ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād ( ar, عبيد الله بن زياد, ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād) was the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
governor of
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
,
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
and
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
during the reigns of caliphs
Mu'awiya I
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
and
Yazid I
Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...
, and the leading general of the Umayyad army under caliphs
Marwan I
Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...
and
Abd al-Malik. Ubayd Allah is primarily remembered for his role in the killings of members of
Ali ibn Abi Talib
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
's family including
Husayn ibn Ali
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
, and he has become infamous in
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
tradition.
He virtually inherited the governorships from his father
Ziyad ibn Abihi
Abu al-Mughira Ziyad ibn Abihi ( ar, أبو المغيرة زياد بن أبيه, Abū al-Mughīra Ziyād ibn Abīhi; – 673), also known as Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, زياد بن أبي سفيان, Ziyād ibn Abī Sufyān), was an adminis ...
after the latter's death in 673. During Ubayd Allah's governorship, he suppressed
Kharijite
The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the c ...
and
Alid
The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...
revolts. In the ensuing
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...
in 680, Husayn and his small retinue were slain by Ubayd Allah's troops, shocking many in the Muslim community. Ubayd Allah was ultimately evicted from Iraq by the Arab tribal nobility amid the revolt of
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...
.
He made it to Syria where he persuaded
Marwan I
Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...
to seek the caliphate and helped galvanize support for the flailing Umayyads. Afterward, he fought at the
Battle of Marj Rahit in 684 against pro-Zubayrid tribes and helped reconstitute the Umayyad army. With this army he struggled against rebel
Qays
Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic er ...
i tribes in the
Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira (c ...
before advancing against the Alids and Zubayrids of Iraq. However, he was slain and his forces routed at the
Battle of Khazir by
Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar
Ibrahim ibn Malik al-Ashtar ibn al-Harith al-Nakha'i (; died October 691), better known as Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar ( ar, إبراهيم بن الأشتر, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ashtar) was an Arab commander who fought in the service of Caliph Ali (r. 656 ...
, the commander of the pro-Alid
al-Mukhtar
Al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd al-Thaqafi ( ar, المختار بن أبي عبيد الثقفي, '; – 3 April 687) was a pro-Alid revolutionary based in Kufa, who led a rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate in 685 and ruled over most of Iraq f ...
of Kufa.
Origins
Ubayd Allah was the son of
Ziyad ibn Abihi
Abu al-Mughira Ziyad ibn Abihi ( ar, أبو المغيرة زياد بن أبيه, Abū al-Mughīra Ziyād ibn Abīhi; – 673), also known as Ziyad ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, زياد بن أبي سفيان, Ziyād ibn Abī Sufyān), was an adminis ...
whose tribal origins were obscure; while his mother was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
concubine named Murjanah.
[Robinson, p. 763.] Ziyad served as the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
governor of Iraq and the lands east of that province, collectively known as
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
, during the reign of Caliph
Mu'awiya I
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
(r. 661–680).
Governor of Iraq and Khurasan
![Umayyad Caliphate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Umayyad_Caliphate._temp._Mu%27awiya_I_ibn_Abi_Sufyan._AH_41-60_AD_661-680.jpg)
Ubayd Allah's father prepared him to succeed him as governor, and indeed, after Ziyad's death in 672/673, Ubayd Allah became governor of Khurasan.
A year or two later, he was also appointed to the governorship of
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
.
According to historian
Hugh N. Kennedy
Hugh Nigel Kennedy (born 22 October 1947) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of the early Islamic Middle East, Muslim Iberia and the Crusades. From 1997 to 2007, he was Professor of Middle Eastern Histor ...
, Ubayd Allah was "more hasty and given to the use of force than his father, but a man whose devotion to the Umayyad cause could not have been doubted".
In 674 he crossed the
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin language, Latin name or Greek ) is a major rive ...
and defeated the forces of the ruler of
Bukhara
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...
in the first known invasion of the city by Muslim Arabs. From at least 674 and 675, Ubayd Allah had coins struck in his name in Khurasan and Basra, respectively.
They were based on
Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
coinage and written in
Pahlavi script
Pahlavi is a particular, exclusively written form of various Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are:
*the use of a specific Aramaic-derived script;
*the incidence of Aramaic words used as heterograms (called '' ...
.
The mints were located in Basra, Darabjird,
Maysan
, image_map = Maysan in Iraq.svg
, mapsize = 200px
, settlement_type = Governorate
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_t ...
,
Narmashir
Narmashir ( fa, نرماشير, Narmāshīr; formerly, Rostamabad (Persian: رستم آباد) also romanized as Rostamābād) is a city & capital of Narmashir County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 3,966, in 1,007 ...
, Jayy and, to a lesser extent,
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...
.
The latter was attached to Ubayd Allah's governorship in 679/680, giving him full control of Iraq.
Suppression of the pro-Ali groups
Mu'awiya died in 680 and was succeeded by his son
Yazid I
Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...
. Mu'awiya's designation of his son was an unprecedented act and shocked many in the Muslim community, particularly the Arab nobility of Kufa.
[Kennedy 2004, p. 77.] They long sympathized with Caliph
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, Mu'awiya's former rival, and Ali's family.
One of Ali's sons,
Husayn
Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "h ...
dispatched his cousin
Muslim ibn Aqil
Muslim ibn Aqil al-Hashimi ( ar, مُسْلِم ٱبْن عَقِيل ٱلْهَاشِمِيّ ') was the son of Aqil ibn Abi Talib and a member of the clan of Banu Hashim, thus, he is a cousin of Husayn ibn Ali. The people of Kufa called upon ...
to Kufa to set the stage for Husayn's accession to the caliphate.
[Donner 2010, p. 178.][Wellhausen 1927, pp. 146–147.] Ibn Aqil garnered significant support and was hosted by a prominent pro-
Alid
The Alids are those who claim descent from the '' rāshidūn'' caliph and Imam ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (656–661)—cousin, son-in-law, and companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad—through all his wives. The main branches are the (inc ...
nobleman.
Ubayd Allah became aware of Ibn Aqil's activities, prompting the latter to launch a premature assault against the governor.
Ubayd Allah was holed up in his palace, but thirty men from his ''
shurta
''Shurṭa'' ( ar, شرطة) is the common Arabic term for police, although its precise meaning is that of a "picked" or elite force. Bodies termed ''shurṭa'' were established in the early days of the Caliphate, perhaps as early as the caliphate ...
'' (security forces) fended off Ibn Aqil's partisans, while he persuaded many Kufan noblemen to back him against Ibn Aqil, who was abandoned by his supporters and slain on 10 September 680.
Husayn had already been en route to Kufa from
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
when he received news of Ibn Aqil's execution.
Ubayd Allah was prepared for Husayn's arrival and sent troops to intercept him.
They prevented Husayn and his small retinue from reaching the watered areas of the province.
The two sides negotiated for weeks, but Ubayd Allah refused Husayn entry into Kufa or return to Arabia while Husayn refused to recognize Yazid's caliphate.
In the end, a short battle was fought at
Karbala
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
on 10 October 680, in which Husayn and nearly all of his partisans were slain.
Husayn had never received the expected backing of his Kufan sympathizers, but the latter's resentment festered as a result of his death.
The slaying of Husayn, a grandson of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, perturbed many Muslims.
Role in Umayyad succession of 684
The death of Yazid in 683 led to a major leadership crisis in the caliphate, and "the power of his house seemed to collapse everywhere", in the words of Orientalist
Julius Wellhausen
Julius Wellhausen (17 May 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist. In the course of his career, he moved from Old Testament research through Islamic studies to New Testament scholarship. Wellhausen contributed to t ...
.
[Wellhausen 1927, p. 169.] Ubayd Allah initially neglected to support Yazid's son and designated successor,
Mu'awiya II
Mu'awiya ibn Yazid ( ar, معاوية بن يزيد, Muʿāwiya ibn Yazīd; 664 – 684 CE), usually known simply as Mu'awiya II was the third Umayyad caliph. He succeeded his father Yazid I as the third caliph and last caliph of the Sufyanid l ...
and secured oaths of allegiance to himself from the Basran Arab nobility.
In a speech addressed to them, he emphasized his connection to Basra and promised to maintain the wealth of the city's inhabitants.
[Kennedy 2004, p. 78.] Nonetheless, the Basrans turned against him, forcing him to abandon his palace.
[Madelung 1981, p. 301.] He was replaced by Abd Allah ibn al-Harith, a member of the
Banu Hashim
)
, type = Qurayshi Arab clan
, image =
, alt =
, caption =
, nisba = al-Hashimi
, location = Mecca, Hejaz Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa
, descended = Hashim ibn Abd Manaf
, parent_tribe = Qu ...
.
Ubayd Allah took refuge with the
Azd
The Azd ( ar, أَزْد), or ''Al-Azd'' ( ar, ٱلْأَزْد), are a tribe of Sabaean Arabs.
In ancient times, the Sabaeans inhabited Ma'rib, capital city of the Kingdom of Saba' in modern-day Yemen. Their lands were irrigated by the Ma ...
i chieftain Mas'ud ibn Amr in late 683 or early 684.
He plotted to restore his governorship by encouraging Mas'ud to form an alliance of the Yamani and Rabi'a tribes against his opponents from the
Banu Tamim
Banū Tamīm ( ar, بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and has a strong presence in Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia ...
and Ibn al-Harith.
[Madelung 1981, p. 303.] Mas'ud took to the pulpit of Basra's mosque to stir up the revolt, but Tamimi tribesmen, under Ibn al-Harith's direction, stormed the building and killed Mas'ud.
After Mas'ud's death, Ubayd Allah fled the city practically alone in March 684, taking the Syrian desert route to
Hawran
The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa field, to the ...
or
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...
.
In his rush to escape, he left his wife and family behind.
When Ubayd Allah arrived in Syria, he found it in political disarray; Caliph Mu'awiya II had died weeks into his rule and a power vacuum ensued with many Syrian noblemen, particularly from the
Qays
Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic er ...
i tribes, switching allegiance to the rival, Mecca-based caliphate of
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...
.
The latter had expelled the Umayyads from the
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
and among the exiles to Syria was
Marwan ibn al-Hakam
Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...
, an Umayyad elder.
[Kennedy 2004, pp. 78–79.] Ubayd Allah persuaded Marwan, who was preparing to recognize Ibn al-Zubayr's sovereignty, to enter his candidacy as Mu'awiya II's successor.
[Kennedy 2004, p. 79.] The Umayyads' principal Syrian allies, the
Banu Kalb
The Banu Kalb ( ar, بنو كلب) was an Arab tribe which mainly dwelt in the desert between northwestern Arabia and central Syria. The Kalb was involved in the tribal politics of the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, possibly as early ...
, had sought to maintain Umayyad rule and nominated Mu'awiya II's half-brother Khalid as caliph.
However, the other pro-Umayyad Syrian tribes viewed Khalid as too young and inexperienced, and rallied around Marwan, who was ultimately chosen as caliph.
Military campaigns in Syria and Jazira
Ubayd Allah fought for Marwan and his tribal allies against the Qaysi tribes led by
al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri
Abū Unays (or Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān) al-Ḍaḥḥak ibn Qays al-Fihrī () (died August 684) was an Umayyad general, head of security forces and governor of Damascus during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I, Yazid I and Mu'awiya II. Though long ...
, the governor of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
, at the
Battle of Marj Rahit in August 684.
The Qays were routed and al-Dahhak killed. Ubayd Allah was put in command of Marwan's army which, during Marj Rahit, consisted 6,000 men from a handful of loyalist tribes.
[Kennedy 2001, p. 32.] According to Kennedy, Ubayd Allah "clearly intended to rebuild the Syrian army which had served Mu'awiya and Yazid I so well".
In the aftermath of Marj Rahit, Ubayd Allah oversaw campaigns against rebel Qaysi tribes for Marwan and his son and successor
Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) in the
Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira (c ...
.
However, Marwan's forces were too little to assert Umayyad rule throughout the caliphate.
Thus, Ubayd Allah expanded recruitment to include various Qaysi tribes.
He placed
Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni
Al-Ḥuṣayn ibn Numayr al-Sakūnī (died 5/6 August 686) was a leading general of the early Umayyad Caliphate, from the Sakun subtribe of the Kinda.Lammens & Cremonesi (1971), pp. 620–621
Biography
A man of his name is recorded as being re ...
of
Kindah
Kinda or Kindah may refer to:
Politics and society
*Kinda (tribe), an ancient and medieval Arab tribe
*Kingdom of Kinda, a tribal kingdom in north and central Arabia in –
Places
* Kinda, Idlib, Syria
* Kinda Hundred, a hundred in Sweden
* Ki ...
as his second-in-command, and Shurahbil ibn Dhi'l-Kila' of
Himyar
The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) ( fl. 110 BCE–520s CE), historically referred to as the Homerit ...
, Adham ibn Muhriz of
Bahila
Bāhila () was an Arab tribe based in Najd (central Arabia). Part of the tribe was settled and part of it was semi-nomadic. The Bahila was first mentioned during the early years of Islam, in the mid-7th century. During that time, many Bahila trib ...
, al-Rabi'a ibn Mukhariq of
Banu Ghani
The Banu Ghani () was an Arab tribe that inhabited the area between Bisha and Diriyah in pre-Islamic Arabia and parts of which migrated to Syria during the Muslim conquest of that region.
History Origins
According to Arab genealogical tradition, ...
and Jabala ibn Abd Allah of
Khath'am
Khath'am ( ar, خثعم, Khathʿam) was an ancient and medieval Arab tribe which traditionally dwelt in southwestern Arabia. They took part either in cooperation or opposition to the 6th-century expedition of the Aksumite ruler Abraha against Mecc ...
as deputy commanders.
Other than Husayn ibn Numayr, all of the commanders were either Qaysi or had earlier supported al-Dahhak against Marwan.
In January 685, as Ubayd Allah was in
Manbij
Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cent ...
preparing for the Umayyad reconquest of Iraq, Husayn ibn Numayr defeated the pro-Alid Penitents at the
Battle of Ayn al-Warda.
[Wellhausen 1927, p. 185.] Ubayd Allah had been promised by Marwan the governorship over all of the lands he could conquer from the Alids and Ibn al-Zubayr, and he may have been sanctioned to plunder Kufa.
For the following year, Ubayd Allah was bogged down in battles with the Qaysi tribes of Jazira led by
Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi
Abu al-Hudhayl Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi ( ar, أبو الهذيل زفر بن الحارث الكلابي, Abū al-Hudhayl Zufar ibn al-Ḥārith al-Kilābī; died ) was a Muslim commander, a chieftain of the Arab tribe of Banu Amir, and th ...
.
By 686, Ubayd Allah's army numbered some 60,000 troops.
By the time Ubayd Allah's army approached
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
toward Iraq, the Zubayrids under
Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr
Muṣʿab ibn al-Zubayr ( ar, مصعب بن الزبير; died October 691) was the governor of Basra in 686–691 for his brother, the Mecca-based counter-caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, during the Second Fitna. Mus'ab was a son of Zubayr ibn a ...
had established themselves in Basra while
al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd took control of Kufa in the name of the Alid
Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya
Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib () also known as Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafīyya () (15 AH – 81 AH; AD 637 – 700) and surnamed Abū al-Qāsim. He was the third son of Ali ibn Abi Talib (the fourth rightly-guided caliph and the firs ...
.
[Kennedy 2004, p. 81.] Al-Mukhtar dispatched
Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar
Ibrahim ibn Malik al-Ashtar ibn al-Harith al-Nakha'i (; died October 691), better known as Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar ( ar, إبراهيم بن الأشتر, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ashtar) was an Arab commander who fought in the service of Caliph Ali (r. 656 ...
and an army composed largely of non-Arab freedmen to confront Ubayd Allah.
The latter fended off the first wave of al-Mukhtar's troops, and proceeded to face off Ibn al-Ashtar at the
Khazir River
The Khazir River ( ar, الخازر) is a river of northern Iraq, a tributary of the Great Zab river, joining its right bank.
Geomorphology
The area around the Khazir River is geologically active and crosses three anticlines from the north to th ...
.
In the ensuing
Battle of Khazir, the Umayyad army was routed and Ubayd Allah was slain by Ibn al-Ashtar.
His lieutenants Husayn, Shurahbil and al-Rabi'a were also killed.
With Ubayd Allah's death, Caliph Abd al-Malik halted further advances against Iraq until 691.
See also
*
Hani ibn Urwa
Hani ibn Urwa was a Kufan leader who hosted Muslim ibn Aqil and was killed by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, the governor of Kufa, due to ibn Ziyad enmity towards Ahl al-Bayt.
Hani is buried behind the Great Mosque of Kufa, Kufa, Iraq, alongside Mukhtar ...
*
Shemr ibn Thul-Jawshan
References
Bibliography
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External links
Umayyad Governors of al-Basra and al-Kufa
{{Authority control
686 deaths
7th-century Arabs
Generals of the Umayyad Caliphate
Umayyad governors of Iraq
Umayyad governors of Khurasan
Medieval Arabs killed in battle
Year of birth unknown
People of the Second Fitna
Banu Thaqif
Umayyad governors of Basra
7th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate