Conflict: First Fitna
Combatants: Mu'awiya Rebels vs. Rahidun Caliphate
Location: Syria
Outcome: Inconclusive
With the murder of Caliph Othman in 656, Ali, adopted son of the Prophet Mohammed, took control of the Islamic Caliphate. Within a year, however, Othman's cousin and governor of Syria, Mu'awiya, rebelled against Ali. The two factions fought a protracted and inconclusive battle at Siffin, but Mu'awiya would in time be proclaimed Caliph (660). Ali was murdered shortly after, in 661), and his son abdicated.
Points of Interest:
Mu'awiya was the first of many Omayyad Caliphs.
Mu'awiya spread the Islamic Conquests to Asia and Africa.
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Sources:
Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).
Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.
Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
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