History glossary
Sunni
the largest branch of Islam, shaped partly by views of early leadership after Muhammad.
- Category
- Religious tradition
- Region
- Islamic world
- Date range
- Early Islamic period onward
What it means
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. In early Islamic history, Sunni memory gave special importance to the first four caliphs as the Rashidun, or rightly guided, while later Sunni and Shi'a traditions remembered succession differently.
Stories using this term
The Rise of Islam
From Muhammad's first revelations to the early caliphates, Islam grew from a Meccan message into a civilisation spanning Africa, Asia and Europe.
The World After The Cold War
From the fall of the Soviet Union to the rise of China and global terrorism, this story traces the turbulent reshaping of the international order after 1991.
The Mongol Empire
From scattered steppe tribes to the largest contiguous empire in history, the Mongols reshaped Eurasia through conquest, terror, and trade.
The Ottoman Empire
From a small frontier principality in Anatolia, the Ottomans built a multiethnic empire across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa before reform, nationalism, and world war ended imperial rule.
The United States After 9/11
After 9/11, the United States launched the War on Terror, invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, expanded surveillance and homeland security, and entered a long era of costly war and deep political division.
