List of Muslim empires and dynasties

Scholars debate what exactly constitutes an empire. Generally, they may define an empire as a state that extends dominion over areas and populations distinct culturally and ethnically from the culture/ethnicity at the center of power.

This article lists some of the states, empires, or dynasties that were ruled by a Muslim elite, or which were in some way central to or a part of a Muslim empire. Many Muslim empires had strong influences on the visual arts, architecture, music and food.

History

In the centuries after the life of Muhammad, Muslim armies poured out into all surrounding areas, bringing the lands from India to Spain under their control. With this huge amount of land under their control, the Umayia (and later, the Abbasid) Caliphates allowed merchants and scholars to travel easily through western Eurasia, bringing goods and knowledge which the Muslims greatly expanded upon through the Caliphate and outward to less advanced regions, such as Western Europe. In 751, papermaking from China made its way to the West through Muslims. Trade introduced Islam to the Africans. In the Middle East, the success of Islam meant that culture would be changed forever. Even after the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate, Islam would remain as one of the base institutions of the region. Future states of the region, such as the Safavid, Seljuk, and Ottoman and Mughal Empires, were all "Islamic Empires".

Caliphates

Umayyad Empire at its greatest extent

• The Rashidun Caliphate (632-661) - Beginning of the Arab Empire
• The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) - Successor of the Rashidun Caliphate
  • The Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba in Islamic Spain (756-929-1031)
• The Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258) - Successor of the Umayyad Caliphate, Fall of Baghdad (1258) and the end of the Arab Empire
• The Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171)
• The Almohad Caliphate (1121–1269)
• The Ottoman Caliphate (1299 –1923)

Harun al-Rashid

Regional empires

Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha

grouped by capital/core region

Middle East

Anatolia (Turkey)

• The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923)
• The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm (1077-1308)
• The Danishmends Dynasty (1071-1178)
• The Mengujekids Dynasty (1072-1277)
• The Saltukids Dynasty (1071-1202)
• The Artuqids Dynasty (1101-1409)

Iran

• The Persian Empire, under the Safavid dynasty (1502–1736), Afsharid dynasty, and Qajar dynasty
• The Ilkhanate (Mongol)
• The Khwarezmian Empire - The Khwarezm-Shâh Dynasty
• The Buyid dynasty
• The Great Seljuq Empire
• The Saffarid dynasty
• The Ak Koyunlu
• The Kara Koyunlu
• The Muzaffarids

Arabian peninsula

• The Rassids of Yemen
• The Rasulid of Yemen
• The Tulunids

Other

• The Tahirid dynasty
• The Samanid Dynasty
• The Giray dynasty
• The Ayyubid Dynasty
• The Shirvanshah
• The Ghurids
• The Ghaznavid Empire

Africa & Spain

Excluding Egypt, which is considered part of Middle East

• The Mali Empire (1230s–1600s)
• The Songhai Empire (1340–1591)
• The Adal Sultanate (1415–1555)
• The Almoravid dynasty (1040–1147) of Morocco
• The Almohad dynasty (1121–1269) of Morocco
• The Ajuran Empire (13th century–17th-century)
• The Fulani Empire of Sokoto
• The Fulani or Fulbe Empire of Macina of Seku Amadu
• The Fulani or Fulbe Empire of El Hajj Oumar Tall
• The Fulani or Fulbe Empire of Boundou of Malick Daouda Sy
• The Kilwa Sultanate (10th century-1517)
• The Sultanate of Oman
• The Aghlabid dynasty of Ifriqiya Tunisia, East-Algeria, West-Libya and Sicily
• The Umayyad of Spain in North-Africa during war with the Fatimid's
• Taifa dynasties of Islamic Spain
• The Hafsid dynasty (1229–1574)
• The Alaouite dynasty of Morocco
• The Marinid dynasty of Morocco
• The Rustamid dynasty
• The Wattasid dynasty of Morocco
• The Saadi dynasty of Morocco (1511–1628)
• The Dervish State (1896–1920)
• The Muslim Kingdom of South Africa

Other Europe and Russia

Europe

• Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in Islamic Spain (929-1031)
• The Emirate of Bari (847-871)
• The Emirate of Sicily (965-1072)

Russia

• The Volga Bulgaria (922-1236)
• The Golden Horde (1251–1502)
• The Kazan Khanate (1438-1552)
• The Astrakhan Khanate (1466-1556)
• The Qasim Khanate (1452-1681)
• The Crimean Khanate (1441–1783)
• The Bashkirs

Central Asia

• The Timurid dynasty
• The Chagatai Khanate
• The Siberia Khanate
• The State of Yarkand
• The Shaybanids

South Asia

Mezquita

India

• The Mughal Empire in India (1526–1857), styled Padhsah-i Hind

Taj Mahal

• The Delhi Sultanates in Northern India (1206–1526)
  • The Mamluk dynasty of Delhi (1206–1290)
• The Bengal Sultanate in Bengal (1352-1576)
• The Khilji Dynasty (1290–1320)
• The Sultanate of Bengal (1336–1576)
• The Sultanate of Jaunpur (1394–1479)
• The Gujarat Sultanate (1407–1573)
• The Malwa Sultanate (1401–1531)
• The Ali Raja
• The Sultanate of Mysore (1704–1799)
• The Berar Sultanate in Deccan (1490–1572)
• The Bidar Sultanate in Deccan (1492–1619)
• The Ahmednagar Sultanate in Deccan (1490–1636)
• The Suri dynasty (1540–1556)
• The Asaf Jahi Dynasty (1720–1948)
• The Nawab of Awadh = Oudh (1732–1856)
• The Bahmani Sultanate in Deccan (1347–1527)
• The Qutb Shahi dynasty in Deccan (1518–1687)
• The Bijapur Sultanate in Deccan (1490–1686)
• The Nawab of Carnatic (1690 till Date)

Elsewhere

• The Lodhi Dynasty (1451–1526)
• The Durrani Empire (1747–1823) Afghan
• The Tughlaq dynasty (1321–1398)
• The Sayyid dynasty (1414–1451)
• The Sultanate of Kashmir (1346–1586)
• The Soomro Dynasty (1026–1351)
• The Samma Dynasty (1335–1520)
• The Talpur dynasty (1783–1843)
• The Kalhora Dynasty (1701–1783)

Southeast Asia

Malaysia & Borneo

• The Malacca Empire
• The Bruneian Empire
• The Sultanate of Johor
• The Sultanate of Kelantan
• The Kedah Sultanate
• The Sultanate of Pahang
• The Sultanate of Perak
• The Sultanate of Selangor
• The Sultanate of Terengganu
• The Sultanate of Jelebu (in Negeri Sembilan)

Other

• The Sultanate of Maguindanao
• The Sulu Sultanate
• The Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat
• The Aceh Sultanate
• The Sultanate of Deli
• The Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura
• The Sultanate of Riau
• The Sultanate of Indragiri
• The Sultanate of Jambi
• The Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam
• The Sultanate of Banten
• The Sultanate of Cirebon
• The Sultanate of Demak
• The Sultanate of Surakarta
• The Sultanate of Mataram
• The Sultanate of Pontianak
• The Sultanate of Banjarmasin
• The Sultanate of Kutai
• The Sultanate of Bulungan
• The Sultanate of Gowa
• The Sultanate of Ternate
• The Sultanate of Tidore
• The Sultanate of Bacan
• The Sultanate of Jailolo
• The Sultanate of Buton

See also

• Caliphate
• Historical powers
• Empires
• Timeline of Middle Eastern History
• Muslim conquests
• Muslim history
• Global Empire
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
• List of Shia Muslim dynasties
• Muslim World
• The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors

Sources and external links

1. History of the Muslims Empires of Islam
2. All Empires History Forum (Archive)