Umayyad invasions of Egypt (657–658)

The Umayyad invasions of Egypt (657–658) were a series of raids and military expeditions ordered by the long-time governor of Greater Syria, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, and led by the original conqueror of Egypt, Amr ibn al-As, against the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali's administration in Egypt. The campaigns ultimately resulted in the defeat of loyalist forces, the annexation of Egypt by Mu'awiya, and the reinstatement of Amr as its governor.

The political crisis in Egypt was a direct extension of the First Fitna. Following the assassination of Caliph Uthman in 656, Egypt became a critical battleground for legitimacy. The province was divided between the supporters of Ali and a powerful faction of Uthmaniyya (the partisans of Uthman) based in Kharbita who demanded retribution for the late caliph's blood.^[3]

Initially, the province was seized for the Alid cause by Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfa, who had led the Egyptian mutineers against the previous governor, Ibn Abi Sarh.^[4] However, Mu'awiya and Amr ibn al-As managed to entice Ibn Abi Hudhayfa to the border at Arish, where he was captured and imprisoned in Syria. He was later killed while attempting to escape, with historical accounts differing on the specific circumstances of his death.^[5] Following his removal, Ali appointed Qays ibn Sa'd, who adopted a policy of de-escalation by allowing the Uthmanids, led by Maslama ibn Mukhallad, to remain neutral in exchange for peace.^[6]

The stability established by Qays ended when he was recalled and replaced by Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr in 657. This appointment proved immediately unpopular among supporters of Uthman, leading to increased sectarian tension and a perceived lack of popular support for Ali’s rule in the region.^[7] Unlike his predecessor, Muhammad abandoned the policy of neutrality and issued an ultimatum to the rebels to either pledge allegiance to Ali or depart from Egypt.^[8] This demand triggered an active revolt under Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj. Muhammad attempted to suppress the uprising by dispatching an offensive under al-Harith ibn Jumhan al-Ju‘fi, who was killed in the engagement. A second expedition led by Ibn Mudahim al-Kalbi similarly failed to defeat the Uthmanids, leaving the governor's limited forces overstretched.^[6] Recognizing the impending collapse of Alid authority, Ali dispatched Malik al-Ashtar from Nisibis to take supreme command of Egypt. However, Al-Ashtar was poisoned at Qulzum, an act widely attributed to the instigation of Mu'awiya.^[3] The death of Al-Ashtar was celebrated in Damascus and left Muhammad isolated at his post.^[8]

In mid-658, Mu'awiya I ordered a full-scale military intervention to support the local Uthmanids and annex the province. He dispatched a Syrian army of approximately 6,000 troops under the command of Amr ibn al-As, who had also been its first governor.^[9] Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, whose authority had been weakened by failed expeditions against the rebels at Kharbita, was able to muster only 2,500 loyalist troops to defend the governorship.^[1]

The two forces met at the Battle of al-Musanna, located between Heliopolis and Fustat.^[10] Despite a spirited defense by the Alid commander Kinana ibn Bishr, the numerically superior Syrian and Uthmanid coalition swiftly overwhelmed the Egyptian loyalists. Kinana was killed in the heat of the battle, leading to the total collapse of Muhammad’s lines.^[1] Following the defeat, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr attempted to flee but was captured and executed by the forces of Mu'awiya ibn Hudayj.^[1]

The Umayyad victory resulted in the reinstatement of Amr ibn al-As as the governor of Egypt, bringing the province under the control of the Damascus-based coalition. This annexation was a decisive turning point in the First Fitna, as it deprived Ali of the region's vast agricultural wealth and tax revenue while securing Mu'awiya's southern flank.^[11]

• Battle of the Camel
• Battle of Siffin

• Wellhausen, Julius (1927). The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall. Translated by Margaret Graham Weir. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.

• Madelung, W. (1997). The Succession to Muḥammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-64696-3.
• Muir, William (1891). The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall. Religious Tract Society.
• Muir, William (2025). Annals of the Early Caliphate. From Original Sources. Antigonos Verlag. ISBN 9783563937211.
• Lev, Yaacov (2020). Administration of Justice in Medieval Egypt: From the 7th to the 12th Century. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-1-4744-5926-6.
• Calder, Norman; Mojaddedi, Jawid Ahmad; Rippin, Andrew (2013). Classical Islam: A Sourcebook of Religious Literature. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-50507-9.
• Petry, Carl F., ed. (1998). Cambridge History of Egypt, Volume One: Islamic Egypt, 640–1517 : Egypt as a Province in the Islamic Caliphate, 641–868. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-47137-0.
• Kennedy, H. (2016). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century. Cambridge: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-78761-2.