The first civil war
Months after the Muslims pressed the caliphate on Imam Ali (a) in 35 AH, Talha and al-Zubayr — who had pledged allegiance to him — travelled to Makkah, joined Aisha, and raised an army in the name of avenging the murdered caliph Uthman. They seized Basra. The Imam marched from Madinah with the men of Kufa, and the two armies met outside Basra in Jumada al-Ula (some sources say Jumada al-Thani) of 36 AH.
The camel
The battle takes its name from the camel on which Aisha rode in a litter at the centre of her army; the fiercest fighting was around it, and it ended when the camel was brought down. Talha and al-Zubayr were both killed in the course of the day. The Imam forbade pursuit of the fleeing, looting, and any harm to the wounded, and had Aisha escorted back to Madinah with honour.
Consequences
Jamal was the first time companions of the Prophet (s) fought one another, and it opened the wound that Siffin and Nahrawan deepened; the questions it raised about legitimate authority and rebellion shaped Islamic theology and law. After the victory Imam Ali (a) made Kufa his capital, and Iraq became the home of the Shia.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.