wars against those who represented the Meccan aristocracy. Ali’s supporters and enemies later came to form the two main sects of Islam: Shias and Sunnis. Ali established himself at Kufa and defeated an army led by Muhammad’s wife, Aisha, in the Battle of the Camel ( ). He was, however, not able to suppress the faction led by Muawiya, a kinsman of Uthman and the governor of Syria.
Ali’s second battle, at Siffin (northern Mesopotamia), ended in a truce which split his followers into two groups: some remained loyal to him, while others left the camp and came to be known as Kharjis. Soon after, Ali was assassinated by a Kharji in a mosque at Kufa. After his death, his followers paid allegiance to his son, Hussain, and his descendants. Muawiya made himself the next caliph in , founding the Umayyad dynasty which lasted till .
After the civil wars, it appeared as if Arab domination would disintegrate. There were also signs that the tribal conquerors were adopting the sophisticated culture of their subjects. It was under the Umayyads, a prosperous clan of the Quraysh tribe, that a second round of consolidation took place.