When Uthman was murdered, the Empire began to destabilise despite Ali's efforts, resulting in the first Islamic Civil War (or Fitna). The achievements of the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali) earned them the epithet 'Rashidun', meaning 'rightly chosen'. Abu Bakr dealt with this insurgence with brutal swiftness before embarking upon a vast war of conquest, extending the Empire's borders even further.
The Emirate of Cordoba stands tall the Umayyad dynasty survives, defiant in the face of the Abbasid usurpers!Īfter the death of the Prophet, peace be upon him, apostasy spread throughout the Islamic Empire in rejection of his successor, Abu Bakr - the first to be called 'Caliph'.
