Internal wars · 657

Battle of Siffin

When Ali's side was gaining, Syrian soldiers raised pages of the Quran on their spears. The arbitration that followed split Ali's camp and gave birth to the Kharijites.

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

Key facts

When: 657
Where: On the Euphrates, Raqqa, Syria
Sides: Caliph Ali vs Muawiya, governor of Syria
Commanders: Ali ibn Abi Talib vs Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan
Result: Ended in arbitration
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.
Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyanc. 602 to 680
A companion of the Prophet who governed Syria for twenty years.
Amr ibn al-Asc. 573 to 664
Conquered Egypt between 640 and 642 and founded Fustat, the camp city that grew into Cairo.

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

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