The Battle of Karbala (Arabic: مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء, romanized: Maʿrakat Karbalāʾ) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the forces of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683), and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, second son of Ali and grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, at Karbala, in modern-day southern Iraq.
Prior to his death, the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) appointed his son Yazid as his successor, making the caliphate hereditary. Yazid's nomination was contested by Husayn and other notables, and after Mu'awiya died in 680, Yazid demanded allegiance from Husayn and the other dissidents. Husayn refused and took refuge in Mecca. While Husayn was in Mecca, the residents of Kufa, the center of Ali's caliphate, sent him numerous letters inviting him to overthrow Umayyad rule, and pledging their allegiance to him. Husayn first sent his cousin, Muslim ibn Aqil, to Kufa to assess the situation and the genuineness of their support. After receiving a favorable report from Muslim, Husayn accepted their invitation and traveled toward the city in response to their calls.
On his way to Kufa with about 72 men, Husayn's caravan was intercepted by a 1,000-strong army of the caliph at some distance from Kufa. He was forced to head north and encamp at the plains of Karbala on 2 October, where another 4,000-strong Umayyad army arrived soon afterwards. Negotiations failed after the Umayyad governor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad refused to grant Husayn safe passage unless he submitted to his authority, a condition Husayn rejected. The battle ensued on 10 October, during which Husayn was killed along with most of his family members and close companions, while the surviving members of his family were taken captive and brought first to Kufa and then to Damascus. This sparked the Second Fitna, during which the people of Kufa organized two campaigns to avenge the killing of Husayn; first by the Tawwabin, and the second by Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who ruled over much of Iraq and parts of northwestern Iran for eighteen months and killed several figures responsible for Husayn's death.
The Battle of Karbala gave the early political party of pro-Alids, which had not yet developed specific theological doctrines and set of rituals, a distinct religious identity and helped transform and consolidate it into a separate religious sect. Heinz Halm writes: "There was no religious aspect to Shi'ism prior to 680. The death of the third imam and his followers marked the 'big bang' that created the rapidly expanding cosmos of Shi'ism and brought it into motion."
Background
After the assassination of the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan by rebels in 656, Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was proclaimed as the fourth caliph in Medina. Ali's legitimacy as caliph was denounced by Uthman's kinsman Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the long-time governor of Syria. When Ali was assassinated in 661, his eldest son Hasan succeeded him but soon signed a peace treaty that handed over power to Mu'awiya on the condition that Mu'awiya be a just ruler and that he would allow his successor to be chosen through shura (consultation). After the death of Hasan in 670, his younger brother Husayn became the head of the Banu Hashim clan to which Ali and Muhammad had belonged. Though his father's supporters in Kufa gave him their allegiance, he would abide by the peace treaty between Hasan and Mu'awiya as long as the latter was alive.
In 676, Mu'awiya nominated his son Yazid as successor, a move that has been labelled as a breach of the peace treaty. With no precedence in Islamic history, hereditary succession aroused opposition from several quarters. Mu'awiya summoned a shura (consultative assembly), in Damascus and persuaded representatives from many provinces to agree to his plan by diplomacy. He then ordered Marwan ibn al-Hakam, then the governor of Medina, where several influential Muslims resided, to announce the decision. Marwan faced resistance to this announcement, especially from Husayn, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Abd Allah ibn Umar and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, all of whom were sons of Muhammad's prominent companions, and could also lay claim to the caliphate by virtue of their descent. Mu'awiya went to Medina and pressed them to accede, but they still refused to support him. On his return to Damascus, Mu'awiya nonetheless convinced the people of Mecca and Medina that they had pledged allegiance, and received their allegiance for Yazid as well. There was no further overt protest against the plan for Yazid's succession. According to the historians Fitzpatrick and Walker, Yazid's succession, which was considered as an "anomaly in Islamic history", transformed the government from a "consultative" form to a monarchy. Before his death in April 680, Mu'awiya cautioned Yazid that Husayn and Ibn al-Zubayr might challenge his rule and instructed him to defeat them if they did. Yazid was further advised to treat Husayn with caution and not to spill his blood, since he was the grandson of Muhammad.
Prelude
On his succession, Yazid tasked the governor of Medina, al-Walid ibn Utba ibn Abi Sufyan, to secure allegiance from Husayn and Ibn al-Zubayr, with force if necessary. Al-Walid sought the advice of his Umayyad relative Marwan ibn al-Hakam, who suggested that Ibn al-Zubayr and Husayn should be compelled to pledge allegiance as they were dangerous, while Ibn Umar should be left alone since he posed no threat. Al-Walid summoned the two, but Ibn al-Zubayr escaped to Mecca. Husayn answered the summons but declined to pledge allegiance in the secretive environment of the meeting, suggesting it should be done in public. Marwan told Walid to imprison or execute him, but due to Husayn's kinship with Muhammad, al-Walid was unwilling to take any action against him. A few days later, Husayn left for Mecca without acknowledging Yazid. He arrived in Mecca at the beginning of May 680, and stayed there until the beginning of September.
Husayn had considerable support in Kufa, which had been the capital of the caliphate during the reigns of his father and brother. The Kufans had fought the Umayyads and their Syrian Arab tribal allies during the First Fitna. They were dissatisfied with Hasan's abdication and strongly resented Umayyad rule. While in Mecca, Husayn received letters from pro-Alids in Kufa asking him to lead them in revolt against Yazid, promising to remove the Umayyad governor if Husayn would consent to aid them. Husayn wrote back affirmatively and promised to lead them with right guidance. Then he sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil to assess the situation in Kufa. Ibn Aqil attracted widespread support and informed Husayn of the situation, suggesting that he join them there. Yazid removed Nu'man ibn Bashir as governor of Kufa due to his inaction, and installed Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, then governor of Basra, in his place. As a result of Ibn Ziyad's political maneuvering, Ibn Aqil's following began to dissipate, and he was forced to declare the revolt prematurely. It was crushed and Ibn Aqil was killed. Husayn had also sent a messenger to Basra, another garrison town in Iraq, but the messenger could not attract any following and was quickly apprehended and executed.
Husayn was unaware of the change of political circumstances in Kufa and decided to depart. Abd Allah ibn Abbas and Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr advised him not to move to Iraq, or if he was determined, not to take women and children with him. Ibn al-Zubayr offered to support Husayn if he stayed in Mecca and led the opposition to Yazid from there. Husayn refused, citing his abhorrence of bloodshed in the sanctuary, and decided to proceed with his plan.
Journey towards Kufa
Husayn left Mecca with a group of fifty men and his family on 9 September 680 (8 Dhu al-Hijjah 60 AH), a day before the Hajj pilgrimage. He took the northerly route through the Arabian Desert. At the urging of Husayn's cousin Abd Allah ibn Ja'far, the governor of Mecca, Amr ibn Sa'id al-Ashdaq, sent his brother and Ibn Ja'far after Husayn to assure him of his safety in Mecca and persuade him to return. Husayn refused to return, relating that Muhammad had ordered him in a dream to move forward irrespective of the consequences. At a place known as Tan'im, he seized a caravan carrying dyeing plants and clothes sent to Yazid by the governor of Yemen. Further on the way, at a place called Tha'labiyya, the small caravan received the news of the execution of Ibn Aqil. At this point, Husayn reportedly considered turning back, but was supposedly persuaded to push forward by Ibn Aqil's brothers, who wanted to avenge his death. Later, at Zubala, Husayn learned of the capture and execution of his messenger Qays ibn Musahir al-Saydawi, whom he had sent from the Hejaz (western Arabia) to Kufa to announce his arrival. He informed his followers of the situation and asked them to leave. Most of the people who had joined him on the way left, while his companions from Mecca decided to stay with him.
Ibn Ziyad had stationed troops on the routes into Kufa. Husayn and his followers were intercepted by the vanguard of Yazid's Kufan army, about 1,000 men led by al-Hurr ibn Yazid al-Tamimi, south of Kufa near al-Qadisiyyah. Husayn said to them:
I did not come to you until your letters were brought to me, and your messengers came to me saying, "Come to us, for we have no Imām. God may unite us in the truth through you." Since this was your view, I have come to you. Therefore, if you give me what you guaranteed in your covenants and sworn testimonies, I will come to your town. If you will not and are averse to my coming, I will leave you for the place from which I came to you.
He then showed them the letters he had received from the Kufans. Al-Hurr denied any knowledge of the letters and stated that Husayn must go with him to Ibn Ziyad, which Husayn refused to do. Al-Hurr responded that he would not allow Husayn to either enter Kufa or go back to Medina, but that he was free to travel anywhere else he wished. Nevertheless, he did not prevent four Kufans from joining Husayn. Husayn's caravan started to move towards Qadisiyyah, and al-Hurr followed them. At Naynawa, Al-Hurr received orders from Ibn Ziyad to force Husayn's caravan to halt in a desolate place without fortifications or water. One of Husayn's companions suggested that they attack al-Hurr and move to the fortified village of al-Aqr. Husayn refused, stating that he did not want to start the hostilities. On 2 October 680 (2 Muharram 61 AH), Husayn arrived at Karbala, a desert plain 70 kilometers (43 mi) north of Kufa, and set up camp.
On the following day, another 4,000-strong Kufan army arrived under the command of Umar ibn Sa'd, the governor of Ray. He had been tasked to suppress a local rebellion, but was then recalled to subdue Husayn. Initially, he was unwilling to fight Husayn, but complied following Ibn Ziyad's threat to revoke his governorship. After negotiations with Husayn, Ibn Sa'd wrote to Ibn Ziyad that Husayn was willing to return. Ibn Ziyad replied that Husayn must surrender or he should be subdued by force, and that to compel him, he and his companions should be denied access to the Euphrates river. Ibn Sa'd stationed 500 horsemen on the route leading to the river. Husayn and his companions remained without water for three days before a group of fifty men led by his half-brother Abbas was able to access the river. They could only fill twenty water-skins.
Husayn and Ibn Sa'd met during the night to negotiate a settlement; it was rumored that Husayn made three proposals: either he be allowed to return to Medina, submit to Yazid directly, or be sent to a border post where he would fight alongside the Muslim armies. According to Madelung, these reports are probably untrue as Husayn at this stage is unlikely to have considered submitting to Yazid. A mawla of Husayn's wife later claimed that Husayn had suggested that he be allowed to leave, so that all parties could allow the fluid political situation to clarify. Ibn Sa'd sent the proposal, whatever it was, to Ibn Ziyad, who is reported to have accepted but then persuaded otherwise by Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan. Shimr argued that Husayn was in his domain and letting him go would be to demonstrate weakness. Ibn Ziyad then sent Shimr with orders to ask Husayn for his allegiance once more and to attack him if he was to refuse, as he was to do no further harm after his death. If Ibn Sa'd was unwilling to carry out the attack, he was instructed to hand over command to Shimr. Ibn Sa'd cursed Shimr and accused him of foiling his attempts to reach a peaceful settlement but agreed to carry out the orders. He remarked that Husayn would not submit because there was "a proud soul in him".
The Kufan troops advanced toward Husayn's camp on the evening of 9 October. Husayn sent Abbas to ask Ibn Sa'd to wait until the next morning, so that they could consider the matter. Ibn Sa'd agreed to this respite. Husayn told his men that they were all free to leave, with his family, under the cover of night, since their opponents only wanted him. Very few availed themselves of the opportunity. Defense arrangements were made: tents were brought together and tied to one another and a ditch was dug behind the tents and filled with wood ready to be set alight in case of attack. Husayn and his followers then spent the rest of the night praying.
Battle
After the morning prayer on 10 October, both parties took up battle positions. Husayn appointed Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn to command the right flank of his army, Habib ibn Muzahir to command the left flank, and his half-brother Abbas as the standard bearer. Husayn's companions, according to most accounts, numbered thirty-two horsemen and forty infantrymen; although forty-five horsemen and one hundred foot-soldiers, or a total of a few hundred men have been reported by some sources. Ibn Sa'd's army totaled 4,000. According to the Shi'a sources, however, more troops had joined Ibn Sa'd in preceding days, swelling his army to 30,000 strong. The ditch containing wood was set alight. Husayn then delivered a speech to his opponents reminding them of his status as Muhammad's grandson and reproaching them for inviting and then abandoning him. He asked to be allowed to leave. He was told that first he had to submit to Yazid's authority, which he refused to do. Husayn's speech moved al-Hurr ibn Yazid al-Tamimi to defect to his side.