The title has been defunct since the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate in 1924.

Origins of the caliphate

Most academic scholars do not believe that Muhammad had explicitly established how the Muslim community was to be governed after his death. Two questions faced these early Muslims: who was to succeed Muhammad, and what sort of authority he was to exercise.

Succession to Muhammad

Fred Donner, in his book The Early Islamic Conquests(1981), argues that the standard Arabian practice at the time was for the prominent men of a kinship group, or tribe, to gather after a leader's death and choose a leader from amongst themselves. There was no specified procedure for this shura, or consultation. Candidates were usually from the same lineage as the deceased leader, but they were not necessarily his sons. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual direct heir. Muhammad, if he considered the matter of succession at all, would possibly have thought that the standard procedure would apply. This is also the argument advanced by Sunni Muslims, who believe that Muhammad's lieutenant Abu Bakr was chosen by the community and that this was the proper procedure. They further argue that a caliph is ideally chosen by election or community consensus, even though the caliphate soon became a hereditary office, or the prize of the strongest general. Sunnis accept that the caliph should be chosen from Muhammad's tribe, the Quraysh. Shi'a Muslims disagree. They believe that Muhammad had given many indications that he considered Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, as his chosen successor. They say that Abu Bakr seized power by force and trickery. All caliphs other than Ali were usurpers. Ali and his descendents are believed to have been the only proper Muslim leaders, or imams. This matter is covered in much greater detail in the article Succession to Muhammad, and in the article on Shi'a Islam. A third branch of Islam, the Ibadi, believes that the caliphate rightly belongs to the greatest spiritual leader among Muslims, regardless of his lineage. They are currently an extremely small sect, found mainly in Oman.

The authority of the caliph

Who should succeed Muhammad was not the only issue that faced the early Muslims; they also had to clarify the extent of the leader's powers. Muhammad, during his lifetime, was not only the Muslim leader, but the Muslim prophet and the Muslim judge. All law and spiritual practice proceeded from Muhammad. Was his successor to have the same status? None of the early caliphs claimed to receive divine revelations, as did Muhammad; none of them claimed to be nabi, a prophet. Muhammad's revelations were soon codified and written down as the Qur'an, which was accepted as a supreme authority, limiting what a caliph could legitimately command. However, there is some evidence that the early caliphs did believe that they had authority to rule in matters not specified in the Qur'an. They believed themselves to be the spiritual and temporal leaders of Islam, and insisted that implicit obedience to the caliph in all things was the hallmark of the good Muslim. The modern scholars Patricia Crone and Martin Hinds, in their book God's Caliph, outline the evidence for an early, expansive view of the caliph's importance and authority. They argue that this view of the caliphate was eventually nullified (in Sunni Islam, at least) by the rising power of the ulema, or Islamic scholars, clerics, and religious specialists. The ulema insisted on their right to determine what was legal and orthodox. The proper Muslim leader, in the ulema's opinion, was the leader who enforced the rulings of the ulema, rather than making rulings of his own. Conflict between caliph and ulema was a recurring theme in early Islamic history, and ended in the victory of the ulema. The caliph was henceforth limited to temporal rule. He would be considered a righteous caliph if he were guided by the ulema. Crone and Hinds argue that Shi'a Muslims, with their expansive view of the powers of the imamate, have preserved some of the beliefs of early Islam. Crone and Hinds' thesis is not accepted by all scholars. Most Sunni Muslims now believe that the caliph has always been a merely temporal ruler, and that the ulema has always been responsible for adjudicating orthodoxy and Islamic law (shari'a). The first four caliphs are called the Rashidun, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, because they are believe to have followed the Qur'an and the way or sunnah of Muhammad in all things. This formulation itself presumes the Sunni ulema's view of history.

The history of the caliphate

Abu Bakr nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, and the Muslim community submitted to his choice. Uthman was elected by a council of electors, but was soon perceived by many Muslims to be ruling as a "king" rather than an elected leader. Uthman was killed by rebellious soldiers. Ali then took control, but was not universally accepted as caliph. He faced numerous rebellions and was assassinated after a tumultuous rule of only five years. This period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war. One of Ali's challengers was Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman. After Ali's death, Muawiyah managed to overcome all other claimants to the caliphate. He is remembered by history as Muawiyah I, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty. Under Muawiyah, the caliphate became a hereditary office. Under the Umayyads, the Muslim empire grew rapidly. To the west, Muslim rule expanded across North Africa and into Spain. To the east, it expanded through Iran and ultimately to India. However, the Umayyad dynasty was not universally supported within Islam itself. Some Muslims supported prominent early Muslims like al-Zubayr; others felt that only members of Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hisham, or his own lineage, the descendants of Ali, should rule. There were numerous rebellions against the Umayyads, as well as splits within the Umayyad ranks (notably, the rivalry between Yaman and Qays). Eventually, supporters of the Banu Hisham and Alid claims united to bring down the Umayyads in 750. However, the Shi'at Ali, the party of Ali, were again disappointed when the Abbasid dynasty took power, as the Abbasids were descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and not from Ali. Following this disappointment, the Shi'at Ali finally split from the majority Sunni Muslims and formed what are today the several Shi'a denominations. The Abassids would provide an unbroken line of caliphs for over three centuries, consolidating Islamic rule and cultivating great intellectual and cultural developments in the Middle East. But by 940 the power of the caliphate under the Abassids was waning as non-Arabs, particularly the Turkish (and later the Mamluks in Egypt in the latter half of the 13th century), gained influence, and sultans and emirs became increasingly independent. However, the caliphate endured as both a symbolic position and a unifying entity for the Islamic world. During the period of the Abassid dynasty, Abassid claims to the caliphate did not go unchallenged. The Shi'a Said ibn Husayn of the Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descendancy of Muhammad through his daughter, claimed the title of Caliph in 909, creating a separate line of caliphs in North Africa. Initially covering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, the Fatimid caliphs extended their rule for the next 150 years, taking Egypt and Palestine, before the Abbassid dynasty was able to turn the tide, limiting the Fatimids to rule to Egypt. The Fatimid dynasty finally ended in 1171. The Ummayad dynasty, which had survived and come to rule over the Muslim provinces of the Spain, reclaimed the title of Caliph in 929, lasting until it was overthrown in 1031. 1258 saw the conquest of Baghdad and the execution of Abassid caliph by Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan. Although members of the Abassid dynasty proclaimed a new Caliphate within three years, based in Cairo, various other Muslim rulers had also begun to claim the title of caliph and the Muslim empire became fractured. Eventually the caliphate of the Ottomans established primacy. Thus, by the eve of the First World War, the Ottoman caliphate represented the largest and most powerful independent Islamic political entity. The rulers of the Ottoman state, however, only rarely used title of khalifa for political purposes. It is known that Mehmed II and his grandson Selim used it to justify their conquest of Islamic countries. At a later date, one of the last Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Abdulhamid II, used it as a tool against the European colonisation and occupation of countries with large Muslim populations.

How the Caliphate Came to an End

See the article Demise of the Ottoman Caliphate. On March 3, 1924, the first President of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk, constitutionally abolished the institution of the Caliphate. Its powers were transfered to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (parliament) of the newly formed Turkish nation-state and the title has since been inactive. Scattered attempts to revive the Caliphate elsewhere in the Muslim World were made in the years immediately following its abandonment by Turkey, but none were successful. Hussein bin Ali, a former Ottoman governor of the Hejaz who had conspired with the British during World War I and revolted against Istanbul, declared himself Caliph at Mecca two days after Turkey relinquished the title. But no one took his claim seriously, and he was soon ousted and driven out of Arabia by the Saudis, a rival clan that had no interest in the Caliphate. The last Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI made a similar attempt to re-establish himself as Caliph in the Hejaz after leaving Turkey, but he was also unsuccessful. In the 1920s the Khilafat Movement, a movement to restore the Turkish Caliphate, spread throughout the British colonial territories in Asia. It was particularly strong in India, where it was a rallying point for Muslim communities. A summit was convened in Cairo in 1926 to discuss the revival of the Caliphate, but most Muslim countries did not participate and no action was taken to implement the summit’s resolutions. Though the title Ameer al-Mumineen was adopted by the King of Morocco and Mullah Mohammed Omar, former head of the now-defunct Taliban regime of Afghanistan, neither claimed any legal standing or authority over Muslims outside the borders of their respective countries. The closest thing to a Caliphate in existence today is the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), an international organization founded in 1969 consisting of the governments of most Muslim-majority countries. But the OIC has limited influence; many Muslims are not aware that the organization exists, and its resolutions are often ignored even by member nations.

Reasons for the Caliphate's Continuing Dormancy

Once the subject of intense conflict and rivalry amongst Muslim rulers, the caliphate has lain dormant and largely unclaimed for much of the past 81 years. The reasons for this are varied and complex. During the first half of the European Middle Ages, Muslim kingdoms were global superpowers home to some of the world's preeminent centers of culture, trade, and learning. The fall of the Abbasid Empire in 1258 marked the end of this prolific period of the Muslim World's intellectual history, and subsequent centuries failed to produce Muslim scholarly achievement and technological or intellectual progress of the significance that had characterized earlier Muslim civilizations. Though the void in Muslim geopolitical and military strength was briefly filled by the emergence of the Ottoman Empire (the last symbol of Islamic power), the ongoing intellectual stagnation contributed to a steady decline of the Ottoman Empire's strength and influence, and the Muslim World found itself unable to respond to a booming European resurgance fueled by the Rennaisance, the Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution. By the end of World War I, most Muslim lands had fallen under foreign occupation. Under varying degrees of European control and influence, the Muslim World was subsequently reshaped along secular nationalist lines and heavily influenced by Western or socialist political philosophies. The role of mosques and the religious establishment was substantially reduced in most Muslim countries, leading to the emergence of political and military elites that viewed Islam as a personal matter and not a basis for political unity or a viable foundation for a modern state. Furthermore, the division of the Muslim World into distinct nation-states caused cultural differences to become more pronounced. These effects, coupled with prevalence of old grudges and rivalries between Muslim regimes (particularly in the Arab world), have prevented large-scale interstate cooperation amongst Muslim states from taking place. Though Islam is still a dominant influence in most Muslim societies and many Muslims remain in favor of a caliphate, tight restrictions on political activity in many Muslim countries coupled with the tremendous practical obstacles to uniting over fifty disparate nation-states under a single institution have prevented efforts to revive the caliphate from garnering much active support, even amongst devout Muslims. Popular apolitical Islamic movements such as the Tablighi Jamaat identify a lack of spirituality and decline in religious observance as the root cause of the Muslim World's problems, and claim that the caliphate cannot be successfully revived until these deficiencies are addressed. No attempts at rebuilding a power structure based on Islam were successful anywhere in the Muslim World until the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which was based on Shia principles and did not deal with the issue of a global caliphate. Various Sunni Islamist movements have gained momentum in recent years, calling for a restoration of the caliphate. However many such movements have as yet been unable to agree on a roadmap or a coherent model of Islamic governance, and dialog on this issue amongst Muslim intellectuals has been characterized by uncertainty and confusion amidst a broad range of viewpoints on what a modern Islamic state should look like. Mainstream Islamic institutions in Muslim countries today have generally not made the restoration of the caliphate a top priority and have instead focused on other issues. Most regimes have actually been hostile to such a call. One transnational group, the Hizb_ut-Tahrir, has tried to recruit the world's Muslims to a renewed caliphate. They have published a draft constitution at [http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org].

Famous caliphs


- Abu Bakr - First rightly guided caliph of the Sunnis. Subdued rebel tribes in the Ridda Wars.
- Umar ibn al-Khattab - Second rightly guided caliph. During his reign, the Islamic empire expanded to include Egypt, Jerusalem, and Persia.
- Uthman ibn Affan - Third rightly guided caliph. The Qur'an was compiled under his direction. Killed by rebels.
- Ali ibn Abi Talib - Fourth and last rightly guided caliph, and considered the first imam by Shi'a Muslims. His reign was fraught with internal conflict.
- Muawiya I - First Umayyad caliph. Muawiya instituted dynastic rule by appointing his son Yazid as his successor, a trend that would continue through all subsequent caliphates.
- Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz - Umayyad caliph considered by some (mainly Sunnis) to be a fifth rightly guided caliph.
- Haroon al-Rasheed - Abbasid caliph during whose reign Baghdad became the world's preeminent center of trade, learning, and culture. Haroon is the subject of many stories in the famous work 1001 Arabian Nights.
- Suleiman the Magnificent - Early Ottoman Sultan during whose reign the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith.

Dynasties

The more important dynasties include:
- The Umayyad dynasty in Damascus (661-750), followed by:
- The Abbasid dynasty in Baghdad (750-1258), and later in Cairo (under Mameluke control) (1260-1517)
- The Shi'ite Fatimid dynasty in North Africa and Egypt (909-1171). Not universally accepted and not currently included in the following list.
- The Rahmanids, a surviving branch of the Damascus Umayyads, established 'in exile' as Emirs of Córdoba, Spain, declared themselves Caliphs (known as the Caliphs of Cordoba; not universally accepted; 929-1031)
- The Almohad dynasty in North Africa and Spain (not universally accepted; 1145-1269). Traced their descent not from Muhammad, but from a puritanic reformer in Morocco who claimed to be the Mahdi (a puritanic reformer in Morocco, bringing down the 'decadent' Almoravid emirate) whose son established a sultanate and claimed to be a caliph.
- The Ottomans (1453-1924; main title Padishah, also known as Great Sultan etc., used the title Caliph only sporadically between the 16th and late 19th century Note on the overlap of Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates: After the massacre of the Umayyad clan by the Abbassids, one lone prince escaped and fled to North Africa, which remained loyal to the Umayyads. This was Abd-ar-rahman I. From there, he proceeded to Spain, where he overthrew and united the provinces conquered by previous Umayyad Caliphs (in 712 and 712). From 756 to 929, this Umayyad domain in Spain was an independent emirate, until Abd-ar-rahman III reclaimed the title of Caliph for his dynasty. The Umayyad Emirs of Spain are not listed in the summary below because they did not claim the caliphate until 929. For a full listing of all the Umayyad rulers in Spain see the Umayyad article.

Claims to the caliphate

Many local rulers throughout Islamic history have claimed to be caliphs. Most claims were ignored outside their limited domains. In many cases, these claims were made by rebels against established authorities and died when the rebellion was crushed. Notable claimants include:
- al-Zubayr -- held the Hijaz against the Ummayads
- Caliph of the Sudan -- a Songhai king of the Sahel

Lists of Caliphal dynasties and seats

Years according to the Christian era (all AD)

The Rashidun ("Righteously Guided")

Accepted by Sunni Muslims as the first four rulers; Shi'a Muslims believe that the first three rulers were usurpers.
- Abu Bakr - 632 - 634
- Umar ibn al-Khattab - 634 - 644
- Uthman ibn Affan - 644 - 656
- Ali ibn Abi Talib - 656 - 661

The Umayyads of Damascus


- Muawiyah I - 661 - 680
- Yazid I - 680 - 683
- Muawiya II - 683 - 684
- Marwan I - 684 - 685
- Abd al-Malik - 685 - 705
- al-Walid I - 705 - 715
- Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik - 715 - 717
- Umar II - 717 - 720
- Yazid II - 720 - 724
- Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik - 724 - 743
- Al-Walid II - 743 - 744
- Yazid III - 744
- Ibrahim ibn al-Walid - 744
- Marwan II - 744 - 750

The Abbasids of Baghdad

The main branch, in Baghdad

(Not accepted by the Muslim dominions in the Iberian peninsula and parts of North Africa)
- Abu'l Abbas As-Saffah - 750 - 754
- Al-Mansur - 754 - 775
- Al-Mahdi - 775 - 785
- Al-Hadi- 785 - 786
- Harun al-Rashid - 786 - 809
- Al-Amin - 809 - 813
- Al-Ma'mun - 813 - 833
- Al-Mu'tasim - 833 - 842
- Al-Wathiq - 842 - 847
- Al-Mutawakkil - 847 - 861
- Al-Muntasir - 861 - 862
- Al-Musta'in - 862 - 866
- Al-Mu'tazz - 866 - 869
- Al-Muhtadi - 869 - 870
- Al-Mu'tamid - 870 - 892
- Al-Mu'tadid - 892 - 902
- Al-Muktafi - 902 - 908

- Al-Muqtadir - 908 - 932
- Al-Qahir - 932 - 934
- Ar-Radi - 934 - 940
- Al-Muttaqi - 940 - 944
- Al-Mustakfi - 944 - 946
- Al-Muti - 946 - 974
- At-Ta'i - 974 - 991
- Al-Qadir - 991 - 1031

The Umayyads (Rahmanid branch) of Cordoba

(Not universally accepted)
- Abd-ar-rahman III, as caliph, 929-961
- Al-Hakam II, 961-976
- Hisham II, 976-1008
- Mohammed II, 1008-1009
- Suleiman, 1009-1010
- Hisham II, restored, 1010-1012
- Suleiman, restored, 1012-1017
- Abd-ar-Rahman IV, 1021-1022
- Abd-ar-Rahman V, 1022-1023
- Muhammad III, 1023-1024
- Hisham III, 1027-1031

- Al-Qa'im - 1031 - 1075
- Al-Muqtadi - 1075 - 1094
- Al-Mustazhir - 1094 - 1118
- Al-Mustarshid - 1118 - 1135
- Ar-Rashid - 1135 - 1136
- Al-Muqtafi - 1136 - 1160

The Almohads of Spain and Morroco

(Not widely accepted)
- Abd al-Mu'min 1145-1163
- Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I 1163-1184
- Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur 1184-1199
- Muhammad an-Nasir 1199-1213
- Abu Ya'qub Yusuf II 1213-1224
- Abd al-Wahid I 1224
- Abdallah 1224-1227
- Yahya 1227-1235
- Idris I 1227-1232
- Abdul-Wahid II 1232-1242
- Ali 1242-1248
- Umar 1248-1266
- Idris II 1266-1269

- Al-Mustanjid - 1160 - 1170
- Al-Mustadi - 1170 - 1180
- An-Nasir - 1180 - 1225
- Az-Zahir - 1225 - 1226
- Al-Mustansir - 1226 - 1242
- Al-Musta'sim - 1242 - 1258

The Abbasid branch of Cairo


- Al-Mustansir - 1259-1261
- Al-Hakim I - 1262 - 1302
- Al-Mustakfi I - 1302 - 1340
- Al-Wathiq I - 1340 - 1341
- Al-Hakim II - 1341 - 1352
- Al-Mu'tadid I - 1352 - 1362
- Al-Mutawakkil I - 1362 - 1383
- Al-Wathiq II - 1383 - 1386
- Al-Mu'tasim - 1386 - 1389
- Al-Mutawakkil I (restored) - 1389 - 1406
- Al-Musta'in - 1406 - 1414
- Al-Mu'tadid II - 1414 - 1441
- Al-Mustakfi II - 1441 - 1451

- Al-Qa'im - 1451 - 1455
- Al-Mustanjid - 1455 - 1479
- Al-Mutawakkil II - 1479 - 1497
- Al-Mustamsik - 1497 - 1508
- Al-Mutawakkil III - 1508 - 1517

The Ottoman Padishahs

Originally the secular, conquering dynasty was just entitled Sultan, soon it started accumulating titles assumed from subjected peoples
- Mehmed (Muhammed) II (the Conqueror of Constantinopel, afterwards Istanbul) - 1451 - 1481 (actively used numerous titles such as of Caliph and Caesar )
- Beyazid II - 1481 - 1512
- Selim I - 1512 - 1520 (actively used title of Caliph )
- Suleiman the Magnificent - 1520 - 1566
- Selim II - 1566 - 1574
- Murad III - 1574 - 1595
- Mehmed(Muhammed) III - 1595 - 1603
- Ahmed I - 1603 - 1617
- Mustafa I (First Reign) - 1617 - 1618
- Osman II - 1618 - 1622
- Mustafa I (Second Reign) - 1622 - 1623
- Murad IV - 1623 - 1640
- Ibrahim I - 1640 - 1648
- Mehmed (Muhammed) IV - 1648 - 1687
- Suleiman II - 1687 - 1691
- Ahmed II - 1691 - 1695
- Mustafa II - 1695 - 1703
- Ahmed III - 1703 - 1730
- Mahmud I - 1730 - 1754
- Osman III - 1754 - 1757
- Mustafa III - 1757 - 1774
- Abd-ul-Hamid I - 1774 - 1789
- Selim III - 1789 - 1807
- Mustafa IV - 1807 - 1808
- Mahmud II - 1808 - 1839
- Abd-ul-Mejid I - 1839 - 1861
- Abd-ul-Aziz - 1861 - 1876
- Murad V - 1876
- Abd-ul-Hamid II - 1876 - 1909 (actively used title of Caliph) Note: From 1908 onwards constitutional monarch without executive powers, with parliament consisting of chosen representatives.
- Mehmed(Muhammed) V - 1909 - 1918 (constitutional monarch/Caliph without executive powers, parliament consisting of chosen representatives)
- Mehmed (Muhammed)VI - 1918 - 1922 (constitutional monarch/Caliph without executive powers, parliament consisting of chosen representatives)

The secular Republic of Turkey


- Abdul Mejid II - 1922 - 1924; only as Caliph (Head of state: Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha)
- Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi) 1924-1937 Although the title of Caliph is currently unused, it could conceivably be used again if the Turkish parliament were to decide to reactivate it.

The Sharifan house in (now Saudi) Arabia

A last attempt at restoring the caliphal office and style with ecumenical recognition was made by al-Husayn ibn `Ali al-Hashimi, King of al-Hijaz, who assumed both 11 Mar 1924 and held them until his passing the kingship to his son `Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Hashimi, who did not adopt the khalifal office and style.

See also


- History of Islam
- Succession to Muhammad

Sources and References


- Crone, Patricia & Hinds, Martin -- God's Caliph, Cambridge University Press, 1986
- Donner, Fred -- The Early Islamic Conquests, Princeton University Press, 1981
- [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Religious_Organizations.html#Caliphate WorldStatesmen] here Religious Organisations (click Muslim Caliphate) - see also present countries per caliphal seat
- [http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A033 History of the Indian Khilafat Movement]
- [http://www.caliphate.co.uk/ A vision of a 21st Century Khilafah]
- [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~luqman/ List of articles on the nature of a new Khilafah]
- [http://www.khilafah.or.id/ Page dedicated to having a Khilafah in Indonesia]
- [http://howcaliphatewillwork.blogspot.com/ Caliphate Blog]
- [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/politics/political_framework_of_islam.htm The Political Framework of Islam & Khilafah by Prof. Kurshid Ahmad]
- [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/politics/understanding_politics_in_islam.htm Prof Yusuf al-Qaradawi on The politics of Islam]
- [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/politics/espo.html Political Islam: Beyond the Green Menace, by John Esposito, Journal of Current History] Category:Caliphate Category:Heads of state Category:Monarchy Category:Noble titles Category:Religious leaders Category:Titles Category:Arabic words ja:カリフ

Fatimids

The Fatimids or Fatimid Caliphate (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Ismaili Shiite dynasty that ruled much of North Africa from A.D. 5 January 910 to 1171. The Fatimids had their origins in the Tunisia area ("Ifriqiya"), but after the conquest of Egypt ca. 970, they moved their capital there. Under the Fatimids, Egypt became the center of an empire that included at its peak North Africa, Sicily, Palestine, Syria, the Red Sea coast of Africa, the Yemen, and the Hejaz. Under the Fatimids Egypt flourished and developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean which eventually determined the economic course of Egypt during the High Middle Ages. The term "Fatimite" is sometimes used to refer to citizens of the Empire/Caliphate. The name Fatimid is derived from the name of the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, Fatima az-Zahra. The dynasty and its followers belonged to the Shiite branch of Islam and to a sect called Isma'ili. The dynasty was founded in 909 by Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah. He legitimized his claim by his descent from the Prophet by way of the Prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and her husband Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shiite Imam. Soon his control extended over all of central Maghreb, an area consisting of the modern countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, which he ruled from a newly built capital in Tunisia, named Mahdia. The Fatimids entered Egypt in 972, conquering the Ikhshidid dynasty and founding a new capital at al-Qahira al-Mu'izziya (Cairo), meaning "The Victorious". They continued to conquer the surrounding areas until they ruled from Tunisia to Syria, and even crossed over into Sicily and southern Italy. Unlike other governments in the area, Fatimid advancement in state offices was based more on merit than on heredity. Members of other branches of Islam, like the Sunnis, were just as likely to be appointed to government posts as Shiites. Tolerance was extended even to non-Muslims, like Christians and Jews who occupied high levels in government based solely on ability (exceptions to this general attitude of tolerance include the "Mad Caliph" Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah). In the 1040s, the Zirids (governors of North Africa under the Fatimids) declared their independence from the Fatimids and their conversion to "orthodox" Sunni Islam, which led to the devastating Banu Hilal invasions. After about 1070, the Fatimid hold on the Levant coast and parts of Syria was challenged by first Turkish invasions, then the Crusades, so that Fatimid territory shrunk until it consisted only of Egypt. After the decay of the Fatimid political system in the 1160's, Nureddin joined Egypt to the Abbasid Caliphate in 1169 and Egypt returned to the Sunni branch of Islam, bringing the Fatimid dynasty to an end. A few years later, Nureddin's general Saladin founded the Ayyubid dynasty.

Fatimid Imams

The word "Imam" as used in Shiah Islam means a hereditary leader of the Muslim community in the direct line of Ali ibn Abi Talib. #Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah (910-934; founded Fatimid dynasty) #Muhammad al-Qaim Bi-Amrillah (934-946) #Isma'il al-Mansur Bi-Nasrillah (946-952) #Ma'ad al-Muizz Li-Deenillah (952-975; Egypt is conquered during his reign) #Abu Mansoor Nizar al-Aziz Billah (975-996) #Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (996-1021) #Ali az-Zahir (1021-1035) #Ma'ad al-Mustansir (1035-1094) #Ahmad al-Musta'li (1094-1101) Quarrels over his succession led to the Nizari split. #Mansur al-Amir Bi-Ahkamillah (1101-1130) The Fatimid rulers of Egypt after him are not recognized as Mustaali Taiyabi Imams (though they were declared to be Imams within Egypt at the time). #Taiyab abi al-Qasim the 21st Fatimid Imam in seclusion - see Mustaalis, Dawoodi Bohras.

External link


- [http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/architecture/alaqmarmosque.html Al-Aqmar Mosque - Fatimids Architectural Example]
- [http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/dynasties/fatimids.html Fatimids Dynasty] Shiite counter-caliphate ---- Category:History of the Maghreb Category:Caliphates Category:Ismailism Category:Jewish Islam topics ja:ファーティマ朝

Ifriqiya

In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah (Arabic: إفريقية) was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa. Ifriqiya was bounded on the south by the semi-arid areas and salt marshes called el-Djerid. At various times, the rulers of this area also conquered Sicily and parts of mainland Italy, and the western boundary was in continual flux but usually went as far as Bejaia. Its capital was Qayrawan (Kairouan) in central Tunisia. In modern Arabic, the term simply means "Africa". It derives from the Latin term Africa of uncertain (either Berber, Punic, or Greek) origin.

See also


- Aghlabid
- Zirid
- Hafsid
- Maghreb
- Afariqa Category:History of the Maghreb Category:History of Tunisia ja:イフリーキヤ

946

Events
- Eadred I succeeds his brother as king of England
- End of the reign of Emperor Suzaku, emperor of Japan
- Emperor Murakami ascends the throne of Japan Births Deaths
- May 26 - King Edmund I of England
- Abu-Bakr Muhammad ben Yahya as-Suli
- Tsuraguki, Japanese poet. Category:946 ko:946년

Syria

The Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية) or Syria (Arabic: سوريا) is a country in the Levant region of the Middle East. It borders Lebanon to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. Israel occupies the Golan Heights in the southwest of the country, and the dispute with Turkey over the Hatay Province now seems to have subsided. The ancient region of Syria, also known as Greater Syria, has often been taken to include the territories of Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and parts of Jordan, but excluding the Jazira region in the north-east of modern Syria.

Name

The name Syria comes from the ancient Greek name for the land of Aram at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Arabia to the south and Cilicia to the north, stretching inland to include Mesopotamia, and having an uncertain border to the northeast that Pliny the Elder describes as including from west to east Commagene, Sophene, and Adiabene, "formerly known as Assyria" (N.H. 5.66). By Pliny's time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into a number of provinces under the Roman Empire (but politically independent from each other): Judaea (or "Judea" and later renamed Palestine in 135 AD-the region corresponding to the modern states of Israel and Jordan and the Palestinian territories) in the extreme southwest, Phoenicia corresponding to Lebanon, with Damascena to the inland side of Phoenicia, Coele-Syria (or "Hollow Syria") south of the Eleutheris river, and Mesopotamia.

History

Main article: History of Syria Archaeologists have demonstrated that Syria was the center of one of the most ancient civilizations on earth. Around the excavated city of Ebla in north-eastern Syria, discovered in 1975, a great Semitic empire spread from the Red Sea north to Turkey and east to Mesopotamia from 2500 to 2400 B.C. The city of Ebla alone during that time had a population estimated at 260,000. Scholars believe the language of Ebla to be the oldest Semitic language. Other notable cities excavated include Mari, Ugarit and Dura Europos. Syria was occupied successively by Canaanites, Hebrews, Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Nabataeans, Byzantines, Arabs, and, in part, Crusaders before finally coming under the control of the Ottoman Turks. Syria is significant in the history of Christianity; Paul was converted on the road to Damascus and established the first organized Christian Church at Antioch in ancient Syria, from which he left on many of his missionary journeys. Damascus, a city that has been inhabited as early as 8,000 to 10,000 BC is known to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (along with Aleppo and Jericho). It came under Muslim rule in A.D. 636. Immediately thereafter, the city's power and prestige reached its peak, and it became the capital of the Omayyad Empire, which extended from Spain to the borders of Central Asia from A.D. 661 to A.D. 750, when the Abbasid caliphate was established at Baghdad, Iraq. Damascus became a provincial capital of the Mameluke Empire around 1260. It was largely destroyed in 1400 by Tamerlane, the Mongol conqueror, who removed many of its craftsmen to Samarkand. Rebuilt, it continued to serve as a capital until 1516. In 1517, it fell under Ottoman rule. The Ottomans remained for the next 400 years, except for a brief occupation by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt from 1832 to 1840.

French occupation

Ottoman control ended when the forces of the Arab revolt entered Damascus in 1918 towards the end of the First World War. An independent Arab Kingdom of Syria was established under King Faysal of the Hashemite family, who later became King of Iraq. However, his rule over Syria ended in July 1920 when French forces entered Syria to impose their League of Nations mandate. Following the Battle of Maysalun of 23 July between the Syrian army under Yusuf al-Azmeh and the French, the French army entered Damascus and Faisal was exiled. The period of the Mandate was marked by increasing nationalist sentiment and a number of brutally repressed revolts, but also by infrastructural modernisation and economic development. With the fall of France in 1940, Syria came under the control of the Vichy Government until the United Kingdom and Free French occupied the country in July 1941. Continuing pressure from Syrian nationalist groups forced the French to evacuate their troops in April 1946, leaving the country in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate.

Independence to 1970

Although rapid economic development followed the declaration of independence of April 17, 1946, Syrian politics from independence through the late 1960s were marked by upheaval. A series of military coups, begun in 1949, undermined civilian rule and led to army colonel Adib Shishakli's seizure of power in 1951. After the overthrow of President Shishakli in a 1954 coup, continued political maneuvering supported by competing factions in the military eventually brought Arab nationalist and socialist elements to power. Syria's political instability during the years after the 1954 coup, the parallelism of Syrian and Egyptian policies, and the appeal of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's leadership in the wake of the 1956 Suez crisis created support in Syria for union with Egypt. On February 1, 1958, the two countries merged to create the United Arab Republic, and all Syrian political parties ceased overt activities. The union was not a success, however. Following a military coup on September 28, 1961, Syria seceded, reestablishing itself as the Syrian Arab Republic. Instability characterized the next 18 months, with various coups culminating on March 8, 1963, in the installation by leftist Syrian Army officers of the National Council of the Revolutionary Command (NCRC), a group of military and civilian officials who assumed control of all executive and legislative authority. The takeover was engineered by members of the Arab Socialist Resurrection Party (Ba'ath Party), which had been active in Syria and other Arab countries since the late 1940s. The new cabinet was dominated by Ba'ath members. The Ba'ath takeover in Syria followed a Ba'ath coup in Iraq the previous month. The new Syrian Government explored the possibility of federation with Egypt and Ba'ath–controlled Iraq. An agreement was concluded in Cairo on April 17, 1963, for a referendum on unity to be held in September 1963. However, serious disagreements among the parties soon developed, and the tripartite federation failed to materialize. Thereafter, the Ba'ath regimes in Syria and Iraq began to work for bilateral unity. These plans floundered in November 1963, when the Ba'ath regime in Iraq was overthrown. In May 1964, President Amin Hafiz of the NCRC promulgated a provisional constitution providing for a National Council of the Revolution (NCR), an appointed legislature composed of representatives of mass organizations —labor, peasant, and professional unions—, a presidential council, in which executive power was vested, and a cabinet. On February 23, 1966, a group of army officers carried out a successful, intra-party coup, imprisoned President Hafiz, dissolved the cabinet and the NCR, abrogated the provisional constitution, and designated a regionalist, civilian Ba'ath government. The coup leaders described it as a "rectification" of Ba'ath Party principles. The defeat of the Syrians and Egyptians in the June 1967 war with Israel weakened the radical socialist regime established by the 1966 coup. Conflict developed between a moderate military wing and a more extremist civilian wing of the Ba'ath Party. The 1970 retreat of Syrian forces sent to aid the PLO during the "Black September" hostilities with Jordan reflected this political disagreement within the ruling Ba'ath leadership. On November 13, 1970, Minister of Defense Hafez al-Assad affected a bloodless military coup, ousting the civilian party leadership and assuming the role of prime minister.

1970 to 2000

Upon assuming power, Hafez al-Assad moved quickly to create an organizational infrastructure for his government and to consolidate control. The Provisional Regional Command of Assad's Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party nominated a 173-member legislature, the People's Council, in which the Ba'ath Party took 87 seats. The remaining seats were divided among "popular organizations" and other minor parties. In March 1971, the party held its regional congress and elected a new 21-member Regional Command headed by Assad. In the same month, a national referendum was held to confirm Assad as President for a 7-year term. In March 1972, to broaden the base of his government, Assad formed the National Progressive Front, a coalition of parties led by the Ba'ath Party, and elections were held to establish local councils in each of Syria's 14 governorates. In March 1973, a new Syrian constitution went into effect followed shortly thereafter by parliamentary elections for the People's Council, the first such elections since 1962. Later in 1973, the October War broke out, with Syria attacking the Golan Heights to try and reclaim it. Despite some initial successes, the end of the war resulted in Syria only getting back control of a small region of the Golan.

Involvement in Lebanon's Civil War

In early 1976, the Lebanese civil war was going poorly for the Maronite Christians. Syria sent 40,000 troops into the country to prevent them from being overrun, but soon became embroiled in the Lebanese Civil War, beginning the 30 year Syrian presence in Lebanon. Many see the Syrian Army's presence in Lebanon as an occupation, especially following the end of the civil war in 1990, after the Syrian-sponsored Taif Agreement. About one million Syrian workers came into Lebanon after the war ended to find jobs in the reconstruction of the country. Syrian workers were preferred over Palestinian and Lebanese workers because they could be paid lower wages. Lebanese scholar Habib C. Malik has called the influx of Syrian workers into Lebanon "nothing short of a movement toward Syrian colonization of Lebanon." in his book Between Damascus and Jerusalem: Lebanon and Middle East Peace (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1997). In 1994, under pressure from Syria, the Lebanese government granted citizenship to over 200,000 Syrians resident in the country. Syrian nationals make up at least one-third of Lebanon's resident population.[http://www.meib.org/articles/0102_l1.htm] (For more on these issues, see also Demographics of Lebanon)

Challenges to the Assad regime

The authoritarian regime was not without its critics, though most were quickly dealt with. A serious challenge arose in the late 1970s, however, from fundamentalist Sunni Muslims, who reject the basic values of the secular Ba'ath program and object to rule by the Alawis, whom they consider heretical. From 1976 until its suppression in 1982, the archconservative Muslim Brotherhood led an armed insurgency against the regime. In response to an attempted uprising by the brotherhood in February 1982, the government crushed the fundamentalist opposition centered in the city of Hama, leveling parts of the city with artillery fire and causing many thousands of dead and wounded. Since then, public manifestations of anti-regime activity have been very limited. A challenge from within the regime came in 1984, when Hafez was hospitalized after a heart attack. His brother Rifaat then attempted to seize power using internal security forces under his control. Despite his poor health, Hafez managed to assert control and sent Rifaat into exile. Syria's 1991 participation in the U.S.-led multinational coalition aligned against Saddam Hussein marked a dramatic watershed in Syria's relations both with other Arab states and with the West. Syria participated in the multilateral Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid in October 1991, and during the 1990s engaged in direct, face-to-face negotiations with Israel. These negotiations failed, and there have been no further Syrian-Israeli talks since President Hafez Al-Assad's meeting with then President Bill Clinton in Geneva in March 2000. Hafez Al-Assad died on June 10, 2000, after 30 years in power. Within a few hours following Al-Assad's death, the Parliament amended the constitution, reducing the mandatory minimum age of the President from 40 to 34 years old, which allowed his son, Bashar al-Assad legally to be eligible for nomination by the ruling Ba'ath party. On July 10, 2000, Bashar Al-Assad was elected President by referendum in which he ran unopposed, supposedly garnering 97.29% of the vote.

2000 to 2005

In his inauguration speech delivered at the People's Council on July 17, 2000, Bashar Al-Assad promised political and democratic reform. Human rights activists and other civil society advocates, as well as some parliamentarians, became more outspoken during a period referred to as "Damascus Spring" (July 2000-February 2001). Enthusiasm faded quickly as the government cracked down on civil forums and reform activists, but there was still a notable liberalization compared to the totalitarianism of Hafez. The lifting of bans on Internet access, mobile telephones and the spread of computer technology has had a great impact on the previously isolated Syrian society, and the secret police's presence in society has been eased. Today there exists a small but growing number of dissident intellectuals, as well as several formally illegal opposition parties. However, government power rests firmly in the hands of the Ba'th, and police surveillance and occasional crackdowns keeps opposition activities limited. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Syrian government began limited cooperation with U.S. in the global war against terrorism. However, Syria opposed the Iraq war in March 2003, and bilateral relations with the U.S. swiftly deteriorated. In December 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the