They ruled from Damuscuss, Syria.
For many centuries, Muslims were ruled by a Caliph.
The first Rightly Guided Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique RAU.
Caliph Umer R.A
Abu Bakr ruled as a Caliph for 27 months.
Caliph Omar/Omer/Umar (RA), the second Rashidun Khalifa or Rightly-Guided Caliph, reigned from August 23, 634 to November 7, 644, when he was killed by a Persian prisoner.
The 1st Caliph who ruled the Muslims after the death of the prophet Muhammad PBUH is Abu-Bakr Al-Seddeq, may Allah be pleased with him following in the steps of the prophet.
The first Caliph Abou Bakr, then Omar. then Othman, then Aly
I think the term you are looking for is caliphate, and the ruler was called a caliph.
A Caliphate is the area ruled by a Caliph, the spiritual successor to Prophet Mohammed. Most Caliphs, historically, ruled like Kings or as Attachés to ruling kings at the time in question.Caliphate refers to an era that marks the ascendancy of Islam from Mohammed's death until the 13th century.
Umayyad Caliph Ibrahim ruled for a few weeks at the end of the year 744 C.E. This is the shortest reign of any Caliph.If you are referring to the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, Hassan ibn Ali ruled as Caliph for seven months in 661 C.E. before ceding power to Mu'awiya and conceding the end of the the Rightly-Guided Caliphs. Of the four dominant Rightly-Guided Caliphs, colleague Ibrahim El-Osery is correct that Abu Bakr ibn Quhafah reigned for the the shortest amount of time, 27 months from 632 C.E. to 634 C.E.
The Abbassids were ruled by Kings who styled themselves Caliphs (since all previous rulers of the Moslem Empires had done similarly. The First Abbassid Caliph is Abu Al-Abbas As-Saffah. He ruled from 750 CE to 754 CE and was succeeded by the Abbassid Al-Mansur (there is a different Umayyad Al-Mansur in Spain in the 900s).
Muawiyah made the office of Caliph hereditary.