The Second Fitnah – Civil War After Karbala | How the Umayyads Fought for Survival

Описание: The death of Yazid in 683 plunged the Muslim world into chaos. Provinces broke away, rival caliphs emerged, and the Umayyad dynasty seemed on the brink of collapse. This episode of Islamic Empires explores the turbulent years of the Second Fitna (683–692) — the civil war that nearly destroyed the caliphate.

We trace the story from Yazid’s death and the rise of Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca, to the Umayyads regrouping under Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the pivotal Battle of Marj Rahit, the upheavals in Iraq, and finally the dramatic siege of Mecca in 692, where al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf crushed Ibn al-Zubayr’s defiance.

This was not only a political struggle but also a battle for legitimacy — a question of what it meant to be caliph after Karbala. The Umayyads survived, but the cost was immense.

📌 In this episode:

Yazid’s sudden death and the vacuum of power

Ibn al-Zubayr’s claim to the caliphate from Mecca

Marwan ibn al-Hakam and the Umayyad comeback in Syria

The Battle of Marj Rahit (684)

Iraq in turmoil: Mukhtar al-Thaqafi and the call for vengeance

Abd al-Malik’s rise and reforms

The siege of Mecca (692) and Ibn al-Zubayr’s martyrdom

This is the story of how the Umayyads fought for survival — and how the Second Civil War reshaped the course of Islamic history.

#IslamicHistory #Umayyads #Karbala #HistoryDocumentary