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Rightly guided Caliphs
Abu Bakr · Umar ibn al-Khattab Uthman ibn Affan · Ali ibn Abi Talib
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The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs (الخلفاء الراشدون al-Khulafā’u r-Rāshidūn) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty. It is a reference to the Sunni tradition, "Hold firmly to my example (sunnah) and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood).^[1]

History[link]

The first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad are often quoted as the Khulafah Rashidun.

The Rashidun were either elected by a council (see The election of Uthman and Islamic democracy) or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor. In the order of succession, the rashidun were:

• Abu Bakr (632-634 CE)
• Umar ibn al-Khattab, (Umar І) (634-644 CE)
• Uthman ibn Affan (644-656 CE)
• Ali ibn Abi Talib (656-661 Ce)

Hasan ibn Ali was appointed as Caliph in 661 following the death of Ali and is also regarded as a righteous ruler by Sunni Muslims,^[2] although he was recognized by only half of the Islamic state and his rule was challenged and eventually ended by the Governor of Syria, Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan.

In addition to this, there are several views regarding additional rashidun. Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (Umar ІІ), who was one of the Ummayyad caliphs, is sometimes regarded as one of the Rashidun and is quoted by Taftazani. In the Ibadhi tradition, only Abu Bakr and Umar are considered to be the Two Rightly Guided Caliphs. Suleiman the Magnificent and Abdul Hamid I of the Ottoman period are regarded by some to be amongst the rightly guided Caliphs.

Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani includes the Khulafah of the Bani Abbas (i.e., the Abbassids) in his enumeration.

Abu Bakr[link]

Abu Bakr (Abdullah ibn Abi Qahafa) (Arabic: عبد الله بن أبي قحافة, Transliteration: 'Abdullāh bin Abī Quhāfah, c. 573 CE unknown exact date 634/13 AH) was a senior companion (Sahabah) and the father-in-law of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death.^[3] As Caliph, Abu Bakr succeeded to the political and administrative functions previously exercised by the Prophet, since the religious function and authority of prophethood ended with Muhammad's death according to Islam. Abu Bakr was called Al-Siddiq (The Truthful)^[4] and was known by that title among later generations of Muslims.

Umar ibn al-Khattab[link]

Umar (Arabic: عمر بن الخطاب, Transliteration: `Umar ibn al-Khattāb, c. 586–590 – 644^[4]) c. 2 Nov. (Dhu al-Hijjah 26, 23 Hijri^[5]), was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and became the second Muslim Khalifa after Muhammad's death and ruled for 10 years.^[6] He succeeded Caliph Abu Bakr on 23 August 634 as the second Caliph, and played a significant role in Islam. Under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire.^[7] His legislative abilities, his firm political and administrative control over a rapidly expanding empire and his brilliantly coordinated multi-prong attacks against the Sassanid Persian Empire that resulted in the conquest of the Persian empire in less than two years, marked his reputation as a great political and military leader.^[8] He was killed by a Persian captive.

Uthman ibn Affan[link]

`Uthman ibn `Affan (Arabic: عثمان بن عفان‎) (c. 579 – 17 July 656) was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Uthman was born into the Umayyad clan of Mecca, a powerful family of the Quraish tribe. He was a companion of Muhammad who became caliph at the age of 70. Under his leadership, the empire expanded into Fars in 650 (present-day Iran), some areas of Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan)in 651 and the conquest of Armenia was begun in the 640s.^[9] His rule ended when he was assassinated.

Uthman is perhaps best known for forming the committee which compiled the basic text of the Qur'an as it exists today, based on text that had been gathered separately on parchment, bones and rocks during the life time of Muhammad and also on a copy of the Qur'an that had been collated by Abu Bakr and left with Muhammad's widow after Abu Bakr's death. The committee members were also reciters of the Qur'an and had memorised the entire text during the lifetime of Muhammad. This work was undertaken due to the vast expansion of Islam under Uthman's rule, which encountered many different dialects and languages. This had led to variant readings of the Qur'an for those converts who were not familiar with the language. After clarifying any possible errors in pronunciation or dialects, Uthman sent copies of the sacred text to each of the Muslim cities and garrison towns, and destroyed variant texts. It is also important to mention that this text was not questioned by any of the followers of Islam, even those who were alive during the time of Muhammad.

Ali ibn Abi Talib[link]

After the death of Uthman, Medina was in political chaos for a number of days. Many of the companions approached Ali to take the role of Caliph, which he refused to do initially.^{[citation needed]}

After his appointment as caliph, Ali dismissed several provincial governors, some of whom were relatives of Uthman, and replaced them with trusted aides such as Malik ibn Ashter . Ali then transferred his capital from Medina to Kufa, the Muslim garrison city in what is now Iraq. The capital of the province of Syria, Damascus, was held by Mu'awiyah, the governor of Syria and a kinsman of Uthman, Ali's slain predecessor.^[10]

His caliphate coincided with the First Fitna or civil war when Muslims were divided over who had the legitimate right to occupy the caliphate.^[11] and which was ended, on the whole, by Muawiyah's assumption of the caliphate.

He was assassinated, and died on the 21st of Ramadan in the city of Kufa (Iraq) in 661 CE.

Military expansion[link]

The Rashidun caliphate greatly expanded the sway of Islam beyond Arabia, conquering all of Persia, besides Syria (637), Armenia (639) Egypt (639) and Cyprus (654). In this, the Rashiduns profited from the devastating Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 which left both the Roman and the Persian empires weaker than ever before.

Social policies[link]

During his reign, Abu Bakr established the Bayt al-Mal(state treasury). Umar expanded the treasury and established government building to administer the state finances.^[12]

Upon conquest, in almost all cases, the caliphs were burdened with the maintenance and construction of roads and bridges in return for the conquered nation's political loyalty.^[13]

Civil activities[link]

Civil welfare in Islam started in the form of the construction and purchase of wells. During the Caliphate, the Muslims repaired many of the aging wells in the lands they conquered.^[14]

In addition to wells, the Muslims built many tanks and canals. Many canals were purchased, and new ones constructed. While some canals were excluded for the use of monks (such as a spring purchased by Talha), and the needy, most canals were open to general public use. Some canals were constructed between settlements, such as the Saad canal that provided water to Anbar, and the Abi Musa Canal to providing water to Basra.^[15]

During a famine, Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered the construction of a canal in Egypt connecting the Nile with the sea. The purpose of the canal was to facilitate the transport of grain to Arabia through a sea-route, hitherto transported only by land. The canal was constructed within a year by Amr bin al Aas, and Abdus Salam Nadiv writes, Arabia was rid of famine for all the times to come."^[16]

After four floods hit Mecca after Muhammad's death, Umar ordered the construction of two dams to protect the Kaaba. He also constructed a dam near Medina to protect its fountains from flooding.^[13]

Settlements[link]

The area of Basra was very sparsely populated when it was conquered by the Muslims. During the reign of Umar, the Muslim army found it a suitable place to construct a base. Later the area was settled and a mosque was erected.

Upon the conquest of Madyan, it was settled by Muslims. However, soon the environment was considered harsh and Umar ordered the resettlement of the 40,000 settlers to Kufa. The new buildings were constructed from mud bricks, instead of reeds, a material that was popular in the region, but caught fire easily.

During the conquest of Egypt the area of Fustat was used by the Muslim army as a base. Upon the conquest of Alexandria, the Muslims returned and settled in the same area. Initially the land was primarily used for pasture, but later buildings were constructed.^[17]

Other already populated areas were greatly expanded. At Mosul, Harthama Arfaja, at the command of Umar, constructed a fort, few churches, a mosque and a locality for the Jewish population.^[18]

Muslim views[link]

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. It is prudent to note here that accepted traditions of both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims detail disagreements and tensions between the four rightly guided caliphs.

Sunni perspectives[link]

They are called so because they have been seen as model Muslim leaders by Sunni Muslims. 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 were married to Muhammad, and three of Muhammad's daughters were married to Uthman and Ali. Likewise, their succession was not hereditary, something that would become the custom after them, beginning with the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate. Council decision or caliph's choice determines the successor originally.

Shi'a tradition[link]

According to Shi'a Islam, the first caliph should have been Ali followed by the Shi'a Imams. Shi'a Muslims support this claim with the Hadith of the pond of Khumm. Another reason for this support for Ali as the first caliph is because he had the same relationship to Muhammad as Aaron had to Moses. Starting with Muhammad to Ali to the grandsons of Muhammad, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali (Muhammad had no surviving sons of his own) and so on.

The Shi'ites also argue that if all of these four caliphs were rightly guided, then there should not have been disagreements and differences between them with anything regarding religious jurisprudence and meanings.^{[citation needed]}

Timeline[link]

Please note that the years of Caliphs succession do not necessarily fall on the first day of the new year. <timeline> ImageSize = width:700 height:60 PlotArea = width:680 height:30 left:10 bottom:20

Colors =

   id:yellow    value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) # light yellow
   id:red       value:rgb(1,0.7,0.7) # light red
   id:green     value:rgb(0.7,1,0.7) # light green
   id:blue      value:rgb(1,1,0.7)   # light blue
   id:cyan      value:rgb(0.7,1,1)   # light blue
   id:purple    value:rgb(1,0.7,1)   # light purple
   id:grey      value:gray(0.8)      # grey

Period = from:630 till:665 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:630 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:632

BarData=

 bar:barre1

PlotData=

 align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) shift:(0,-5)

 bar:barre1
 from:    632  till:  634   color:orange   text:Abu Bakr                         
 from:    634   till:  644  color:yellow   text:Umar ibn al-Khattab
 from:    644  till:  656  color:blue     text:Uthman ibn Affan
 from:    656  till:  661  color:red      text:Ali ibn Abi Talib

</timeline>

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• The Four Companions
• The Ten Promised Paradise
• Sunni view of the Sahaba

Rashidun Caliphate الخلافة الراشدة
←   ←   ←   ← 632–661 →
Flag
Rashidun Caliphate at its greatest extent in 654 (dark green) and vassal states (light green).
Capital	Medina (632-656) Kufa (656-661)
Language(s)	Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Berber languages, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Middle Persian, Kurdish
Religion	Islam
Government	Caliphate
Amir al-Mu'minin¹
- 632–634	Abu Bakr
- 634–644	Umar
- 644–656	Uthman
- 656–661	Ali
History
- Established	632
- Disestablished	661
Area	9,000,000 km2 (3,474,919 sq mi)
Population
-  est.	40,300,000
Density	4.5 /km2  (11.6 /sq mi)
Currency	Dinar, Dirham
Today part of	30 countries  Afghanistan  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Cyprus  Egypt  Georgia  Greece  Iran  Iraq  Israel  Italy  Jordan  Kuwait  Lebanon  Libya  Oman  Pakistan  Palestine  Bahrain  Qatar  Russia  Saudi Arabia  Syria  Tunisia  Turkey  Turkmenistan  United Arab Emirates  Uzbekistan  Sudan  Yemen
Amir al-Mu'minin (أمير المؤمنين), Caliph (خليف)

The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدية‎ al-khilāfat ar-Rāshidīyah), (c. 632-661) comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (Year 10 A.H. in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia in the east. At its greatest extent it was one of the largest empires in history. It is also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate.

Origin[link]

Expansion of Rashidun Caliphate.

After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar (a Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and the Quraish soon following suit. Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalifa Rasul Allah (Successor of the Messenger of God), and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First, though, he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had gone back on their oaths of allegiance to Islam and the Islamic community. As a Khalifa or Caliph he was not a monarch and never claimed such a title nor did his three successors do so.

History[link]

Succession of Abu Bakr[link]

Abu Bakr was the oldest and most loyal companion of Muhammad, when Muhammad died, Abu Bakr and Umar, the two companions were in the Saqifa Bani Sada for the meeting among the Muslims on the selection of Muhammad's successor, while the family of Muhammad was busy in funeral of the Prophet. Controversy among the Muslims emerged when some Muslims favored Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet, to succeed and some supported Abu Bakr. Ali did not claim the Caliphate for himself so Abu Bakr became the first appointed Caliphate of Muslims. Troubles emerged soon after Abu Bakr's succession, threatening the unity and stability of the new community and state. Apostasy had begun in the lifetime of Muhammad, and the first major action of the apostasy was fought and concluded while Muhammad still lived.

The first major event of the apostasy occurred in Yemen and is known as the Incident of Aswad Al Ansi,^[1] who was killed on May 30, 632 (the 6th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 11 Hijri) by a Persian Muslim governor of Yemen named Firoz.^[2] The news of his assassination reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The chief cause of the apostasy was lack of firm Islamic faith. Most of the tribes, that had taken to Islam, converted in the ninth and tenth years of the Hijra,.^{[citation needed]}

The apostasy had become so general that it affected every tribe in Arabia with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina, the tribe of Thaqeef in Taif, and the Azd of Oman. In some cases the entire tribe apostatised. Some withheld the zakat, the alms tax, though they did not otherwise challenge Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood, some like Musaylima made it during the lifetime of Muhammad. The tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammad's death, their allegiance was ended. Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader but joined the Muslim community, of which he was the new head. Apostasy is a capital offense under traditional interpretations of Islamic law, and Abu Bakr declared war on the rebels^{[citation needed]}.

This was the start of the Ridda wars (Arabic for the Wars of Apostasy). The apostasy of central Arabia was led by self-proclaimed prophet Musaylima, while the other centers of the rebels were to the south and east in Bahrain, Mahra and Yemen. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly. He divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and this was the primary force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn Walid. This corps was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces. Other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes to submission. Abu Bakr's plan was first to clear the area of West and Central Arabia (the area nearest Madinah), then tackle Malik ibn Nuwayrah, and finally concentrate against the most dangerous enemy - Musaylima. After series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn Walid finally defeated Musaylima in the Battle of Yamama.^[3] The Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year of the Hijri. The year 12 Hijri dawned, on March 18, 633, with Arabia united under the central authority of the Caliph at Madinah. According to the Sunni Muslims, by putting down these larger insurrections and defeating the rival prophets among the Bedouin tribes, Abu Bakr was able to solidify the rest of Arabia under Islam, and basically rescue the Islamic state from collapse.^{[citation needed]}

Once the rebellions had been put down, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest. Whether or not he intended a full-out imperial conquest is hard to say; he did, however, set in motion a historical trajectory that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history. Abu Bakr began with Iraq, the richest province of the Sassanid empire. He sent his most brilliant general Khalid ibn Walid to invade the Sassanid empire in 633. He thereafter also sent 4 armies to invade Roman Syria, but decisive operation was only undertaken when Khalid, after completing the conquest of Iraq, was transferred to the Syrian front in 634.

Succession of Umar[link]

Despite the initial reservations of his advisers, Abu Bakr recognised military and political prowess in Umar and desired him to succeed as caliph. The decision was enshrined in his will, and on the death of Abu Bakr in 634, Umar was confirmed in office. The new caliph continued the war of conquests begun by his predecessor, pushing further into the Sassanid Persian Empire, north into Byzantine territory, and west into Egypt.It is an important fact to note that Umar never participated in any battle as a commander of Muslim Army throughout his life. He even did not kill a single person himself in any battle but never gave up and continued on expanding the Islamic state.. These were regions of great wealth controlled by powerful states, but long internecine conflict between Byzantines and Sassanids had left both sides militarily exhausted, and the Islamic armies easily prevailed against them. By 640, they had brought all of Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine under the control of the Rashidun Caliphate; Egypt was conquered by 642, and the entire Persian Empire by 643.

While the caliphate continued its rapid expansion, Umar laid the foundations of a political structure that could hold it together. He created the Diwan, a bureau for transacting government affairs. The military was brought directly under state control and into its pay. Crucially, in conquered lands, Umar did not require that non-Muslim populations convert to Islam, nor did he try to centralize government (as the Persians had done). Instead, he allowed subject populations to retain their religion, language and customs, and he left their government relatively untouched, imposing only a governor (amir) and a financial officer called an amil. These new posts were integral to the efficient network of taxation that financed the empire.

With the booty secured from conquest, Umar was able to support its faith in material ways: the companions of Muhammad were given pensions on which to live, allowing them to pursue religious studies and exercise spiritual leadership in their communities and beyond. Umar is also remembered for establishing the Muslim calendar; like the Arabian calendar, it is lunar, but the origin is set in 622, the year of the Hijra when Muhammad emigrated to Medina.

Umar was mortally wounded in an assassination attempt by the Persian slave Abu Lulu Fieroz during morning prayers in 644.

Election of Uthman[link]

Before Umar died, he appointed a committee of six men to decide on the next caliph, and charged them with choosing one of their own number. All of the men, like Umar, were from the tribe of Quraish. The committee narrowed down the choices to two: 'Uthman and 'Ali. 'Ali was from the Banu Hashim clan (the same clan as Muhammad) of the Quraysh tribe, and he was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad and had been a companion to the Prophet from the inception of his mission.Uthman was from the Umayyad clan of the Quraish^{[citation needed]}.

Uthman reigned for twelve years as caliph, during the first half of his reign he enjoyed a position of the most popular caliph among all the Rashiduns^{[citation needed]}, while in the later half of his reign he met increasing opposition^{[citation needed]}. This opposition was led by the Egyptians and was concentrated around Ali, who would, albeit briefly, succeed Uthman as caliph. Despite internal troubles, Uthman continued the wars of conquest started by 'Umar. The Rashidun army conquered North Africa from the Byzantines and even raided Spain, conquering the coastal areas of the Iberian peninsula, as well as the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus.^{[citation needed]} Also coastal Sicily was raided in 652.^[4] The Rashidun army fully conquered the Sassanid Persian Empire, and its eastern frontiers extended up to the lower Indus River. Uthman's greatest and most lasting achievement was the formal recension of the Qur'an.

Domains of Rashidun Caliphate under four caliphs.

  Strongholds of Rashidun Caliphate

  Vassal states of Rashidun Caliphate

  Region under the control of Muawiyah I during civil war 656-661

  Region under the control of Amr ibn al-As During civil war 658-661.^[5]

Siege of Uthman[link]

Uthman refused to initiate any military action, in order to avoid civil war between Muslims, and preferred negotiations.^{[citation needed]} His polite attitude towards rebels emboldened them and they broke into Uthman's house and killed him while he was reading the Qur'an.^{[citation needed]}

Crisis and fragmentation[link]

This article may contain too much repetition or redundant language. Please help improve it by merging similar text or removing repeated statements. (January 2012)

After the assassination of the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, the Companions of Muhammad in Medina selected Ali to be the new Caliph. Soon thereafter, Ali dismissed several provincial governors, some of whom were relatives of Uthman, and replaced them with trusted aides such as Malik al-Ashtar and Salman the Persian. Ali then transferred his capital from Medina to Kufa, the Muslim garrison city in what is now Iraq. The capital of the province of Syria, Damascus, was held by Mu'awiyah, the governor of Syria and a kinsman of Uthman, Ali's slain predecessor.^[6] Uthman's death was ironic for many reasons, including the fact that he was the first Islamic caliph to be killed by fellow Muslims. Following the assassination of Uthman, the first Muslim civil war started, which continued during the brief caliphate of Ali ibn Abu Talib, and ended, on the whole, by Mu'awiya's assumption of the caliphate, an event which then laid the foundation of the Umayyad Empire. This civil war is often called the Fitna, and regretted as the end of the early unity of the Islamic ummah (nation).

In 656, after Uthman ibn Affan was murdered by a group of rebels as he sat reading the Qur'an in his home in Medina, the city fell into chaos and uproar. Citizens flocked to Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, and a respected community leader who had been passed over for the leadership three times since the death of Muhammad. They then urged him to take the caliphate. Initially reluctant due to the circumstances of the caliph's death, he eventually chose to accept.

Ali then had to fight against numerous challengers to his rule. The cry of revenge of the blood of Caliph Uthman grew, and a large army of the Muslims led by Zubayr, Talha and the widow of Muhammad, Ayesha set for revenge from the rebels. As the rebels gathered from Egypt, Kufa and Basra, their first objective was Basra. The army reached Basra and captured it, 4000 suspected seditionists were assassinated. Ali who had already transferred his capital from Madinah to Kufa, turned towards Basra and a battle was fought between the Caliph Ali's army and the army of Muslims who demanded revenge of Uthman. Though neither Ali nor the leaders of the opposing army Talha and Zubayr wanted to fight, a fight broke out suddenly at night between the two armies. It is said according to Sunni Muslim traditions that the rebels who were involved in the assassination of Uthman initiated combat as they were afraid that as a result of negotiation between Ali and opposing army, the killers of Uthman would be hunted down and killed. The battle thus fought was the first battle between Muslims and is known as the Battle of the Camel. After the Caliphate had won and the dispute was settled, Ali sent his son Hassan ibn Ali to escort Ayesha back to Madinah. The eminent companions of Mohammad, Talha and Zubayr were killed in the battle after they withdrew from the battlefield refusing to fight against Muslims.

After this dark episode of Islamic history, another cry for revenge for the blood of Uthman rose. This time it was by Mu'awiya, kinsmen of Uthman and governor of the province of Syria. However it is regarded as more an attempt of assuming the caliphate by Mu'awiya than to take revenge for Uthman's murder from the rebels. Ali fought Uthman's kinsman Mu'awiya, the governor of Syria, at the Battle of Siffin to a stalemate and then lost a controversial arbitration; and he fought his own mutinous soldiers (the first Kharijites). Large sections of the new empire created in the twenty-four years (632-656) were lost due to the civil war, like Sicily, North Africa, the coastal areas of Spain and some forts in Anatolia. But the Byzantines tended not to re-capture their lost land, particularly areas in the western empire. According to Muslim history, Mu'awiya sent a letter to the Byzantine emperor threatening him not to reclaim Islamic lands or Mu'awiya would make peace with his kinsmen (referring to Ali) and they would both together destroy the Byzantine Empire.

In 661 CE, Ali was assassinated in the Mosque of Kufa by Ibn Muljam, a relative of one of the rebel soldiers he had defeated and killed. His last words were "Fuztu wa rabb al-Ka'bah" - meaning By The Lord of the Ka'bah, I have succeeded.

His son Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, briefly assumed the caliphate upon being appointed by Ali. He came to an agreement with Mu'awiya and fixed relations between the two groups of Muslims that were each loyal to one of the two men. Mu'awiya gained control of the empire and founded the Umayyad Empire, with it the Rashidun Caliphate dismantled.

Military expansion[link]

The Rashidun empire expanded gradually, with the time span of 24 years of conquest a vast territory was conquered comprising North Africa, the Middle East, Transoxiana, the Caucasus, parts of Anatolia, the whole of the Sassanid Persian empire, the Greater Khorasan, the islands of Cyprus, Rhodes and Sicily, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded, and Baluchistan was conquered, the empires eastern frontiers reaching the lower Indus river in the Indian subcontinent and western frontiers to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Islamic Invasion of Sassanid Persia resulted in the conquest of the whole Sassanid Persian empire, after the Persians declined to submit and continued to strive to re-capture their lost territory. Unlike the Sassanid Persians, the Byzantines after losing Syria, retreated back to western Anatolia and as a result, also lost Egypt, North Africa, Sicily, Cyprus and Rhodes to the invading Rashidun army, although the civil wars among the Muslims halted the war of conquest for many years and this gave time for the Byzantine Empire to recover.

Conquest of Persian empire[link]

Map detailing the route of Khalid ibn Walid's conquest of Iraq.

The first Islamic invasion of the Persian empire launched by Caliph Abu Bakr in 633 was a swift conquest in the time span of only 4 months led by legendary general Khalid ibn Walid. Abu Bakr sent Khalid to conquer Mesopotamia after the Ridda wars. After entering Iraq with his army of 18,000, Khalid won decisive victories in four consecutive battles: Battle of Chains, fought in April 633; Battle of River, fought in the 3rd week of April 633; Battle of Walaja, fought in May 633 (where he successfully used a double envelopment manoeuvre), and Battle of Ullais, fought in the mid of May 633 . In the last week of May 633, the capital city of Iraq fell to the Muslims after initial resistance in the Battle of Hira.

Remains of Taq-i Kisra, palace of Sassanid Kings, Ctesiphon, Iraq.

After resting his armies, Khalid moved in June 633 towards Al Anbar, which resisted and was defeated in the Battle of Al-Anbar, and eventually surrendered after a siege of a few weeks in July 633 . Khalid then moved towards the south, and conquered the city of Ein ul Tamr after the Battle of ein-ul-tamr in the last week of July, 633. By now, almost the whole of Iraq was under Islamic control. Khalid received a call of help from northern Arabia at daumat-ul-jandal, where another Muslim Arab general, Ayaz bin Ghanam, was trapped among the rebel tribes. Khalid went to Daumat-ul-jandal and defeated the rebels in the Battle of Daumat-ul-jandal in the last week of August, 633 CE. Returning from Arabia, he received news of the assembling of a large Persian army. Within a few weeks, he decided to defeat them all separately in order to avoid the risk of defeat to a large unified Persian army. Four divisions of Persian and Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni and Muzieh.

Khalid divided his army in three units, and decided to attack these auxiliaries one by one from three different sides at night, starting from the Battle of Muzieh, then the Battle of Sanni, and finally the Battle of Zumail. In November 633 CE, Khalid defeated the enemy armies in his series of three sided attacks at night. These devastating defeats ended Persian control over Iraq. In December 633 CE, Khalid reached the border city of Firaz, where he defeated the combined forces of the Sassanid Persians, Byzantine Romans and Christian Arabs in the Battle of Firaz. This was the last battle in his conquest of Iraq.^[7]

After the conquest of Iraq, Khalid left Mesopotamia to lead another campaign at Syria against the Roman Empire, after which Mithna ibn Haris took command in Mesopotamia. The Persians once again concentrated armies to regain the lost Mesopotamia, while Mithna ibn Haris withdrew from central Iraq to the region near the Arabian desert to delay war until reinforcement came from Madinah. Caliph Umar sent reinforcements under the command of Abu Ubaidah Saqfi. With some initial success this army was finally defeated by the Sassanid army at the Battle of the Bridge in which Abu Ubaid was killed. The response was delayed until after a decisive Muslim victory against the Romans in the Levant at the Battle of Yarmuk in 636 Caliph Umar, was then able to transfer forces to the east and resume the offensive against the Sassanids. Caliph Umar dispatched 36,000 men along with 7500 troops from the Syrian front, under the command of Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās against the Persian army. The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah followed, with the Persians prevailing at first, but on the third day of fighting, the Muslims gained the upper hand. The legendary Persian general Rostam Farrokhzād was killed during the battle. According to some sources, the Persian losses were 20,000, and the Arabs lost 10,500 men.

Following the Battle, the Arab Muslim armies pushed forward toward the Persian capital of Ctesiphon (also called Madā'in in Arabic), which was quickly evacuated by Yazdgird after a brief siege. After seizing the city, they continued their drive eastwards, following Yazdgird and his remaining troops. Within a short span of time, the Arab armies defeated a major Sāsānian counter-attack in the Battle of Jalūlā', as well as other engagements at Qasr-e Shirin, and Masabadhan. By the mid-7th Century, the Arabs controlled all of Mesopotamia, including the area that is now the Iranian province of Khuzestan. It is said that Caliph Umar did not wish to send his troops through the Zagros mountains and onto the Iranian plateau. One tradition has it that he wished for a "wall of fire" to keep the Arabs and Persians apart. Later commentators explain this as a common-sense precaution against over-extension of his forces. The Arabs had only recently conquered large territories that still had to be garrisoned and administered. The continued existence of the Persian government was however an incitement to revolt in the conquered territories and unlike the Byzantine army, the Sassanid army was continuously striving to regain their lost territories. Finally Umar decided to push his forces for further conquests, which eventually resulted in the whole scale conquest of the Sassanid Persian empire. Yazdegerd, the Sassanid king, made yet another effort to regroup and defeat the invaders. By 641 he had raised a new force, which took a stand at the Battle of Nihawānd, some forty miles south of Hamadan in modern Iran. The Rashidun army under the command of Umar's appointed general Nu'man ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani, attacked and again defeated the Persian forces. The Muslims proclaimed it the Victory of victories (Fath alfotuh) as it marked the End of the Sassanids, shattering the last strongest Sassanid army. Yazdegerd ^{[disambiguation needed ]} was unable to raise another army and became a hunted fugitive. In 642, Caliph Umar sent the army to conquer the whole of the Persian empire. The whole of present day Iran was conquered, followed by the conquest of Greater Khorasan (which included modern Iranian Khorasan province and modern Afghanistan), Transoxania, and Balochistan, Makran, Azerbaijan, Dagestan (Russia), Armenia and Georgia, this regions were later also re-conquered during Caliph Utman's reign^[8] with further expansion to the regions which were not conquered during Umar’s reign, and the Rashidun Caliphate’s frontiers in the east extended to the lower river Indus and north to the Oxus River.

Wars against the Byzantine empire[link]

Conquest of Byzantine Syria[link]

Map detailing Rashidun Caliphates invasion of Levant.

After, Khalid captured Iraq and firmly took control of it, Abu Bakr sent armies to Syria on the Byzantine front. Four armies were sent under four different commanders, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah acting as their supreme commander, Amr ibn al-As, Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan and Shurhabil ibn Hasana. These armies were all assigned their objectives. However their advance was halted by a concentration of the Byzantine army at Ajnadayn. Abu Ubaidah then send for reinforcements. Abu Bakr ordered Khalid, who by now was planning to attack Ctesiphon, to march to Syria with half of his army out of Iraq. Khalid took half of his army and rather took an unconventional route to Syria. There were 2 major routes to Syria from Iraq, one passing through Mesopotamia and the other through Daumat ul-Jandal. Khalid took a route through the Syrian Desert, and after a perilous march of 5 days, appeared in north-western Syria. The border forts of Sawa, Arak, Tadmur, Sukhnah, Qaryatayn and Hawarin were the first to fall to the invading Muslims. Khalid marched on to Bosra via the Damascus road. At Bosra, the Corps of Abu Ubaidah and Shurhabil joined Khalid, after which here as per orders of Caliph Abu Bakr, Khalid took the high command from Abu Ubaidah. Bosra was not ready for this surprise attack and siege, and thus surrendered after a brief siege in July 634, (see Battle of Bosra) this effectively ending the Ghassanid Dynasty.

Map detailing the route of Khalid ibn Walid's invasion of Syria.

From Bosra Khalid send orders to other corps commanders to join him at Ajnadayn, where according to early Muslim historians, a Byzantine army of 90,000(modern sources state 9,000)^[9] was concentrated to push back the Muslims. The Byzantine army was defeated decisively on 30 July 634 in the Battle of Ajnadayn. It was the first major pitched battle between the Muslim army and the Christian Byzantine army and cleared the way for the Muslims to capture central Syria. Damascus, the Byzantine stronghold, was conquered shortly after on 19 September 634. After the Muslim Conquest of Damascus, the Byzantine army was given a deadline of 3 days to go as far as they can, with their families and treasures, or simply agree to stay in Damascus and pay tribute.

Byzantine temple in Idlib, Syria.

After the three days deadline was over, the Muslim cavalry under Khalid's command attacked the Roman army by catching up to them using an unknown shortcut at the battle of Maraj-al-Debaj.^{[citation needed]}

On 22 August 634, Caliph Abu Bakr died, making Umar his successor. As Umar became caliph, he relieved Khalid from commanding the Islamic armies and appointed Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah as the new commander of the Muslim army. The conquest of Syria slowed down under him and Abu Ubaida relied heavily on the advices of Khalid, and he kept him beside him as much as possible.^[10]

The last large garrison of the Byzantine army was at Fahl, which was joined by survivors of Ajnadayn. With this threat at their rear the Muslim armies could not move further north nor south, thus Abu Ubaidah decided to deal with the situation, and had this garrison defeated and routed at the Battle of Fahl on 23 January 635. This battle proved to be the "Key to Palestine". After this battle Abu Ubaidah and Khalid marched north towards Emesa, Yazid was stationed in Damascus while Amr and Shurhabil marched south to capture Palestine. ^[10] While the Muslims were at Fahl, sensing the weak defense of Damascus, Emperor Heraclius sent an army to re-capture the city. This army however could not make it to Damascus and was intercepted by Abu Ubaidah and Khalid on their way to Emesa. The army was routed and destroyed in the battle of Maraj-al-Rome and the 2nd battle of Damascus. Emesa and the strategical town of Chalcis made peace with the Muslims for one year. This was, in fact, done to let Heraclius prepare for defences and raise new armies. The Muslims welcomed the peace and consolidated their control over the conquered territory. As soon as the Muslims received the news of reinforcements being sent to Emesa and Chalcis, they marched against Emesa, laid siege to it and eventually captured the city in March 636.^[11]

Map detailing the route of Muslim's invasion of central Syria.

The prisoners taken in the battle informed them about Emperor Heraclius's final effort to take back Syria. They said that an army possibly two hundred thousand (200,000) strong would soon emerge to recapture the province. Khalid stopped here on June 636. This huge army set out for their destination. As soon as Abu Ubaida heard the news, he gathered all his officers to plan their next move. Khalid suggested that they should summen all of their forces present in the province of Syria (Syria, Jordan, Palestine) and to make a powerful joint force and then move towards the plain of Yarmouk ^{[disambiguation needed ]} for battle.

Abu Ubaida ordered all the Muslim commanders to withdraw from all the conquered areas, return the tributes that they previously gathered, and move towards Yarmuk.^[12] Heraclius's army also moved towards Yarmuk. The Muslim armies reached it in July 636. A week or two later, around mid July, the Byzantine army arrived.^[13] Khalid's Mobile guard defeated Christian Arab auxiliaries of the Roman army in a skirmish.

Map detailing the route of Muslim's invasion of northern Syria.

Nothing happened until the third week of August in which the Battle of Yarmouk was fought. The battle lasted 6 days during which Abu Ubaida transferred the command of the entire army to Khalid. The five times larger Byzantine army was defeated on October 636 CE. Abu Ubaida held a meeting with his high command officers, including Khalid to decide of future conquests. They decided to conquer Jerusalem. The siege of Jerusalem lasted four months after which the city agreed to surrender, but only to Caliph Umar Ibn Al Khattab in person. Amr ibn Al As suggested that Khalid should be sent as Caliph, because of his very strong resemblance with Caliph Umar.

Khalid was recognized and eventually, Caliph Umar ibn Al Khattab came and Jerusalem surrendered on April 637 CE. Abu Ubaida sent the commanders Amr bin al-As, Yazid bin Abu Sufyan, and Sharjeel bin Hassana back to their areas to reconquer them. Most of the areas submitted without a fight. Abu Ubaida himself along with Khalid moved to northern Syria once again to conquer it with a 17,000 men army. Khalid along with his cavalry was sent to Hazir and Abu Ubaidah moved to the city of Qasreen.

Khalid defeated a strong Byzantine army in the Battle of Hazir and reached Qasreen before Abu Ubaidah. The city surrendered to Khalid. Soon, Abu Ubaidah arrived in June 637. Abu Ubaidah then moved against Aleppo. As usual Khalid was commanding the cavalry. After the Battle of Aleppo the city finally agreed to surrender in October 637.

Occupation of Anatolia[link]

Map detailing the route of Khalid ibn Walid's invasion of Syria.

Abu Ubaida and Khalid ibn Walid, after conquering all of northern Syria, moved north towards Anatolia conquering the fort of Azaz to clear the flank and rear from Byzantine troops. On their way to Antioch, a Roman army blocked them near a river on which there was an iron bridge. Because of this, the following battle is known as the Battle of Iron bridge. The Muslim army defeated the Byzantines and Antioch surrendered on 30 October 637 CE. Later during the year, Abu Ubaida sent Khalid and another general named Ayaz bin Ghanam at the head of two separate armies against the western part of Jazira, most of which was conquered without strong resistance, including parts of Anatolia, Edessa and the area up to the Ararat plain. Other columns were sent to Anatolia as far west as the Taurus Mountains, the important city of Marash and Malatya which were all conquered by Khalid in the autumn of 638 CE. During Uthman’s reign, the Byzantines recaptured many forts in the region and on Uthman's orders, series of campaigns were launched to regain control of it. In 647 Muawiyah, the governor of Syria sent an expedition against Anatolia. They invaded at Cappadocia and sacked Caesarea Mazaca. In 648 the Rashidun army raided Phrygia. A major offensive into Cilicia and Isauria in 650–651 forced the Byzantine Emperor Constans II to enter into negotiations with Caliph Uthman's governor of Syria, Muawiyah. The truce that followed allowed a short respite, and made it possible for Constans II to hold on to the western portions of Armenia. In 654–655 on the orders of Caliph Uthman, an expedition was preparing to attack the Byzantine capital Constantinopole but did not carry out the plan due to the civil war that broke out in 656. The Taurus Mountains in Turkey marked the western frontiers of the Rashidun Caliphate in Anatolia during Caliph Uthman's reign.

Conquest of Egypt[link]

Map detailing the route of Muslim's invasion of Egypt.

At the commencement of the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. However, it had been occupied just a decade before by the Persian Empire under Khosrau II (616 to 629 AD). The power of the Byzantine empire was shattered during the Muslim conquest of Syria, and therefore the conquest of Egypt was much easier. In 639, some 4,000 Rashidun troops led by Amr ibn al-As, were sent by Caliph Umar to conquer the land of the ancient pharaohs. The Rashidun army crossed into Egypt from Palestine in December 639 and advanced rapidly into the Nile Delta. The imperial garrisons retreated into the walled towns, where they successfully held out for a year or more. But the Muslims sent for reinforcements and the invading army, joined by another 12,000 men in 640, defeated a Byzantine army at the Battle of Heliopolis. Amr next proceeded in the direction of Alexandria, which was surrendered to him by a treaty signed on November 8, 641. The Thebaid seems to have surrendered with scarcely any opposition.

The ease with which this valuable province was wrenched from the Byzantine Empire appears to have been due to the treachery of the governor of Egypt, Cyrus,^[14] Melchite (i.e., Byzantine/Chalcedonian Orthodox, not Coptic) Patriarch of Alexandria, and the incompetence of the generals of the Byzantine forces, as well as due to the loss of most of the Byzantine troops in Syria against the Rashidun army. Cyrus had persecuted the local Coptic Christians. He is one of the authors of monothelism, a seventh century heresy, and some supposed him to have been a secret convert to Islam.

During the reign of Caliph Uthman, an attempt was made in the year 645 to regain Alexandria for the Byzantine empire, but it was retaken by Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion fleet sent by Constans II was repulsed. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of the country.

The Muslims were assisted by some Copts, who found the Muslims more tolerant than the Byzantines, and of these some turned to Islam. In return for a tribute of money and food for the troops of occupation, the Christian inhabitants of Egypt were excused from military service and left free in the observance of their religion and the administration of their affairs. Others sided with the Byzantines, hoping that they would provide a defense against the Arab invaders.^[15] During the reign of Caliph Ali, Egypt was captured by rebel troops under the command of former Rashidun army general Amr ibn al-As, who killed Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr the governor of Egypt appointed by Ali.

Conquest of North Africa[link]

The Roman ruins of Sbeitla (Sufetula)

After the withdrawal of the Byzantines from Egypt, the Exarchate of Africa had declared its independence under its exarch, Gregory the Patrician. The dominions of Gregory extended from the borders of Egypt to Morocco. Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad used to send raiding parties to the west. As a result of these raids the Muslims got considerable booty. The success of these raids made Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad feel that a regular campaign should be undertaken for the conquest of North Africa.

Uthman gave him permission after considering it in the Majlis al Shura. A force of 10,000 soldiers was sent as reinforcement. The Rashidun army assembled in Barqa in Cyrenaica, and from there they marched west to capture Tripoli, after Tripoli the army marched to Sufetula, the capital of King Gregory. He was defeated and killed in the battle due to superb tactics used by Abdullah ibn Zubayr. After the Battle of Sufetula the people of North Africa sued for peace. They agreed to pay an annual tribute. Instead of annexing North Africa, the Muslims preferred to make North Africa a vassal state. When the stipulated amount of the tribute was paid, the Muslim forces withdrew to Barqa. Following the First Fitna, the first Islamic civil war, Muslim forces withdraw from north Africa to Egypt. The Ummayad Caliphate, re-invaded north Africa in 664.

Campaign against Nubia (Sudan)[link]

At Meroë, in the Sudan, pyramids of the Kushite rulers

A campaign was undertaken against Nubia during the Caliphate of Umar in 642, but failed after the Makurians took victory at the First Battle of Dongola. The army was pulled out of Nubia without any success. Ten years later, Uthman’s governor of Egypt, Abdullah ibn Saad, sent another army to Nubia. This army penetrated deeper into Nubia and laid siege to the Nubian capital of Dongola. The Muslims damaged the cathedral in the center of the city, but the battle also went in favor of Makuria. As the Muslims were not able to overpower Makuria, they negotiated a peace with their king Qaladurut. According to the treaty that was signed, each side agreed not to make any aggressive moves against the other. Each side agreed to afford free passage to the other party through its territories. Nubia agreed to provide 360 slaves to Egypt every year, while Egypt agreed to supply grain, horses and textiles to Nubia according to demand.

Conquest of the islands of the Mediterranean Sea[link]