March 13 624 – 16 Adar II 4384
Hijaz
Though severely outnumbered, Muhammed’s army of three hundred fighters overcame the defenders of Mecca and its surroundings. It was the first victory won by the prophet and his followers, including Abu Bakr, Umar Ibn al-Khattab and Ali ibn Abi Talib who would later become rival leaders of Islam. The Muslims’ success so impressed the local pagan tribes that they too, accepted Muhammed’s authority. The Jews of the Qaynuqa tribe were expelled from their homes in Yatreb, today’s Medina. The battle of Badr has become a founding myth of Islam, so much so that the Egyptian attack on Israel which launched the Yom Kippur War was named Operation Badr.