Caliphs

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THE FOUR RIGHTEOUS CALIPHS

The first four caliphs to rule after the death of Muhammad.

The death of Muhammad in 632 created confusion in the nascent Muslim community, for Muhammad had left no details as to who should succeed him. After a heated discussion by the senior members of the community, Abu Bakr was selected as the first caliph. However, the confusion did not end with Abu Bakr's accession. Tribes all around Arabia broke out in open revolt; while they continued to acknowledge Muhammad as a prophet, they refused to send taxes to Medina now that Muhammad no longer lived. Known as the "Wars of Apostasy" in Muslim chronicles, the rebellions were not subdued until the end of 633. Despite these internal problems, Abu Bakr pursued Muhammad's expansionist policy and sent Muslim forces into Syria and Iraq, initiating their eventual conquest. On his deathbed, Abu Bakr appointed Umar b. al-Khattab as his successor.

The second caliph `Umar (634-644) continued to send out troops, harnessing the energy of the Bedouin tribes. In 636 the Muslims defeated the Persians at Qadisiyya in a battle which proved to be decisive. Thereafter the Persians continually retreated; the Muslims quickly conquered northern Iraq and moved into western Iran. After the battle at Nihavand in 642, the Persians could offer no more resistance and the remainder of Iran was left open to conquest. The last Sassanid king fled to Khurasan and was assassinated in 651.

Meanwhile Umar continued the offensive against the Byzantines in Syria. The Muslims reached Damascus in 635 but were forced to withdraw to Yarmuk; there they defeated the Byzantines decisively and thus faced little resistance in occupying the remainder of Syria and Palestine. The troops then marched into northern Iraq and Armenia, and into Egypt. The Byzantines relinquished Egypt to the Muslims under a peace treaty in 641.

The peace treaties concluded under Umar allowed the conquered peoples to retain their land and religion; they were given the status of "protected peoples" (dhimmi) and were required to pay a special tax, known as the jizya. Abandoned lands were confiscated to supply income for the treasury. Soldiers and notables such as Muhammad's relatives received compensation from the state; these pensioners were listed in a register, the diwan. Umar retained the local administrators but appointed governors to oversee their work. The soldiers were housed in garrison towns, which prevented them from interacting with the local population and also kept them mobilized. Among his many legal rulings, Umar is credited with the fixing of a new era to the year of the emigration from Mecca to Medina (hijra): 1 A.H. = 622 C.E.