Battle of Nahrawan

Ali crushed the Kharijites who had rejected the arbitration. In 661 a Kharijite, Ibn Muljam, killed Ali in revenge.

The site of the battle on the 661 map. Shaded: Added under Uthman and Ali, 644 to 661, Rashidun Caliphate, 644.

Key facts

When: 658
Where: Nahrawan canal, east of Baghdad, Iraq
Sides: Caliph Ali vs the Kharijites
Commanders: Ali ibn Abi Talib vs Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi
Result: Victory for Ali
Type: Internal wars
Chapter: 1. The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Who led it

Ali ibn Abi Talibc. 600 to 661
The Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, famous for his courage at Khaybar and for his learning.

The wider picture: Uthman, Ali and the first civil war

Under Uthman the frontier reached Khurasan in the east and Libya in the west, and the first Muslim navy beat the Byzantine fleet in 654. Anger at provincial governors ended in Uthman's killing at his home in Madinah in 656. Ali moved the capital to Kufa and spent his caliphate fighting rival Muslim armies.

See the 661 map Read chapter 1

More internal wars battles

All 10 internal wars of the early caliphates battles · Battle explorer

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