According to al-Wāqidī, in this year the naval battles of Sawārī and Asāwid took place. Abū Maʿshar, however, stated that the expedition of Sawārī occurred in the thirty-fourth year of the Hijra.
According to the accounts of al-Wāqidī, Sayf b. ʿUmar, and others, the cause of the Battle of Sawārī was briefly as follows: In the first two years of the caliphate of ʿUthmān, Muʿāwiya organized and consolidated Syria and its surroundings—may Allah be pleased with him. He protected and preserved the region well. Moreover, every year during the summer, he would launch expeditions (ghazw) against Byzantine territories. For this reason, his campaign was called the "summer expedition." In these expeditions, he killed many, took many captives, conquered fortresses, seized wealth as spoils (ghanīma), and instilled fear in his enemies. When ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd b. Abī Sarḥ struck the Franks and Berbers in Africa and al-Andalus, the Byzantines gathered around Constantine, the son of Heraclius. They assembled a great army, the likes of which had not been seen before in Islamic history, and marched against the Muslims. When the two armies faced each other, the Byzantines spent the night ringing bells and raising the cross, while the Muslims spent the night performing prayer (ṣalāh) and reciting the Qur'an. In the morning, ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd arranged his companions in ranks aboard the ships, advising them to remember Allah (dhikr) and recite the Qur'an. One of the Muslims present at this battle said:
"They came against us with a number of ships the likes of which had never been seen before. They raised their masts. The wind was in their favor and against us. We anchored our ships, and then the wind died down. We said to them:
- If you wish, let us both disembark on land; whoever lands first will perish.
Upon this proposal, they all replied together:
- No, let us fight on the water, let us fight on the water.
We approached them, tied our ships to theirs, and then attacked them with swords. Men with swords and daggers in their hands leapt upon each other. The waves drove the ships to the shore. The waves cast the bodies of the dead onto the shore. A great mountain of corpses formed. The water turned the color of blood. On that day, the Muslims displayed a patience (ṣabr) and endurance never before witnessed. Many Muslims were killed, but even more Byzantines perished. Then Allah, the Exalted, granted victory to the Muslims. Constantine and his soldiers fled. Truly, their numbers had diminished. Constantine himself was severely and deeply wounded. He received treatment for a while. ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd remained at Dhāt al-Sawārī for days, then returned strengthened, supported, and victorious."
Al-Wāqidī narrated from al-Zuhrī as follows: "In this expedition, Muḥammad b. Abī Ḥudhayfa and Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr were also present. They claimed that the faults of ʿUthmān had become apparent, that he had opposed Abū Bakr and ʿUmar and acted contrary to their practices, that his blood was licit, since he had apostatized and denied the Qur'an, and that he had appointed as commander in this battle ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd, whose blood had been made licit by the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). They also said that he had appointed as governors some individuals exiled by the Messenger of God, and had dismissed the Companions (ṣaḥāba) of the Messenger of God from governorships, appointing Saʿīd b. al-ʿĀṣ and ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿĀmir as governors, thus criticizing ʿUthmān. When ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd heard their criticisms, he said to them: 'Do not board the ship with me.' The two of them boarded a ship in which none of the other Muslims were present. When they encountered the enemy, they were the least to fight against them. When asked about this behavior, they replied: 'How can we fight under the command of a man unfit for leadership over us?' ʿAbd Allāh b. Saʿd sternly warned them against such behavior, saying: 'By Allah, if I did not know that your actions were not in accordance with the will of the Commander of the Believers, ʿUthmān, I would certainly punish and imprison you.'
Al-Wāqidī said: In the thirtieth year of the Hijra, Armenia was conquered by Ḥabīb b. Maslama. In this same year, the Persian king Kisrā was killed.