# Umar ibn al-Khattab, 634 to 644

> How Umar ibn al-Khattab, 634 to 644 stood up working government on day one: what was in place, what was new, and the lesson it holds.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/lessons/umar-ibn-al-khattab-634-to-644/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

Umar turned a fast-growing conquest into a paid, registered and audited state. Most of his tools were new to Arabia. Some were borrowed from Byzantium and Persia.

**Why it matters:** he built a lean treasury, a paid register and checks on officials, and he built them fast.

- **Treasury:** Umar set up a central treasury (bayt al-mal) in Medina after consulting his council. Abdullah bin Arqam ran it. Provincial treasuries paid local costs and sent the surplus to Medina. A separate accounts office, modelled on Byzantine practice, recorded all spending. [Bayt al-mal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayt_al-mal)
- **Defence:** in 637 the army became a state department. A register listed every adult man liable to fight, with a fixed pay scale. Pay came at the start of Muharram. Troops posted far away got leave after four months. [Reforms of Umar's era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforms_of_Umar%27s_era)
- **Soldiers paid in cash, not land:** land grants were minor. Soldiers lived on state salaries. [Reforms of Umar's era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforms_of_Umar%27s_era)
- **Provinces:** each conquered area got a governor (amir) and a separate finance officer (amil). Local government was otherwise left largely in place. [Rashidun Caliphate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate)
- **Garrison cities:** Basra, Kufa and Fustat were founded or expanded as provincial capitals.
- **Anti-corruption:** a department led by Muhammad ibn Maslama investigated complaints against officials. Officials' assets were recorded before appointment and checked every year. Guilty officials were removed. [Reforms of Umar's era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforms_of_Umar%27s_era)
- **Welfare:** zakat and jizya funded the poor, elderly, orphans, widows and disabled. In the famine of 638 the poor got cash and flour. Each orphan got 100 dirhams a year. [Bayt al-mal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayt_al-mal)
- **ID and data:** a census of all Muslim lands and the army register.
- **Foreign affairs:** the surrender terms for Jerusalem promised Christians protection, freedom of worship, no conversion of churches, and a lighter tax than under Byzantium. [Rashidun Caliphate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate)
- **Justice:** he began codifying Islamic law. He set up the Hijri calendar, dated from 622.
- **Succession:** a six-man committee chose the next caliph.

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