Birth of Umar ibn Al-Khattāb

Umar ibn Al-Khattāb was born in 586 CE in Mecca. The second caliph of Islam and one of the closest companions of the Prophet Muhammad, Umar succeeded Abu Bakr in 634. Under his leadership Muslim armies conquered Byzantine Syria and Egypt and brought down the Sasanian Empire in Persia, and Jerusalem surrendered to the Muslims. He set up administrative structures, including a register of stipends for the faithful and provincial governors, and the Islamic calendar was introduced in his time. Sunni Muslims regard him as one of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, known for justice and austerity, though Shia tradition views him more critically. He was stabbed by a Persian slave while leading prayer in Medina and died of his wounds.

Open on the timeline