Second Fitna

Quick Facts: Who was Second Fitna?

Subject:

Second Fitna

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The second civil war in the Islamic community following Mu'awiya I's death (680–692).

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Origins & Early Life

The Second Fitna was the second civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate. It followed the death of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I in 680 and lasted for about twelve years. The war involved three main challenges to the authority of the Umayyad dynasty: the first by Husayn ibn Ali and his supporters, including Sulayman ibn Surad and Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who rallied to avenge Husayn's death in Iraq; the second by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who proclaimed himself caliph in Mecca and was nominally recognized throughout most of the Caliphate; and the third by the Kharijites, who took over central Arabia and southern Iraq and Persia. The roots of the civil war date back to the First Fitna. After the assassination of the third Rashidun caliph Uthman, the Islamic community experienced its first civil war over the immediate question of retribution for his murder.

Career & Major Achievements

Following the assassination of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali in 661 and the abdication of his eldest son Hasan the same year, Mu'awiya became the sole ruler of the caliphate. Mu'awiya's unprecedented decision to nominate his son Yazid as his successor sparked opposition, and tensions soared after Mu'awiya's death. Husayn was invited by the Alid partisans of Kufa to overthrow the Umayyads but was intercepted and killed with his small company at the Battle of Karbala in October 680. Yazid's Syrian army suppressed a rebellion in Medina in August 683 and subsequently besieged Mecca, where Ibn al-Zubayr had established himself in opposition to Yazid. After Yazid died in November, the siege was abandoned, and Umayyad authority soon collapsed throughout the caliphate following the death of his son, except in parts of Syria where Marwan I was proclaimed caliph; most provinces recognized Ibn al-Zubayr as caliph.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

A series of pro-Alid movements demanding to avenge Husayn's death emerged in Kufa, beginning with Ibn Surad's Penitents movement, which was crushed by the Umayyads at the Battle of Ayn al-Warda in January 685. Kufa was then taken over by Mukhtar, who rallied Husayn's supporters and the disenfranchised mawali to his cause. Though his forces routed the Umayyads at the Battle of Khazir in August 686, Mukhtar and his supporters were slain by the Zubayrids in April 687 following a series of battles. Under Marwan, the Umayyads consolidated their control of Syria and retook Egypt from the Zubayrids. Under his successor Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the Umayyads reconquered Iraq after defeating the Zubayrids at the Battle of Maskin in 691 and reasserted their authority over the Caliphate after killing Ibn al-Zubayr in the second siege of Mecca in 692, while their general al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf suppressed the Kharijites in the years afterwards.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Second Fitna

True or False: “The Second Fitna was solely a conflict between the Umayyads and the Kharijites.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): The war involved three main challenges: Husayn ibn Ali's supporters, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca, and the Kharijites.

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