History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c10.155

c10.155

The disappointment caused by failure and the permanent distempers of the body politic obliged the Sultan to seek help in another quarter. He decided to strengthen his authority by means of a patent from the Khalifah. The Khalifah was the acknowledged head of the Muslim world to whom all Muhammadans owed fealty and obedience. He was not merely a secular sovereign but a representative of divine authority, the archpontiff of Islam, submission to whom was obligatory upon the 'faithful.' Mansur, the second Abbasid Khalifah, was a man of considerable foresight. To safeguard the faith and preserve its essential unity he established a system which recognised the Khalifah as the supreme head of the Muslim Church. So great was the prestige attached to the office of the Khalifah that even a weak and incapable man who