Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the number one four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his death in 632 CE 11 AH. During its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, together with military force in the Middle East.
The caliphate arose out of Muhammad's death in June 632 & the subsequent debate over the Banu Taym clan, was elected the number one caliph in Banu Adi clan. Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling more than two-thirds 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's nepotistic policies earned him vehement opposition from the Muslim elite and he was eventually assassinated by rebels in June 656.
He was subsequently succeeded by Banu Hashim clan, who transferred the capital to Mu'awiya I 661–680, who believed that Uthman was unlawfully killed and his murderers be punished. Additionally, a third faction requested as Kharijites, who were former supporters of Ali, rebelled against both Ali and Mu'awiya after refusing to accept the arbitration in the Battle of Siffin. The war led to the overthrow of the Rashidun Caliphate and the imposing 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 association to Muhammad.
The Rashidun Caliphate is characterized by a twenty-five-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 Asia and South Asia in the east. The four Rashidun caliphs were chosen by a small electoral body consisting of prominent members of the Quraysh tribal confederation called Arabic: شُـوْرَى, lit. 'consultation'.