Editing Muhammad (section)

==Succession==
{{further|Succession to Muhammad|Rashidun|Early Muslim conquests}}
[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|thumb|right|Expansion of the caliphate, 622–750&nbsp;CE:
{{legend|#a1584e|Muhammad, 622–632&nbsp;CE}}
{{legend|#ef9070|Rashidun caliphate, 632–661&nbsp;CE}}
{{legend|#fad07d|Umayyad caliphate, 661–750&nbsp;CE}}]]

With Muhammad's death, disagreement broke out over who his successor would be.{{sfn|Holt|Lambton|Lewis|1977|p=57}}{{sfn|Lapidus|2002|pp=31–32}} [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]], a prominent companion of Muhammad, nominated [[Abu Bakr]], Muhammad's friend and collaborator. With additional support, Abu Bakr was confirmed as the first [[caliph]]. This choice was disputed by some of Muhammad's companions, who held that Ali ibn Abi Talib, his cousin and son-in-law, had been designated the successor by Muhammad at [[Ghadir Khumm]]. Abu Bakr immediately moved to strike against the forces of the [[Byzantine Empire]] because of the previous defeat, although he first had to put down a rebellion by Arab tribes in an event that Muslim historians later referred to as the [[Ridda wars]], or "Wars of Apostasy".<ref>See:
*{{harvnb|Holt|Lambton|Lewis|1977|p=57}}
*{{harvnb|Hourani|Ruthven|2003|p=22}}
*{{harvnb|Lapidus|2002|p=32}}
*{{harvnb|Esposito|1998|p=36}}</ref>

The pre-Islamic Middle East was dominated by the [[Byzantine]] and [[Sasanian]] empires. The [[Roman–Persian Wars]] between the two had devastated the region, making the empires unpopular amongst local tribes. Furthermore, in the lands that would be conquered by Muslims, many Christians ([[Nestorian Church|Nestorians]], [[Monophysite]]s, [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobites]] and [[Copt]]s) were disaffected from the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] which deemed them heretics. Within a decade Muslims conquered [[Mesopotamia]], [[Muslim conquest of Syria|Byzantine Syria]], [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|Byzantine Egypt]],{{sfn|Esposito|1998|pp=35–36}} large parts of [[Greater Iran|Persia]], and established the [[Rashidun Caliphate]].