Umar’s reign has seen the transformation of…
November 644 CE
Umar’s reign has seen the transformation of the Islamic state from an Arabian principality to a world power.
In less than ten years, the Muslim Arab armies have extended their western conquests to the borders of Roman Tunisia and conquered all of the Middle East except for Anatolia.
Caliph Umar, having disseminated Islam by conquest into the formerly Christian lands of Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, and into the Sassanian Persian Empire, has established the principles of Islamic law and administration in the conquered areas.
Although Islam tolerates other faiths but does not at this time encourage conversions, it does facilitate immigration of Muslim Arab tribes into the conquered territories.
Umar, dying in Medina of wounds inflicted by the Persian slave Pirouz for personal reasons, appoints a committee to determine his successor.
At Umar’s death on November 3, 644, they select Uthman ibn Affan, a member of a wealthy and powerful clan called the Umayyads who have only lately embraced Islam.
The selection of Uthman, the first Muslim convert of high social and economic standing, is a compromise when the more powerful candidates cancel each other out.
The Umayyads, having suffered a partial eclipse during the Prophet's lifetime, now reassert their influence.
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