The caliphate after the Prophet
13th till 16th century:
The Shadow Caliphate
The Shadow Caliphate
1258 saw the conquest of Baghdad and the execution of Abassid caliph al-Musta'sim by Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan. A surviving member of the Abbasid House was installed as Caliph at Cairo under the patronage of the Mamluk Sultanate three years later. However, the authority of this line of Caliphs was confined to ceremonial and religious matters, and later Muslim historians referred to it as a "shadow" caliphate.
Wikipedia - www.wikipedia.org
MidEast Web - www.mideastweb.org/islamhistory.htm
Islam From The Beginning - www.history-world.org/islam.htm