Ali became the caliph after the assassination of Uthman in 656. However he faced opposition from some factions including the Levant governor, Muawiyah I. A civil war, called the First Fitna, took place within the early Islamic state which resulted in the overthrow of the Rashidun caliphs and the establishment of the Umayyad dynasty. It began when the caliph Uthman ibn Affan was assassinated in 656 and continued through the four-year reign of Ali.