Mu'awiya I

**Mu'awiya I** (–April 680) be de founder den first caliph of de Umayyad Caliphate, wey rule from 661 til ein death. He cam be caliph less dan thirty years after de death of de Islamic prophet Muhammad den immediately after de four Rashidun ('rightly-guided') caliphs. Unlike ein predecessors, wey be close, early companions of Muhammad, Mu'awiya be a relatively late follower of Muhammad.

Mu'awiya den ein poppie Abu Sufyan oppose Muhammad, dema distant Qurayshite kinsman den later Mu'awiya ein brother-in-law, til Muhammad captured Mecca insyd 630. Afterward, Mu'awiya cam be one of Muhammad ein scribes. Caliph Abu Bakr (r. 632–634) appoint am as a deputy commander insyd de conquest of Syria. He move up de ranks thru Umar ein caliphate (r. 634–644) til he cam be governor of Syria during de reign of ein Umayyad kinsman, Caliph Uthman (r. 644–656). He ally plus de province ein powerful Banu Kalb tribe, dem develop de defenses of ein coastal cities, wey dem direct de war effort against de Byzantine Empire, wey dey include de first Muslim naval campaigns. In response to Uthman ein assassination insyd 656, Mu'awiya take up de cause of avenging de murdered caliph den oppose de election of Ali. During de First Fitna, de two lead dema armies to a stalemate at de Battle of Siffin insyd 657, wey dey prompt an abortive series of arbitration talks to settle de dispute. Afterward, Mu'awiya gain recognition as caliph by ein Syrian supporters den ein ally Amr ibn al-As, wey conquer Egypt from Ali ein governor insyd 658. Dey follow de assassination of Ali insyd 661, Mu'awiya compel Ali ein son den successor Hasan to abdicate wey Mu'awiya ein suzerainty be acknowledged thru out de Caliphate.

Domestically, Mu'awiya rely on Syria ein loyalist Arab tribes den largely Christian bureaucracy. Dem credit am plus establishing government departments responsible for de postal route, correspondence, den chancellery. He be de first caliph wey ein name appear on coins, inscriptions, anaa documents of de nascent Islamic empire. Externally, he engage ein troops in almost yearly land den sea raids against de Byzantines, wey dey include a failed siege of Constantinople. Insyd Iraq den de eastern provinces, he delegate authority to de powerful governors al-Mughira den Ziyad ibn Abihi, de latter of whom he controversially adopt as ein bro. Under Mu'awiya ein direction, dem launch de Muslim conquest of Ifriqiya (central North Africa) by de commander Uqba ibn Nafi insyd 670, while dem resume de conquests insyd Khurasan den Sijistan on de eastern frontier.

Although Mu'awiya confine de influence of ein Umayyad clan to de governorship of Medina, he nominate ein own son, Yazid I, as ein successor. E be an unprecedented move insyd Islamic politics den opposition to am by prominent Muslim leaders, wey dey include Ali ein son Husayn, den Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, dem persist after Mu'awiya ein death, wey dey culminate plus de outbreak of de Second Fitna. While der be considerable admiration for Mu'awiya insyd de contemporary sources, he be criticized for lacking de justice den piety of de Rashidun den dey transform de office of de caliphate into a kingship. Besides dese criticisms, Sunni Muslim tradition dey honor am as a companion of Muhammad den a scribe of Qur'anic revelation. Insyd Shia Islam, Mu'awiya be reviled for opposing Ali, dem accuse of poisoning ein son Hasan, wey dem hold to have accepted Islam widout conviction.

## Origins den early life
Mu'awiya ein year of birth be uncertain, wey 597, 603 anaa 605 be cited by early Islamic sources. Ein poppie Abu Sufyan ibn Harb be a prominent Meccan merchant wey lead trade caravans to Syria, then part of de Byzantine Empire. He emerge as de leader of de Banu Abd Shams clan of de polytheistic Quraysh, de dominant tribe of Mecca, during de early stages of de Quraysh ein conflict plus de Islamic prophet Muhammad. De latter sanso hail from de Quraysh wey he be distantly related to Mu'awiya via dema common paternal ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy. Mu'awiya ein mommie, Hind bint Utba, sanso be a member of de Banu Abd Shams.

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