Note: Period of rule immediately following Mohammed's death in 632. The Rashidun oversaw territorial expansion of the Islamic state, as well as the development of the Islamic calendar and an authoritative reading of the Qur'ān. The caliphate came to an end during the first fitnah (civil war), as debates on succession marked the beginnings of the Sunni and the Shī'te sects. Territory ruled by the caliphate spread from Arabia into Iran, to Armenia in the north, and to North Africa.
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