Title: The Caliphate or the Grand Imamate
Content:  Rida differentiated between three types of caliphate. First, there was the ideal caliphate, which existed under the Rashidun and the pious Umayyad Caliph Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz, "the fifth of the Rashiduin." The caliph had in this case all the shar'i requirements. The second type of caliphate was "the caliphate or imamate of necessity." This type would be allowed when the ahl al-hall wa'l 'aqd decided to install a caliph who had most but not all the legal requirements. To this type of caliphate belonged some of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs who lacked  'ilm (knowledge), imperative in exercising ijtihad. The third 
Title: Rashidun
Content:  The first four caliphs are called the "Rightly-Guided" by Sunni Muslims because they are seen as model Muslim leaders. This terminology came into a general use around the world, since Sunni Islam has been the dominant Islamic tradition, and for a long time it has been considered the most authoritative source of information about Islam in the Western world. They were all close companions of Muhammad, and his relatives: the daughters of Abu Bakr and Umar, Aisha and Hafsa respectively, were married to Muhammad, and two of Muhammad's daughters Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum were married to Uthman and another daughter Fatimah to Ali. Likewise, their succession was not hereditary, something that would become the custom after them, beginning 
Title: Rashidun Caliphate
Content:  The Rashidun Caliphate (اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ) was the first of the four major caliphates established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs (successors) of Muhammad after his death in 632 CE (AH 11). These caliphs are collectively known in Sunni Islam as the Rashidun, or "Rightly Guided" caliphs (اَلْخُلَفَاءُ ٱلرَّاشِدُونَ, al-Khulafāʾ ar-Rāšidūn). This term is not used in Shia Islam, as Shia Muslims do not consider the rule of the first three caliphs legitimate. The Rashidun Caliphate is characterized by a twenty-five-year period of rapid military expansion followed by a five-year period of internal strife. The Rashidun Army numbered more than 100,000 men at its peak. By 
Title: Rashidun Caliphate
Content:  Following the death of Muhammad, a meeting took place at Saqifah. At that meeting, Abu Bakr was elected caliph by the Muslim community. Sunni Muslims developed the belief that the caliph is a temporal political ruler, appointed to rule within the bounds of Islamic law (viz., the rules of life set by Allah in the Qur'an). The job of adjudicating orthodoxy and Islamic law was left to Islamic lawyers, judiciary, or specialists individually termed as Mujtahids and collectively named the Ulema. The first four caliphs are called the Rashidun, meaning the Rightly Guided Caliphs, because they are believed to have followed the Qur'an and the sunnah (example) of Muhammad in all things.
Title: Caliphate of Córdoba
Content:  the salaries and maintenance of the army, the preservation of public buildings, and the needs of the caliph. The death of Abd ar-Rahman III led to the rise of his 46-year-old son, Al-Hakam II, in 961. Al-Hakam II continued his father's policy toward Christian kings and North African rebels. Al-Hakam's reliance on his advisers was greater than his father's because the previous prosperity under Abd ar-Rahman III allowed al-Hakam II to let the caliphate run by itself. This style of rulership suited al-Hakam II since he was more interested in his scholarly and intellectual pursuits than ruling the caliphate. The caliphate was at its intellectual and scholarly peak under al-Hakam II.
Title: Succession to Muhammad
Content:  their actions are deemed sinful. At the same time, obedience to a caliph is a religious obligation even if the caliph is unjust. Conversely, a judge would be considered competent solely on the basis of his appointment by the government. Historically, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali are regarded by the Sunni as the most righteous of their generation, with their merit being reflected in their caliphate. The subsequent caliphates of the Umayyads and the Abbasids, while not ideal, are seen as legitimate because they complied with the requirements of the law, kept the borders safe and the community united. Indeed, while the Umayyads and the Abbasids were certainly kingships, the Sunni was more willing than others to accommodate these rulers, regardless of their legitimacy and mode of government, and in so doing the Sunni made most of Islamic history their own.
Title: History of Islam
Content:   After Muhammad died, a series of four Caliphs governed the Islamic state: Abu Bakr (632–634), Umar ibn al-Khattab (Umar І, 634–644), Uthman ibn Affan, (644–656), and Ali ibn Abi Talib (656–661). These leaders are known as the "Rashidun" or "rightly guided" Caliphs in Sunni Islam. They oversaw the initial phase of the Muslim conquests, advancing through Persia, Levant, Egypt, and North Africa. After Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr, one of his closest associates, was chosen as the first caliph (خَليفة khalīfah, lit. successor). Although the office of caliph retained an aura of religious authority, it laid no claim to prophecy. A number of tribal leaders refused to extend agreements made 
Title: Rashidun
Content:  The first four caliphs are particularly significant to modern intra-Islamic debates: for Sunni Muslims, they are models of righteous rule; for Shia Muslims, the first three of the four were usurpers. Accepted traditions of both Sunni and Shia Muslims detail disagreements and tensions between the four rightly guided caliphs.
Title: Madinat al-Zahra
Content:  Abd ar-Rahman III was a member of the Umayyad dynasty, which had formerly ruled the Islamic world as head of the Umayyad Caliphate. The title "caliph" signified the political and spiritual leader of the whole Muslim world. In 750 the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids, who took on the title of caliphs and established a new capital at Baghdad. In 756 Abd ar Rahman III's ancestor, Abd ar-Rahman I, managed to re-establish the dynasty's power in the Iberian Peninsula in the far western part of the Muslim world, known as Al-Andalus. Although independent from the Abbasids, the new Umayyad rulers in Al-Andalus, based in Cordoba, did not reclaim the title of "caliph" at this time. Instead, they ruled as "emirs", a lower title designating local 
Title: Medieval Muslim Algeria
Content:  caliph without regard to race, station, or descent from the Prophet Muhammad. After the revolt, Kharijites established a number of theocratic tribal kingdoms, most of which had short and troubled histories. Others, however, like Sijilmasa and Tilimsan, which straddled the principal trade routes, proved more viable and prospered. In 750 the Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads as Muslim rulers, moved the caliphate to Baghdad and reestablished caliphal authority in Ifriqiya, appointing Ibrahim ibn al Aghlab as governor in Al Qayrawan. Although nominally serving at the caliph's pleasure, Al Aghlab and his successors, the Aghlabids, ruled independently until 909, presiding over a court that became a center for learning and culture.

Question: the rule of the three rightly guided caliphs was called?
Answer: Rashidun.
the Rashidun.
The Rashidun Caliphs.