Ridda Wars

Ridda Wars
حُرُوب ٱلرِّدَّة

Map of the major battles of the Ridda Wars
Date632–633
Location
Result Caliphate victory
Territorial
changes
The Rashidun Caliphate establishes control over the entire Arabian Peninsula
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate Rebel Arab tribes
Commanders and leaders

The Ridda Wars[a] were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes, some of which were led by rival prophet claimants. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632 and concluded the next year, with all battles won by the Rashidun Caliphate.[1][2]

In September 632, Laqit, the leader of the Banu Azd tribe, prepared an army to attack Oman. However, commander Hudayfa's forces defeated Laqit and his rebel army. The next month, more rebel attacks were faced in Northern Arabia and Yemen, which were also defeated. A few months later, Banu Hanifa's chief Musaylimah, a rival prophet claimant with an army of allegedly 40,000 soldiers, was killed in the Battle of Yamama. The last major rebel attack came from the tribe of Kinda in Hadhramaut in January 633. The campaigns came to an end in June 633 as Abu Bakr united all tribes of Arabia.[3]

These wars established Khalid ibn al-Walid's reputation as a great tactician and cavalry commander. A detailed reconstruction of the events is complicated by the frequently contradictory and tendentious accounts found in primary sources.[4]


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  1. ^ Laura V. Vaglieri in The Cambridge History of Islam, p.58
  2. ^ "Abu Bakr | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 6 November 2021. He suppressed the tribal political and religious uprisings known as the riddah ("political rebellion", sometimes translated as "apostasy"), thereby bringing central Arabia under Muslim control.
  3. ^ Mikaberidze 2011, p. 751.
  4. ^ M. Lecker (2012). "Al-Ridda". In P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_8870.