The Islamic Empire existed from approximately AD 622 – 1258, a period roughly divided by four phases: The Hijrah Era (AD 622 – 632), the Rightly Guided Caliphs (632 – 661), the Umayyad Caliphate (661 – 750), and the Abbasid Caliphate (750 – 1258), (Middle 1-4). Muhammed was the leader of the Hijrah era, a brief span of time that ended when Abu Bakr assumed the title Khalifah (successor) to the Prophet. It was during the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs that one of our subjects under study, Uthman (of the Umayyad Clan), ruled from 644 – 656 (Middle 1). By the time Uthman came to rule, the Islamic Empire had defeated the Eastern Roman Empire, and conquered Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia. It would take another two centuries before our next subject under study, Ja’far al Mutawakkil, would rule the Islamic Empire during the Abbasid Caliphate from 847 – 861 (Middle 2). Both of these caliphs were murdered and ruled the Islamic Empire with varying degrees of impact on political, military, religious, and social levels. This analysis will compare and contrast the rule of Uthman with that of Mutawakkil. A conclusion will address what the murder of each ruler tells us regarding the era during which they ruled.
Uthman was the third Caliph of the Islamic Empire. Under his reign the Empire expanded to include Armenia, Caucasia, Khurasan, Kirman, Sijistan, Cyprus, and a good portion of North Africa. Uthman counted among his brides two daughters of the prophet Muhammed. Uthman had great authority among the Islamic people because of his familiarity and interaction with the Prophet Muhammed. Uthman related 146 hadiths from Muhammed and Muhammed once said of his son-in-law “The most compassionate of my Community is Abu Bakr, the staunchest in Allah’s Region is Umar, and the most truthful in his modesty is Uthman” (Uthman 1).
The sacred book of Islam is Koran, written in Arabic, and considered to...