captured enemies should not be killed. Those who surrender should not be fought, and those fleeing the battlefield should not be pursued. Only captured weapons and animals were to be considered war booty. These instructions form the basis for the ruling of the prominent Sunni Muhammad al-Shaybani () about rebellions. Both rulings prohibit looting, but the ruling of al-Shaybani is said to be less generous than Ali's as the former allows for chasing the fugitives, killing the prisoners, and dispatching the wounded as long as the rebellion continues. Both rulings are, however, intend to uphold the rebels' rights as Muslims, even though they are considered a threat to order. Aggressors After three days of failed negotiations, the battle took place near Basra on a December day in 656, lasting from noon to sunset, perhaps only four hours. Ali is said to have barred his men from commencing hostilities. Possibly in a last-ditch effort to avoid war, early sources widely report that the caliph ordered one of his men to raise a copy of the Quran between the battle lines and appeal to its contents. When this man was shot and killed by the rebel army, Ali gave the order to advance, according to al-Tabari and al-Baladhuri. The rebels were thus the aggressors and Ali might have wanted them to be seen as such. Tactical developments The battle involved intense hand-to-hand combat, as reported by al-Baladhuri and al-Mufid (). The latter adds that the caliph fought intensely during the battle. Nevertheless, the sources are mostly silent about the tactical developments, but Veccia Vaglieri suggests that the battle consisted of a series of duels and encounters, as this was the Arab custom at the time. Aisha was also led onto the battlefield, riding in an armored palanquin atop a red camel, after which the battle is named. Aisha was likely the rallying point of the rebel army, urging them to fight on with the battle cry of avenging Uthman. Ludwig W. Adamec () similarly suggests that Aisha was on the battlefield to provide moral support for the rebels. Because of her presence on the battlefield, the rebel army continued to fight to defend her, even after both Talha and Zubayr were killed. The fighting was thus particularly fierce around Aisha's camel. Death of Talha Talha was soon killed apparently by the Umayyad's Marwan, another rebel, who later told Uthman's son that he