Ali ibn Abi Talib
The Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, famous for his courage at Khaybar and for his learning. His caliphate was taken up by the first civil war, and he was assassinated in Kufa in 661.
At a glance
- Lived
- c. 600 to 661
- Role
- Caliph
- Dynasty
- Rashidun Caliphs
- Era
- The Prophet's state in Madinah; Uthman, Ali and the first civil war
- Chapter
- 1. The Rightly Guided Caliphs
Battles
- 628Battle of Khaybar
Muslim victory. The fortified oasis surrendered after a siege and agreed to hand over half its harvest each year.
- 656Battle of the Camel (Jamal)
Victory for Ali. The first battle between Muslim armies, named after the camel Aisha rode.
- 657Battle of Siffin
Ended in arbitration. When Ali's side was gaining, Syrian soldiers raised pages of the Quran on their spears.
- 658Battle of Nahrawan
Victory for Ali. Ali crushed the Kharijites who had rejected the arbitration.
Ali ibn Abi Talib's world
632: The Prophet's state in Madinah
In the ten years after the Hijrah, Madinah grew from one town into a state that held most of Arabia. When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) died in June 632, the two great powers next door, Byzantium and Sasanian Persia, were worn out after decades of war with each other.
661: 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.
People of the same era
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