Empire632 CE – 661 CE · 29 years
Rashidun Caliphate
The first 30 years of Islamic history — the conquests that built the Arab world.
What it was
Under Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali (632–661 CE), Arab armies conquered the Sasanian Empire, half of the Byzantine Empire, and most of North Africa. The killing of Uthman and the civil war over Ali's succession produced the Sunni–Shi'a schism that still divides the Islamic world.
Why it mattered
The political and theological disputes of the first generation after the Prophet's death set the boundary lines for Islamic law, governance, and sectarian identity that persist today.
From Wikipedia
The Rashidun Caliphate is the early Islamic polity led by the first four successive caliphs (lit. "successors") Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, collectively known as the Rashidun, or "Rightly Guided" caliphs. These early caliphs led the Muslim community from the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632 CE to the foundation of the succeeding Umayyad Caliphate in 661 CE.
Wikipedia: Rashidun Caliphate·CC BY-SA 4.0
Borders & accuracy
Solid borders are reconstructed from canonical historical-basemap data or hand-crafted from scholarly atlases.
- SOURCEhand-crafted from scholarly atlases
- DETAILhand-traced-from:wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate
- SNAPSHOT656 CE
- POLITY TYPEstate
Wars of this empire42
Conflicts whose belligerents name this polity, best-documented first.
- Muslim Conquest of Egypt639–646 CEWorld-changing
- Arab Conquest of Persia633–656 CEMajor conflict · 200K dead
- Arab Conquest of the Levant633–638 CEMajor conflict · 100K dead
- Battle of al-Qadisiyyah636 CEMajor conflict · 60K dead
- Battle of Heliopolis640 CEMajor conflict
- Battle of Nahavand642 CEMajor conflict
- Military campaigns of Muhammad622–632 CESignificant
- Ridda Wars632–633 CESignificant
- Battle of Jalula637 CESignificant
- Arab–Aksumite raids640–702 CESignificant
- Battle of Sufetula647 CESignificant
- Khazar Wars650–950 CERegional · 100K dead
- Battle of Buzakha632 CERegional
- Battle of Dhu al Quassa632 CERegional
- Battle of Akraba633 CERegional
- Battle of Hafir, Iraq633 CERegional
- Battle of Hira633 CERegional
- Battle of Mazar633 CERegional
- Battle of Ullais633 CERegional
- Battle of Walaja633 CERegional
- Battle of Ain Tamar634 CERegional
- Battle of Ajnadin634 CERegional
- Battle of Bosra634 CERegional
- Battle of Bridge634 CERegional
+ 18 more in the atlas.
Open in the atlas →Seeks the timeline to 632 CE and fits the map to these borders.
Cite as: Rashidun Caliphate (632 CE – 661 CE). War Atlas. https://waratlas.org/e/rashidun-caliphate · Sources & methodology