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Conflict Middle East

First Fitna (Islamic Civil War)

656 CE – 661 CE · 5 years

The first major civil war within Islam, triggered by the assassination of Caliph Uthman. The conflict between Ali and Muawiyah created the enduring Sunni-Shia divide that shapes the Muslim world to this day.

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Belligerents

The main peoples, kingdoms and states involved.

  • Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib
  • Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan & Aisha

Key moments

Defining events in the First Fitna (Islamic Civil War).

  1. 656 Battle of the Camel
  2. 657 Battle of Siffin
  3. 661 Assassination of Ali

Elsewhere in Middle East at the time

Records whose own span overlaps this one, found by the same test the canvas draws with. The bar under each card is where it sits inside this one.

See the whole view

Landmark · Middle East

Great Pyramid of Giza

2560 BCE – still standing

Polity · Middle East

Egypt

Attested 3000 BCE – 2026 CE

Trade route · Middle East

Mediterranean Southern Route

331 BCE – 1500 CE

Conflict · Middle East

Early Muslim Conquests

632 CE – 750 CE

Landmark · Middle East

Petra

300 BCE – still standing

Polity · Middle East

Persia

Attested 400 CE – 1914 CE

Trade route · Middle East

Maritime Silk Road – Red Sea Branch

200 BCE – 1500 CE

Conflict · Middle East

Khazar-Arab Wars

642 CE – 799 CE

And in the rest of the world

Records running through the same years, on the other side of the map.

Joya de Cerén Landmark · Americas 600 CE – 660 CE Umayyad Caliphate Polity · Africa 661 CE – 750 CE Mesoamerican Trade Network Trade route · Americas 1200 BCE – 1521 CE Byzantine–Arab Wars Conflict · Europe 629 CE – 1180 CE Grand Canyon Landmark · Americas 3000 BCE – still standing Haripunjaya Polity · East Asia 661 CE – 1292 CE
Image credits6 pictures from Wikimedia Commons