Muslim Conquest of Syria - Under Caliph Uthman's Reign

Under Caliph Uthman's Reign

During the reign of Caliph Uthman, Constantine III decided to recapture the Levant, which had been lost to the Muslims during Umar’s reign. A full-scale invasion was planned and a large force was sent to reconquer Syria. Muawiyah I, the governor of Syria, called for reinforcements and Uthman ordered the governor of Kufa to send a contingent, which together with the garrison of Syria defeated the Byzantine army in Northern Syria.

Uthman gave permission to Muawiyah, the governor of Syria, to build a navy. From their base in Syria, the Muslims used this fleet to capture Cyprus in 649 and Crete and then Rhodes and the launching of annual raids into Western Anatolia thwarted the Byzantines from making any further attempts to recapture Syria. In 654–655, Uthman ordered the preparation of an expedition to capture the capital of the Eastern Roman empire, Constantinople, but due to unrest in the empire that grew in 655 and resulted in his assassination, the expedition was delayed for decades only to be attempted unsuccessfully under the next dynasty of Ummayad rulers.