When Yazīd I succeeded his father, Muʿāwiyah I, to the caliphate in the spring of 680, the many partisans of Muhammad’s late cousin and son-in-law ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib—who collectively felt that leadership of the Muslim community rightly belonged to the descendants of ʿAlī—rose in the city of Al-Kūfah, in what is now Iraq, and invited al-Ḥusayn to take refuge with them, promising to have him proclaimed caliph there. Meanwhile, Yazīd, having learned of the rebellious attitude of the Shīʿites in Al-Kūfah, sent ʿUbayd Allāh, governor of Al-Baṣrah, to restore order. The latter did so, summoning the chiefs of the tribes, making them responsible for the conduct of their people, and threatening reprisal. Al-Ḥusayn nevertheless set out fromMecca with all his family and retainers, expecting to be received with enthusiasm by the citizens of Al-Kūfah. However, on his arrival at Karbalāʾ, west of the Euphrates River, on October 10, he was confronted by a large army of perhaps 4,000 men sent by ʿUbayd Allāh and under the command of ʿUmar ibn Saʿd, son of the founder of Al-Kūfah. Al-Ḥusayn, whose retinue mustered only 72 fighting men, gave battle, vainly relying on the promised aid from Al-Kūfah, and fell with almost all his family and followers. The bodies of the dead, including that of al-Ḥusayn, were then mutilated, only adding to the consternation of later generations of Shīʿites.
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