- The Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE) began after the death of the Prophet Muhammad and was ruled by five consecutive Caliphs.
- The Rashidun Armies were highly successful and created the first Empire based on Islam with the capital at Medina (632-656 CE). The capital later moved to Kufa (656-661 CE).
The First Five Caliphs (532-661 CE)
- The Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE) was the first Caliphate to be created after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and implemented the spread of Islam in the Middle East, Persia and North Africa.
- Abu Bakr (632-634 CE)
- Omar (634-655 CE)
- Uthman (644-656 CE)
- Ali (656-661 CE)
- The first Shia Imam, Ali was married to Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima.
- Hasan ibn Ali (661-661 CE).
War against the Sassanid Empire (633-654 CE)
- Between 633-654 CE, the Rashidun Caliphate was engaged in a twenty-one year war against the Sassanid Empire which finally collapsed and resulted in the conquest of Persia.
War against the Byzantine Empire (634-656 CE)
- Between 634-656 CE, the Rashidun Caliphate fought a twenty-two year war against the Byzantine Empire.
- The Byzantine Empire eventually lost all of its eastern Provinces.
- The Rashidun Army started with the conquest of the Levant (634-638 CE), then the conquest of Asia Minor (637-656 CE), the conquest of Egypt (639-641 CE), the conquest of the Exarchate of Africa which became a Client State paying Tribute (641 CE), the campaigns against Nubia, which became a trading partner of Egypt (642 and 652 CE), the conquest of Sicily (652-654 CE) and the conquest of Cyprus with 500 ships (654 CE).
- After the Battle of the Masts fought near Antalya in 655 CE, where a Roman Fleet lost 500 ships to an Arab Fleet, the Naval domination of the Mediterranean by the Roman Empire ended.
- This led to the First Arab Siege of Constantinople between 674-678 CE.
List of Caliphates
- Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE)
- Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE)
- Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171 CE)
- Abbasid Caliphate (750-1517 CE)
- Ottoman Caliphate (1517-1924 CE)
Medina