The Battle of Siffin was fought in 657 CE between the Iraqi Arab forces of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Syrian Arab forces of the rebelling long-time governor of the Levant, Mu
Persian miniature, likely depicting Ali at the Battle of Siffin, created in Safavid Iran, dated 1516
Zulfiqar with and without the shield. The Fatimid depiction of Ali's sword as carved on the Gates of Old Cairo, namely Bab al-Nasr.
Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya, commonly known as Marwan I, was the fourth Umayyad caliph, ruling for less than a year in 684–685. He founded the Marwanid ruling house of the Umayyad dyn
A general view of Medina (pictured in 1913), where Marwan spent much of his career, first as a top aide of Caliph Uthman and later as governor for Caliph Mu'awiya I and leader of the Umayyad clan
Marwan was elected by the Syrian tribal nobility to succeed his Umayyad kinsmen as caliph in Damascus (pictured in 1895)