Omar’s bold and sweeping policies defined the caliphate and gave it the tools it needed to evolve past its origins as a tribal confederation. While his predecessor had shied away from such decision making, the old Abu Bakr at least had the foresight to pick his successor. The second caliph neglected thinking about who might replace him until it was almost too late. At his tragic and abrupt end he did what he did best: he enacted a new policy to implement a traditional solution. Six chiefs of Quraysh were tasked with selecting one of them to be the next caliph.