Battle of the Camel | |||||||
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Part of the First Fitna | |||||||
![]() Ali and Aisha at the Battle of the Camel |
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
~20,000 | ~30,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
>400-500 ~5,000 |
>2,500 ~13,000 |
Aisha's forces and
Banu Umayya
>400-500
>2,500
The Battle of the Camel, sometimes called the Battle of Jamal or the Battle of Bassorah, took place at Basra, Iraq on 7 November 656. A'isha heard about the killing of Uthman (644-656), the third Caliph. At the time she was on a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was on this journey that she became so angered by his unavenged death, and the naming of Ali as the fourth caliph, that she took up arms against those supporting Ali. She gained support of the big city of Basra and, for the first time, Muslims took up arms against each other. This battle is now known as the First Fitna, or Muslim civil war.
Talhah and Zubeir asked Ali for permission to make the pilgrimage. He granted it and they departed. The Medina people wanted to know Ali’s point of view about war against Muslims, by asking his view about Muawiyah I and his refusal to give Ali his allegiance. So they sent Ziyad Bin Hanzalah of Tamim who was set on getting the caliphate of Ali because Uthman had died and they wanted to "get to killers of Uthman". However, they went to Basra, and not Medina where the crime happened.