Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, medieval

Battle of the Camel

Battle of the Camel was a battle fought on 7 November AD 656 at Basra, in what is now Iraq. It was part of First Fitna, which ran from AD 656 to AD 661. The recorded result: Victory for Ali. Recorded strength: ~10,000 against ~10,000.

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Ali and Aisha at the Battle of the Camel
Ali and Aisha at the Battle of the Camel. Unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought7 November AD 656
WhereBasra, Iraq30.500N, 47.817E
OutcomeVictory for Ali
BelligerentsRashidun CaliphateagainstUthmaniyya
Casualties and losses>400 – 500and>2,500
Part ofFirst FitnaAD 656 to AD 661

Where it sits in First Fitna

Battle of the Camel, AD 656Battle of Siffin, AD 657Battle of Nahrawan, AD 659AD 656AD 659Battle of the Camel, AD 656
3 placed engagements of First Fitna in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date7 November AD 656
PlaceBasra, Iraq
30.500N, 47.817E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength~10,000~10,000
Casualties and losses>400 – 500>2,500
Commanders
  • Ali
  • Hasan ibn Ali
  • Husayn ibn Ali
  • Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya
  • Malik al-Ashtar
  • Ammar ibn Yasir
  • Aisha
  • Talha ibn Ubayd Allah
  • Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
  • Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
  • Marwan ibn al-Hakam
  • Abd Allah ibn Amir
Battle of the CamelBattle of the CamelSiege of BasraBattle of ShaibaBattle of BasraBattle of KhorramshahrLiberation of KhorramshahrBattle of ShaibaKuwait CityAhvazAbadanAn NasiriyahAl JahraAsh Shatrah100 km30.500N, 47.817E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of the Camel
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of the Camel today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-10-27. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 9 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -3 to 17 m, 19 m of relief, flat country and today it is 90% built-up, 5% bare ground, 3% tree cover.

built-up: 90%bare ground: 5%tree cover: 3%built-up 90%bare ground 5%tree cover 3%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 12 mnorth to south, 10.0 km2 to 10 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 656

Battle of the Camel is one of 179 engagements of the 7th century in the atlas and one of 173 in present-day Iraq.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1133574, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Camel, revision 1380561813, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.