The 'Islamic Empire' ('بلاد الإسلامية' ) or 'Rashidun Empire' or 'Rashidun Caliphate' (' خلافت راشدہ')is the term conventionally used to describe the Empire of the immediate successors of
Muhammad the first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad and are quoted as the 'Khulafah Rashidun'.
The Empire is also refer as the ''Arab Empire'' by western historians because of the dominance of
Arabic language, culture and population. To its inhabitants, the Empire was simply the ''Islamic Empire'' and its rulers were the
Rashidun Caliphs.
Founded in the
632 century and dismantled in
661, At its height in 650s, the Rashidun Empire controlled a vast area extending from southwestern
Indian subcontinent in the
east to the
Middle East,
Asia minor,
Transoxiana,
Caucasus and
North Africa in the west.
The Islamic empire began to expand beyond the Arabian Peninsula after the death of Muhammad and founder of Islam, Muhammed, in 632.
Origin
Muhammad died in
632 in
Medina following a brief illness. The matter of Muhammad's successor was probably a relatively minor consideration when Muhammad and his followers had been a small, persecuted community in
Mecca. Muhammad did not hold what may now be called
civil authority, and had no significant estate to bequeath. He had proclaimed himself a
prophet, but it was not at all clear that a prophet must always have a successor. However, after Muhammad and his followers emigrated from
Mecca to
Medina in the
Hijra, and Muhammad] emerged as the political leader of a community expanding rapidly in size and power, the succession issue became increasingly important. Muhammad did not have a long illness; he died merely two weeks after falling ill. Following his death, there appears to have been a period of suspense or, according to some accounts, confusion.
Umar, one of his lieutenants, is said to have been overcome with grief, denying that Muhammad could have died, and refusing to allow the
burial of the body.
Sunni and
Shi'a Muslims debate whether this grief was genuine, or whether it may have been a play for time while succession was determined.
Virtually all authorities agree that after Muhammad's death, previously dormant tensions between the
Meccan
immigrants, the
Muhajirun, and the
Medinahn converts, the
Ansar, threatened to break out and split the
Ummah. The
Ansar, the leaders of the tribes of
Medinah, met in a hall or house called
saqifah, to discuss whom they would support as their new leader. When
Abu Bakr was informed of the meeting, he,
Umar,
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and a few others rushed to prevent the
Ansar from making a premature decision. Accounts of this meeting vary greatly. All agree that during the meeting
Umar declared that
Abu Bakr should be the new leader, and declared his allegiance to Abu Bakr, followed by
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah and
Abu Bakr became the first
Muslim caliph with the title 'Khalifa-tul-Rasool'(''Successor of messenger of Allah'').
After the meeting at
Saqifah, the
Muslims who were not present were asked to submit to
Abu Bakr, to give their pledge of allegiance. Most accounts agree that
Ali ibn Abi Talib and his supporters initially refused to submit. After a period of time, whose duration is disputed, the dissidents gave their bay'ah. Whether or not the process involved violence and intimidation, and whether or not
Ali willingly swore allegiance to
Abu Bakr have remained enduring controversies.
The
Shi'a believe that Muhammad divinely ordained his cousin and son-in-law,
Ali ibn Abi Talib, in accordance with God's command, making Ali and his descendants Muhammad's true
successors. The largest denomination in Islam, the
Sunnis, hold that
Abu Bakr and all
caliphs should be chosen by community consensus, that this method of choosing or electing leaders ''(
Shura)'' is endorsed by the
Qur'an.
See also
Succession to Muhammad
See also
Hadiths of Ali's succession
Early history
Troubles emerged soon after
Abu Bakr's succession, threatening the unity and stability of the new community and state.
Apostasy had actually begun in the lifetime of the Muhammad, and the first major action of the apostasy was fought and satisfactorily concluded while the Muhammad still lived. But the real and most serious danger of apostasy arose after the Muhammad's death, when a wild wave of disbelief-after-belief moved across the length and breadth of
Arabia and had to be tackled by
Abu Bakr. The first major event of the apostasy occurred in the
Yemen and is known as the Incident of Aswad Al Ansi
[1], he was killed on
May 30th,
632 (the 6th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 11 Hijri) by a
Persian Muslim governer of
Yemen ''Firoz''
[2]. the news of his assassination reach shortly after the death of Muhammad. The chief cause of the apostasy was lack of true faith. Most of the tribes, converted in the ninth and tenth years of the
Hijra, had taken to
Islam for political reasons. The
apostasy had become so general that it affected every
tribe in
Arabia with the exception of the people in
Mecca and
Medina and the
tribe of Thaqeef at
Taif. In some cases the entire tribe apostatised. In other cases part of the tribe apostatised while part continued to follow the true faith; and among those who remained
Muslims, many had to pay with their lives for their faith. Some withheld the ''
zakat'', the alms tax, though they did not otherwise challenge Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood, some like
Musaylima made it during the life time of Muhammad. The tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammad's death, their allegiance was ended.
Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader but joined the
Muslim religious community, of which he was the new head.
Apostasy is a capital offense under traditional interpretations of
Islamic law, and
Abu Bakr declared
war on the rebels. This was the start of the ''
Ridda wars'' (
Arabic for the Wars of Apostasy). The
apostasy of
central Arabia was led by self-proclaimed prophet
Musaylima, while the other centers were to the south and east in
Bahrain,
Oman,
Mahra and
Yemen.
Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly. He formed the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and this was the main punch of the
Muslims, was the corps of
Khalid ibn Walid. This was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces. Other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes.
Abu Bakr's plan was first to clear the area of
West and
Central Arabia (the area nearest
Madinah), then tackle
Malik ibn Nuwayrah, and finally concentrate against the most dangerous enemy
Musaylima. After series of successful campaigns
Khalid ibn Walid finally defeated
Musaylima in the
Battle of Yamama[3]. The Campaign of the
Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year of the
Hijri. The year
12 Hijri dawned, on
March 18,
633, with
Arabia united under the central authority of the
Caliph at
Madinah.According to the
Sunni Muslims, by putting down these larger insurrections and defeating the rival prophets among the
Bedouin tribes,
Abu Bakr was able to solidify the rest of
Arabia under
Islam, and basically rescue
Islam. The
Shi'a Muslims on the other hand have the views that, although there were some people that took the opportunity to proclaim themselves as prophets, the majority of people who battled against
Abu Bakr were people who expected
Ali to be the next
Caliph, since they claimed to have heard
Prophet Muhammad express this wish at the
Hadith of the two weighty things. According to Shi'a views Abu Bakr sent
Khalid ibn al-Walid to kill, loot and slaughter the particians of Ali.
[4]. and Thus claim that
Abu Bakr violated Muhammad's direct orders and orchestrated a
coup d'état.
Once the rebellions had been put down,
Abu Bakr began a
war of conquest. Whether or not he intended a full-out imperial conquest is hard to say; he did, however, set in motion a historical trajectory that in just a few short decades would lead to one of the
largest empires in history.
Abu Bakr began with
Iraq, the richest province of
Persian empire. He sent his most brillent general
Khalid ibn Walid to invade the
Persian empire.
Abu Bakr desired
Umar to be his successor and he persuaded the most powerful of the followers of Muhammad to go along. Umar was gifted both militarily and politically.
Umar continued the
war of conquests begun by
Abu Bakr. He pressed into the
Sassanid Persian Empire itself, but he also headed north into
Syria and
Byzantine territory and west into
Egypt. By 640, Islamic military campaigns had brought all of
Mesopotamia,
Syria and
Palestine under the control of Rashidun Caliphate.
Egypt was conquered by
642 and the Persian Empire by
643. These were some of the richest regions in the world guarded by powerful militaries—and they fell into Islamic hands in a heartbeat.
Umar, however, was one of the great political geniuses of history. While the empire was expanding at a mind-numbing rate beneath his leaderhsip, he also began to build the political structure that would hold together the vast empire that was being built. Umar did not require that non-Muslim populations convert to
Islam nor did he try to centralize government, as the
Persians had done. Instead, he allowed subject populations to retain their
religion,
language,
customs, and government relatively untouched. The only intrusion would be a governor (''amir'') and a financial officer called an ''amil''.
His most far-reaching innovations were in the area of building a financial structure to the empire. He understood that the most important aspect of the empire was a stable financial structure for the government. To this end, he built an efficient system of taxation and brought the military directly under the financial control of the state. He also founded the
diwan, a unique Islamic institution. The diwan consisted of individuals that were important to the Islamic faith and the Islamic world, such as the
campanions of Muhammad. Their contribution to the faith was so great that they were given pensions to live off of—this freed them up to pursue religious and ethical studies and so provide religious or ethical leadership to the rest of the
Islamic world.
It was Umar that fixed many Islamic traditions and practices and he began the process of producing the
Quran. His most lasting tradition, however, was establishing the
Muslim calendar. The Muslim calendar, like the Arabian calendar, remained a lunar calendar—however, he fixed the beginning of the calendar at the year in which
Muhammad emigrated to
Medina. This, as far as
Umar was concerned, was the turning point in
Islamic history.
Nearing his death, Umar appointed a committee of six men to decide on the next caliph—they were charged to choose one of their own number.
Main articles: The election of Uthman
All of the men, like 'Umar, were from the tribe of
Quraish the
Ansar, had been gradually shut out of power.
This committee would prove to be pivotal, for on its choice would eventually grow Islam's first
schism. The committee narrowed down the choices to two: '
Uthman and '
Ali. 'Ali was the son-in-law of Muhammad and had been a companion to the prophet from the inception of his mission. He may also have been named by Muhammad as a successor.
Uthman was from
Umayyad clan of
Quraish, and was also a son in law of Prophet Mohammad, and was one of the wealthy man of his time.
Uthman, however, was a supremely practical and intelligent military and political leader while '
Ali was fervently devout religious disciple. 'Ali was largely convinced that
Islam had gone astray and that it was not following either the religious, ethical, or social principles laid down in Muhammad's revelation. This profound difference between the two candidates led them to choose
Uthman, for the growing Islamic empire seemed to need a practical approach.
Uthman reigned for twelve years as
caliph, duirng the first half of his reign he enjoyed a position of the most popular caliph among all the
Rashiduns, while in later half of his reign he met increasing opposition. This opposition was led by the followers of Ali and was constellated around him, who would, albeit briefly, succeed Uthman as caliph.
Despite internal troubles, Uthman continued the
wars of conquest so brilliantly carried out by '
Umar. The
Rashidun army conquered
North Africa from
Byzantines and even raided
Spain conquering the coastal areas of
Iberian peninsula the islands of
Rhodes,
Sicily and
cyprus were captured.
Rashidun army fully conquered the
Sassanid Persian Empire, and its eastern frontiers extended up to
Lower Indus river.
Uthman's greatest and most lasting achievement was the formal rescension of the Qur'an . Until 'Uthman, the Qur'an was largely an oral text that was recited by followers who had memorized it. The wars of conquest, however, had thinned their ranks, and the introduction of foreign peoples into Islam threatened the integrity of the text as an Arabic text. So 'Uthman ordered that all versions, written and oral, be collected together and a definitive version written down. It is this definitive version which became the central text of Islam and the bedrock on which all Islamic history would be built. And it was this version, this brilliant achievement, that 'Uthman was reciting from when he was killed. Unrest grew steadily and precipitously. His government seriously mishandled finances all throughout the empire. In 656, rebels entered
Madinah, a riot broke out in Medinah. Rebels laid the siege of Uthman's house.
Main articles: Siege of Uthman
Uthman denied any military action as to avoid civil war between
Muslims, and preferred nigociation. His polite attitude to wards rebels embolded them and they broke into Uthman's house and killed him while he was reading the
Qur'an.
Crisis and fragmentation
After the assassination of the third Caliph,
Uthman ibn Affan, the Companions of Muhammad in
Medina selected
Ali to be the new Caliph, he was highly supported by rebels too. Soon thereafter, Ali dismissed several provincial governors, some of whom were relatives of Uthman, and replaced them with trusted aides such as
Malik al-Ashtar and
Salman the Persian. Ali then transferred his capital from Medina to
Kufa, the Muslim garrison city in what is now
Iraq. The capital of the province of
Syria,
Damascus, was held by
Mu'awiyah, the governor of
Syria and a kinsman of Uthman, Ali's slain predecessor.
[5] Uthman's death was ironic for many reasons, including the fact that he was the first Islamic
caliph to be killed by fellow
Muslims. Followed the assassination of the
caliph Uthman ibn Affan,
first Muslim civil war started, that continued during the brief caliphate of
Ali ibn Abu Talib, and was ended, on the whole, by
Mu'awiya's assumption of the caliphate, that laid the foundation of
Umayyad Empire. This civil war is often called the
Fitna, and regretted as the end of the early unity of the
Islamic
ummah (nation).
In
656, when
Uthman ibn Affan, was murdered by a group of rebels as he sat reading the
Qur'an in his home in
Medina, in north-western
Arabia. Medina fell into chaos and uproar. Citizens flocked to
Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, and a respected community leader who had been passed over for the leadership three times since the death of Muhammad. Now they urged him to take the caliphate. Initially reluctant due to the circumstances of the caliph's death, he eventually chose to accept.
Main articles: First Fitna
Ali then had to fight against numerous challengers to his rule. The cry of revenge of the blood of Caliph Uthman grew, and a large army of the Muslims led by
Zubayr,
Talha and the widow of Muhammad,
Ayesha set for revenge from the rebels. As the rebels gathered from
Egypt,
Kufa and
Busra, there first objective was
Busra. The army reached Busra and captured it, 4000 suspected seditionist were assassinated.
Ali who had already trasfered his capital from Madinah to Kufa, turned towards
Busra and a battle was fought between the
Caliph Ali's army and the army of Muslims who demended revenge of Uthman. Though nor Ali nor the leader of opposing army
Talha and
Zubayr wanted to fight but at night suddenly fight broke between two armies, it is said accordingto sunni Muslim traditions that the
rebels who were involved in the assassination of Uthman brokjes fight as they afraid that as a result of nigociation between Ali and opposing army, the killers of Uthman will be searched and killed. The battle thus fought was first battle between Muslims and is knows as
Battle of the Camel, The Caliphate won the battle some how and the dispute was sattled and Ali sent his son
Hassan ibn Ali to ascort
Ayesha back to
Madinah. The eminent campaions of Mohammad,
Talha and
Zubayr were killed in the battle after they withdraw from the battle field denying fighting against Muslims.
After this dark episode of Islamic history, an other cry for revenge for blood of Uthman rosed. This time it was by
Mu'awiya, kinsmen of Uthman and governor of province of Syria. However it is regarded as more an attempt of assuming caliphate by
Mu'awiya then to take revenge for Uthman's murder from the rebels.
Ali fought Uthman's kinsman
Mu'awiya, the governor of
Syria, at the
Battle of Siffin to a stalemate and then lost a controversial arbitration; and he fought his own mutinous soldiers (the first
Kharijites). Large sections of the new empire created in the twenty-four years (632-656) was lost due to the civil war, like
Sicily,
North Africa, coastal areas of
Spain and some forts in
Anatolia. But
Byzantines never tended to re-capture there lost land, according to the Muslims hisoty,
Mu'awiya sent a letter to Byzantine empror threatening him not to enter Islamic lands or he will make peace with his kinsmen (referring to Ali) and they will both together destroy the
Byzantine Empire.
In 661 CE, Ali was assassinated in Masjid (Mosque) of Kufa by a relative of one of the rebel soldiers he had defeated and killed. His last words were "Fuztu wa rabb al-Ka'bah" - meaning ''By The Lord of the Ka'bah, I have succeeded.''
His son
Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, briefly assumed the caliphate upon being appointed by Ali, but realized that he could not prevail. He came to an agreement with Mu'awiya, of which various accounts are given, while Mu'awiya assumed control of the empire and founded the
Umayyad empire, with it the Rashidun Caliphate dismentled.
Military expansion
The Rashidun empire expended gradually, with the time span of 24 years of conquest a vast territory was occupied comprising,
North Africa,
Middle east,
Transoxiana,
Caucasus, most of
Anatolia, the whole of
Sassanid Persian empire, the
Greater Khorasan, Islands of
Cyprus,
Rhodes and
Sicily,
Iberian peninsula was invaded, and
Baluchistan was conquered its eastern frontiers reached the
lower Indus river in
subcontinent and western frontiers up to
Atlantic Ocean.
The Islamic Invasion of Sassanid Persian land resulted in the conquest of whole of the
Sassanid Persian empire]], because the Persians denied to submit and continued striving to re-capture there lost territory. Unlike
Sassanid Persian,
Byzantine after losing
Syria, retreated up to western
Anatolia and accordingly lost also
Egypt,
North Africa,
Sicily,
Cyprus,
Rhodes and a part of
Iberian peninsula to the invading
Rashidun army.
Conquest of Persian empire
First Islamic invasion of
Sassanid Persian empire was launched by Caliph
Abu Bakr in
633 was a swift conquest in the time span of only 4 months lead by legandary general
Khalid ibn Walid. Abu Bakr sent his most brilliant general Khalid to conquere
Mesopotamia after
Ridda wars. After entering
Iraq with his army of 18,000, Khalid won decisive victories in four consecutive battles:
Battle of Chains, fought in April 633;
Battle of River, fought in the 3rd week of April 633;
Battle of Walaja, fought in May 633 (where he successfully used a
double envelopment manoeuvre), and
Battle of Ullais, fought in the mid of May, 633 . By now the Persian court was down and out. In the last week of May 633 , the capital city of Iraq fell to the Muslims after resistance in the
Battle of Hira. After resting his armies, Khalid moved in June 633 towards
Al Anbar, which resisted and was defeated in the
Battle of Al-Anbar, and eventually surrendered after a siege of a few weeks in July 633 . Khalid then moved towards the south, and conquered the city of Ein ul Tamr after the
Battle of ein-ul-tamr in the last week of July, 633, By now, almost the whole of Iraq was under Islamic control. Khalid got a call of help from northern Arabia at daumat-ul-jandal, where another Muslim Arab general, Ayaz bin Ghanam, was trapped among the rebel tribes. Khalid went to Daumat-ul-jandal and defeated the rebels in the
Battle of Daumat-ul-jandal in the last week of August, 633 CE. Returning from Arabia, he got news of the assembling of a large Persian army. Within a few weeks, he decided to defeat them all separately to avoid the risk of defeat to a large unified Persian army. Four divisions of Persian and
Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni and Muzieh. Khalid divided his army in three units, and decided to attack these auxiliaries one by one from three different sides at night, starting from the
Battle of Muzieh, then the
Battle of Sanni, and finally the
Battle of Zumail. In November 633 CE, Khalid defeated those armies in his series of three sided attacks at night. These devastating defeats ended Persian control over Iraq. In December 633 CE, Khalid reached the border city of Firaz, where he defeated the combined forces of the
Sassanid Persians,
Byzantine Romans and Christian Arabs in the
Battle of Firaz. This was the last battle in his conquest of Iraq.
[6]
After this conquest, Khalid left Mesopotamia to lead another
campaign at Syria against the
Roman Empire, after which Mithna ibn Haris took command in Mesopotamia. Persians once again concentrated armies to regain the lost
Mesopotamia, Mithna ibn Haris withdraw from the central Iraq to the region near
Arabian desert to delay war until reinforcement comes from
Madinah.
Caliph Umar sent reinforcement under the command of Abu Ubaidah Saqfi with some initial success this army was finally defeated by
Sassanid army at the
Battle of the Bridge in which Abu Ubaid was killed. The other whole scale invasion was delayed until after a decisive Muslim victory against the Romans in
Levant at the
Battle of Yarmuk in 636,
caliph Umar, was able to transfer forces to the east and resume the offensive against the Sassanids. The
Caliph Umar dispatched 36,000 men along with 7500 troops from Syrian front, under the command of
Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās against the Persian army. The
Battle of al-Qādisiyyah followed, with the Persians prevailing at first, but on the third day of fighting, the Muslims gained the upper hand. The Persian general
Rostam Farrokhzād was caught and beheaded. According to some sources, the Persian losses were 20,000, and the Arabs lost 8,500 men.
Following the Battle, the Arab Muslim armies pushed forward toward the Persian capital of
Ctesiphon (also called Madā'in in Arabic), which was quickly evacuated by Yazdgird after a brief siege. After seizing the city, they continued their drive eastwards, following Yazdgird and his remaining troops. Within a short space of time, the Arab armies defeated a major Sāsānian counter-attack in the Battle of Jalūlā', as well as other engagements at
Qasr-e Shirin, and Masabadhan. By the mid-7th Century, the Arabs controlled all of Mesopotamia, including the area that is now the Iranian province of
Khuzestan. It is said that the caliph Umar did not wish to send his troops through the
Zagros mountains and onto the Iranian plateau. One tradition has it that he wished for a "wall of fire" to keep the Arabs and Persians apart. Later commentators explain this as a common-sense precaution against over-extension of his forces. The Arabs had only recently conquered large territories that still had to be garrisoned and administered. The continued existence of the Persian government was an incitement to revolt in the conquered territories and unlike
Byzantine army, the
Sassanid army was continuously striving to regain there lost territories. Finally Umar decided to push his forces for further conquests, which eventually resulted in the whole scale conquest of
Sassanid Persian empire. Yazdegerd, the Sassanid king, made yet another effort to regroup and defeat the invaders. By 641 he had raised a new force, which took a stand at
Battle of Nihawānd, some forty miles south of
Hamadan in modern
Iran.
Rashidun Caliphate army under the command of Umar's appointed general Nu'man ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani, attacked and again defeated the Persian forces. Muslims recognized it as the Victory of victories (Fath alfotuh) as it marked the End of the
Sassanids, shattering the last strongest
Sassanid army.
Yazdegerd was unable to raise another army and became a hunted fugitive. in 642,
Caliph Umar sent Seven columns of
Rashidun Caliphate army to conquere whole of the
persian empire. The whole of present days
Iran was conquered, followed by the conquest of
Greater Khorasan (which included modern Iranian Khorasan province and modern
Afghanistan),
Transoxania, and
Balochistan,
Makran,
Azerbaijan,
Dagestan (
Russia),
Armenia and
Georgia, these regions were mostly re-conquered during Caliph Uthman’s reign
[7] with further expansion in the region which were not conquered during Umar’s reign, and Rashidun Caliphate’s frontiers in east extended up to
lower river Indus.
Wars against the Eastern roman empire
Conquest of Roman Syria
Caliph
Abu Bakr, after
Khalid ibn Walid conquered
Iraq gave him a new task to enter the
Byzantine province of
Syria and command
Muslim armies there. The Byzantine province of Syria (
Levant)in those days consisted of modern day
Syria,
Jordan,
Israel, the
Palestinian territories,
Lebanon and Southern
Turkey. Passing through the
Syrian Desert, Khalid with his half army of 9000 warriors entered
Syria in June 634 and commanded the 23000 Muslim army present there under the command of 4 generals,
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Yazid bin Abu-Sufyan, Sharjeel bin Hosanna and
Amr ibn al-A'as.
Defeating many
Ghassanid Arab armies in minor battles and conquring many towns
Muslim army laid the siege of the important town of
Basra were the
Byzantine army was defeated in the
Battle of Basra in mid of July 634.
Muslim Forces soon heard of gathering of 90,000 Roman army at Ajnadayn, after which all the divisions of Muslim army joined Khalid at Ajnadayn on 24 July 634, and defeated Roman there on 30 July 634 in
Battle of Ajnadayn, it was the first major
pitched battle between
Muslim army and
Byzantine army.
Damascus the Byzantine stronghold was conquered shortly after it on
19 September 634 A.D after
Conquest of Damascus, the
Byzantine army was given a deadline of 3 days to go as far as they can, with their families and treasure, or simply agree to stay in Damascus and pay tribute. After the three days deadline was over, the Muslim cavalry under Khalid's command attacked the Roman army by catching up to them using an unknown shortcut at
battle of Maraj-al-Debaj.
[8]
On 22 August 634, Caliph
Abu Bakr died making
Umar his successor. As Umar became caliph, he relieved Khalid from commanding the Islamic armies and appointed
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah as the new commander of
Muslim army, the conquest of Syria slow down under him and Abu-Ubaida relied heavily on the advice of Khalid, and he kept beside him as much as possible.
[9]
The
Muslim army moved to Fahal, with Khalid commanding the cavalry, reaching there first and defeating the Byzantine army at the
Battle of Fahal on the 23rd of January 635. After the battle, Abu Ubaida moved towards
Emesa with Khalid, who was commanding the cavalry. Meanwhile, Emperor
Heraclius sent General Theodras to
Damascus to recapture it, as there was only a weak defensive army in the city.
[9] Theodras met the Muslim army at Maraj-al-Rome, and moved with half of his army towards Damascus at night, while Abu Ubaida and Khalid were engaged with the remaining Byzantine army. Khalid's spy informed him about the move, and Khalid asked Abu Ubaida to give him the permission to defend Damascus. While Abu Ubaida fought and defeated the Roman army in the
battle of Maraj-al-Rome, Khalid moved to
Damascus with his cavalry and attacked and defeated Theodrus in the
2nd battle of Damascus.
A week later, Abu Ubaida himself moved towards Balaq, while he sent Khalid straight towards
Emesa.
[11] Both cities surrendered and agreed to pay tribute.
Emesa and Qinasareen signed a one year peace treaty. In November 635, Khalid and Abu Ubaida moved towards Hamma city, which surrendered and agreed to pay tribute. Later, Abu Ubaida sent Khalid to Shairzer, Afamia and Matar-al-Hamz which all surrendered. Meanwhile Qinasareen and Emesa broke the peace treaty. In response, Abu Ubaida decided to conquer Emesa first and sent Khalid who defeated the Byzantine army in the
1st Battle of Emesa. The Byzantines retreated to the castle of Emesa and were subsequently besieged. Soon, Abu Ubaida reached Emesa with rest of his army, and he gave the command of the siege to Khalid, who once more defeated the Byzantine army in the
2nd Battle of Emessa. After two months of the siege, the city was finally conquered on March 636 after the
3rd Battle of Emesa. Abu Ubaida sent Khalid to conquer northern
Syria. Khalid defeated a small
Roman army in a skirmish and took many prisoners. These prisoners informed him about Emperor Heraclius's final effort to take back Syria. They told him that an army possibly two hundred thousand (200,000) strong would soon emerge to recapture their territory. Khalid stopped there on June 636. This huge army set out for their destination. As soon as Abu Ubaida got the news, he gathered all his officers to plan their next move. Khalid suggested that they should call all of their forces present in Syria (Syria, Jordan, Palestine) to make a powerful joint force and then move towards the plain of
Yarmouk for the battle.
Abu Ubaida ordered all the Muslim commanders to withdraw from all the conquered areas, return the tributes that they previously gathered, and move towards Yarmuk.
[12] Hercules army also moved towards Yarmuk. The Muslim armies reached there in July 636. A week or two later, around mid July, the Byzantine army arrived.
[13] Khalid's
Mobile guard defeated Christian Arab auxiliaries of the Roman army in a
skirmish . Nothing happened until the third week of August in which the
Battle of Yarmouk was fought. The battle lasted 6 days during which Abu-Ubaida transferred the command of the entire army to Khalid. The
Byzantine army was defeated on October 636 CE. Abu Ubaida held a meeting with his high command officers, including Khalid to decide of future conquests. They decided to conquer
Jerusalem. The siege of Jerusalem lasted four months after which the city agreed to surrender, but only to caliph Umar Ibn Al Khattab in person. Amr-bin al-eas suggested that Khalid should be sent as
caliph, because of his very strong resemblance with Caliph
Umar. Khalid was recognized and eventually, Caliph Umar Ibn Al Khattab came and the
Jerusalem surrendered on April 637 CE. Abu Ubaida sent the commanders Amr bin al-As, Yazid bin Abu Sufyan, and Sharjeel bin Hassana back to their areas to reconquer them. Most of the areas submitted without a fight. Abu Ubaida himself along with Khalid moved to northern
Syria once again to conquer them with a 17,000 strong army. Khalid along with his cavalry was sent to Hazir and Abu Ubaidah moved to Qasreen city. Khalid defeated a strong Byzantine army in the
Battle of Hazir and reached Qinasareen before Abu Ubaidah. The city surrendered to Khalid. Soon, Abu Ubaidah arrived in June 637. Abu Ubaidah then moved against
Aleppo. As usual Khalid was commanding the cavalry. After the
Battle of Aleppo the city finally agreed to surrender in October 637.
Occupation of Anatolia
Abu Ubaidah and Khalid, after conquering all of the northern Syria moved north to wards
Anatolia conquering the fort of
Azaz to clear the flank and rear from Byzantine troops, they moved towards
Antioch.
[14] In their way to Antioch, a Roman army blocked them near a river on which there was an iron bridge. Because of this, the following battle is known as the
Battle of Iron bridge. The Muslim army defeated the Byzantine army and
Antioch surrendered on 30 October 637 CE. Abu Ubaida sent Khalid to conquer the remaining cities within the area. In a series of minor battles, Khalid conquered the cities of
Lazakia, Jabla and
Tartus. Abu Ubaidah sent Khalid to conquer north eastern Syria. All the areas up to Munbij were conquered, and all resistance suppressed up to the
Euphrates. After these conquests Khalid returned to Abu Ubaidah at
Aleppo in January 637 CE. Later within the year, Abu Ubaida sent Khalid and another general Ayaz bin Ghanam at the head of two separate armies against western part of
Jazira most of which was conquered with out strong resistance, including parts of Anatolia,
Edessa and area up to
Ararat plain. Other columns were sent to
Anatolia up to as west as
Taurus Mountains, the important city of Anatolia,
Marash,
Malatya were conquered in autumn 638. Khalid returned to Aleppo and Abu-Ubaida appointed him Governor of Qinasareen city. The conquest of
Marash city (in modern days
Turkey) represented the end of Khalid's military career and Muslims conquest of Levant. Caliph Umar dismissed Khalid from army thereafter.
[15] During the reign of
Caliph Uthman further conquest were made in Anatolia conquring remianing forts of
Byzantine army. western Anatolia was a part of Rashidun province of Syria. The Taurus Mountains in Turkey marked the western most frontiers of Rashidun Caliphate in Anatolia.
Conquest of Egypt
At the commencement of the 'Muslim conquest of Egypt,'
Egypt was part of the
Byzantine Empire with its capital in
Constantinople. However, it had been occupied just a decade before by the
Persian Empire under
Khosrau II (
616 to
629 AD). The power of
Byzantine empire was shettered during the
Muslim conquest of Syria, and therefore the conquest of Egypt was much more easier. In 639 A.D, some 4,000
Rashidun troops led by
Amr ibn al-As, was sent by the
Caliph Umar to conquere the land of the ancient
pharaohs. The
Rashidun Caliphate army crossed into Egypt from
Palestine in December
639 and advanced rapidly into the
Nile Delta. The imperial garrisons retreated into the walled towns, where they successfully held out for a year or more. But the Muslims sent for reinforcements and the invading army, joined by another 12,000 men in
640, defeated a Byzantine army at the
Battle of Heliopolis. Amr next proceeded in the direction of
Alexandria, which was surrendered to him by a treaty signed on
November 8,
641. The
Thebaid seems to have surrendered with scarcely any opposition.
The ease with which this valuable province was wrenched from the
Byzantine Empire appears to have been due to the treachery of the governor of Egypt,
Cyrus [2],
Melchite (i.e., Byzantine/Chalcedonian Orthodox, ''not'' Coptic)
Patriarch of Alexandria, and the incompetence of the generals of the Byzantine forces, and due to lost of most of
Byzantine troops in
Syria against the
Rashidun army. Cyrus had persecuted the local
Coptic Christians. He is one of the authors of
monothelism, a seventh century heresy, and some supposed him to have been secretly a convert to
Islam.
During the reign of Caliph
Uthman, an attempt was made in the year
645 to regain Alexandria for the Byzantine empire, but it was retaken by Amr in
646. In
654 an invasion fleet sent by
Constans II was repulsed. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of the country.
The Muslims were assisted by some Copts, who found the Muslims more tolerant than the Byzantines, and of these some turned to Islam. In return for a tribute of money and food for the troops of occupation, the Christian inhabitants of Egypt were excused military service and left free in the observance of their religion and the administration of their affairs. Others sided with the Byzantines, hoping that they would provide a defense against the Arab invaders.
[16] During the reign of
Caliph Ali the Egypt was captured by the rebel troops under the command of former
Rashidun army general,
Amr ibn al-As, who killed
Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr the governor of Egypt appointed by
Ali.
Conquest of North Africa
After the withdrawal of the
Byzantines from
Egypt,
North Africa had declared its independence under its king Gregory. The dominions of Gregory extended from the borders of
Egypt to
Morocco.
Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad use to send raiding parties to the west. As a result of these raids the
Muslims got considerable booty The success of these raids made
Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad feel that a regular campaign should be undertaken for the conquest of
North Africa.
Uthman gave him permission after considering it in ''Majlis al shura'', a force of 10,000 soldiers was sent as reinforcement. The
Rashidun army assembled in
Barqa in
Cyrenaica, from there they marched west to capture
Tripoli, after Tripoli they the army marched to
Sufetula the capital of King Gregory, he was defeated and killed in the battle due to superb tactics used by
Abdullah ibn Zubayr. After the
Battle of Sufetula the people of
North Africa sued for peace. They agreed to pay an annual tribute. Instead of annexing
North Africa, the
Muslims preferred to make North Africa a
vassal state. When the stipulated amount of the tribute was paid, the
Muslim forces withdrew to
Barqa.
Conquest of Islands of Cyprus, Rhodes and Sicily
During
Umar's reign governor of
Syria Muawiyah, sent a request to built a
naval force to invade the islands in
Mediterranean Sea,
Umar rejected the purposal because of risk of death of soldiers in sea. During his reign Uthman gave
Muawiyah permission to make navy after concerning the matter closely. The
Muslim force landed on
Cyprus in
649 C.E. There was only a small
Byzantine garrison on the
island which was overpowered without any difficulty. The islanders submitted to the
Muslims, and agreed to pay a tribute of 7,000
dinars per year. The conquest of Cypress was the first naval conquest of the Muslims. After Cyprus Muslim naval fleet headed towards
Rhodes islands and conquered them with out much resistance. In
652-
654 A.D,
Muslims lunched a naval campaign on
sicily, they succedded in capturing a large part of
Sicily (
Italy), soon Uthman was murdered and no further expansion was made, and Musims accordingly retreated from
Sicily.
First Muslim invasion of Iberian peninsula(Spain)
According to the general books of
Islamic history the conquest of
Spain is attributed to
Tariq ibn Ziyad and
Musa ibn Nusair in
711 -
712 C.E, in the time of the
Umayyad Caliph Walid ibn Abd al-Malik. According to
Muslim historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari[17],
Spain was first invaded some sixty years earlier during the caliphate of Uthman in 653 A.D. Other promenient
Muslim historians like
Ibn Kathir[18] also have quoted the same narration.
According to the account of al-Tabari, when
North Africa had been duly conquered by
Abdullah Ibn Sa'ad, two of his generals, Abdullah ibn Nafiah ibn Husain, and Abdullah ibn Nafi' ibn Abdul Qais, were commissioned to invade coastal areas of
Spain by
sea. On this occasion Uthman is reported to have addressed a letter to the invading force. In the course of the letter, Uthman said:
No details of the campaigns in Spain during the
caliphate of Uthman are given by
al-Tabari or by any other
historian. The account of al-Tabari is merely to the effect that an
Arab force aided by a
Berber force landed in Spain, and succeeded in conquering coastal areas of
Al-Andalus. We do not know where the
Muslim force landed, what resistance they met, and what parts of
Spain did they actually conquer. Anyhow it is clear that the
Muslims did conquer some parts of Spain during the caliphate of Uthman. Presumably the
Muslims established some colonies on the coastland of
Spain. There are reasons to presume that these
Muslims entered into trade relations with the rest of Spain and other parts of Europe. The areas were lost shortly after because of the general disorder in the empire.
Treatment with conquered people
The non-Muslim inhabitants of the conquered lands were given the status of
Dhimmis according to
Islamic law. Those who accepted
Islam were treated similarly as other
Muslims of the state, and were given equal rights in all matters.
Main articles: Dhimmis
Dhimmis were allowed to "practice their religion, subject to certain conditions, and to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy" and guaranteed their personal safety and security of property, in return for paying tribute and acknowledging Muslim supremacy.
[19]
Taxation from the perspective of dhimmis who came under the Muslim rule, was "a concrete continuation of the taxes paid to earlier regimes"
[20] (but now lower under the Muslim rule
[[21][22]) and from the point of view of the Muslim conqueror was a material proof of the dhimmi's subjection.]
Various restrictions were placed on Dhimmis, such as prohibitions against giving testimony in courts in cases involving Muslims.[23] Technically, this made dhimmis vulnerable to the whims of rulers and the violence of mobs[24].[24] However, persecution in the form of violent and active repression was rare and atypical.[26]. Another such restriction prohibited dhimmis from bearing arms. [23] Most of these restrictions had a social and symbolic rather than a tangible and practical character.[28]
While recognizing that the status of dhimmis under Islamic rule was inferior to that of their Muslim peers, Bernard Lewis states that their position "was very much easier than that of non-Christians or even of heretical Christians in medieval Europe."[29] For example, dhimmis rarely faced martyrdom or exile, or forced compulsion to change their religion, and with certain exceptions they were free in their choice of residence and profession.[30] And in general, the Muslim attitude toward dhimmis was one of contempt instead of hate, fear, or envy, and was rarely expressed in ethnic or racial terms.[31].
Political Administration
In the administrative field Caliph Umar was the most brilliant among the Rashidun Caliphs, it was his dazzling administrative qualities because of which the most of the administrative structure of the empire was thus established.
Under Caliph Abu Bakr, the empire was not clearly divided into provinces, though it had many administrative districts, like #Mecca
#Madinah
#Yemen
#Bahrain
#Iraq
Under Umar the country was divided into number of provinces which were as follows:
#Arabia was divided into two provinces, Mecca and Madina;
#Iraq was divided into two provinces, Basra and Kufa;
#In the upper reaches of the Tigris and the Euphrates, Jazira was a province;
#Syria was a province;
#Umar divided Palestine in two provinces Aylya and Ramlah;
#Egypt was divided into two provinces, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt;
#Persia was divided into three provinces, Khorasan; Azarbaijan and Fars.
In his testament, Caliph Umar had instructed his successor not to make any change in the administrative set up for one year after his death. For obe year Uthman maintained the pattern of political administration as it stood under Umar, latter he made some amendments.
Under Umar Egypt was divided into two provinces, Upper and Lower Egypt. Uthman made Egypt one province. Uthman created a new province for North Africa. Under Umar Syria was divided into two provinces. Uthman made Syria one province.
During Uthman’s reign the empire was divided into twelve provinces. These were:
#Madinah
#Makkah
#Yemen
#Kufa
#Basra
#Jazira
#Fars
#Azerbaijan
#Khurasan
#Syria
#Egypt
#North Africa
Caliph Ali, during his reign, with the exception of Syria (''which was under Muawiyah I's control'') and Egypt (''That he lost during later year of his caliphate to the rebel troops of Amr ibn Al-A'as]]''), ruled all rest of ten provinces, the administrative districts were same as was under Caliph Uthman.
The provinces were further divided into districts, there were more then 100 districts in the empire. each district or main city was under the charge of a Governor or Wali. Other officers at the provincial level were:
#''Katib'', the Chief Secretary.
#''Katib-ud-Diwan'', the Military Secretary.
#''Sahib-ul-Kharaj'', the Revenue Collector.
#''Sahib-ul-Ahdath'', the Police chief.
#''Sahib-ul-Bait-ul-Mal'', the Treasury Officer.
#''Qadi'', the Chief Judge.
In some districts there were separate military officers, though the Governor (''Wali'') was in most cases the Commander-in-chief of the army quartered in the province.
The officers would appointed by the Caliph. Every appointment was made in writing. At the time of appointment an instrument of instructions was issued with a view to regulating the conduct of Governors. On assuming office, the Governor was required to assemble the people in the main mosque, and read the instrument of instructions before them.[32].
Caliph Umar was a hard task master; he was very strict with his governors and officers and often uses to audit them, even in case of a complaint of a minor mistake.
Umar's general instructions to his officers were:
During the reign of Caliph Abu Bakr, the state was economically weak, during Umar’s reign because of increase in revenues and other sources of income, the state was on its way to economic prosperity, it was felt necessary by Umar that the officers should be treated in strict way as to prevent the possible greed of money that may lead them to corruption. During Caliph Umar’s reign, At the time of appointment, every officer was required to make the oath:
# That he would not ride a Turkish horse (''which was a symbol of pride'').
# That he would not wear fine clothes.
# That he would not eat sifted flour.
# That he would not keep a porter at his door.
# That he would always keep his door open to the public.
Caliph Umar himself followed the above postulates strictly. During the reign of Caliph Uthman the state become economically prosper then ever before, the allowance of the citizens was increased by 25% and the economical condition of ordinary men was more stable, Caliph Uthman therefore revoked the 2nd and 3rd postulates of the oath. Caliph Ali followed his predecessor revocation.
At the time of appointment a complete inventory of all the possessions of the person concerned was prepared and kept in record. If there was an unusual increase in the possessions of the office holder, he was immediately called to account, and the unlawful property was confiscated by the State. The principal officers were required to come to Mecca on the occasion of the Hajj, during which the people was free to present any complaint about them. In order to minimize the chances of corruption, Umar made it a point to pay high salaries to the staff. Provincial governor received as much as five to seven thousand dirham annually besides their shares of the spoils of war (''if they were also the commander in chief of the army of there sector'').
Department of accountability
A special office was established for the investigation of complaints that reached the Caliph, Caliph Umar was first to establish this department. It was for the investigation of the complaints against the officers of the State. The Department was under the charge of Muhammad ibn Maslamah a man of undisputed integrity. In important cases Muhammad ibn Maslamah was deputed by Umar to proceed to the spot, investigate the charge and take action. Sometimes an Inquiry Commission was constituted to investigate the charge. On occasions the officers against him complaints were received were summoned to Madinah, and put to explanation by the Caliph himself. Muhammad ibn Maslamah remained at the charge of this department until the death og Caliph Uthman.
Judicial Administration
As most of the administrative structure of the Rashidun Empire was setup by Umar, the judicial administration was also established by him and the other Caliphs followed the same system with out any type of basic amendment in it. In order to provide effective and speedy justice for the people, an effective system of judicial administration was setup, hereunder justice was administered according to the principles of Islam.
Qadis (''Judges'') were appointed at all administrative levels for the administration of justice. Umar was the first ruler in history to separate judiciary from the executive. The Qadis were chosen for their integrity and learning in Islamic law. High salaries were fixed for the Qadis so that there was no temptation to bribery. Wealthy men and men of high social status were appointed as Qadis so that they might not have the temptation to take bribes, or be influenced by the social position of any body. The Qadis were not allowed to engage in trade. Judges were appointed in sufficient number, and there was no district which did not have a Qadi.
Economy
During the Rashidun Caliphate there was an economical boom in the lives of the ordinary people due to the revolutionary economic policies developed by Caliph Umar and his successor Caliph Uthman. At first it was Umar who introduced these reforms on strong bases, his successor Uthman who himself was a shrewd businessman, had further reforms init. During Uthman's reign the people of the empire enjoyed the most prosper life.
Bait-ul-Maal
''Bait-ul-Maal'', mean ''The house of money'' it was the department which deals with the revenues and all other economical matters of the state. In the time of Prophet Mohammad there was no perminent Bait-ul-Mal or public treasury. Whatever revenues or other amounts were received were distributed immediately. There were no salaries to be paid, and there was no state expenditure. Hence the need for the treasury at public level was not felt.
In the time of Abu Bakr as well there was not treasury. Abu Bakr earmarked a house where all money was kept on receipt. As all money was distributed immediately the treasury generally remained locked up. At the time of the death of Abu Bakr there was only one dirham in the public treasury.
Establishment of Bait-ul-Maal
In the time of Umar things changed. With the extension in conquests money came in larger quantities, Umar also allowed salaries to men fighting in the army. Abu Huraira who was the Governor of Bahrain sent a revenue of five hundred thousand dirhams. Umar summoned a meeting of his Consultative Assembly and sought the opinion of the Companions about the disposal of the money. Uthman ibn Affan advised that the amount should be kept for future needs. Walid bin Hisham suggested that like the Byzantines separate departments of Treasury and Accounts should be set up.
After consulting the Companions Umar decided to establish the Central Treasury at Madinah. Abdullah bin Arqam was appointed as the Treasury Officer. He was assisted by Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Muiqib. A separate Accounts Department was also set up and it was required to maintain record of all that was spent.
Later provincial treasuries were set up in the provinces. After meeting the local expenditure the provincial treasuries were required to remit the surplus amount to the central treasury at Madinah. According to Yaqubi the salaries and stipends charged to the central treasury amounted to over 30 million dirhams. A separate building was constructed for the royal treasury by the name ''bait ul maal'', which in large cities was guarded by as many as 400 guards.
In most of the historical accounts it states that among the Rashidun Caliphs Uthman ibn Affan was first to struck the coins, some accounts however states that Umar was first to do so. When Persia was conquered three types of coins were current in the conquered territories, namely Baghli of 8 dang; Tabari of 4 dang; and Maghribi of 3 dang. Umar ( according to some accounts Uthman ) made an innovation and struck an Islamic dirham of 6 dang.
Economic resources of the State
The economic resources of the State were:
#''Zakat''
#''Ushr''
#''Jazya''
#''Fay''
#''Khums''
#''Kharaj''
★ 'Zakat'
Main articles: Zakat
'Zakāt' () is the Islamic concept of tithing and alms. It was taken from the Muslims with the amount of 2.5% of their wealth to specified categories in society when their annual wealth exceeds a minimum level (nisab). Zakāt is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and it is obligation on rich Muslims.
★ 'Jizya'
Main articles: Jizya
'jizya' or 'jizyah' (Arabic: جزْية; Ottoman Turkish: cizye). It was a per capita tax imposed on able bodied non-Muslim men of military age. The tax was not supposed to be levied on slaves, women, children, monks, the old, the sick,[33] hermits and the poor,[34]
★ 'Fay'
''Fay'' was the income from State land, wather an agricultral land or a meadow, or a land with any natural mineral reserves. Normally these were the conquered land who's occupants had left.
★ 'Khums'
Main articles: Khums
Ghanimah or Khums was the booty captured on the occasion of war with the enemy. Four-fifth of the booty was distributed among the soldiers taking part in the war while one-fifth was credited to the State fund.
★ 'Kharaj'
Main articles: Kharaj
'kharaj' was a tax on agricultural land.
Initially, after the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, ''kharaj'' usually denoted a lump-sum duty levied upon the conquered provinces and collected by the officials of the former Byzantine and Sassanid empire or, more broadly, any kind of tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subjects, dhimmis. At that time, ''kharaj'' was synonymous with ''jizyah'', which later emerged as a poll tax paid by dhimmis. Muslims landowners, on the other hand, paid only 'ushr', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.[35]
★ 'Ushr'
'Ushr' was a ten per cent levy on agricultural land as well as merchandise imported from abroad. Caliph Umar was the first Muslim ruler to levy Ushr. Ushr as the name implies was an import duty levied at ten per cent on the value of goods imported.
When the Muslim traders went to foreign lands for the purposes of trade they had to pay a ten per cent tax to the foreign states. Ushr was levied on reciprocal basis on the goods of the traders of other countries who chose to trade in the Muslim dominions.
Umar issued instructions that Ushr should be levied in such a way so as to avoid hardship, that it will not effect the trade activities in the Islamic empire. The tax was levied on merchandise meant for sale. Goods imported for consumption or personal use but not for sale were not taxed. The merchandise valued at two hundred dirhams or less was not taxed. When the citizens of the State imported goods for the purposes of trade, they had to pay the customs duty or import tax at lower rates. In the case of the Dhimmis the rate was five per cent and in the case of the Muslims 2.5 per cent. In the case of the Muslims the rate was the same as that of Zakat. The levy was thus regarded as a part of Zakat and was not considered a separate tax.
Allowance
The allowance was paid to the Muslim citizens ( Arabs and non-Arabs) of the state annaully.
Bigining of Allowance
After the Battle of Yarmouk and Battle of al-Qadisiyyah the Muslims won heavy spoils. The coffers at Madina became full to the brim and the problem before Umar was as to what should be done with this money. Some one suggested that money should be kept in the treasury for the purposes of public expenditure only. This view was not acceptable to the general body of the Muslims. Consensus was reached on the point that whatever was received during a year should be distributed.
The next question that arose for consideration was as to what system should be adopted for distribution. One suggestion was that it should be distributed on ad hoc basis and whatever was received should be equally distributed. Against this view it was felt that as the spoils were considerable that would make the people very rich. It was therefore decided that instead of ad hoc division the amount of the allowance to the stipend should be determined before hand and this allowance should be paid to the person concerned regardless of the amount of the spoils. This was agreed to.
About the fixation of the allowance there were two opinions. There were some who held that the amount of the allowance for all Muslims should be the same. Umar did not agree with this view. He held that the allowance should be graded according to one's merit with reference to Islam.
Then the question arose as to what basis should be used for placing some above others. Suggested that a start should be made with the Caliph and he should get the highest allowance. Umar rejected the proposal and decided to start with the clan of the Holy Prophet.
Umar set up a Committee to compile a list of persons in nearness to the Prophet Mohammad. The Committee produced the list clan wise. Bani Hashim appeared as the first clan. Then the clan of Abu Bakr was put and in the third place the clan of Umar was put. Umar accepted the first two placements but delegated his clan lower down in the scale with reference to nearness in relationship to the Holy Prophet.
The members of the clan of Umar objected to the order of Umar but he rebuked them saying;
In the final scale of allowance that was approved by Umar the main provisions were:
# The widows of Prophet Mohammad received 12,000 dirhams each;
# `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet Mohammad received an annual allowance of 7,000 dirhams;
# The grandsons of the Prophet Mohammad, Hasan ibn Ali and Hussain ibn Ali got 5,000 dirhams each;
# The veterans of Battle of Badr got an allowance of 6,000 dirhams each;
# Those who had become Muslims by the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah got 4,000 dirhams each;
# Those who became Muslims at the time of the Conquest of Mecca got 3,000 dirhams each;
# The veterans of the Apostasy wars got 3,000 dirhams each.
# The veterans of Battle of Yarmouk and Battle of al-Qadisiyyah got 2,000 dirhams each.
In announcing this scale Umar said:
In this award Umar's son Abdullah ibn Umar got an allowance of 3,000 dirhams. On the other hand Usama ibn Zaid got 4,000. Abdullah objected to this distinction and Umar said:
The ordinary Muslim citizens got the allowance between 2,500 - 2000. The regular annual allowance was given only to urban population, because of there being back bone of the state's economic resources . The budoein living in desert, cutting off from the states affairs having no contributions in the developments were given stipends very often. On assuming office, Caliph Uthman ibn Affan increased these stipends by 25 per cent.
Evaluation
That was an economic measure which contributed to the prosperity of the people at lot. The citizens of the Islamic empire became more and more economically prosper and the trade activities increaed with in turn contributed to the department of ''bait al maal'' and more and more revenues were collected.
welfare works
The mosques were not mere places for offering prayers; these were community centers as well where the faithful gathered to discuss problems of social and cultural importance. During the caliphate of Umar as many as four thousand mosques were constructed extending from Persia in the east to Egypt in the west. The Masjid-e-Nabawi and al-Masjid al-Haram were enlarged first during the reign of Umar and then during the reign of Uthman ibn Affan who not only extended to many thousand square meters but also beatified them at large scale.
During the caliphate of Umar many new cities were founded. These included Kufa, Basra, and Fustat. These cities were laid in according with the principles of town planning. All streets in these cities led to the Friday mosque which was sited in the center of the city. Markets were established at convenient points, which were under the control of market offiers who was supposed to check the affairs of market and quality of goods. The cities were divided into quarters, and each quarter was reserved for particular tribes. During the reign of Caliph Umar, there were restrictions on the building of palatial buildings by the rich and elites, this was symbolic of the egalitarian society of Islam, where under all were equal, although the restrictions was latter revoked by Caliph Uthman, because of the financial prosperity of ordinary men, and the construction of double story building was permitted, as a result many palatial buiding were constructed though out the empire, Uthman him self built a huge palace for hims elf in Madinah which was famous by the name ''Al-Zawar'', he constructed it from his personal resources.
Many buildings were built for administrative purposes. In the quarters called 'Dar-ul-Amarat' Government offices and houses for the residence of officers were provided. Buildings known as 'Diwans' were constructed for the keeping of official records. Buildings known as 'Bait-ul-Mal' were constructed to house royal treasuries. For the lodging of persons suffering sentences as punishment, Jails were constructed for the first time in Muslim history. In important cities Guest Houses were constructed to serve as rest houses for traders and merchants coming from far away places. Roads and bridges were constructed for public use. On the road from Madina to Mecca, shelters, wells, and meal houses were constructed at every stage for the ease of the people who came for hajj.
Military cantonments were constructed at strategic points. Special stables were provided for cavalry. These stables could accommodate as many as 4,000 horses. Special pasture grounds were provided and maintained for ''Bait-ul-Mal'' animals.
Canals were dug to irrigate fields as well as provide drinking water for the people. 'Abu Musa canal' (''after the name of governor of Basra Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari '') it was a nine mile long, canal which brought water from the Tigris to Basra. Another canal known as 'Maqal canal' was also dug from the Tigris. A canal known as the 'Amir al-Mu'minin canal' ( ''after the titile Amir al-Mu'mininthat was assumed by Caliph Umar'') was dug to join the Nile to the Red Sea. During the famine of 639 A.D food grains were brought from Egypt to Arabia through this canal from the sea which saved the lives of millions of inhabitants of Arabia. 'Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas canal' (''After the name of governor of Kufa Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas'') dug from the Euphrates brought water to Anbar. 'Amr ibn al-'As the Governor of Egypt, duirng the reign of Caliph Umar, even proposed the digging of a canal to join the Mediterranean to Red Sea. The proposal, however, did not materialize due to un-known reasons, and it was 1200 years later that such a canal was dug in the shape of the Suez Canal. Shuaibia was the port for Makkah. It was inconvenient. Caliph Uthman selected Jeddah as the site of the new seaport, and a new port was built there. Uthman also reformed the department of Police in cities.
Army
Main articles: Rashidun Caliphate army
The Rashidun caliphate Army was the primary military body of the Islamic armed forces of 7th century, serving alongside the Rashidun caliphate Navy. The Rashidun caliphate Army maintained a level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization. For much of its history the this Army was one of the most powerful and effective military forces in all of region. At the height of the Rashidun caliphate the maximum size of the it army was around 100,000 troops.[36] Rashidun caliphate army fell into the two basic categories of infantry and light cavalry. Reconstructing the military equipment of early Muslim armies is problematic. Compared with Roman armies—or, indeed, later mediaeval Muslim armies—the range of visual representation is very small, often imprecise and difficult to date. Physically very little material evidence has survived and again, much of it is difficult to date.[37] The soldiers use to wear Iron and bronze segmented helmet that comes from Iraq and was of central Asian type.[38] The standard form of protective body armour was chain mail There are also references to the practice of wearing two coats of mail (dir’ayn), the under one being shorter or even made of fabric or leather. hauberks and large wooden or wickerwork shields were used as a protection in combat[39]. The soldiers were usually equipped with Sword that was hanged in baldric. They also possessed spears and the daggers.[40] Caliph Umar was the first Muslim ruler to organize the army as a State Department. This reform was introduced in 637 A.D. A beginning was made with the Quraish and the Ansars and the system was gradually extended to the whole of Arabia and to Muslims of conquered lands. The basic strategy of early Muslim armies set out to conquere the foreign land was to exploit every possible drawback of the enemy army in order to achieve victory with minimum losses. As Rashidun army was quality wise and strength wise substandard the Sassanid Persian army and Byzantine army. Khalid ibn Walid, the first general of Rashidun Caliphate to make conquest in foreign land and to triger the whole scale invasion of the two most powerful empires, during his campaign against the Sassanid Persian Empire(''Iraq 633 - 634'')and Byzantine Empire (''Syria 634 - 638'') developed this brilliant tactics, that he used effectively against both the Sassanid army and Byzantine army. The Caliph Abu Bakr's way was to give his generals their mission, the geographical area in which that mission would be carried out, and the resources that, could be made available for that purpose. He would then leave it to his generals to accomplish their mission in whatever manner they chose, on the other hand Caliph Umar in later part of his Caliphate use to direct his generals as to where they would stay and when to move to the next target and who will be commanding the left and right wing of the army in the particular battle, this made the pase of conquest comparatively slower but provided a well organised campaigns. Caliph Uthman used the same method as of Abu Bakr, he woulod give missions to his generals and then leave it to them how they accomplish it. Caliph Ali also followed the same method.
Culture
Images of saints, as in Christian or Buddhist art, have no place in Islam. As the Koran is not a narrative like the Torah or the Gospels, there is little reason for Muslims to tell religious stories through pictures. Instead, Islamic religious art has focused on the glorification of God's word, specifically by writing it beautifully, and accompanying the Arabic script with geometric and floral designs known as arabesques, in which plants grow according to the laws of geometry rather than nature. Some people believe that these designs have deep spiritual and mystical meaning, while others believe they are simply beautiful patterns. Believers are free to see in these designs whatever they like — this sense of ambiguity is one of the hallmarks of Islamic art. Examples of religious art range from beautifully calligraphied manuscripts of the Koran to intricately carved and inlaid pulpits or minbars, from which the Friday sermon is given in the mosque.
Islamic secular art, on the other hand, might or might not have representations of living beings, depending on the local cultural traditions and the preferences of the artist and patron. For example, North Africans have generally shown little taste for images, while Iranians have always enjoyed them, sometimes even in religious settings.
Much of Islamic secular art, like religious art, is decorated only with geometric and vegetal patterns and inscriptions, but many objects, whether glazed ceramics, carved ivories, intricately woven silks, or luxurious carpets, are decorated with lively human and animal figures set individually or in scenes. Unlike much Christian art, which largely developed for the use of the Church, Islamic secular art has been characterized by the transformation of everyday objects, whether bowls for eating or carpets and cushions to sit on, into things of transcendent beauty.[41]
Given the Islamic fascination with God's word, the art of the book has always been one of the favorite forms of Islamic art, and calligraphers in the Islamic lands have the fame accorded painters and sculptors in the West. Although transcribing the Koran and decorating the pages with beautiful designs was always revered, calligraphers and painters, particularly in Iran and Turkey.
Science
No remarkable progress in the field of science took place in the Rashidun's period, how ever there was a progress in the field of geography.The Muslims were natural explorers since the Quran mandated a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca for every able-bodied male at least once in their life. With thousands traveling from the farthest reaches of the ''Islamic Empire'' to Mecca, dozens of travel guides were written to assist in the trip. Pilgrimage during the seventh to tenth month of the Islamic calendar each year led to further exploration beyond the Arabian Peninsula[42].
The state religion was Islam. The non-Muslim people were allowed to practice any religion they want to follow. The Sharia Law was practiced in the state.
Legacy
See also
★ Rashidun Caliphs
★ Rashidun army
★ Abu Bakr
★ Umar
★ Uthman
★ Ali
★ Ridda wars
★ First Fitna
★ The Four Companions
★ The Ten Promised Paradise
References
1. Balazuri: p. 113.
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 467.
3. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 518
4. Aqa Mahdi Puya tafsir of verse 4:94 on al-Islam.org [1]
5. 'Ali
6. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter19page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter20page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter21page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter22page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter23page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter24page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter25page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter26page1.htm
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uthman_Ibn_Affan#Military_expansion
8. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter27page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter28page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter29page1.htm
http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter30page1.htm
9. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter31page1.htm
10. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter31page1.htm
11. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter32page1.htm
12. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter34page1.htm
13. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter33page1.htm
14. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter35page1.htm
15. http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookchapter36page1.htm
16. http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/nikiu2_chronicle.htm
17. ''See'':Tarikh al-Tabari
18. ''see '':Tarikh ibn Kathir
19. Lewis (1984), pp. 10, 20
20. Cl. Cahen in Encyclopedia of Islam, Jizya article
21. Lewis 1984 p.18
22. Lewis (2002) p.57
23. Lewis (1987), p. 9, 27; Bat Ye'or (2002), p. 74
24. Tritton (1970), p. 49
25. Tritton (1970), p. 49
26. Lewis (1984) p. 8,62
27. Lewis (1987), p. 9, 27; Bat Ye'or (2002), p. 74
28. Lewis (1984) p. 26
29. Lewis (1984) p. 62, Cohen (1995) p. xvii
30. Lewis (1999) p.131
31. Lewis (1984) p. 32–33
32. The Cambridge History of Islam, ed. P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, Cambridge 1970
33. Shahid Alam, Articulating Group Differences: A Variety of Autocentrisms, Journal of Science and Society, 2003
34. Ali (1990), pg. 507
35. Lewis (2002), p. 72
36. http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/muslimwars/articles/yarmuk.aspx
37. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. Contributors: Hugh Kennedy - author. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year: 2001. Page Number:168
38. http://www.questia.com/reader/action/gotoDocId/102802958
39. http://www.questia.com/reader/action/gotoDocId/102802943
40. Augus Mcbride
41. http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/cultureart.html
42. http://geography.about.com/od/historyofgeography/a/islamicgeo.htm
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