The Caliphs

Divisions within the community only grew as the struggle between its two main parties persisted, almost pushing the goal of reuniting the umma out of the realm of possibility. This episode charts the evolution of this civil war, the disintegration of the norms islam had recently instilled in the Arabs, and the re-emergence of old tribal forces as part of a new paradigm.

The unprecedented loss of Arab life at the battle of Siffin put an end to any illusions of the sanctity of muslim blood, an important pillar underpinning the umma’s unity. Arabs began withdrawing their support for the caliph in growing numbers, revealing the resurgence of the old political order of tribal elites. Amid these transformations, Syrian and Iraqi delegates met to discuss the possibility...

Following the caliph’s victory over the Meccan faction at Basra, Ali bin Abi Talib turned his attention towards Syria. The Umayyad Mu’awiya bin Abu Sufyan had governed its lands for nearly two decades and insisted that he would not submit until his kin’s murderers and their unnamed instigators had been punished. This irresolvable dispute culminated to the battle of Siffin, the umma’s bloodiest civ...

As divisions widened within the umma, the battle of the camel marked the first time two muslim armies faced one another in combat. Chiefs of the various clans of Quraysh felt they had the most to lose from the leadership of the community falling into Hashemite hands, and they were the first to make a move against the new caliph.

Legitimating succession within the caliphate was already hard enough, and the rebellion that led to Othman’s death only divided the fractured Umma further. It is in these unenviable conditions that the Hashemite Ali bin Abi Talib will prevail as the Umma’s fourth caliph, fulfilling the hopes of those who believed that he had been chosen by the prophet as his successor in his farewell speech almost...

Dismissing the grievances brought to him earlier in his reign made sure the discontent the caliph faced would only grow. The sources diverge widely when it comes to these contentious and deeply consequential events, but ultimately Othman had to face the wrath of men who held the caliph solely responsible for all the worrying and confusing changes they were experiencing. The Umma had experienced gr...

The quasi-political system devised by the Arabs to manage the community’s affairs was hastily put together and it mixed tribal norms and islamic ethics haphazardly. The pitfalls of the caliphate were numerous, and Omar’s many changes during his reign were aimed at addressing some of them. Othman’s reign was not marked with any such prophylactic foresight; his rule instead strained the authority of...

With the confusion of Omar’s assassination and succession behind them, the Arabs were now ready to welcome the reign of yet another of their prophet’s close companions. In this episode we’ll talk more about the new caliph, and take a tour of his many and growing domains.

Omar’s bold and sweeping policies defined the caliphate and gave it the tools it needed to evolve past its origins as a tribal confederation. While his predecessor had shied away from such decision making, the old Abu Bakr at least had the foresight to pick his successor. The second caliph neglected thinking about who might replace him until it was almost too late. At his tragic and abrupt end he...

We mentioned many of the accomplishments of Omar ibn il Khattab in our last episode, and in this one we continue our discussion of the second caliph's reign. There was no going back for the Arabs after their historic victories had altered their world irreversibly, and a strong leader was needed to manage this critical transformational period. We will focus on the bold decisions Omar made, and try...

The reign of Abu Bakr lasted a little over two years, and he kept Omar close in order to prepare him for the role of caliph. But the leadership of the community Omar inherited came with the burden of waging two simultaneous wars against empires that had bordered the Arabs for as long as they they could remember. We very briefly discussed the Byzantine and Sassanid empires in the previous episode,...

I would like to be the first to admit that this episode doesn't quite belong in this podcast. It's just that the Arabs will take down two ancient and powerful empires with a swiftness that beggars belief, and this is my attempt at explaining how such an unthinkable act could ever take place. In this episode we discuss the final war the two empires fought with one another, and highlight the state e...

The man chosen to lead the muslims after their prophet's death was his close friend, Abu Bakr. He thus became the world's first caliph, and was faced with the unenviable task of keeping all the peninsula's fiercely independent-minded tribes united. His short reign had many successes, ensuring him a vaulted position in Arab memory.

Succession can be a tricky issue, but succeeding a prophet is pretty much ensured to get thorny. The Umma barely had time to mourn its loss after the death of Mohammad; it immediately faced threats both from within and without. This made finding a new leader all the more pressing, and the haste with which some acted caused rifts in the community that proved tragically durable.

Before we can talk about the caliphs, we need to build on the context we established last time. The caliphs will rule over the community first united by Mohammad ibn Abdallah, of the Hashemite clan of the Quraysh, main tribe of the city of Mecca.

I introduce us, what this podcast is meant to become, and our subject matter: Arab history.