Arab Caliph
586-644 years
'If your ruler is just, then praise Allah; But if He is unjust, pray to God with your rejection of Him.
Umar I
In the 7th century, the barren Arabian Peninsula miraculously boiled over under the leadership of Muhammad, the last prophet of Islam. Under the guidance of the prophet's "monotheism", a large number of believers emerged, but the concept of "monotheism" also offended the highest rulers of Mecca, so Muhammad had to lead his disciples to flee to Medina.
In the arduous and lengthy process of spreading the Allah Gospel that followed, Muhammad not only changed the minds and beliefs of many Arabs, but also led his disciples to unify Arabia. However, after his death, the Arabian region was again in strife over the succession, and Muslims were divided into two factions: Shia and Sunni.
The ultimate victory was won by the Sunnis, whose Abu Bakr was able to come to power and become the caliph of the Arabian (meaning heir to the prophet) thanks to the support of one man, Umar I.
Umar, whose full name is Umar ibn al-Khatap, accompanied the prophet through important events such as "the exodus from Medina" and the "Battle of the Trenches", and his iron will made him
Become one of Muhammad's most proud disciples. In the process of unifying Arabia, he made great achievements and became an "auxiliary of the prophet" of equal importance to Abu Bakr. After Abu Bakr became caliph, he continued to cultivate Umar, eventually making him the successor of the caliph. In 634, Abu Bakr died and Umar became the successor caliph.
As the head of a religious state, Umar did not forget to propagate religious doctrines, push Islam to the conquered areas, and make more and more people convert to Allah and deserve it
It has become the banner of war. This war was unprecedented in Arab history, and the primary object of the war was the Byzantine and Persian Empires, which had been oppressing the Arabs.
In 635, the Arab army divided into east and west and launched a large-scale military operation. After passing through the barren Syrian desert, the Eastern Route Army annihilated 50,000 Byzantine troops and occupied the Syrian capital Damascus with an overwhelming force. Syria was a land of abundance, with the Persian Empire to the east and Central Asia to the north, so the victory in this campaign not only greatly boosted the morale of the Arabs, but more importantly, occupied an important strategic position for the subsequent military expansion.
In 642, the main force of Persia was annihilated in one fell swoop, and the 1200-year history of the Persian dynasty came to an end. At the same time, the Western Route Army also had a series of successes, and successively occupied Egypt, Alexandria, and Cairo, and the "Byzantine granary" finally belonged to Umar. By the mid-7th century, Syria and Egypt were completely part of the Arab Empire.
Economically, Umar minted a common national currency and set up a treasury to balance the country's fiscal revenues and expenditures. Politically, he not only established annual salaries according to the hierarchy of the Persian system, but also set up a relatively sound judiciary and accordingly established a judicial officer. Militarily, he stationed all Arab troops on the outskirts to maintain their combat effectiveness.
It is worth mentioning that in the newly opened territory, Umar only confiscated the land of the local fugitives, and the other laws remained unchanged; Local residents are allowed to maintain their original religious beliefs, but those who practice Islam are exempt from poll tax; The Arabs were strictly forbidden to acquire land in any way, and these measures allowed the Arabs to gain the approval of the people of the conquered lands and consolidate the rule of the "new empire".
Umar also pioneered the Islamic calendar, Hijra, starting in 622 AD.
The Quran was also rearranged and compiled during this period, forming a unified and standardized standard book, becoming the only version that has survived to this day without errors.
The year 644 was a very unusual year for the Arabs, fortunately victorious in wars and expanding in the country's territory; Unfortunately, their great caliph, Umar, was stabbed to death by Christians. But the Arabs did not stop their conquest because of Umar's death, and the war continued until the mid-8th century.
During the reign of Umar, the Arab countries really had the characteristics of a state, and Islam spread unprecedentedly with the development of war, and eventually established the status of a world religion. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Umar was the most influential figure on Arabia after Muhammad.
Whether as a religious leader, a politician, or a military man, Umar was very outstanding enough to rank among the great emperors of the world.