2 – The Death of Ali & Creation of the Umayyad Caliphate (661)
Despite the bloodshed at the Battle of the Camel, nothing was resolved. Ali refused to bring Uthman’s killers to justice, and Muawiyah would not pledge allegiance to the Caliph. After both men sent armies to meet one another at Siffin in 657, they both decided not to engage in battle; at least not initially. After over 100 days of negotiations, they fought for three days at the Battle of Siffin with terrible losses on both sides. Eventually, a stalemate occurred and the fighting stopped. However, each time Ali attempted to negotiate, Uthman’s killers embarked on night attacks.
Amr ibn al-‘As was a well-respected general and acted as arbitrator to decide if Ali or Muawiyah should be the Caliph. In the end, Amr decided that neither man was worthy and invited the Muslims to elect another person for the role. Ali refused to accept the verdict, and since he originally agreed to abide by the decision, he was in a very weak position for reneging on this promise.
The Qurra were originally supporters of Ali but turned against him after he ignored the verdict of the arbitrator. They knew that if there was peace, they could be arrested for the murder of Uthman and they were aware that Ali could no longer look after their interests. This group became known as Kharijites (those who leave), broke away from Ali’s army and began slaughtering people indiscriminately.
Ali took arms against the Kharijites and finally came face to face with his new enemy at the Battle of Nahrawan in 659. It was a one-sided battle as Ali had up to 80,000 men against just 2,800 Kharijites. It was a complete massacre as Ali lost just eight men while only nine Kharijites managed to escape death.
It was ultimately a pyrrhic victory for Ali as it did nothing but strengthen the resolve of his enemies. On the 19th day of Ramadan in 661, he was praying in the Great Mosque of Kufa when an assassin slashed him with a poisoned sword. Ali died from his wounds, and soon, Muawiyah had the strongest army and was crowned Caliph several months later. He founded the Umayyad Caliphate which ruled for the next 89 years.