Caliph Uthman engenders discontent with his appointment…

Caliph Uthman engenders discontent with his appointment of many of his relatives as governors in the newly acquired Muslim lands.

The Umayyads’ principal opponents are the older Muslim "aristocracy," who resent Uthman's weak attempts to curb their greed for land, and the followers of Ali, first cousin of Muhammad and husband of Muhammad's daughter, Fatima.

Ali, despite his close ties with the late Prophet, has thrice been passed over in the caliphal succession.