Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet by Fatima, became the fourth caliph, by the choice of the people of Medina, and is regarded as the first legitimate possessor of the dignity by a numer ous sect of Mohammedans, which gives him and his son, Hassan, almost equal honor with the Prophet. This belief prevails among the Persians, and others who belong to the Shiite sect as opposed to the Sunnites or Orthodox. Instead of being able to continue the conquests of his predecessors, Ali always had to contend with domestic enemies. Among these was Ayesha, the widow .of the Prophet, called the mother of the faithful; also Tellah, Zobeir, and especially the powerful Moawiyah, governor of Syria, who all laid claim to the government. These were able to create suspicion, and spread the report that All had instigated the murder of Othman. In vain did he endeavor to repress the machinations of his enemies by entrusting the government of the provinces to his friends. Nowhere were the new governors received. The discontented collected an army and made themselves masters of Bassora. Ali defeated it, and Tellah and Zobeir fell; but he could not prevent Moawiyah and his friend Amru from extending their party and maintaining them selves in Syria, .Egypt, and even in a part of Arabia. Three men of the sect of the Khare jites proposed to restore concord among the faithful, by slaying each one of the three heads of the parties, Ali, Moawiyah and Alum; but All only fell (661 A.D., Heg. 40). He was a man of a cultivated mind, and was the author of a collection of sentences or moral maxims, etc. His son, the mild, peaceful Hassan, had no desire to defend the caliphate against the in defatigable Moawiyah; a treaty was concluded between the two, by which Hassan solemnly abdicated the government (661). Some years later he perished by poison, said to have been administered by one of his wives at the insti gation of Moawiyah.
Moawiyah I transferred the seat of the caliphate• from the city of the Prophet, Medina, where it had hitherto always been, to Damas cus, in the province of which he had formerly been governor (673 A.D., Heg. 54). With him began the series of the caliphs called Ommiades (or Ommayads), which name this family bore from Moawiyah's progenitor, Ommiyah. Not long after his accession he was obliged to quell an insurrection of the Kharejites by a cam paign, and a rebellion at Bassora by severe punishments. He then seriously meditated the entire subversion of the Byzantine empire (q.v.). Rhodes was attacked, and the famous colossus was broken in pieces. His son Jezid marched through Asia Minor, meeting but little resist ance; then crossed the Hellespont and laid siege to Constantinople, but was obliged to raise it (669 A.D., Heg. 49). Other generals were more successful against the Turks in Khorasan, and the regions extending to the borders of India.
The next caliph, Jezid (or Yazid), was not altogether a worthy successor of his father, the politic Moawiyah (680 A.D., Heg. 60). At first he was not acknowledged by the two holy cities, Mecca and Medina, which, as long as the caliphs had resided in the latter city, had enjoyed a principal voice in their election, but which had not been consulted when Moawiyah, according to the custom of the caliphs, ap pointed his successor in his lifetime. The dis
contented espoused the cause, either of Hous sain, the famous son of Ali, or of Abdallah, Zobeir's son, both of whom had laid claim to the caliphate. A rebellion of 'the inhabitants of Irak, in favor of Houssain, led by Moslim, Houssain's cousin, was suppressed by the pru dence and decision of Obeidallah, governor of Cufa; and Houssain, who had accepted the in vitation of the conspirators, was killed (680 Heg. 61), to the great grief and rage of all those who took part with Ali's family —a feeling still cherished by the Shiites. Abdallah Ebn Zobeir was recognized as caliph in Medina, where Jezid was detested for his voluptuousness and scepticism. On this account Medina was invested, stormed and sacked; and Mecca, in which Abdallah took shelter, was besieged, but during the siege Jezid died.
After Jezid's death (683 Heg. 64) his son, Moawiyah II, a weak but pious youth, be came caliph, but after a reign of 40 days he died when he was meditating abdication. By this time Abdallah Ebn Zobeir had caused him self to be proclaimed as Prince of the True Be lievers, and he had a powerfdl following. For a period anarchy prevailed. Irak, Hejaz, Ye men and Egypt acknowledged Abdallah Ebn Zobeir as caliph. In Syria, Dehac, regent to Abdallah, was at first chosen caliph; but the people of Damascus appointed Merwan I, of the race of the Ommiades, caliph, who made himself master of all Syria and Egypt. Khora san separated from the caliphate, and submitted to a prince of its own choosing— the noble Salem. In the following year (684 A.D., Heg. 65) Soliman Ebn Sarad excited a great rebel lion of the discontented in Syria and Arabia, and pronounced both caliphs deposed, but was defeated by the experienced soldier Obeidallah. Merwan (who died in 685) had been compelled to promise on oath to leave the caliphate to Khaled, the son of Jezid, yet he nominated his son Abdalmelek as his successor. Under him (685 A.D., Heg. 65) Mokthar, a new rebel against both caliphs, was subdued by one of them, Abdallah (686 A.D., Heg. 67) ; but this only made Abdallah more formidable to Abdal melek, who, in order to be able to direct all his forces against him, concluded a peace with the Greek emperor, Justinian II, in which, reversing the order of the Koran, he conceded to the Christians a yearly tribute of 50,000 pieces of gold. He then marched against Ab dallah, defeated him twice, and took Mecca by assault. In this last conflict Abdallah fell. Thus Abdalmelek united under his dominion all the Mussulmans; but the resistance of governors and wars with the Greeks kept him con stantly occupied. He was the first caliph that caused money to be coined. He died 705 A.D. (Heg. 86). Under Walid I, his son, the Arabs conquered in the east Charasm and Turkes tan (707 A.D., Heg. 88) ; in the north Gala tia (710 A.D.) ; and in the west Spain (711 A.D.). (See SvAriv). He died in 716 (Heg. 97). His brother and successor, Soliman, be sieged Constantinople, but his fleet was de stroyed by Greek fire, and his army suffered severely from famine. He died while on his way to take part in the siege in 717 (Heg. 99).