“Their value as gifts was established as early as 802 when the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid sent an elephant to Charlemagne.”

“Al-Musta'sim, the last Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, proved no match for Hulegu's Mongol forces when they attacked Baghdad.”

“He came to Egypt in 1168 as an assistant to his uncle, who was a general and then became the vizier of the last Fatimid caliph.”

“The caliphate ensured the unity and governance of the Islamic state under the wise leadership of the caliph.”

“In 1808 the chief of Gobir and his Tuareg allies were defeated, and the Shehu founded the Sokoto caliphate, whose influence is still felt today.”

“In the eighth century, the Abassid caliphate established its capital at Baghdad.”

“The califate founded at Cordova continued as a standing menace for more than six centuries.”

“They were, till ten years ago, independent under the Imams of Sana, and it is certain that they repudiate the califate.”

“The califate is certainly a little acrid, but burns with a very blue smoke.”

“The calif knew not which to admire most, the generosity of Nadir or the soldier.”

“Nothing could afford a nobler proof of a great, a liberal, and a delicate mind, than the choice evinced by the calif in his gift.”

“Mills has chosen the opinion of Robertus Monachus, who states that the message of the calif was haughty and insolent.”

“None of the Sunni caliphates or imamates and Shi'ite imamates has succeeded.”

“The Umayyad Caliphate was one of the four major caliphates established following the death of Muhammad.”

“There were five caliphates under different dynasties until Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk abolished the last of them early last century.”

“The Abbasid caliphs decided to adopt a more deliberate approach to the cultural and intellectual growth of the empire.”

“Early Umayyad caliphs and some of the Abbasids who supplanted them employed the title khalifat Allah.”

“In 762 AD the new rulers, called the Abbasid caliphs, founded a new capital city on the river Tigris.”