Umar ibn al-Khattab

Umar ibn al-Khattab, sometimes referred to as Omar, was the second caliph of Islam and one of the first four caliphs who were elected on the basis of merit.

He succeeded Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and was succeeded by Uthman ibn Affan, the third caliph.

After the prophet Mohammed died, the first caliph, Abu Bakr, was elected, in whose reign Muslims were able to unite the many tribes of Arabia. Omar followed, and during his time Muslims launched their conquest out of Arabia on the two main civilizations of that ancient world, the mighty Persian civilization in the East, with which battles took place in what is now Iraq, and the Roman civilization, with which battles took place in the Levant and North Africa, including Egypt. The scale of this simultaneous conquest was unprecedented.