The Arab World - Ridda Wars (Fast 960)

The Ridda Wars, also known as the Wars of Apostasy, were a series of military campaigns launched by the Caliph Abu Bakr against rebel Arabian tribes during 632 and 633 AD, just after Muhammad died. The rebels' position was that they had submitted to Muhammad as the prophet of God, but owed nothing to Abu Bakr. Some rebels followed either Tulayha or Musaylima or Sajjah, all of whom claimed prophethood. Most of the tribes were defeated and reintegrated into the Caliphate. The peoples surrounding Mecca did not revolt.With the collapse of the rebellions and Arabia united under the central authority of the Caliph at Medina, Caliph Abu Bakr now decided to expand the empire. It is unclear what his intentions were; whether it was a full scale expansion plan or preemptive attacks to secure more territory to create a buffer zone between the Islamic state and the powerful Sassanid and Byzantine empires. This set the stage for the Islamic conquest of Persia to begin.