AHC: Mostly unified Islamic world

With a POD of your choice any time after the birth of Prophet Muhammad, have the Islamic World be united under a single Caliph up until the present day. It's okay if some nations (particularly ones that willingly convert) are outside of the Caliphate, but have at least a continuous state across North Africa, Arabia, the Levant and Mesopotamia.

Bonus points if:

  • The Islamic Caliphate in the present day consists of at least the entire Arabic-speaking world
  • The Islamic Caliphate contained OTL Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia as far north as Kazakhstan and at least part of China in the east at some point in its history
  • Bonus points if the Islamic world is dominant and the Christian/European world is a backwaters (or no longer exists at all)
 
Logisticly nearly impossible for an extended period. Sooner or later it will spinter into several different parts due to geopolitical disargeement, or pressure on different borders forcing parts to consolidate into one part instead of being ruled by half a world away
 
Does it have to be a single Caliphate with a direct line of Caliphs or is the title allowed to swap between states and dynasties e.g. the Ottoman Empire taking over the title from the Mamluke Sultanate in Egypt? And can it lose areas but regain them at a later date or does it have to be continuous rule? If yes then a surviving Ottoman Empire broadly takes care of your first target, just needs a little expanding in places such as the western Maghreb. From there conquering Persia opens up the routes to Central Asia and India, but I think that the Far East and to a less extent India could possibly be pushing it.
 
Logisticly nearly impossible for an extended period. Sooner or later it will spinter into several different parts due to geopolitical disargeement, or pressure on different borders forcing parts to consolidate into one part instead of being ruled by half a world away

I'd say an Ottoman Empire that retains Libya should do the trick, the rest of the challenge is pretty much OTL (containing Persia before, almost all of the Arabic-speaking world.)

For the last point of the Ottoman Empire being dominant, and also including the entire Arabic-speaking world except for French Algeria and independent Morocco (as well as its OTL history of the caliphate including Iran and Central Asia prior) see Nassirismo's With The Crescent Above Us.
 
Does it have to be a single Caliphate with a direct line of Caliphs or is the title allowed to swap between states and dynasties e.g. the Ottoman Empire taking over the title from the Mamluke Sultanate in Egypt? And can it lose areas but regain them at a later date or does it have to be continuous rule? If yes then a surviving Ottoman Empire broadly takes care of your first target, just needs a little expanding in places such as the western Maghreb. From there conquering Persia opens up the routes to Central Asia and India, but I think that the Far East and to a less extent India could possibly be pushing it.


Well, he says "With a POD of your choice any time after the birth of Prophet Muhammad", so why shouldn't 1500 AD [1] be OK? :p

Bruce


[1] Ismail I falls off his horse
 
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