Episode 13: The battle of the camel

As divisions widened within the umma, the battle of the camel marked the first time two muslim armies faced one another in combat. Chiefs of the various clans of Quraysh felt they had the most to lose from the leadership of the community falling into Hashemite hands, and they were the first to make a move against the new caliph.

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Glossary

I’ll divide this exceptionally long episode glossary into three parts to make it clearer for readers which of the factions our historical figures supported.

First are the Hashemites, and supporters of the new caliph.

• Ali bin abi Talib: with a community as divided as the one he inherited, it sadly makes sense that Ali had to immediately resort to battle to legitimate his position as caliph. Following the events of this episode, Ali’s capital and power base becomes Kufa, something which I think comes off as being mainly due to Malik al Ashtar in this podcast, but there are several other factors that led to this being the case. For example, many of the Ansar picked Kufa to go to after Omar’s death, as Quraysh held less sway over the East before Othman’s time. Quraysh had mainly traded with the cities of Syria and Egypt before Islam, and that’s where their interests lay now that they were free to roam across the land. The East was dominated by the canton cities and their tribal armies, which were subservient to Quraysh during the reign of the first two caliphs, and more classically competitive with them under the quasi-tribal reign of the third. Another factor that lies outside the scope of our podcast is that a super important early muslim, Salman the Persian, had gone East during the early caliphate and he imparted his strong preference for the Hashemite clan to all those whom he allied with there, giving Ali a decent base of loyalists.
• Hasan bin Ali: Ali’s eldest son was kept close by his side and was clearly being groomed by Ali for one day leading the community himself. He comes off as wise beyond his years and eloquent in most narrations, and he only left his father’s side to fulfill his commands.
• Abdullah ibn il Abbas: if Hasan was Ali’s protege, then Abdullah is his advisor and confidante. Ali made sure to consult his cousin on many things, and we often find quotes from letters between the two in our sources. Abdullah had developed his understanding of how things worked when Omar had brought him close during his reign over a dozen years earlier, and he often had good practical advice to give tot he caliph.
• Malik al Ashtar: Ali’s Kufan firebrand was a real asset to the Hashemite cause, and what’s covered in this episode is really just the tip of the iceberg. His popularity is difficult to explain, and we’ll cover more of its tribal implications next time, but you should know that countless Arabs found in him an inspiring and admirable figure.
• Ammar bin Yassir: it’s easy to understand why Ammar was such a diehard Hashemite when you hear his backstory. Ammar’s parents were both slaves in Mecca when Islam had first been revealed to Mohammad. After they adopted the new faith they were both tortured to death in front of him by their Umayyad owners in a vain effort to extract renunciations of faith.
• Al Ash’ath bin Qays: probably the noblest Yemeni in tribal terms, he was the head of the largest tribe which ran the coalition which once protected the state that existed there over a century ago. Like many other tribes which had few ties to Mecca before islam, his had broken with the community after the prophet’s death, rejoined it under Abu Bakr, fought for it under Omar, and since then were regulars in Kufa, responsible for taxing the settled populations around them.

Next come the prominent members of the Meccan faction.

• Aisha: the prophet’s deathbed was in Aisha’s house in Medina, and when he passed away he was buried there as Abu Bakr testified that Mohammad himself had taught that prophets ought not be moved after they pass. When Aisha’s father Abu Bakr met his end, he asked to be buried next to his friend and prophet Mohammad, and so he was. The second caliph requested to join his two friends in death, and his wish was granted. All this added greatly to the sanctity which Aisha already enjoyed as one of the “mothers of the faithful”, Mohammad’s widows who were never to be rewed. This gave her the kind of clout required to be politically active, and she was effective at mobilizing public opinion against Othman; something which in my opinion she did somewhat aimlessly, more to pander to public sentiment rather than exploit it. Her defeat at the battle of the camel will mark the end of her political career.
• Al Zubayr bin Awwam: it’s unclear which of the two Qurayshi leaders vying for the leadership of the Meccan faction met a stranger end in this battle. There’s a lot of speculation – much of it otherworldly – on what it was that cause Zubayr to abandon his cause and walk away, and if I had to bet I’d say something close to what I said in this episode, that the negotiations on that last day may have gotten to him. But who knows, maybe he saw the shooting of that teenager reciting the Quran between the two armies as a bad omen or something, literally all we can do is speculate.
• Abdullah ibn al Zubayr: al Zubayr’s son survived this battle, which is more than can be said for his erstwhile rival, Mohammad bin Talha bin Ubaidallah. I didn’t get into this in the show, but in the sources it begins to seem like both these young men were egging their fathers on towards claiming the leadership of the community, either due to pride, greed, or faith depending on the source you’re reading. Don’t forget about Abdullah, we’re not done with him yet – or is it the other way around?
• Talha bin Ubaidallah: I should take this chance to repeat that many narrations deny that this Meccan elder – one of the 10 guaranteed paradise no less – was vengefully killed by Marwan during this engagement, saying that he met his end some other way on the battlefield. By my count however, more sources tell the story I relayed in this episode, which is great cause I like how scandalous it is! A lot better than being killed by some random warrior.
• Marwan ibn il Hakam: I sort of blamed Marwan for Othman’s death, and now I’m framing him for Talha’s, so you’d be excused if you thought I had some personal enmity towards the guy. I am honestly just trying to portray him as I come across him though, and I find him fascinating. Historical accounts about Marwan are complicated though, for reasons which will become obvious later on.
• Abdallah bin ‘Amer: the other Umayyad (the first being Marwan) to put his lot with the Meccan faction in their rebellion against Ali’s authority. After this defeat both Umayyads made their way to Syria to continue fighting against the Hashemites, this time for Mu’awiya.

Finally, we have the main proponents of the Umayyad governor of Syria.

• Mu’awiya ibn abi Sufyan: I’m sure you noticed the powerful governor of Syria menacing in the background of this episode’s events, and realize that he will play a major role in upcoming ones.
• ‘Amr ibn il ‘As: it was both difficult and interesting to try and chart ‘Amr’s position over the years leading up to his joining Mu’awiya in Damascus. After being removed as governor – which some sources say happened as late as Othman’s fifth year in office – he went to Medina and begin agitating against the caliph and his governors, especially his heavy-handed replacement Abdullah bin abi Sarh. Many sources deny this, especially Egyptian histories which discuss ‘Amr affectionately. Their strongest point is that ‘Amr could not have been anti-Umayyad while Othman was alive and pro-Umayyad when he died; but I’m not convinced. ‘Amr was good, and the practical Mu’awiya recognized an asset when he saw one, and he needed all the help he could get if he were to take on Ali bin abi Talib, so I’m not surprised he was welcomed into the Umayyad camp at all.
• Walid bin ‘Uqba: I just wanted to note that Walid actually opposed Mu’awiya’s decision to welcome ‘Amr into the Umayyad camp, and he blamed ‘Amr for much of what happened to Othman. Not only that, but ‘Amr had used al Walid’s humiliating dismissal and lashing in Medina to score propaganda points against the ruling clique, something that Walid hadn’t forgiven yet. Although Walid didn’t have any political power, his position as poet of the Umayyads (and his sharp wit) meant his opinion still counted for much within the clan, and Mu’awiya had to speak to him to get him to warm up to the idea.

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