Muhammad in Medina with Meccans, who were now eager to avenge their defeat. To maintain their economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been lost at Badr. The Meccans sent out a small party for a raid on Medina to restore confidence and reconnoitre. The party retreated immediately after a surprise and speedy attack but with minor damages; there was no combat. In the ensuing months, Muhammad led expeditions on tribes allied with Mecca and sent out a raid on a Meccan caravan. Abu Sufyan ibn Harb subsequently gathered an army of three thousand men and set out for
Battle of Uhud opposition from the rest of the Quraysh, the tribe that ruled Mecca and to which he belonged. The Muslims fled Mecca in 622 after years of persecution and established themselves at Medina (formerly known as "Yathrib"; Medina means "City"). The Quraysh had seized the properties and families of Muslims in Mecca and dispatched caravans to Damascus which the Muslims intercepted and raided. The Meccans sent out a small army to punish the Muslims and stop their raiding. At the Battle of Badr in 623, a small Muslim force defeated the much larger Meccan army. Many Muslims considered this unexpected victory