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الخلافة الراشدية Rashidun Caliphate ← 632 – 661 → Flag Rashidun Empire at its peak in 654 A.D, including its vassal states. Capital Medina, Kufa Language(s) Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Berber languages, Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Middle Persian, Turkishcitation needed Religion Islam Government Caliphate Amir al-Mu'minin¹  - 632–634 Abu Bakr  - 634–644 Omar  - 644–656 Othman  - 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 ¹ Amir al-Mu'minin (أمير المؤمنين), Caliph (خليف)

The Rashidun Caliphate ( الخلافة الراشدية), also referred to as the Islamic Empire (الامبراطورية الاسلامية ) or Rashidun Empire, was the first of the four Arab caliphates. It was controlled by the first four successors of Muhammad, known as the "Rightly Guided" caliphs. Founded after Muhammad's death in 632, the empire lasted until 'Ali's death in 661. At its height, the power of the Rashidun Caliphs extended throughout North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Iranian highlands.

Origin

After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar were debating who -among them- should succeed prophet Muhammad in running the affairs of the Muslims while the household of the prophet was busy in the burial of the prophet. 'Umar (who is from Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and 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 the Muslim Religion and Deliver the Message of Allah. 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. They lived in a humble house, milked sheep and goats and roamed in public without any guards and rested sitting beneath a tree when tired. The Ummayyad and Abbasids also did not claim such a title but treated themselves as one.

See also Succession to Muhammad

Early history

Succession of Abu Bakr

Troubles emerged soon after Abu Bakr's succession, threatening the unity and stability of the new community and state. Apostasy had actually begun in the lifetime of Muhammad, and the first major action of the apostasy was fought and satisfactorily concluded while Muhammad still lived. But the real and most serious danger of apostasy arose after Muhammad's death, when a wild wave of disbelief-after-belief moved across the expanse of Arabia and had to be tackled by Abu Bakr. The first major event of the apostasy occurred in the Yemen and is known as the Incident of Aswad Al Ansi^[1], he was killed on May 30, 632 (the 6th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 11 Hijri) by a Persian Muslim governor of Yemen Firoz^[2]. the news of his assassination reach shortly after the death of Muhammad. The chief cause of the apostasy was lack of true faith. Most of the tribes, converted in the ninth and tenth years of the Hijra, had taken to Islam for political reasons. The apostasy had become so general that it affected every tribe in Arabia with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina and the tribe of Thaqeef at Taif. In some cases the entire tribe apostatised. In other cases part of the tribe apostatised while part continued to follow the true faith; and among those who remained Muslims, many had to pay with their lives for their faith. 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 life time 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 religious 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. 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 were to the south and east in Bahrain, Oman, Mahra and Yemen. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly. He formed the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and this was the main punch of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn Walid. This 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. 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 of 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 Islam. 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 Persian empire. He sent his most brilliant general Khalid ibn Walid to invade the Persian 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 Syrian front in 634.

Succession of Umar

Abu Bakr desired Umar to be his successor and he persuaded the most powerful of the followers of Muhammad to go along. Umar was gifted both militarily and politically.

Umar continued the war of conquests begun by Abu Bakr. He pressed into the Sassanid Persian Empire itself, but he also headed north into Syria and Byzantine territory and west into Egypt. These were some of the richest regions in the world guarded by powerful states, but a lengthy war between the Byzantines and Sassanids had left both states militarily exhausted. Islamic forces easily prevailed in war against the two states. By 640, Islamic military campaigns had brought all of Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine under the control of Rashidun Caliphate. Egypt was conquered by 642 and the entire Persian Empire by 643.

Umar, however, was one of the great political geniuses of history. While the empire was expanding at a mind-numbing rate beneath his leaderhsip, he also began to build the foundations for a political structure that would hold it together. 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, customs, and government relatively untouched. The only intrusion would be a governor (amir) and a financial officer called an amil.

Umar's most far-reaching innovations were in the area of building a financial structure to the empire. He understood that the most important aspect of the empire was a stable financial structure for the government. To this end, he built an efficient system of taxation and brought the military directly under the financial control of the state. He also founded the diwan, a unique Islamic institution. The diwan consisted of individuals that were important to the Islamic faith and the Islamic world, such as the companions of Muhammad. Their contribution to the faith was so great that they were given pensions to live off of, which freed them up to pursue religious and ethical studies, and thus provide spiritual leadership to the rest of the Islamic world.

Umar established many Islamic traditions, including the process of producing the Quran. Among his most lasting traditions was the establishment of the Muslim calendar. Like the Arabian calendar, it remained a lunar calendar, but Umar set the beginning of the calendar to the year in which Muhammad emigrated to Medina. This, as far as Umar was concerned, was the turning point in Islamic history.

Umar was mortally wounded in an assassination attempt by the Persian slave Abu Lulu Fieroz, during morning prayers in 644. Before he died, Umar appointed a committee of six men to decide on the next caliph—they were charged to choose one of their own number.

Election of Uthman

Main article: The election of Uthman

All of the men, like 'Umar, were from the tribe of Quraish the Ansar, had been gradually shut out of power.

This committee would prove to be pivotal, for on its choice would eventually grow Islam's first schism. The committee narrowed down the choices to two: 'Uthman and 'Ali. 'Ali was the son-in-law of Muhammad and had been a companion to the prophet from the inception of his mission. He may also have been named by Muhammad as a successor. Uthman was from Umayyad clan of Quraish, and was also a son in law of Mohammad, and was one of the wealthy men of his time.

Uthman, however, was a supremely practical and intelligent military and political leader while 'Ali was fervently devout religious disciple.

Uthman reigned for twelve years as caliph, duirng the first half of his reign he enjoyed a position of the most popular caliph among all the Rashiduns, while in later half of his reign he met increasing opposition. This opposition was led by the Egyptians and was constellated around him, who would, albeit briefly, succeed Uthman as caliph. Despite internal troubles, Uthman continued the wars of conquest so brilliantly carried out by 'Umar. The Rashidun army conquered North Africa from Byzantines and even raided Spain conquering the coastal areas of Iberian peninsula the islands of Rhodes, Sicily and cyprus were captured. Rashidun army fully conquered the Sassanid Persian Empire, and its eastern frontiers extended up to Lower Indus river. Uthman's greatest and most lasting achievement was the formal rescension 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^[4].

Until 'Uthman, the Qur'an was largely an oral text that was recited by followers who had memorized it. The wars of conquest, however, had thinned their ranks, and the introduction of foreign peoples into Islam threatened the integrity of the text as an Arabic text. So 'Uthman ordered that all versions, written and oral, be collected together and a definitive version written down. It is this definitive version which became the central text of Islam and the bedrock on which all Islamic history would be built. And it was this version, this brilliant achievement, that 'Uthman was reciting from when he was killed. Unrest grew steadily and precipitously. His government seriously mishandled finances all throughout the empire. In 656, rebels entered Madinah, a riot broke out in Medinah. Rebels laid the siege of Uthman's house.

Siege of Uthman

Main article: Siege of Uthman

Uthman denied any military action as to avoid civil war between Muslims, and preferred negotiations. His polite attitude towards rebels emboldened them and they broke into Uthman's house and killed him while he was reading the Qur'an.

Crisis and fragmentation

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.^[5] Uthman's death was ironic for many reasons, including the fact that he was the first Islamic caliph to be killed by fellow Muslims. Followed the assassination of the caliph Uthman ibn Affan, first Muslim civil war started, that continued during the brief caliphate of Ali ibn Abu Talib, and was ended, on the whole, by Mu'awiya's assumption of the caliphate, that laid the foundation of Umayyad Empire. This civil war is often called the Fitna,^{disambiguation needed} and regretted as the end of the early unity of the Islamic ummah (nation).

In 656, when Uthman ibn Affan, was murdered by a group of rebels as he sat reading the Qur'an in his home in Medina, in north-western Arabia. Medina fell into chaos and uproar. Citizens flocked to Ali ibn Abu Talib, the 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. Now they urged him to take the caliphate. Initially reluctant due to the circumstances of the caliph's death, he eventually chose to accept.

Main article: First Fitna

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 Busra, their first objective was Busra. The army reached Busra and captured it, 4000 suspected seditionists were assassinated. Ali who had already transferred his capital from Madinah to Kufa, turned towards Busra and a battle was fought between the Caliph Ali's army and the army of Muslims who demended revenge of Uthman. Though nor Ali nor the leader of opposing army Talha and Zubayr wanted to fight, a fight broke out suddenly at night between 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 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 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 withdraw from the battlefield refusing to fight against Muslims.

After this dark episode of Islamic history, another cry for revenge for blood of Uthman rose. This time it was by Mu'awiya, kinsmen of Uthman and governor of province of Syria. However it is regarded as more an attempt of assuming caliphate by Mu'awiya then 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) was lost due to the civil war, like Sicily, North Africa, coastal areas of Spain and some forts in Anatolia. But Byzantines never tended to re-capture their lost land, according to the Muslims history, Mu'awiya sent a letter to Byzantine emperor threatening him not to enter Islamic lands or he will make peace with his kinsmen (referring to Ali) and they will 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, but realized that he could not prevail. He came to an agreement with Mu'awiya, of which various accounts are given, while Mu'awiya assumed control of the empire and founded the Umayyad empire, with it the Rashidun Caliphate dismantled.

Military expansion

The Rashidun empire expended gradually, with the time span of 24 years of conquest a vast territory was occupied comprising North Africa, the Middle east, Transoxiana, the Caucasus, most of Anatolia, the whole of the Sassanid Persian empire, the Greater Khorasan, the islands of Cyprus, Rhodes and Sicily, Iberian peninsula was invaded, and Baluchistan was conquered, its eastern frontiers reaching the lower Indus river in subcontinent and western frontiers up to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Islamic Invasion of Sassanid Persia resulted in the conquest of whole of the Sassanid Persian empire, because the Persians denied to submit and continued striving to re-capture their lost territory. Unlike the Sassanids Persian, the Byzantines after losing Syria retreated up to western Anatolia and accordingly also lost Egypt, North Africa, Sicily, Cyprus, Rhodes and part of the Iberian peninsula to the invading Rashidun army, thanks to civil wars among the Muslims that halted the war of conquest for many years and gave time for the Byzantine Empire to recover.

Conquest of Persian empire

First Islamic invasion of Sassanid Persian empire was launched by Caliph Abu Bakr in 633 was a swift conquest in the time span of only 4 months lead by legendary general Khalid ibn Walid. Abu Bakr sent his most brilliant general 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 resistance in the Battle of Hira. 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 got 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 got news of the assembling of a large Persian army. Within a few weeks, he decided to defeat them all separately 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 those 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.^[6] After this conquest, Khalid left Mesopotamia to lead another campaign at Syria against the Roman Empire, after which Mithna ibn Haris took command in Mesopotamia. Persians once again concentrated armies to regain the lost Mesopotamia, Mithna ibn Haris withdraw from the central Iraq to the region near Arabian desert to delay war until reinforcement comes from Madinah. Caliph Umar sent reinforcement under the command of Abu Ubaidah Saqfi with some initial success this army was finally defeated by Sassanid army at the Battle of the Bridge in which Abu Ubaid was killed. The other whole scale invasion was delayed until after a decisive Muslim victory against the Romans in Levant at the Battle of Yarmuk in 636, caliph Umar, was able to transfer forces to the east and resume the offensive against the Sassanids. The Caliph Umar dispatched 36,000 men along with 7500 troops from 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 Persian general Rostam Farrokhzād was caught and beheaded. According to some sources, the Persian losses were 20,000, and the Arabs lost 8,500 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 space 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 the 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 an incitement to revolt in the conquered territories and unlike Byzantine army, the Sassanid army was continuously striving to regain there lost territories. Finally Umar decided to push his forces for further conquests, which eventually resulted in the whole scale conquest of 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 Battle of Nihawānd, some forty miles south of Hamadan in modern Iran. Rashidun Caliphate army under the command of Umar's appointed general Nu'man ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani, attacked and again defeated the Persian forces. Muslims recognized it as the Victory of victories (Fath alfotuh) as it marked the End of the Sassanids, shattering the last strongest Sassanid army. Yazdegerd 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, these regions were mostly re-conquered during Caliph Uthman’s reign^[7] with further expansion in the region which were not conquered during Umar’s reign, and the Rashidun Caliphate’s frontiers in the east extended up to lower river Indus and up to Oxus River in the north.

Wars against the Eastern Roman empire

Conquest of Roman Syria

Caliph Abu Bakr, after Khalid ibn Walid conquered Iraq gave him a new task to enter the Byzantine province of Syria and command Muslim armies there. The Byzantine province of Syria (Levant)in those days consisted of modern day Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Southern Turkey. Passing through the Syrian Desert, Khalid with his half army of 9000 warriors entered Syria in June 634 and commanded the 23000 Muslim army present there under the command of 4 generals, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Yazid bin Abu-Sufyan, Sharjeel bin Hosanna and Amr ibn al-A'as. Defeating many Ghassanid Arab armies in minor battles and conquering many towns Muslim army laid the siege of the important town of Bosra where the Byzantine army was defeated in the Battle of Bosra in mid of July 634. Muslim Forces soon heard of gathering of 90,000 Roman army at Ajnadayn, after which all the divisions of Muslim army joined Khalid at Ajnadayn on 24 July 634, and defeated Roman there on 30 July 634 in Battle of Ajnadayn, it was the first major pitched battle between Muslim army and Byzantine army. Damascus the Byzantine stronghold was conquered shortly after it on 19 September 634 A.D after Conquest of Damascus, the Byzantine army was given a deadline of 3 days to go as far as they can, with their families and treasure, or simply agree to stay in Damascus and pay tribute. 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 battle of Maraj-al-Debaj. ^[8] 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 Muslim army, the conquest of Syria slow down under him and Abu-Ubaida relied heavily on the advice of Khalid, and he kept beside him as much as possible. ^[9] The Muslim army moved to Fahal, with Khalid commanding the cavalry, reaching there first and defeating the Byzantine army at the Battle of Fahal on the 23rd of January 635. After the battle, Abu Ubaida moved towards Emesa with Khalid, who was commanding the cavalry. Meanwhile, Emperor Heraclius sent General Theodras to Damascus to recapture it, as there was only a weak defensive army in the city.^[9] Theodras met the Muslim army at Maraj-al-Rome, and moved with half of his army towards Damascus at night, while Abu Ubaida and Khalid were engaged with the remaining Byzantine army. Khalid's spy informed him about the move, and Khalid asked Abu Ubaida to give him the permission to defend Damascus. While Abu Ubaida fought and defeated the Roman army in the battle of Maraj-al-Rome, Khalid moved to Damascus with his cavalry and attacked and defeated Theodrus in the 2nd battle of Damascus. A week later, Abu Ubaida himself moved towards Balaq, while he sent Khalid straight towards Emesa.^[10] Both cities surrendered and agreed to pay tribute. Emesa and Qinasareen signed a one year peace treaty. In November 635, Khalid and Abu Ubaida moved towards Hamma city, which surrendered and agreed to pay tribute. Later, Abu Ubaida sent Khalid to Shairzer, Afamia and Matar-al-Hamz which all surrendered. Meanwhile Qinasareen and Emesa broke the peace treaty. In response, Abu Ubaida decided to conquer Emesa first and sent Khalid who defeated the Byzantine army in the 1st Battle of Emesa. The Byzantines retreated to the castle of Emesa and were subsequently besieged. Soon, Abu Ubaida reached Emesa with rest of his army, and he gave the command of the siege to Khalid, who once more defeated the Byzantine army in the 2nd Battle of Emessa. After two months of the siege, the city was finally conquered on March 636 after the 3rd Battle of Emesa. Abu Ubaida sent Khalid to conquer northern Syria. Khalid defeated a small Roman army in a skirmish and took many prisoners. These prisoners informed him about Emperor Heraclius's final effort to take back Syria. They told him that an army possibly two hundred thousand (200,000) strong would soon emerge to recapture their territory. Khalid stopped there on June 636. This huge army set out for their destination. As soon as Abu Ubaida got the news, he gathered all his officers to plan their next move. Khalid suggested that they should call all of their forces present in Syria (Syria, Jordan, Palestine) to make a powerful joint force and then move towards the plain of Yarmouk for the 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.^[11] Hercules army also moved towards Yarmuk. The Muslim armies reached there in July 636. A week or two later, around mid July, the Byzantine army arrived.^[12] Khalid's Mobile guard defeated Christian Arab auxiliaries of the Roman army in a skirmish . 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 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-bin al-eas 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 the 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 them with a 17,000 strong army. Khalid along with his cavalry was sent to Hazir and Abu Ubaidah moved to Qasreen city. Khalid defeated a strong Byzantine army in the Battle of Hazir and reached Qinasareen 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

Abu Ubaida and Khalid ibn Walid, after conquering all of the 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 Byzantine army and Antioch surrendered on 30 October 637 CE. Later within the year, Abu Ubaida sent Khalid and another general Ayaz bin Ghanam at the head of two separate armies against western part of Jazira most of which was conquered with out strong resistance, including parts of Anatolia, Edessa and area up to Ararat plain. Other columns were sent to Anatolia up to as west as Taurus Mountains, the important city of Anatolia, Marash, Malatya were conquered By Khalid in autumn 638. During Uthman’s reign, Byzantines recaptured many forts in the region and on Uthman's orders, series of campaigns were launched to regain control of the region. In 647 Muawiyah the governor of Syria sent an expedition against the Anatolia, they entered in Cappadocia, and sacked Caesarea Mazaca. In 648 the Rashidun army raided into 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.

Rashidun Empire at its peak under third Rashidun Caliph, Uthman- 654      Strongholds of Rashidun Caliphate      Vassal sates of Rashidun Caliphate

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 most frontiers of Rashidun Caliphate in Anatolia during Caliph Uthman's reign.

Conquest 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 Byzantine empire was shattered during the Muslim conquest of Syria, and therefore the conquest of Egypt was much more easier. In 639 A.D, some 4,000 Rashidun troops led by Amr ibn al-As, was sent by the Caliph Umar to conquer the land of the ancient pharaohs. The Rashidun Caliphate 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 [1], Melchite (i.e., Byzantine/Chalcedonian Orthodox, not Coptic) Patriarch of Alexandria, and the incompetence of the generals of the Byzantine forces, and due to lost of most of 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 secretly a 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 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.^[13] During the reign of Caliph Ali the Egypt was captured by the 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

After the withdrawal of the Byzantines from Egypt, North Africa had declared its independence under its king Gregory. The dominions of Gregory extended from the borders of Egypt to Morocco. Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad use 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 Majlis al shura, a force of 10,000 soldiers was sent as reinforcement. The Rashidun army assembled in Barqa in Cyrenaica, from there they marched west to capture Tripoli, after Tripoli they 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.

Campaign against Nubia (Sudan)

A campaign was undertaken against Nubia during the Caliphate of Umar in 642, but the campaign was inconclusive and the army were pulled out of Nubia with out any success.

Location of Dongola within Sudan

Ten years latter in 652, 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 demolished the cathedral in the center of the city, the battle was once again inconclusive, because of the Nubian archers who let loose a shower of arrows aimed at the eyes of the Muslim warriors. As the Muslims were not able to overpower the Nubians, they accepted the offer of peace from the Nubian king. 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 to Nubia according to demand.

Conquest of the islands of Mediterranean Sea

Further information: History of Islam in southern Italy

During Umar's reign, the governor of Syria, Muawiyah I, sent a request to build a naval force to invade the islands in the Mediterranean Sea but Umar rejected the proposal because of risk of death of soldiers at sea. During his reign Uthman gave Muawiyah permission to build a navy after concerning the matter closely. The Muslim force landed on Cyprus in 649. There was only a small Byzantine garrison on the island, which was overpowered without any difficulty. The islanders submitted to the Muslims, and agreed to pay a tribute of 7,000 dinars per year. The conquest of Cyprus was the first naval conquest of the Muslims. After Cyprus Muslim naval fleet headed towards the island of Crete and then Rhodes and conquered them with out much resistance. In 652-654, the Muslims lunched a naval campaign against Sicily and they succeeded in capturing a large part of the island. Soon after this Uthman was murdered, no further expansion was made, and the Muslims accordingly retreated from Sicily. In 655 Byzantione emperor Constans II led a fleet in person to attack the Muslims at Phoinike (off Lycia) but it was defeated: 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and the emperor himself risked being killed.

First Muslim invasion of Iberian peninsula(Spain)

According to the general books of Islamic history the conquest of Spain is attributed to Tariq ibn Ziyad and Musa ibn Nusair in 711 - 712 C.E, in the time of the Umayyad Caliph Walid ibn Abd al-Malik. According to Muslim historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari^[14], Spain was first invaded some sixty years earlier during the caliphate of Uthman in 653 A.D. Other promenient Muslim historians like Ibn Kathir^[15] also have quoted the same narration. According to the account of al-Tabari, when North Africa had been duly conquered by Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad, two of his generals, Abdullah ibn Nafiah ibn Husain, and Abdullah ibn Nafi' ibn Abdul Qais, were commissioned to invade coastal areas of Spain by sea. On this occasion Uthman is reported to have addressed a letter to the invading force. In the course of the letter, Uthman said:

No details of the campaigns in Spain during the caliphate of Uthman are given by al-Tabari or by any other historian. The account of al-Tabari is merely to the effect that an Arab force aided by a Berber force landed in Spain, and succeeded in conquering coastal areas of Al-Andalus. We do not know where the Muslim force landed, what resistance they met, and what parts of Spain did they actually conquer. Anyhow it is clear that the Muslims did conquer some parts of Spain during the caliphate of Uthman. Presumably the Muslims established some colonies on the coastland of Spain. There are reasons to presume that these Muslims entered into trade relations with the rest of Spain and other parts of Europe. The areas were lost shortly after because of the general disorder in the empire.

Treatment of Conquered Peoples

Main article: Dhimmi

The non-Muslim inhabitants of the conquered lands were given the status of Dhimmi according to Islamic law. Those who accepted Islam were treated in a similar manner as other Muslims, and were given equivalent rights in legal matters.

Dhimmi peoples were allowed to "practice their religion, subject to certain conditions, and to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy" and were guaranteed their personal safety and security of property in return for paying tribute and acknowledging Muslim rule.^[16] Dhimmis were also subject to payjizya and kharaj, which was considered material proof of their subjection.^[17]Historically, the Dhimmi people were not heavily taxed. Caliph Umar was the first Caliph to provide Allowance to non-Muslims after they reached old age. The very first Non-Muslim to receive pension from the Rashidun Administration was a Jew from the following documented record: `

Once Caliph Omar was in the streets of Madina when he saw
a man begging. He went to him and asked him;"why are you
begging? Are you not receiving maintenance(allowance)
from Bait as-mal".The man replied;"I am a Jew and i am
doing this so that i can pay the Jizya".Hearing this the caliph
Omar took him by his hand to the Bait al-mal and decreed
In the name of Allah you pay jizya all your life and then you get
betrayed when you reach old age."He ordered to provide that man
Pension and from that day it was so ordered for All Jews and
Christians and others.

This is how non-Muslims were being given relief from Jizya though jizya was not abolished.

Political Administration

The basic administrative system Of Darul-Islamiah was Laid down in the days of the Prophet. Caliph Abu Bakr stated in his sermon when he was elected "if I order any thing that would go against the Order of Allah and his Messenger ;then do not Obey me" This is considered to be the foundation stone of the Caliphate. Caliph Umar has been reported to say "O Muslims straighten me with your hands when i go wrong" and at that instance a Muslim man stood up and said"O Amir al-mumineen (Umar farooq) If you do not straightened by our hands we will use our sword to straighten you" hearing this Caliph Umar said "alhumdulillah (Praise be to Allah) I have such Followers."

In the administrative field Caliph Umar was the most brilliant among the Rashidun Caliphs, it was his dazzling administrative qualities because of which the most of the administrative structure of the empire was thus established. Under Caliph Abu Bakr, the empire was not clearly divided into provinces, though it had many administrative districts, like Mecca

1. Madinah
2. Yemen
3. Bahrain
4. Iraq

Under Umar the country was divided into number of provinces which were as follows:

1. Arabia was divided into two provinces, Mecca and Madina;
2. Iraq was divided into two provinces, Basra and Kufa;
3. In the upper reaches of the Tigris and the Euphrates, Jazira was a province;
4. Syria was a province;
5. Umar divided Palestine in two provinces Aylya and Ramlah;
6. Egypt was divided into two provinces, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt;
7. Persia was divided into three provinces, Khorasan; Azarbaijan and Fars.

In his testament, Caliph Umar had instructed his successor not to make any change in the administrative set up for one year after his death. For obe year Uthman maintained the pattern of political administration as it stood under Umar, latter he made some amendments. Under Umar Egypt was divided into two provinces, Upper and Lower Egypt. Uthman made Egypt one province. Uthman created a new province for North Africa. Under Umar Syria was divided into two provinces. Uthman made Syria one province. During Uthman’s reign the empire was divided into twelve provinces. These were:

1. Madinah
2. Makkah
3. Yemen
4. Kufa
5. Basra
6. Jazira
7. Fars
8. Azerbaijan
9. Khurasan
10. Syria
11. Egypt
12. North Africa

Caliph Ali, during his reign, with the exception of Syria (which was under Muawiyah I's control) and Egypt (That he lost during later year of his caliphate to the rebel troops of Amr ibn Al-A'as]]), ruled all rest of ten provinces, the administrative districts were same as was under Caliph Uthman.

The provinces were further divided into districts, there were more than 100 districts in the empire. each district or main city was under the charge of a Governor or Wali. Other officers at the provincial level were:

1. Katib, the Chief Secretary.
2. Katib-ud-Diwan, the Military Secretary.
3. Sahib-ul-Kharaj, the Revenue Collector.
4. Sahib-ul-Ahdath, the Police chief.
5. Sahib-ul-Bait-ul-Mal, the Treasury Officer.
6. Qadi, the Chief Judge.

In some districts there were separate military officers, though the Governor (Wali) was in most cases the Commander-in-chief of the army quartered in the province.

The officers were appointed by the Caliph. Every appointment was made in writing. At the time of appointment an instrument of instructions was issued with a view to regulating the conduct of Governors. On assuming office, the Governor was required to assemble the people in the main mosque, and read the instrument of instructions before them.^[18].

Umar's general instructions to his officers were:

During the reign of Caliph Abu Bakr, the state was economically weak, while during Umar’s reign because of increase in revenues and other sources of income, the state was on its way to economic prosperity. Hence Umar felt it necessary that the officers be treated in strict way as to prevent the possible greed of money that may lead them to corruption. During his reign, at the time of appointment, every officer was required to make the oath:

1. That he would not ride a Turkish horse (which was a symbol of pride).
2. That he would not wear fine clothes.
3. That he would not eat sifted flour.
4. That he would not keep a porter at his door.
5. That he would always keep his door open to the public.

Caliph Umar himself followed the above postulates strictly. During the reign of Uthman the state become more economically prosperous then ever before; the allowance of the citizens was increased by 25% and the economical condition of the ordinary person was more stable, which lead Caliph Uthman to revoke the 2nd and 3rd postulates of the oath. At the time of appointment a complete inventory of all the possessions of the person concerned was prepared and kept in record. If there was an unusual increase in the possessions of the office holder, he was immediately called to account, and the unlawful property was confiscated by the State. The principal officers were required to come to Mecca on the occasion of the Hajj, during which people were free to present any complaint against them. In order to minimize the chances of corruption, Umar made it a point to pay high salaries to the staff. Provincial governor received as much as five to seven thousand dirham annually besides their shares of the spoils of war (if they were also the commander in chief of the army of there sector).

Department of accountability

A special office was established for the investigation of complaints that reached the Caliph, Caliph Umar was first to establish this department. It was for the investigation of the complaints against the officers of the State. The Department was under the charge of Muhammad ibn Maslamah a man of undisputed integrity. In important cases Muhammad ibn Maslamah was deputed by Umar to proceed to the spot, investigate the charge and take action. Sometimes an Inquiry Commission was constituted to investigate the charge. On occasions the officers against him complaints were received were summoned to Madinah, and put to explanation by the Caliph himself. Muhammad ibn Maslamah remained at the charge of this department until the death og Caliph Uthman.

Judicial Administration

As most of the administrative structure of the Rashidun Empire was setup by Umar, the judicial administration was also established by him and the other Caliphs followed the same system with out any type of basic amendment in it. In order to provide effective and speedy justice for the people, an effective system of judicial administration was setup, hereunder justice was administered according to the principles of Islam. Qadis (Judges) were appointed at all administrative levels for the administration of justice. Umar was the first ruler in history to separate judiciary from the executive. The Qadis were chosen for their integrity and learning in Islamic law. High salaries were fixed for the Qadis so that there was no temptation to bribery. Wealthy men and men of high social status were appointed as Qadis so that they might not have the temptation to take bribes, or be influenced by the social position of any body. The Qadis were not allowed to engage in trade. Judges were appointed in sufficient number, and there was no district which did not have a Qadi.

Economy

During the Rashidun Caliphate there was an economical boom in the lives of the ordinary people due to the revolutionary economic policies developed by Caliph Umar and his successor Caliph Uthman. At first it was Umar who introduced these reforms on strong bases, his successor Uthman who himself was an intelligent businessman, had further reforms init. During Uthman's reign the people of the empire enjoyed the most prosper life.

Bait-ul-Maal

Bait-ul-Maal, (literally, The house of money) was the department that dealt with the revenues and all other economical matters of the state. In the time of Muhammad there was no permanent Bait-ul-Mal or public treasury. Whatever revenues or other amounts were received were distributed immediately. There were no salaries to be paid, and there was no state expenditure. Hence the need for the treasury at public level was not felt. In the time of Abu Bakr as well there was not treasury. Abu Bakr earmarked a house where all money was kept on receipt. As all money was distributed immediately the treasury generally remained locked up. At the time of the death of Abu Bakr there was only one dirham in the public treasury.

Establishment of Bait-ul-Maal

In the time of Umar things changed. With the extension in conquests money came in larger quantities, Umar also allowed salaries to men fighting in the army. Abu Huraira who was the Governor of Bahrain sent a revenue of five hundred thousand dirhams. Umar summoned a meeting of his Consultative Assembly and sought the opinion of the Companions about the disposal of the money. Uthman ibn Affan advised that the amount should be kept for future needs. Walid bin Hisham suggested that like the Byzantines separate departments of Treasury and Accounts should be set up. After consulting the Companions Umar decided to establish the Central Treasury at Madinah. Abdullah bin Arqam was appointed as the Treasury Officer. He was assisted by Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Muiqib. A separate Accounts Department was also set up and it was required to maintain record of all that was spent. Later provincial treasuries were set up in the provinces. After meeting the local expenditure the provincial treasuries were required to remit the surplus amount to the central treasury at Madinah. According to Yaqubi the salaries and stipends charged to the central treasury amounted to over 30 million dirhams.

The coins were of Persian origin, and had an image of the last persian emperor, Muslim added the sentence Bismillah to it.

A separate building was constructed for the royal treasury by the name bait ul maal, which in large cities was guarded by as many as 400 guards. In most of the historical accounts it states that among the Rashidun Caliphs Uthman ibn Affan was first to struck the coins, some accounts however states that Umar was first to do so. When Persia was conquered three types of coins were current in the conquered territories, namely Baghli of 8 dang; Tabari of 4 dang; and Maghribi of 3 dang. Umar ( according to some accounts Uthman ) made an innovation and struck an Islamic dirham of 6 dang.

Economic resources of the State

The economic resources of the State were:

1. Zakat
2. Ushr
3. Jazya
4. Fay
5. Khums
6. Kharaj

• Zakat

Main article: Zakat

Zakāt (Arabic: زكاة‎) is the Islamic concept of luxury tax. It was taken from the Muslims in the amount of 2.5% of their dormant wealth (over a certain amount unused for a year) for use in only specified categories. Only persons whose annual wealth exceeded a minimum level (nisab) were collected from. The Nisab does not include primary residence, primary transportation, moderate amount of wowen jewelry, etc. Zakāt is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and it is obligation on all Muslims who qualify as wealthy enough.

• Jizya

Main article: Jizya

jizya or jizyah (Arabic: جزْية;