Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/81

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In the last year of the first Khalîfah, Abu-Bekr's reign, 13, Muʾâwiyah was sent in command of a large force, to the assistance of his half-brother Yezid, at that time Commander-in-Chief of the Muslim army then invading Syria. After the reduction of that province, which took place six years later, during the reign of ʾOmar, the second Khalîfah, Muʾâwiyah was appointed prefect of Syria. In 24, during the reign of ʾOthmân, the third Khalîfah, Muʾâwiyah gained many advantages over the imperial forces, took several towns, and reduced the islands of Cyprus, Aradus, and Ancyra, exacting from their inhabitants a yearly tribute