The was a military engagement that took place on 10 Muharram, 61 AH (October 10, 680) in
Karbala , in present day
Iraq , between the
Islamic Prophet Muhammad 's grandson
Husayn Ibn Ali and a military detachment from the forces of
Yazid I , the
Umayyad Caliph .
This battle is central to
Shi'a Muslim belief. The martrydom of Husayn is mourned by an annual commemoration,
Ashurah , by plays (
Taziyeh ) re-enacting the tragedy, in sermons, pictures, and songs.
After the death of Muhammad, there was some dissension in the Muslim community as to who should succeed him. This is described in detail in the article on the
Succession To Muhammad . The community eventually accepted the rule of the caliph
Abu Bakr and then of the caliphs
Umar Al-Khattab and
Uthman Ibn Affan . However, there were always those who felt that
Ali Ibn Abi Talib , Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, who had lived with Muhammad since he was a child, was the better choice. When Uthman was killed by rebels, Ali became the next caliph. However, he was not accepted by all Muslims and the community fell into the
First Islamic Civil War . Ali was assassinated and power was eventually grasped by his opponent
Muawiya I .
Muawiyya tried to ensure that his son, Yazid, would be accepted as the next caliph. He required all his supporters to swear allegiance to
Yazid before his death. This was not enough to forestall renewed civil war. After Muawiyya died, several challengers rose against Yazid. Husayn, as the oldest son of a caliph and the grandson of Muhammad, had a strong claim to leadership. He is said to have received letters from the Muslims of the garrison town of
Kufa saying that they would support him if he claimed the caliphate. He therefore set out with his family and a small force of followers to stake his claim.
Husayn's supporters were suppressed before he could reach them, and he was intercepted by a force from Yazid's army. The Battle of Karbala ensued, in which Husayn and all his men were killed, and his remaining family taken prisoner.
This version of events attempts to remain neutral between the Sunni and Shi'a accounts and to report only such matters as are accepted not only by both sides, but by academic historians.
A police force, consisting of a several thousand men from the governor's picked troups, or shurta, plus 500 archers, surrounded the family and supporters of
Husayn Ibn Ali ,. The battle ended with Husayn and his entire force falling as casualties. Many of the details attributed to the event are disputed. For example, the
Encyclopædia Britannica states that "the facts gradually acquired a romantic and spiritual colouring."
According to Shi'a historians, Muhammad had charged Ali ibn Abi Talib, and after him Ali's sons Hasan and Husayn, with the duty to lead the Muslim community. However, power was usurped by others. When
Muawiya I died, there was again an opportunity for the proper authority to be established.
Yazid I, the new ruler, feared lest Husayn should try to assert his claims. Therefore he sent an emissary to Husayn demanding his submission, his bay'ah. Husayn believed that he had a duty to refuse submission, and fled from Medina to Mecca before he could be seized.
When letters came from Kufa assuring him of Kufan support, Husayn set out to raise his banner and stake his claim. Part of the way towards Kufa, word came that Yazid had sent a new governor, with an army, and that the Kufans had submitted rather than fight.
The wisest thing to do might have been to retreat at this point. However, Husayn continued to advance. The Shi'a clergy say that he did so in the spirit of self-sacrifice, knowing that he would die and that his death would demonstrate the evil of Yazid's worldly rule.
He and his family and his supporters -- a mere seventy two men -- finally pitched camp at Karbala, close to the city of Kufa in what is now Iraq.
Yazid's governor,
Ibn Ziyad , is said by the Shi'a to have sent an army of 30,000 men against Husayn. They surrounded his camp and then opened negotiations with Husayn.
The leader of the force,
Umar Ibn Sa'ad , finally agreed to Husayn's proposal that the siege be lifted so that Husayn, his family, and his companions could leave Iraq. He sent word to his superiors, asking them to ratify the offer. The governor, ibn Ziyad, liked the proposal, but another Umayyad grandee,
Shimr Ibn Dhil-Jawshan , vetoed it. Umar ibn Sa'ad was commanded to destroy Husayn or be killed himself.
On the 7th of the month of Muharram, ibn Sa'ad moved his troops closer to Husayn's camp, cutting the camp off from the Euphrates River. The camp now had no supply of water and might be forced to surrender from thirst.
On the 9th of Muharram, the camp had exhausted its water and could choose only between surrender and death. Husayn asked ibn Sa'ad for yet more delay, until the next morning. Again, ibn Sa'ad granted this request. Perhaps he hoped that Husayn would surrender and spare him the pain of having to raise a sword against Muhammad's grandson.
Husayn then told his men that he did not intend to surrender, but to fight. Since they were so heavily outnumbered, all of them were sure to die. He told them that if they wished to flee the camp in the middle of the night, rather than face certain death, they were free to do so. But none of Husayn's men wished to leave him.
The next day, Husayn's followers went to the front lines and one by one, addressed their relatives and friends in the enemy forces. They asked them to refuse to fight. Husayn himself addressed the enemy troops. The Shi'a say that his speech was so affecting that one of Yazid's generals, named
Hurr , abandoned Yazid's army and joined Husayn's small force.
Ibn Sa'ad feared that this might be the first of many defections, therefore hurried to join battle. He shot an arrow towards Husayn and the unequal battle began.
The women and children were huddled in the tents, waiting for the battle to end. Husayn's son Imam
Ali Ibn Husayn was there among the women, because he was too ill to fight. Another son,
Ali Asghar , was but six months old, and close to death from lack of water.
Husayn took the child in his arms and marched out to face Yazid's army. He asked for water for the child. But Hurmala ibn Kahil, on orders of Umar ibn Sa'ad, shot an arrow at the child. It pierced him in the neck and he died in the arms of his father.
Husayn buried his son and again went out to face the army. Husayn was surrounded and killed, as were all his men. It is said that Yazid's men decapitated Husayn and took his head to Yazid, as proof that they had killed the rebel.
The women and children, including Husayn's surviving son, were captured and marched to Yazid's court. The Shi'a say that the captives were humiliated and harried, so that fatigue, hunger, and thirst were added to their grief at the death of Husayn and his men.
The 10th of
Muharram , the day of the battle, is commemorated by Shia
Muslims as
Ashurah . It is a day of public processions and great grief. Men chant and beat their chests, mourning Husayn, his family, and his followers.
''See also
List Of Martyrs Of Battle Of Karbala ''
#
Husayn
#Abduallah Bin Muslim
#Muhammad Ibn Muslim
#Jafar Bin Aqeel
#Abdul Rehman Bin Aqeel
#Abduallah Ibn Aqeel
#Moosa ibn Aqeel
#
Aun Bin Abdullah
#Mohd. bin Abdullah bin Jafar-e-Tayyar
#Abdullah Al-Akber bin Al-Hassan
#
Qasim Ibn Hassan
#Abdullah ibn Al-Hassan
#Abdullah bin Ali
#Usman bin Ali
#Jafar bin Ali
#
Abbas Ibn Ali (Husayn's half brother)
#
Ali Akbar Ibn Husayn
#Muhammad Ibee Saeed bin Aqeel
#
Ali Asgar
#
Hurr - The general that changed side.
#Habib ibn Mazahir
Shi'as say that there were 72 victims in all (see
[http://aashura.tripod.com/martyrs.htm ).
Shi'a writers say that that Yazid's army was 30,000 strong, surrounded Husayn and his 72 men. However, this does not seem to be supported by the latest academic research.
The modern historian Hugh Kennedy writes:
: We also find references to horses and men being ''mujaffaf''. The word seems originally to describe horse armour, but is sometimes applied to the rider as well to mean heavy cavalry. When al-Ḥusayn b.‘Alī reached Karbalā in 60/680, the Umayyad governor ‘Ubayd Allāh b.Ziyād sent squadron of ''mujaffafa'' (probably from the ''shurṭa'') and 500 archers to oppose him. (Kennedy 2001, p. 170 ).
Earlier, Kennedy explains that the ''shurṭa'' consisted of 4000 picked men (Kennedy 2001, p. 13). Therefore the forces facing Husayn would not have exceeded 4500 men, and were probably fewer in number.
- Kennedy, Hugh -- ''The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State'', Routledge, 2001
