Malik al-Ashtar

Common card · No. 361712

Malik al-Ashtar (Arabic: مَالِك ٱلْأَشْتَر, romanized: Mālik al-Ashtar), born Mālik ibn al-Ḥārith al-Nakhaʿī al-Madhḥijī, was an Arab military commander and tribal leader of the Nakha branch of the Madhhij confederation. He first rose to prominence in Kufa as a leader of the opposition to Caliph Uthman, playing a key role in the events that led to the Caliph's death. Following the election of Ali as caliph, Malik became one of his most loyal and formidable commanders, playing a pivotal role in persuading the qurra (Quran reciters) to support Ali during the First Fitna and holding senior commands at the battles of the Camel and Siffin. In 658, while traveling to assume the governorship of Egypt, Malik was assassinated by poisoning in al-Qulzum. His death was a major strategic blow to Ali's administration and facilitated the Umayyad conquest of Egypt.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Md iet (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0