The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''.

Theology

Imamate in Shia doctrine In Shia Islam, the Imamah () is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the Succession to Muhammad, death ...

, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim community in Shia Islam. For specific Shia sects, see: **

Imamate in Twelver doctrine Imāmah () means "Islamic leadership, leadership" and is a concept in Theology of Twelvers, Twelver theology. The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophets in Islam, Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver branc ...

Imamate in Ismaili doctrine The doctrine of the Imamate in Shia doctrine, Imamate in Isma'ilism differs from that of the Twelvers because the Isma'ilis had living Imamate, Imams for centuries after the last Twelver Imam went into concealment. They followed Isma'il ibn Ja ...

***

Imamate in Nizari doctrine In Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ili doctrine, Imamate in Shia doctrine, imamate () is a concept which defines the political, religious and spiritual dimensions of authority concerning Islamic leadership over the Ummah, nation of believers. The ...

***

Tayyibi Isma'ilism Tayyibi Isma'ilism () is the only surviving sect of the Musta'li Ismailism, Musta'li branch of Isma'ilism, the other being the extinct Hafizi Isma'ilism, Hafizi branch. Followers of Tayyibi Isma'ilism are found in various Bohra communities: Dawoo ...

Imamate in Zaydi doctrine In Zaydi Islam, the imamate () is the supreme Islamic leadership, political and religious leadership position. In common to other Shi'a sects, it is reserved for Alids, i.e. descendants of Muhammad via Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah. Unlike the Twe ...

List

Caucasian Imamate The Caucasian Imamate, also known as the North Caucasus Imamate (), was a state founded by Muslim imams in the early-to-mid 19th century across Dagestan and Chechnya. It emerged during the Caucasian War (1817–1864) as a resistance movement a ...

, a state during the early and mid-19th century in the Eastern

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Imamate of Oman The Imamate of Oman () was a historical state within the ''Oman proper'' () in the Hajar Mountains, part of the present-day Sultanate of Oman. The capital of the Imamate alternated historically between Rustaq and Nizwa. The Imamate's territ ...

, a state existed in what is now

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

* Imamate of Aussa, an early modern state in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Imamate of Futa Jallon The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon (; or ' , ), sometimes referred to as the Emirate of Timbo, was a West African Islamic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded in 1725 by a Fulani jihad and became ...

, a state in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

from 1725 until 1896 *

Imamate of Futa Toro The Imamate of Futa Toro (; ; ) was a West African theocratic monarchy of the Fula-speaking people ('' Fulɓe'' and Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the Senegal River, in the region known as Futa Toro. Following the trend of jihads in the ...

, a state in

from 1776 until 1861 *

Hiraab Imamate The Hiraab Imamate (), also known as the Yacquubi Dynasty, was a Somali people, Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 16th century till the 19th century until it was incorporated into Italian Somaliland. The Imamate was ...

, a Somali state in the 17th and 18th centuries *

Imams of Yemen The Imams of Yemen, later also titled the Kings of Yemen, were religiously consecrated leaders ( imams) belonging to the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and temporal-political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. T ...

, political leadership of the Zaidi branch of

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

from 897 until 1962 * Rustamid Imamate, an

Ibadi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...

Persian dynasty in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

from 767 until 909 * Imamate of Nafusa, a state in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

from the 8th century until 911 *

Mu'ammarid Imamate The Mu'ammarid Imamate, also referred to as ibn Muammar's Imamate or Imamate of Diriyah, was a short-lived emirate created after the fall of the first Saudi state. It was based around the city of Diriyah and was briefly a vassal of Muhammad Ali ...

, a short-lived state after the fall of the

First Saudi State The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious r ...

from 1818 until 1820 * Imamate of Nejd, the

Second Saudi State The second Saudi state (), officially known as the Emirate of Najd, was a state that existed between 1824 and 1891 in the Najd region of what is now Saudi Arabia. Saudi rule was restored to central (Najd) and Eastern Arabia after the first Sau ...

, existing from 1824 to 1891 *

Nizari Ismaili state The Nizari state (the Alamut state) was a Nizari Isma'ili Shia state founded by Hassan-i Sabbah after he took control of the Alamut Castle in 1090 AD, which marked the beginning of an era of Ismailism known as the "Alamut period". Their people ...

, a

state in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

from 1090 until 1273 *Imamate of

Nasr ad-Din Nasir al-Din ( or or , 'defender of the faith'), was originally a honorific title and is a masculine given name and surname of Arabic origin. There are many variant spellings in English due to transliteration including Nasruddin, and Nasiruddin ...

, a short-lived state during the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War from 1673 until 1674

References

{{Reflist Islam and politics Islamic belief and doctrine Islamic terminology