THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL WORLD LEADERS OF ALL TIME

(Ron) #1
7 ‘Alī 7

he bring the murderers of ‘Uthmān to trial. When he
refused, a rebellion against him was instigated, led by two
prominent Meccans and ‘Ā’isha. This rebellion, known as
the Battle of the Camel (the camel ridden by ‘Ā’isha), was
crushed by ‘Alī’s forces. A second rebellion was on the
point of defeat when its leader, Mu‘āwiya, a kinsman of
‘Uthmān and the governor of Syria, proposed arbitration.
‘Alī was forced by his army to accept adjudication, greatly
weakening his position. Soon he had to fight some of the
very people who had earlier forced him to accept arbitra-
tion but now denounced it. Known as Khawārij (Seceders),
they were defeated by ‘Alī in the Battle of Nahrawān.
Meanwhile, Mu‘āwiya followed an aggressive policy, and
by the end of 660 ‘Alī had lost control of Egypt and of the
Hijaz. While he was praying in a mosque at Kūfa in Iraq,
a Khārijite struck ‘Alī with a poisoned sword. Two days
later ‘Alī died and was buried at Nujaf, near Kūfa. His
mausoleum became one of the principal Shi‘ite pilgrim-
age centers.
‘Alī’s political discourses, sermons, letters, and sayings,
collected by ash-Sharīf ar-Rad·ī in a book entitled Nahj
al-balāghah (“The Road of Eloquence”) with commentary
by Ibn Abī al-H·adīd, are well known in Arabic literature.
Muslims consider him to be an embodiment of the virtues
of justice, learning, and mystical insight. In popular piety
he is regarded as an intercessor with God, and certain
quasi-gnostic groups maintain that he is the Perfect Man.
Some, like the ‘Alawī of Syria, even hold that he is a human
incarnation of God.

Charlemagne


(b. April 747—d. Jan. 28, 814, Aachen, Austria [now in Germany])

C


harlemagne (also known as Charles I or Charles the
Great) reigned as king of the Franks (768–814), king
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