Talibid Caliphate (Fidem Pacis)

The Talibid Caliphate was the first series of Caliphs of Islam. The first Caliph, or successor, chosen by the Prophet Muhammad on his deathbed and elected by popular acclaim, was Muhammad's cousin Ali ibn Abu Talib - who initially was reluctant to put forward his name before finishing the burial rites, but was encouraged to do so by the Emperor Heraclius, who was in Mecca at the time.

The other main contender, one Abu Bakr, gladly withdrew to avoid strife and was instead appointed the leader of a religious mission to Syria.

Ali's rule lasted from 632 to 661 AD (10 to 40 AH) and saw the transformation of Arabia into a superpower to rival Rome or Persia. With the former slowly beginning the process of conversion, he was able to negotiate a strong Roman alliance that would help him to defeat the Persian invasion of 634-640. He authorised long voyages of trade and exploration to India and beyond, and to help bring Islam to the inhabitants of far countries he oversaw the compilation of a written version of the Qur'an. He reformed the tax system, built many wells and canals, and founded several new cities. Overall his rule is considered to be a golden age.

However, in 656 a rebellion in the eastern provinces was started by Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, the governor of Bahrain...