the era of Islam's ascendancy from the death of Mohammed until the 13th century; some Moslems still maintain that the Moslem world must always have a calif as head of the community
<noun.time> their goal was to reestablish the Caliphate
the territorial jurisdiction of a caliph
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the office of a caliph
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Caliphate \Cal"i*phate\, n. [Cf. F. califat.] The office, dignity, or government of a caliph or of the caliphs.