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Caliph · c. 576 to 656

Uthman ibn Affan

Married two of the Prophet's daughters, which earned him the title Dhu al-Nurayn, the possessor of two lights. As third caliph he sent a standard copy of the Quran to every province. Rebels killed him in Madinah in 656.

At a glance

Lived
c. 576 to 656
Role
Caliph
Dynasty
Rashidun Caliphs
Era
Uthman, Ali and the first civil war
Chapter
1. The Rightly Guided Caliphs

Battles

  • 651
    Fall of Merv

    Sasanian dynasty ended. Yazdegerd III was killed near Merv while on the run, ending a dynasty that had ruled Iran for over 400 years.

  • 654
    Battle of the Masts

    Muslim naval victory. The first great sea battle in Islamic history.

Uthman ibn Affan's world

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

Dates for early figures are often approximate. Spotted a mistake? Tell us