Cross post from IEA Benedikt Koehler 22 October 2014 George Bush, a New England minister, explained the term ‘caliph’ came from ‘the Hebrew chalaph; to be changed, to succeed, to pass round in a revolution’. This definition from his Life of Mohammed in 1831 had not been bettered even by the time his collateral descendants in the White House were similarly preoccupied with getting to grips with Islam. Now, caliphal precedents once more are being invoked and it makes sense to have a fresh look at what they were. Finding a successor to Muhammad, and a title for his office, was a delicate undertaking because Muhammad before he died had not said who should succeed him or how a successor should be chosen. Hence there was ample room for competition between rival candidates and also over what the incumbent would be entitled to do. The title caliph emerged within a day of Muhammad’s demise, henceforth a designation conferred on whoever claimed supreme authority in Islam until in 1924 it seemed to have disappeared together with …