Capital
Medina (632-656)
Kufa (656-661) Common languages Arabic (official), Aramaic/Syriac, Armenian, Baloch, Berber, Coptic, Georgian, Greek, Middle Persian, Kurdish, Vulgar Latin, Prakrit, Semitic languages, Iranian languages
Religion Islam
Government Caliphate Caliph
• 632-634
Abu Bakr (first)
• 634-644
Umar
• 644-656
Uthman
• 656-661
Ali (last)
History
• Established
8 June 632
• First Fitna (internal conflict) ends
28 July 661 Area 655 6,400,000 km2 Population 21,400,000 Preceded by
Muhammad in Medina
Byzantine Empire
Sasanian Empire
Exarchate of Africa
Pre-Islamic Arabia Succeeded by
Umayyad Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (632-661) is the collective term comprising the first four caliphs — the "Rightly Guided" or Rashidun caliphs.
Capital Medina (632-656), Kufa (656-661) Common languages Arabic (official), Aramaic/Syriac, Armenian, Baloch, Berber, Coptic, Georgian, Greek, Middle Persian, Kurdish, Vulgar Latin, Prakrit, Semitic languages, Iranian languages Religion Islam Government Caliphate Caliph
• 632-634 Abu Bakr (first)
• 634-644 Umar
• 644-656 Uthman
• 656-661 Ali (last; succeeded by Hasan (661), then Muawiyah I (661-680)) History
• Established 8 June 632
• Ends First Fitna (internal conflict) 28 July 661 Area 655 6,400,000 km2 Population 21,400,000 Preceded by
Muhammad in Medina
Byzantine Empire
Sasanian Empire
Exarchate of Africa
Pre-Islamic Arabia Succeeded by
Umayyad Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدة, al-Khilāfa al-Rāšidah; 632-661) 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 ٱلرَّاشِدُونَal-Khulafā’ur-Rāshidūn). This term is not used in Shia Islam as Shia Muslims do not consider the rule of the first three caliphs as legitimate.
The caliphate arose out of the death of Muhammad in 632 CE and the subsequent debate over the succession to his leadership. Abu Bakr, a close companion of Muhammad from the Banu Taym clan, was elected the first Rashidun leader and began the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula. He ruled from 632 to his death in 634. Abu Bakr was succeeded by Umar, his appointed successor from the Banu Adi clan, who began the conquest of Persia from 642 to 651, leading to the defeat of the Sassanid Empire. Umar was assassinated in 644[3] and was succeeded by Uthman, who was elected by a six-person committee arranged by Umar. Under Uthman began the conquest of Armenia, Fars and Khorasan. Uthman was assassinated in 656 and succeeded by Ali, who presided over the civil war known as the First Fitna (656-661). The war was primarily between those who supported Uthman's cousin and governor of the Levant, Muawiyah, and those who supported the caliph Ali. The civil war permanently consolidated the divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims, with Shia Muslims believing Ali to be the first rightful caliph and Imam after Muhammad. A third faction in the war supported the governor of Egypt, Amr ibn al-As. The war was decided in favour of the faction of Muawiyah, who established the Umayyad Caliphate in 661.
The Rashidun Caliphate at the death of Uthman, 656(LINK)
The Rashidun Caliphate at the death of Uthman 656
The Rashidun (‘Rightly Guided’) were five close companions of the prophet Muhammad who were, successively, caliphs during the expansion of the Islamic Empire (632-61). The empire dissolved into civil war with the assassination of Caliph Uthman (656-61) (the ‘first Fitna’) and again with the death of the first Umayyad caliph, Muawiya (680-92). These conflicts arose from the frustrated claims to the caliphate of Husayn ibn Ali, Muhammad’s grandson. Husayn was killed at Kerbela (680) and his cause would become the foundation of Shi’ism. Apart from causing occasional moratoria, these internal dissensions did not impede Islamic conquest. The Rashidun were blessed with superb generals with battle-hardened, ethnically cohesive, armies fired by religious fervour. They repeatedly defeated the mercenary armies of their imperial rivals, the Sassanids and Byzantines, ruling from the River Indus to Sicily by Uthman’s death. Most impressively, these desert warriors mastered marine warfare, routing the Byzantine navy (654).
The Rashidun Caliphate expanded steadily; within the span of 24 years of conquest, a vast territory was conquered comprising Mesopotamia, the Levant, parts of Anatolia, and most of the Sasanian Empire.
Unlike the Sasanian Persians, the Byzantines, after losing Syria, retreated back to Anatolia. As a result, they also lost Egypt 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 Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire to recover.
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, led to the end of the Sasanian Empire of Persia in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
📹 History of the Arabs, Rhasidun and Umayyad Caliphates (VİDEO)
History of the Arabs, Rhasidun and Umayyad Caliphates (LINK)
History of the Arabs, History of Islam, Ridda Wars, Rhasidun Caliphate, Arab-Sassanid War, Arab Byzantine Wars, Umayyad Caliphate, First Fitna, First Siege of Constantinople, Second Fitna, Arab conquest of Spain, Second Siege of Constantinople, Third Fitna, Abbasid Caliphate.
📹 💣 Battle of al-Qadisiyyah 636 / Muslim-Sassanid War of 633-654 (VİDEO)
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah 636 / Muslim-Sassanid War of 633-654 DOCUMENTARY (LINK)
To the East, Caliphate had another global power to contend with — the Sassanid Empire. Two empires fought each other for more than 20 years, across dozens of battles with the campaign of the Muslim general Khalid ibn al-Walid in 633 and the battle of al-Qadissiyah that took place in 636 being the most crucial among them.
📹 💣 Battle of Yarmouk 636 (Early Muslim Invasion) (VİDEO)
Battle of Yarmouk, 636 (Early Muslim Invasion) (LINK)
In our previous video, we covered the Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628. As that conflict and Initial Muslim Invasion are connected, we decided to make the video on the Battle of Yarmouk that took place in 636 between Byzantine Empire (Vahan) and Rashidun Caliphate (Khalid ibn Al Walid). Although it was the Byzantine-Sasanian War that allowed Islamic Invasion to happen, the battle of Yarmouk was decisive for Roman attempts to defend, and its results are still felt in the region.
📹 💣 Battle of Yarmouk (Eastern Roman Empire vs Rashidun) (VİDEO)
Battle of Yarmouk (Eastern Roman Empire vs Rashidun) (LINK)
Battle of Yarmouk (20 August 636 CE/11 Rajab 15 H) was fought between the forces of Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and Rashidun Caliphate in Syria near Yarmouk river. Roman army was doubled the size of Rashidun forces and better equipped, hardened by their losses in 634 CE from early Rashidun advancement.
Roman army was led by General Vahan, and Rashidun forces was led by Khalid Ibn Al-Walid. The battle initially commenced by duel between officers of both armies in 15 August 636 CE, but the Rashidun won most of the duel. The moderate battle engagement followed for another 5 days. In the beginning, outnumbered and lightly equipped Rashidun forces were pushed down by Roman with superior number and equipment. Nevertheless the Rashidun forces hold their ground vigorously, emboldened by their faith, Islam.
As the battle progressed, Khalid use the advantage of their light cavalry, mobility. While Roman army deployed their heavy cavalry to counter rashidun cavalry movement. But Rashidun light cavalry managed to rout roman cavalry (which is suited for supporting role for the roman army, as the Romans put their best effort at their heavy infantry). Soon roman infantry were outflanked by vigorous rashidun infantrymen in the front and Rashidun light cavalry at their rear.
Even though the roman had most of the advantages, the Rashidun forces were able to defeat Roman Army, even Roman general, Vahan was killed in the battle.
This defeat bring Damascus to the Rashidun hand once again and forced most of the Roman army retreated to Anatolia.
With the birth of The Prophet Muhammad and the Rise of Islam, the early Islamic Conquest begins. In a matter of 100 years the nascent Muslim state grows from the city state of Medina to encompass Mecca and a majority of the Middle East. Soon the young nation takes on the superpowers of its day — the Byzantine and the Persians. The stage is set for one of the greatest conquests in history.
Caliph Abu Bakr's empire at its peak in August 634.
Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq ‘Abdallāh bin Abī Quḥāfah (Arabic: أبو بكر الصديق عبد الله بن أبي قحافة; c. 573 CE – 23 August 634 CE), popularly known as Abu Bakr,was a companion and—through his daughter Aisha —a father-in-law of the Islamic prophetMuhammad.
Abu Bakr was present at the Farewell Pilgrimage, as well as the event of Ghadir Khumm,in 632 CE. However, shortly after Muhammad passed away, Abu Bakr and some others left the still-unburied body of Muhammad and gathered at a place known as Saqifa. After lengthy debates that included violence,Umar ibn Al-Khattab pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr at Saqifa;he was followed in this by two others at Saqifa,as well as a group of Bedouin tribesmen who had arrived at the scene.Saqifa was later described by the famous Sunni historian Al-Tabari as "a scene from the period of Jahiliya (the pre-Islamic era)".
Abu Bakr thus assumed power, ruling over the Rashidun Caliphatefrom 632 to 634 CE. Once in power, Abu Bakr launched the Ridda Wars to quell an outbreak of "apostasy" in various lands outside Medina. The Ridda Wars, however, were expanded to include the use of force against Muslims who did not recognize Abu Bakr's government, instead of solely focusing on those who had left Islam. After the conclusion of the Ridda Wars, Abu Bakr launched campaigns into Syria and Persia, but died before their conclusion. Another significant event during Abu Bakr's reign was the seizure of the land of Fadak from Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter.
In 634 CE, Abu Bakr fell ill from a sickness and died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by Umar.
Umar, also spelled Omar (Arabic: عمر بن الخطاب ʻUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, "Umar, Son of Al-Khattab"; c. 584 CE – 3 November 644 CE), was one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs in history.He was a senior companion of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. He succeeded Abu Bakr (632-634) as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. He was an expert Muslim jurist known for his pious and just nature, which earned him the epithetAl-Farooq ("the one who distinguishes (between right and wrong)"). He is sometimes referred to as Umar I by historians of Islam, since a later Umayyad caliph, Umar II, also bore that name.
Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate,ruling the Sasanian Empire and more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire. His attacks against the Sasanian Empire resulted in the conquest of Persia in less than two years (642-644). According to Jewish tradition, Umar set aside the Christian ban on Jews and allowed them into Jerusalem and to worship. Umar was eventually killed by the Persian Piruz Nahavandi (known as ‘Abū-Lū‘lū‘ah in Arabic) in 644 CE.
Umar is revered in the Sunni tradition as a great ruler and paragon of Islamic virtues, and some hadiths identify him as the second greatest of the Sahaba after Abu Bakr.He is viewed negatively in the Shia tradition.
Campaigns of Umar
Campaigns Umar took part in during time of Muhammad
Abu Bakr appointed Umar as his successor before dying in 634 CE. Due to his strict and autocratic nature, Umar was not a very popular figure among the notables of Medina and members of Majlis al Shura, accordingly succession of Umar was initially discouraged by high-ranking companions of Abu Bakr.Nevertheless, Abu Bakr decided to make Umar his successor. Umar, still was well known for his extraordinary will power, intelligence, political astuteness, impartiality, justice and care for poor and underprivileged people.Abu Bakr is reported to have said to the high-ranking advisers:
“His (Umar's) strictness was there because of my softness when the weight of Caliphate will be over his shoulders he will remain no longer strict. If I will be asked by God to whom I have appointed my successor, I will tell him that I have appointed the best man among your men.”
Shia views
Umar is viewed very negatively in the literature of TwelverShi'a (as the main branch of Shia Islam) and is often regarded as a usurper of Ali's right to the Caliphate. After the Saqifah assembly chose Abu Bakr as caliph, Umar marched with armed men to Ali's house in order to get the allegiance of Ali and his supporters. Sources indicate that a threat was made to burn Ali's house if he refused. But the event ended when Fatimah intervened.According to the majority of Twelver scholar writings, Fatimah, wife of Ali, was physically assaulted by Umar. These sources report that the event caused her to miscarry her child, Muhsin ibn Ali, and eventually led to her death soon after.(see Umar at Fatimah's house). However, some Twelver scholars, such as Fadhlalla, reject these accounts of physical abuse as a "myth", although Fadlallah mentioned that his speech is a probability, not a certain reason to reject that event.
📹 Early Islamic Conquest — 5 / (Rashidun) Omar (VİDEO)
Early Islamic Conquest — 5 / (Rashidun; Omar; Sasani (LINK)
With the birth of The Prophet Muhammad and the Rise of Islam, the early Islamic Conquest begins. In a matter of 100 years the nascent Muslim state grows from the city state of Medina to encompass Mecca and a majority of the Middle East. Soon the young nation takes on the superpowers of its day — the Byzantine and the Persians. The stage is set for one of the greatest conquests in history.
Rashidun Caliphate at its peak under Uthman (654).
Uthman ibn Affan (Arabic: عثمان بن عفان, translit.ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān), also known in English by the Turkish and Persian rendering Osman (579 – 17 June 656), was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prophetMuhammad, the third of the Rashidun, or "Rightly Guided Caliphs". Born into a prominent Meccan clan, Banu Umayya of the Quraysh tribe, he played a major role in early Islamic history. When Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab died in office aged 59/60 years, ʿUthmān, aged 64/65 years, succeeded him and was the second-oldest to rule as Caliph.
Uthman was married to Ruqayyah, and upon her death, married Umm Kulthum. Both his wives having been elder daughters of Muhammad and Khadija earned him the honorific title Dhū al-Nurayn ("The Possessor of Two Lights").Thus he was also second cousin and brother-in-law of the fourth Rashidun Caliph Ali. Ali's wife Fatimah was the younger sister of Uthman's wives Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum.
Under Uthman's leadership, the Islamic empireexpanded into Fars (present-day Iran) in 650, and some areas of Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan) in 651. The conquest of Armenia had begun by the 640s. His reign also saw widespread protests and unrest that eventually led to armed revolt and his assassination.
Election of Uthman
Umar, on his deathbed formed a committee of six people to choose the next caliph from amongst themselves. This committee was:
Umar asked that, after his death, the committee reach a final decision within three days, and the next caliph should take the oath of office on the fourth day. If Talhah joined the committee within this period, he was to take part in the deliberations, but if he did not return to Medina within this period, the other members of the committee could proceed with the decision. Abdur Rahman bin Awf withdrew his eligibility to be appointed as caliph in order to act as a moderator and began his task by interviewing every member of the committee separately. He asked them for whom they would cast their vote. When Ali was asked, he didn't reply. When Uthman was asked, he voted for Ali, Zubayr said for Ali or Uthman and Saad said for Uthman.
Born to Abu Taliband Fatimah bint Asad,Ali is born inside the sacred sanctuary of the Kaaba in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Ali was the first male who accepted Islam, and, according to some authors, the first Muslim. Ali protected Muhammad from an early ageand took part in almost all the battles fought by the nascent Muslim community. After migrating to Medina, he married Muhammad's daughter Fatimah.He was appointed caliph by Muhammad's companions in 656, after Caliph Uthman ibn Affan was assassinated. Ali's reign saw civil wars and in 661, he was attacked and assassinated by a Kharijite while praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa, being martyred two days later.
Ali is important to both Shias and Sunnis, politically and spiritually. The numerous biographical sources about Ali are often biased according to sectarian lines, but they agree that he was a pious Muslim, devoted to the cause of Islam and a just ruler in accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah.While Sunnis consider Ali the fourth and final of the Rashidun (rightly guided) caliphs, Shia Muslims regard Ali as the first Imam after Muhammad due to their interpretation of the events at Ghadir Khumm. Shia Muslims also believe that Ali and the other Shia Imams (all of whom are of Ahl al-Bayt, People of the Household (of Muhammad)) are the rightful successors to Muhammad. It was this disagreement that split the ummah into the Shia and Sunni branches.
The Fourteen Infalliblesin Twelver Shia Islam are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima Zahra, and the Twelve Imams. All are considered to be infallible under the theological concept of Ismah.Accordingly, they have the power to commit sin but by their nature are able to avoid doing so, which is regarded as a miraculous gift from God.The Infallibles are believed to follow only God's desire in their actions because of their supreme righteousness, consciousness, and love for God. They are also regarded as being immune to error in practical matters, in calling people to religion, and in the perception of divine knowledge. Shias believe the Fourteen Infallibles are superior to the rest of creation and to the other major prophets.
The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammadin the Twelver or Athnā‘ashariyyah branch of Shia Islam, including that of the Alawite and the Alevi sects.
According to the theology of Twelvers, the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who not only rule over the community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret sharia and the esoteric meaning of the Quran. Muhammad and Imams' words and deeds are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin (known as ismah, or infallibility) and must be chosen by divine decree, or nass, through the Prophet.
Ali Beheading Nadr ibn al-Harith in the Presence of the Prophet Muhammad. Miniature from volume 4 of a copy of Mustafa al Darir’s Siyar-i-Nabi. Istanbul; c. 1594. The David Col.
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The Siyer-i Nebi (Ottoman Turkish: سیر نبی) is a Turkishepic about the life of Muhammad, completed around 1388, written by Mustafa son of Yusuf of Erzurum, known as al-Darir, a Mevlevidervish on the commission of Sultan Berkuk, the Mamluk ruler in Cairo. The text is based on a 13th-century Arabic sira by al-Bakri of the original Biography of the Prophet by al-Waqidi (748-822).
Ottoman manuscript
The Ottoman ruler Murad III (1574-1595) commissioned a lavish illustrated copy of the work, which has been described as "the largest single cycle of religious painting in Islamic art" and “the most complete visual portrayal of the life of the prophet Muhammad.”
The famous calligrapher Lutfi Abdullah (Lütfi Abdullah) was in charge of the workshop at the royal palace, and completed the work under Murad's successor Mehmed III, on 16 January 1595. The completed work contained 814 miniatures in six volumes, which include many depictions of Muhammad, who is always shown with a veiled face, as was the convention by this date; he is also surrounded by flames, in the Eastern equivalent of a halo. The style of the miniatures is distinctive, and owes nothing to earlier treatments of these subjects, as well as being "strikingly different" to the normal realist style of Ottoman miniatures; its origins remain unclear. There are few figures in each scene, no extensive landscapes, and a "suppression of detail".
Volumes I, II and VI are in the Topkapı Museum (Hazine 1221-1223); Volume III is in the New York Public Library; Volume IV is (mostly) in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin (MS T 419), and Volume V is missing, as are about 200 of the miniatures in total. About two dozen of the miniatures are in the hands of private collectors. Four were sold at the Hôtel Drouot auction house in Paris in March 1984.
A 17th century copy of the fourth volume, made in the court atelier, is in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Sultanahmet, Istanbul. It was donated to a mosque library in Aksaray, Istanbul, by the Sultan's mother in 1862-63.
📹 Early Islamic Conquest — 6 / (Rashidun) Uthman (VİDEO)
Early Islamic Conquest — 6 / (Rashidun) Uthman (LINK)
With the birth of The Prophet Muhammad and the Rise of Islam, the early Islamic Conquest begins. In a matter of 100 years the nascent Muslim state grows from the city state of Medina to encompass Mecca and a majority of the Middle East. Soon the young nation takes on the superpowers of its day — the Byzantine and the Persians. The stage is set for one of the greatest conquests in history.