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98-553: According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics , Daraa had a population of 97,969 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a nahiya (subdistrict) which contained eight localities with a collective population of 146,481 in 2004. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims . Daraa became known as the "cradle of the revolution" after protests at the arrest of 15 boys from prominent families for painting graffiti with anti-government slogans sparked

196-643: A brief siege in July 634 ( see Battle of Bosra ), effectively ending the dynasty of the Ghassanids . From Bosra, Khalid sent orders to the other corps commanders to join him at Ajnadayn, where, according to early Muslim historians, a Byzantine army of 90,000 (modern sources state 9,000) was concentrated to push back the Muslims. The Byzantine army was defeated decisively on 30 July 634 in the Battle of Ajnadayn . It

294-500: A caliph, Abu Bakr was not a monarch and never claimed such a title; nor did any of his three successors. Rather, their election and leadership were based upon merit . Notably, according to Sunnis, all four Rashidun Caliphs were connected to Muhammad through marriage, were early converts to Islam, were among ten who were explicitly promised paradise , were his closest companions by association and support and were often highly praised by Muhammad and delegated roles of leadership within

392-514: A chief junction of the railroad. In both his book Seven Pillars and a 1919 letter to a military colleague, T. E. Lawrence describes an episode on 20 November 1917 while reconnoitering Deraa in disguise when he was captured by the Ottoman military, heavily beaten, and sexually abused by the local Bey and his guardsmen. During the Battle of Megiddo , Lawrence led the Arab Revolt in cutting

490-586: A few short decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history . Abu Bakr began with Iraq , the richest province of the Sasanian Empire . He sent general Khalid ibn al-Walid to invade the Sassanian Empire in 633. He thereafter also sent four armies to invade the Roman province of Syria , but the decisive operation was only undertaken when Khalid, after completing the conquest of Iraq,

588-521: A fight. Abu Ubaida himself, along with Khalid, moved to northern Syria to reconquer it with a 17,000-man army. Khalid, along with his cavalry, was sent to Hazir and Abu Ubaidah moved to the city of Qasreen. Khalid defeated a strong Byzantine army at the Battle of Hazir and reached Qasreen before Abu Ubaidah. The city surrendered to Khalid, and soon after, Abu Ubaidah arrived in June 637. Abu Ubaidah then moved against Aleppo , with Khalid, as usual, commanding

686-431: A governor ( amir ) and a financial officer called an amil . These new posts were integral to the efficient network of taxation that financed the empire. With the bounty secured from conquest, Umar was able to support its faith in material ways: the companions of Muhammad were given pensions on which to live, allowing them to pursue religious studies and exercise spiritual leadership in their communities and beyond. Umar

784-581: A large operation in Daraa in a crackdown on protesters. The operation lasted until 5 May 2011, killing and arresting tens of thousands of locals in the process. On 16 February 2012, the Syrian Army reportedly attacked Daraa, shelling the city heavily. This was apparently because, "Daraa has been regaining its role in the uprising. Demonstrations resumed and the FSA provided security for protests in some parts of

882-402: A man following them, holding an order to execute them, at which point, the protesters returned to Uthman's home, bearing the order. Uthman swore that he did not write the order and to talk the protesters down. The protesters responded by demanding he step down as caliph. Uthman refused and returned to his room, whereupon the protesters broke into Uthman's house from the back and killed him while he

980-599: A member of the Banu Hashim clan, who transferred the capital to Kufa . Ali presided over the civil war called the First Fitna as his suzerainty was unrecognized by Uthman's kinsman and Syria's governor Mu'awiya ibn Abu Sufyan ( r.  661–680 ), who believed that Uthman's murderers should be punished immediately. Additionally, a third faction known as Kharijites , who were former supporters of Ali, rebelled against both Ali and Mu'awiya after refusing to accept

1078-532: A model ( sunnah ) to be followed and emulated from a religious point of view. This term is not used by Shia Muslims , who reject the rule of the first three caliphs as illegitimate. After Muhammad 's death in 632 CE (11 AH ), his Medinan companions debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar and Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr , with

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1176-639: A new force, which made a stand at the Battle of Nihawānd , some forty miles south of Hamadan in modern Iran . The Rashidun army, under the command of Umar's appointed general Nu'man ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani, attacked and again defeated the Persian forces. The Muslims proclaimed it the Victory of Victories (Fath alfotuh), as it marked the End of the Sasanians , shattering the last strongest Sasanian army. Yazdegerd

1274-549: A perilous march of 5 days, appeared in north-western Syria. The border forts of Sawa , Arak , Tadmur , Sukhnah , al-Qaryatayn and Hawarin were the first to fall to the invading Muslims. Khalid marched on to Bosra via the Damascus road. At Bosra, the Corps of Abu Ubaidah and Shurhabil joined Khalid, upon which, per Abu Bakr's orders, Khalid assumed overall command from Abu Ubaidah. Bosra, caught unprepared, surrendered after

1372-589: Is also remembered for establishing the Islamic calendar; like the Arabian calendar, it is lunar , but the origin is set in 622, the year of the Hijra when Muhammad emigrated to Medina. While Umar was leading the morning prayers in 644, he was assassinated by the Persian slave Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz . He appointed Suhayb ibn Sinan to lead the prayers. Before Umar died, he appointed a committee of six men to decide on

1470-688: Is characterized by a 25-year period of rapid military expansion followed by a five-year period of internal strife . The Rashidun Army numbered more than 100,000 men at its peak. By the 650s, in addition to the Arabian Peninsula , the caliphate had subjugated the Levant to the Transcaucasus in the north; North Africa from Egypt to present-day Tunisia in the west; and the Iranian Plateau to parts of Central and South Asia in

1568-625: Is known as the Battle of the Iron Bridge . The Muslim army defeated the Byzantines and Antioch surrendered on 30 October 637 CE. Later during the year, Abu Ubaidah sent Khalid and Iyad ibn Ghanm at the head of two separate armies against the western part of Jazira , most of which was conquered without strong resistance, including parts of Anatolia, Edessa and the area up to the Ararat plain . Other columns were sent to Anatolia as far west as

1666-557: Is the statistical agency responsible for the gathering of "information relating to economic, social and general activities and conditions" in the Syrian Arab Republic . The office is answerable to the office of the Prime Minister and has its main offices in Damascus . The CBS was established in 2005 and is administered by an administrative council headed by the deputy prime minister for economic affairs. After

1764-572: The Battle of Muzieh , then the Battle of Sanni , and finally the Battle of Zumail . These devastating defeats ended Persian control over Iraq. In December 633, Khalid reached the border city of Firaz, where he defeated the combined forces of the Sasanian Persians , Byzantines and Christian Arabs in the Battle of Firaz . This was the last battle in his conquest of Iraq. Khalid then left Mesopotamia to lead another campaign in Syria against

1862-469: The Battle of River , fought in the third week of April 633; the Battle of Walaja , fought in May 633 (where he successfully used a pincer movement ), and the Battle of Ullais , fought in mid-May of 633. In the last week of May 633, the capital city of Iraq fell to the Muslims after initial resistance in the Battle of Hira . After resting his armies, Khalid moved in June 633 towards Anbar , which resisted and

1960-628: The Battle of the Bridge in which Abu Ubayd was killed. The response was delayed until after a decisive Muslim victory against the Romans in the Levant at the Battle of Yarmouk in 636. Umar was then able to transfer forces to the east and resume the offensive against the Sasanians. Umar dispatched 36,000 men along with 7500 troops from the Syrian front, under the command of Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās against

2058-651: The Byzantine Empire and nearly the entire Sasanian Empire . Umar was assassinated in November 644 and was succeeded by Uthman, a member of the Banu Umayya clan, who was elected by a six-person committee arranged by Umar. Under Uthman, the caliphate concluded its conquest of Persia in 651 and continued expeditions into the Byzantine territories. Uthman was assassinated in June 656, and succeeded by Ali,

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2156-584: The Byzantine Empire to recover. The first Islamic invasion of the Sasanian Empire, launched by Caliph Abu Bakr in 633, was a swift conquest, taking only four months. Abu Bakr sent his general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, to conquer Mesopotamia after the Ridda wars . After entering Iraq with his army of 18,000, Khalid won decisive victories in four consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains , fought in April 633;

2254-645: The Hauran Sanjak . It had a Muslim population of 120 households and 45 bachelors. A 40% tax−rate was levied on wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives; a total of 26,500 akçe . In 1838, Eli Smith listed Daraa as a Muslim, Catholic and Greek Orthodox village in the Nuqrah (southern Hauran plain), south of Eshmiskin . Following the Ottomans' construction of the Hejaz Railway , it became

2352-643: The Israelites defeated the city's king, Og . According to Jewish tradition, Eldad and Medad were buried in Edrei. In the Greek Seleucid Empire , and later the Roman Empire into which it was incorporated by Emperor Trajan in 106, the city was known as Adraa (Ἀδράα), the name used on its coinage. It was incorporated into the province of Arabia Petraea . By the 3rd century, it gained

2450-566: The Muslim community following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632 – Abu Bakr ( r.  632–634 ), Umar ( r.  634–644 ), Uthman ( r.  644–656 ), and Ali ( r.  656–661 ). During the Caliphate's existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in West Asia and Northeast Africa . In Sunni Islam ,

2548-594: The Syrian Civil War , suffered from reduced water supply in the region and had been straining under the influx of internal refugees who were forced to leave their northeastern lands due to a drought exacerbated by the government's lack of provision. Daraa played an important role by the start of the 2011 uprising against the government led by President Bashar al-Assad as part of the Arab Spring protests with hundreds of thousands of people protesting in

2646-578: The Syrian government fully recaptured city, reestabilished state institutions there, and restarted reconciliation process. The city also contains a Palestinian refugee camp , known as Daraa camp . Daraa has a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ). 32°37′31″N 36°6′22″E  /  32.62528°N 36.10611°E  / 32.62528; 36.10611 Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria) The Central Bureau of Statistics ( CBS ) ( Arabic : المكتب المركزي للإحصاء )

2744-498: The Taurus Mountains , the important city of Marash , and Malatya , which were all conquered by Khalid in the autumn of 638 CE. During Uthman's reign, the Byzantines recaptured many forts in the region and on Uthman's orders, a series of campaigns were launched to regain control of them. In 647 Muawiyah , the governor of Syria, sent an expedition against Anatolia, invading Cappadocia and sacking Caesarea Mazaca . In 648

2842-694: The succession to his leadership . Muhammad's close companion Abu Bakr, of the Banu Taym clan, was elected the first caliph in Medina and he began the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula . His brief reign ended in August 634 when he died and was succeeded by Umar, his appointed successor from the Banu Adi clan. Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling more than two-thirds of

2940-571: The Ansar and the Quraysh soon following suit. Abu Bakr adopted the title of Khalīfaṫ Rasūl Allāh ( خَلِيفةُ رَسُولِ اللهِ , "Successor of the Messenger of God") or simply caliph. Abu Bakr embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes, which had claimed that although they pledged allegiance to Muhammad and accepted Islam, they owed nothing to Abu Bakr. As

3038-477: The Ansar for his succession, explained by the genealogical links he shared with them. Whether his candidacy for the succession was raised during Saqifah is unknown, though it is not unlikely. Abu Bakr later sent Umar to confront Ali to gain his allegiance, resulting in an altercation which may have involved violence. However, after six months the group made peace with Abu Bakr and Ali offered him his fealty. Troubles emerged soon after Muhammad's death, threatening

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3136-641: The Byzantine Empire, after which Mithna ibn Haris took command in Mesopotamia. The Persians once again concentrated armies to regain Mesopotamia, while Mithna ibn Haris withdrew from central Iraq to the region near the Arabian desert to delay war until reinforcement came from Medina. Umar sent reinforcements under the command of Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi . This army was defeated by the Sasanian army at

3234-472: The Byzantine army was at Fahl, which was joined by survivors of Ajnadayn. With this threat at their rear, the Muslim armies could not move further north nor south. Thus Abu Ubaidah decided to deal with the situation, and defeated and routed this garrison at the Battle of Fahl on 23 January 635, which proved to be the "Key to Palestine". After this battle Abu Ubaidah and Khalid marched north towards Emesa ; Yazid

3332-676: The Christian Arab auxiliaries of the Roman army in a skirmish . Nothing further happened until the third week of August, during 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. Outnumbered five-to-one, the Muslims nevertheless defeated the Byzantine army in October 636. Abu Ubaida held a meeting with his high command officers, including Khalid, to decide on future conquests, settling on Jerusalem . The siege of Jerusalem lasted four months, after which

3430-418: The Muslim army following the Battle of Mu'ta in 629, while Muhammad was alive. Consequently, the inhabitants paid jizya tax. Baladhuri's account was believed to have been a mistake. Instead, contemporary sources maintain that Adhri'at was conquered by the Muslim army during the caliphate of Abu Bakr in 634. Adhri'at's residents reportedly celebrated the arrival of the second caliph Umar when he visited

3528-472: The Muslim cavalry, under Khalid's command, attacked the Roman army by catching up to them using an unknown shortcut at the battle of Maraj-al-Debaj . On 22 August 634, Abu Bakr died, making Umar his successor. As Umar became caliph, he restored Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah to the overall command of the Muslim armies. The conquest of Syria slowed down under him while he relied heavily on the advice of Khalid, who he kept close at hand. The last large garrison of

3626-402: The Persian . Demands to take revenge for the assassination of Caliph Uthman rose among parts of the population, and a large army of rebels led by Zubayr , Talha and the widow of Muhammad, Aisha , set out to fight the perpetrators. The army reached Basra and captured it, whereupon 4,000 suspected seditionists were put to death. Subsequently, Ali turned towards Basra and the caliph's army met

3724-574: 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 legendary Persian general Rostam Farrokhzād was killed during the battle. According to some sources, the Persian losses were 20,000, and the Arabs lost 10,500 men. Following this Battle, the Arab Muslim armies pushed forward toward

3822-573: 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 span of time, the Arab armies defeated a major Sasanian counterattack in the Battle of Jalūlā', as well as other engagements at Qasr-e Shirin , and Masabadhan. By

3920-413: The Persian government was, however, incitement to revolt in the conquered territories and unlike the Byzantine army, the Sasanian army was continuously striving to regain their lost territories. Finally, Umar pressed forward, which eventually resulted in the wholesale conquest of the Sasanian Empire. Yazdegerd, the Sasanian king, made yet another effort to regroup and defeat the invaders. By 641 he had raised

4018-554: The Rashidun army raided Phrygia . A major offensive into Cilicia and Isauria in 650–651 forced the Byzantine Emperor Constans II to enter into negotiations with Muawiyah. The truce that followed allowed a short respite and made it possible for Constans II to hold on to the western portions of Armenia . In 654–655, on the orders of Uthman, an expedition prepared to attack Constantinople , but this plan

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4116-501: The Syrian government began reconstructing infrastructure in 2011, the bureau began releasing data from 2011 to 2018. This article about government in Syria is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate ( Arabic : ٱلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ , romanized :  al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah ) consisted of the first four successive caliphs (lit. 'successors') who led

4214-751: The anti- Eutyches synod of Constantinople in 448 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451; and Dorimenius at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. No longer a residential bishopric, Adraa is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see . It was also a centre of monastic and missionary activity in the Syrian Desert . In 614, the Sasanian Persians sacked Adraa during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , but spared

4312-549: The arbitration in the Battle of Siffin . The war led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate in 661 by Mu'awiya. The civil war permanently consolidated the divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims, with Shia Muslims believing Ali to be the first rightful caliph and Imam after Muhammad, favouring his bloodline connection to Muhammad. The Rashidun Caliphate

4410-648: The beginning of the 2011 Syrian Revolution . Daraa is an ancient city dating back to the Canaanites . It was mentioned in Egyptian hieroglyphic tablets at the time of the Pharaoh Thutmose III between 1490 and 1436 BC. It was known in those days as the city of Atharaa. It was later referred to in the Hebrew Bible as Edrei or Edre'i (אֶדְרֶעִי), the capital of Bashan , site of a battle where

4508-399: The caliphate is considered to have been 'rightly guided' (the meaning of al-Rāshidūn ; الراشدون ), meaning that it constitutes a model ( sunna ) to be followed and emulated from a religious point of view. The caliphs are also known in Muslim history as the "orthodox" or "patriarchal" caliphs. The caliphate arose following Muhammad’s death in June 632 and the subsequent debate over

4606-416: The cavalry. After the Battle of Aleppo the city finally agreed to surrender in October 637. Abu Ubaidah and Khalid ibn al-Walid, after conquering all of northern Syria, moved north towards Anatolia taking the fort of Azaz to clear the flank and rear of Byzantine troops. On 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

4704-564: The city agreed to surrender, but only to Caliph Umar Ibn Al Khattab in person. Amr ibn Al As suggested that Khalid should be sent as Caliph, because of his very strong resemblance to Caliph Umar. Khalid was recognized and eventually, Caliph Umar ibn Al Khattab came and Jerusalem surrendered in April 637. Abu Ubaida sent Amr bin al-As, Yazid bin Abu Sufyan, and Sharjeel bin Hassana back to their areas to reconquer them; most submitted without

4802-451: The city in March 636. The prisoners taken in the battle informed them about Emperor Heraclius's plans to take back Syria. They said that an army possibly 200,000 strong would soon emerge to recapture the province. Khalid stopped here on June 636. As soon as Abu Ubaida heard the news of the advancing Byzantine army, he gathered all his officers to plan their next move. Khalid suggested that they should consolidate all of their forces present in

4900-507: The city of Daraa (al-Balad district) prompting the Syrian army to attack it with anti-aircraft guns. In early June 2017, much of Daraa was reported to have been destroyed by protracted fighting. On 12 July 2018, the battle for Daraa ended after several days of intense clashes between the Syrian Army and rebel forces, some of which agreed to terms of reconciliation. The Syrian Army retook the city fully. The 2020 Daraa clashes and 2021 Daraa offensive ended with Syrian Army victory. After that,

4998-402: The city, "dancing with swords and sweet basil." Throughout Rashidun and Umayyad rule, the city served as the capital of the al-Bathaniyya subdistrict, part of the larger Jund Dimashq ("military district of Damascus.") In 906, the population was massacred in a raid by the rebellious Qarmatians . The late 10th-century geographer al-Muqaddasi noted that during the Abbasid period, Adhri'at

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5096-409: The city. The uprising was sparked on 6 March 2011, when at least 15 youths were arrested and tortured for scrawling graffiti on their school wall denouncing the Assad government. The family and friends of the detained youths and tens of thousands of locals marched on the streets on 15 March, demanding their release. According to activists, this protest was faced with Syrian security forces opening fire on

5194-422: The city." The attack was part of a security force push "to regain control of areas they lost in recent weeks", indicating that the FSA in Daraa had taken control of parts of the city. Security forces attacked at least three districts, but FSA fighters fought back, firing at Syrian Army roadblocks and buildings housing security police and militiamen. On 14 March 2012, the FSA controlled at least one main district in

5292-471: The east. The four Rashidun caliphs were chosen by a small electoral body – consisting of prominent members of the high-ranking companions of the Prophet – called shūrā ( شُورَى , lit.   ' consultation ' ). The Arabic word rāshidūn (singular: rāshid راشد ) means "rightly-guided". The reign of these four caliphs is considered in Sunni Islam to have been 'rightly-guided', meaning that it constitutes

5390-400: The eleventh year of the Hijri. The year 12 Hijri dawned on 18 March 633 with the Arabian peninsula united under the caliph in Medina. After Abu Bakr unified Arabia under Islam, he began the incursions into the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire . 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

5488-503: The foundations of a political structure that could hold it together. He created the Diwan , a bureau for transacting government affairs. The military was brought directly under state control and into its pay. Crucially, in conquered lands, Umar did not require that non-Muslim populations convert to Islam, nor did he try to centralize government. Instead, he allowed subject populations to retain their religion, language, and customs, and he left their government relatively untouched, imposing only

5586-420: The hand and offered them to the Ansar as potential choices. He was countered with the suggestion that the Quraysh and the Ansar choose a leader each from among themselves, who would then rule jointly. The group grew heated upon hearing this proposal and began to argue amongst themselves. Umar hastily took Abu Bakr's hand and swore his own allegiance to the latter, an example followed by the gathered men. Abu Bakr

5684-432: The inhabitants. According to Ibn Hisham and al-Waqidi , 9th-century biographers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , the Jewish Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqa tribes immigrated to Adhri'at, as it was known in the early Islamic period, following their expulsion from Medina . However, historian Moshe Sharon dismisses this, citing the absence of their claims in any Jewish sources and earlier Muslim reports. Situated between

5782-486: The lifetime of Muhammad. The first incident of apostasy was fought and concluded while Muhammad still lived; a supposed prophet Aswad Ansi arose and invaded South Arabia ; he was killed on 30 May 632 (6 Rabi' al-Awwal, 11 Hijri) by Governor Fērōz of Yemen, a Persian Muslim. The news of his death reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The apostasy of al-Yamama was led by another supposed prophet, Musaylimah , who arose before Muhammad's death; other centers of

5880-399: The long conflict between Byzantines and Persians had left both sides militarily exhausted, and the Islamic armies easily prevailed against them. By 640, they had brought all of Mesopotamia , Syria and Palestine under the control of the Rashidun Caliphate; Egypt was conquered by 642, and almost the entire Sassanian Empire by 643. While the caliphate continued its rapid expansion, Umar laid

5978-410: The major Jewish centres of Palestine and Babylonia , Adhri'at nonetheless had a large Jewish population by the early 7th century and served as a place of Jewish learning. Its residents lit an annual bonfire on Rosh Hashannah in a signal to Babylonia's Jewish communities that the religious new year had begun. Early Muslim historian al-Baladuri lists Adhri'at as one of the towns which surrendered to

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6076-407: The meeting became concerned about a potential coup and hastened to the gathering. Upon arriving, Abu Bakr addressed the assembled men with a warning that any attempt to elect a leader outside of Muhammad's own tribe, the Quraysh , would likely result in dissension as only they can command the necessary respect among the community. He then took Umar and another companion, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah , by

6174-577: 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 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

6272-471: The nascent Muslim community. These caliphs are collectively known in Sunni Islam as the Rashidun , or "Rightly Guided" caliphs ( الْخُلَفاءُ الرّاشِدُونَ , al-Khulafāʾ ar-Rāšidūn ). According to Sunni Muslims, the term Rashidun Caliphate is derived from a famous hadith of Muhammad, where he foretold that the caliphate after him would last for 30 years (the length of the Rashidun Caliphate) and would then be followed by kingship (the Umayyad Caliphate

6370-463: The natives of Medina, took place in the Saqifah (courtyard) of the Banu Sa'ida clan. The general belief at the time was that the purpose of the meeting was for the Ansar to decide on a new leader of the Muslim community among themselves, with the intentional exclusion of the Muhajirun (migrants from Mecca ), though this has later become the subject of debate. Nevertheless, Abu Bakr and Umar, both prominent companions of Muhammad, upon learning of

6468-411: The next caliph and charged them with choosing one of their own numbers. All of the men, like Umar, were from the tribe of Quraysh. The committee narrowed down the choices to two: Uthman and Ali . Ali was from the Banu Hashim clan (the same clan as Muhammad) of the Quraysh tribe, and he was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad and had been one of his companions from the inception of his mission. Uthman

6566-404: The protesters killing four people. Protests continued daily. During this time the local courthouse, the Ba'ath party headquarters in the city, and the Syriatel building owned by Rami Makhlouf , a cousin of President Assad, were set on fire. What followed was a government assault on the city as violence continued and intensified all across Syria. On 25 April 2011, the Syrian military launched

6664-431: The province of Syria (Syria, Jordan, Palestine) and then move towards the plain of Yarmouk for battle. Abu Ubaida ordered the Muslim commanders to withdraw from all the conquered areas, return the tributes they had previously gathered, and move towards Yarmuk. Heraclius's army also moved towards Yarmuk, but the Muslim armies reached it in early July 636, a week or two before the Byzantines. Khalid's mobile guard defeated

6762-418: The province of Syria. However, it is regarded more as an attempt by Mu'awiya to assume the caliphate, rather than to take revenge for Uthman's murder. Ali fought Mu'awiya's forces to a stalemate at the Battle of Siffin , and then lost a controversial arbitration that ended with the arbiter, 'Amr ibn al-'As , pronouncing his support for Mu'awiya. After this Ali was forced to fight the Battle of Nahrawan against

6860-428: The rebel army. Though neither Ali nor the leaders of the opposing force, Talha and Zubayr, wanted to fight, a battle broke out at night between the two armies. It is said, according to Sunni Muslim traditions, that those who were involved in the assassination of Uthman initiated combat, as they were afraid that negotiations between Ali and the opposing army would result in their capture and execution. The battle thus fought

6958-494: The rebellious Kharijites , a faction of his former supporters who, as a result of their dissatisfaction with the arbitration, opposed both Ali and Mu'awiya. Weakened by this internal rebellion and a lack of popular support in many provinces, Ali's forces lost control over most of the caliphate's territory to Mu'awiya while large sections of the empire—such as Sicily , North Africa , the coastal areas of Spain and some forts in Anatolia —were also lost to outside empires. In 661, Ali

7056-551: The rebels in the Battle of Dawmat al-Jandal in the last week of August 633. Returning from Arabia, he received news that a large Persian army was assembling. Within a few weeks, he decided to defeat them piecemeal in order to avoid the risk of defeat by a large unified Persian army. Four divisions of Persian and Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni, and Muzieh. In November 633, Khalid divided his army into three units, and attacked these auxiliaries one by one from three different sides at night, starting with

7154-538: The rebels were in the Najd , Eastern Arabia (known then as al-Bahrayn ) and South Arabia (known as al-Yaman and including the Mahra ). Many tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammad's death, their allegiance was ended. Caliph Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader but joined an ummah ( أُمَّـة , community) of which he was the new head. The result of this situation

7252-532: The regions which were not conquered during Umar's reign; hence, the Rashidun Caliphate's frontiers in the east extended to the lower river Indus and north to the Oxus River . After Khalid consolidated his control of Iraq, Abu Bakr sent four armies to Syria on the Byzantine front under four different commanders: Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (acting as their supreme commander), Amr ibn al-As , Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan and Shurhabil ibn Hasana . However, their advance

7350-632: The reign of Baldwin II of Jerusalem in 1118. According to Yaqut al-Hamawi , in the early 13th-century during Ayyubid rule, Adhri'at was "celebrated for the many learned men who were natives of the place." Under the Mamluks and the Ottomans , the city maintained its importance. In 1596 Daraa appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as ' Madinat Idra'a' and was part of the nahiya of Butayna (Bathaniyya) in

7448-655: The southern rail line at Mafraq , the northern at Tell Arar , and the western by Mezerib . On 27 September 1918, the Arab Northern Army captured Daraa from the retreating Ottoman forces. Daraa is the southernmost city of Syria near the border with Jordan and a major midpoint between Damascus and Amman . After the Syrian Ba'ath Party gained power following the 1963 coup , the new interior minister Amin al-Hafiz appointed Abd al-Rahman al-Khlayfawi as governor of Daraa until 1965. Daraa had recently, before

7546-489: The span of 24 years, a vast territory was conquered comprising Mesopotamia , the Levant , parts of Anatolia , and most of the Sasanian Empire . Unlike the Sasanian Persians , the Byzantines, after losing Syria, retreated back to Anatolia. As a result, they also lost Egypt to the invading Rashidun army, although the civil wars among the Muslims halted the war of conquest for many years, and this gave time for

7644-531: The status of a polis (self-governed city). Roman historian Eusebius referred to it by Adraa, calling it a famous polis of Arabia. The area east of Adraa was a centre of the Ebionites . Adraa itself was a Christian bishopric . Arabio, the first bishop of Adraa whose name is known, participated in the Council of Seleucia of 359. Uranius was at the First Council of Constantinople in 381; Proclus at

7742-417: The strategic town of Chalcis made peace with the Muslims for one year in order to buy time for Heraclius to prepare his defences and raise new armies. The Muslims welcomed the peace and consolidated their control over the conquered territory. However, as soon as the Muslims received the news of reinforcements being sent to Emesa and Chalcis, they marched against Emesa, laid siege to it and eventually captured

7840-401: The two men. The treaty stated that Mu'awiya would not name a successor during his reign, and that he would let the Islamic world choose the next leader. This treaty would later be broken by Mu'awiya as he named his son Yazid I successor. Hasan was assassinated, and Mu'awiya founded the Umayyad Caliphate , supplanting the Rashidun Caliphate. The Rashidun Caliphate expanded steadily; within

7938-651: The unity and stability of the new community and state. Apostasy spread to every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina , the Banu Thaqif in Ta'if and the Bani Abdul Qais of Oman . In some cases, entire tribes apostatized. Others merely withheld zakat , the alms tax, without formally challenging Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood; some made it during

8036-550: The wars of conquest started by Umar. The Rashidun army conquered North Africa from the Byzantines and even raided Spain, conquering the coastal areas of the Iberian Peninsula , as well as the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus . Coastal Sicily was raided in 652. The Rashidun army fully conquered the Sasanian Empire, and its eastern frontiers extended up to the lower Indus River . Uthman's most lasting project

8134-602: Was a hereditary monarchy). Furthermore, according to other hadiths in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal , towards the end times, the Rightly Guided Caliphate will be restored once again by God. Note that a caliph's succession does not necessarily occur on the first day of the new year. After Muhammad's death in June 632, a gathering of the Ansar ( lit.   ' Helpers ' ),

8232-649: Was a major administrative center on the edge of the desert. He claimed the city was part of the Jund al-Urdunn district and that its territory was "full of villages" and included the region of Jerash to the south of the Yarmouk River . Throughout the early Islamic period, it served as a strategic station on the Hajj caravan route between Damascus and Medina and as the gate to central Syria. The Crusaders temporarily conquered Adhri'at, then known as Adratum , during

8330-461: Was assassinated by Ibn Muljam as part of a Kharijite plot to assassinate all the different Islamic leaders in an attempt to end the civil war, but the Kharijites failed to assassinate Mu'awiya and 'Amr ibn al-'As. Ali's son Hasan briefly assumed the caliphate for six months and came to an agreement with Mu'awiya to fix relations between the two groups of Muslims that were each loyal to one of

8428-509: Was defeated , 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 in the last week of July 633. By now, almost the whole of Iraq was under Islamic control. Khalid received a call for help from Dumat al-Jandal in Northern Arabia, where another Muslim general, Iyad ibn Ghanm , was trapped among the rebel tribes. Khalid diverted there and defeated

8526-509: Was first to clear Najd and Western Arabia near Medina, then tackle Malik ibn Nuwayrah and his forces between the Najd and al-Bahrayn, and finally concentrate against the most dangerous enemy, Musaylimah and his allies in al-Yamama. After a series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama . The Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during

8624-744: Was from the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh. He was the second cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad and one of the early converts of Islam. Uthman was ultimately chosen. Uthman reigned for twelve years as a caliph. During the first half of his reign, he was the most popular caliph among all the Rashiduns , while in the latter half of his reign he met increasing opposition, led by the Egyptians and concentrated around Ali, who would albeit briefly, succeed Uthman as caliph. Despite internal troubles, Uthman continued

8722-421: Was halted by a concentration of the Byzantine army at Ajnadayn. Abu Ubaidah then sent for reinforcements. Abu Bakr ordered Khalid, who by now was planning to attack Ctesiphon , to march from Iraq to Syria with half his army. There were 2 major routes to Syria from Iraq, one passing through Mesopotamia and the other through Daumat ul-Jandal. Khalid took an unconventional route through the Syrian Desert , and after

8820-494: Was near-universally accepted as head of the Muslim community (under the title of Caliph) as a result of Saqifah, though he did face contention as a result of the rushed nature of the event. Several companions, most prominent among them being Ali ibn Abi Talib , initially refused to acknowledge his authority. Ali may have been reasonably expected to assume leadership, being both cousin and son-in-law to Muhammad. The theologian Ibrahim al-Nakha'i stated that Ali also had support among

8918-719: Was reading the Qur'an . It was later discovered that the order to kill the rebels did not, in fact, originate from Uthman, but was, rather, part of a conspiracy to overthrow him. Following Uthman's assassination, Muhammad's cousin Ali ( r.  656–661 ) was elected caliph by the rebels and townspeople of Medina . He transferred the capital to Kufa , a garrison city in Iraq. 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

9016-487: Was stationed in Damascus while Amr and Shurhabil marched south to capture Palestine. While the Muslims were at Fahl, sensing the weak defense of Damascus, Emperor Heraclius sent an army to re-capture the city. This army, however, could not make it to Damascus and was intercepted by Abu Ubaidah and Khalid on their way to Emesa. The army was destroyed in the battle of Maraj-al-Rome and the second battle of Damascus. Emesa and

9114-418: Was the Ridda wars . Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly. He divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and the primary force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn al-Walid . This corps 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 to submission. Abu Bakr's plan

9212-472: Was the final compilation of the Qur'an. Under his authority diacritics were written with Arabic letters so that non-native speakers of Arabic could easily read the Qur'an. After a protest turned into a siege on his house, Uthman refused to initiate any military action, in order to avoid civil war between Muslims and preferred to negotiate a peaceful solution. After the negotiations, the protesters returned but found

9310-470: Was the first battle between Muslims and is known as the Battle of the Camel . Ali emerged victoriously and the dispute was settled. The eminent companions of Muhammad, Talha, and Zubayr, were killed in the battle and Ali sent his son Hasan ibn Ali to escort Aisha back to Medina. Thereafter, there rose another cry for revenge for the blood of Uthman, this time by Mu'awiya , a kinsman of Uthman and governor of

9408-419: Was the first major pitched battle between the Muslims and Byzantines and cleared the way for the former to capture central Syria. Damascus , the Byzantine stronghold, was conquered shortly after on 19 September 634. The Byzantine army was given a deadline of 3 days to flee as far as they could, with their families and treasure, or simply agree to stay in Damascus and pay tribute. After the three days had passed,

9506-589: Was transferred to the Syrian front in 634. Before dying in August 634 from an illness, Abu Bakr appointed Umar ( r.  634–644 ) as his successor. Upon his accession, Umar adopted the title amir al-mu'minin , which later became the standard title of caliphs. The new caliph continued the war of conquests begun by his predecessor, pushing further into the Sassanian Empire , north into Byzantine territory, and went into Egypt . These were regions of great wealth controlled by powerful states, but

9604-583: Was unable to raise another army and became a hunted fugitive. In 642 Umar sent the army to conquer the remainder of the Persian Empire . The entirety of present-day Iran was conquered, followed by Greater Khorasan (which included the modern Iranian Khorasan province and modern Afghanistan ), Transoxania , Balochistan and Makran (part of modern-day Pakistan), Azerbaijan , Dagestan (Russia), Armenia and Georgia ; these regions were later re-conquered during Uthman's reign with further expansion into

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