Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/596

Rh 568 MOHAMMEDANISM [OMAYYADS. Obaid Alldh, son of the famous Ziyad, and then governor of Basra, to give up his post there to his brother Othman, and to repair in person to Cufa, in order to watch the partisans of Ali in that city. Obaid Allah obeyed, entered Cufa, and, ascending the pulpit the very day after his arrival, publicly announced his firm intention of putting to death any one who should rebel. Moslim b. Akil was given up by a traitor and executed. Meanwhile Hosain, on receiving his cousin s despatches, had already set out from Mecca with all his family, and had reached Kddisiya (a place situated only fifteen parasangs 1 from Cufa, and noted for the defeat sustained there by the Persians during the Caliphate of Omar), when he received the news of these vexatious occurrences. He wished to retrace his steps immediately, but the friends of Moslim dissuaded him from doing so, crying out for revenge, and representing to him that doubtless he had only to show himself under the walls of Cufa to be received with enthusiasm by its inhabitants. Hosain accordingly pur sued his journey towards Cufa. But Obaid Allah, who was watching all his movements, sent four thousand horsemen, devoted to the Omayyad cause, to meet him, with orders to bring Hosain before him either alive or dead. The commander of these horsemen was Omar b. Sa d, 2 to whom Obaid Allah had promised the govern ment of Media as a reward, if his expedition should succeed. The Omayyads met Hosain in the plain of Kerbela. Kerbela, opposite to Cufa, before he had reached the Euphrates, and surrounded him. Omar b. Sa d himself sought out Hosain and summoned him to surrender. Hosain declared himself ready to renounce his pretensions, provided he were allowed to return to Mecca with his followers, or were even sent to Damascus. When Obaid Allah was informed of this proposal, he simply repeated his former order to bring Hosain to Cufa, dead or alive ; and, fearing the defection of Omar b. Sa d, he sent out another troop of horsemen under the orders of a certain Shimr. On the 9th of Moharram in the year 61 (9th October A.D. 680), Shimr reached Kerbela, and summoned Hosain afresh to surrender at discretion. Hosain pre ferred to die sword in hand, and on the following day, after a desperate struggle, he was cut down with all his followers. His head was cut off and carried to Cufa, and then sent to Damascus. His body was not buried till the following day. Only the women of his family were spared, and one of his sons ; these were taken by Yazid s order to Medina, where the sight of their mourning and tjie tale of their sufferings caused a profound sensation. The horror and grief of the partisans of All s family were great. Hence the names of Yazid, Obaid Allah, and Shimr, have been held accursed ever since by the Shi ites. 3 They observe the 10th of Moharram as a day of public mourning. Among the Persians, stages are erected in public places on that day, and plays are acted, represent ing the misfortunes of the family of Ali. 4 The Omayyads themselves were loud in their reprobation of this impious massacre, and all Moslems, without distinction of party, considered it a monstrous act. At Mecca the news was received with a degree of indignation of which Abdallah b. Zobair took advantage to assume the title of Caliph. As early as A.H. 60, the new prefect of Medina had tried to secure his person. He had sent against him a force of two thousand men, at whose 1 The parasang is nearly equivalent to an English mile. - Son of the famous Sa d l&amp;gt;. Abi Wakkas, conqueror of Persia under Omar, and founder of Cufa. 3 Shi ites conies from Shi a, a word which in Arabic signifies &quot;sec tary.&quot; It is the name given to the partisans of the family of Ali, who acknowledge no legitimate Caliphate outside of that family. Shi ism is the religion of Persia. 4 See Chodzko, Theatre persan. Paris, 1S7S. head was placed a brother of the pseudo-Caliph himself, called Amr, who, having been accused by Abdalldh of maintaining a guilty intercourse with one of his wives, had become his bitter enemy. Abdallah collected an army, and placed it under the orders of Abdalldh b. SafwAn, who completely defeated the Omayyad troops. The brother of the pseudo-Caliph was taken and put to death. At the news of this defeat, Yazld swore that Ibn Zobair should never appear before him but as a prisoner in chains. He dismissed the new prefect of Medina, and reinstated Walid b. Otba, who, in the year 61, went to Mecca to try to seize Abdallah b. Zobair. The latter, in derision, wrote to Yazid : &quot;Walid is a mad man, who will ruin everything by his folly ; send in his place another governor to repair the wrongs he has done.&quot; Yazid thought that Abdalldh meant these words as a step towards reconciliation ; hastened to deprive Walfd of his office ; appointed Othman b. Mohammed in his place ; and even sent envoys to Ibn Zobair. He, however, would not listen to them ; he thought he could reckon upon the devotion of the people of Mecca, and further hoped that Medina itself would declare against Yazid. This, in fact, took place in the year 63 (A.D. 682-683). The people of Medina, stirred up by a certain Abdallah b. Hanzala, who had had a near view of Yazid at the court of Damas cus, and had been scandalized by the profligacy of his life, revolted, drove the governor and all the Omayyads out of Medina, and proclaimed the dethronement of Yazid. The Caliphate was even offered by some to All, that one of the sons of Hosain who had escaped the massacre of KerbeU ; but Ali wisely refused it. At the news of this revolt, Yazid first sent an ambassador to Medina. This step proving fruitless, he next collected an army of from ten to twelve thousand Syrians, and entrusted their command to Moslim b. Okba, who passed, and with good reason, for a man who would recoil from nothing. This general, though weighed down by age and sickness, inarched against Medina, took it, after a battle known as the day of Harra 5 (26th Dim 1-Hijja 63, 26th August 683), and gave Capture up the city for three days to massacre and pillage. Tor- and pil- rents of blood flowed, and hence Moslim b. Okba received age the surname of Mosrif (the Prodigal). On the fourth day, Moslim repaired to the mosque, and received the oath of allegiance from all those of the citizens of Medina who had not been able to make their escape. The news reached Mecca a few days later, and fell like a thunder stroke on Ibn Zobair and his adherents, who prepared for war, expecting from day to day to see Moslim appear before the walls of their city. He had, in fact, started for Mecca immediately after the conquest of Medina ; but he died on the road, and the command was taken by Hosain b. Noiuair. The Omayyad army arrived before Mecca a month after the capture of Medina, and found Ibn Zobair ready to defend it. A number of the citizens of Medina had come to the aid of the Holy City, as well as many Kharijites and Shi ites, at the head of whom was a certain Mokhtar b. Abi Obaid, who subsequently played a very important part in Irak. In spite of the sorties of the Meccans, the Syrian army invested the city. Siege of Hosain b. Nomair had caused balistas to be placed on Mecca, the neighbouring heights ; and these, under the manage ment of an Abyssinian soldier, hurled against the Ka ba enormous stones and vessels full of blazing bitumen, with such effect that the temple took fire and was consumed. After a siege of two months, Ibn Zobair was beginning to despair, when he received, through an Arab of the desert, news of the death of Yazid. The Caliph had in fact died on the 15th of Rabi I. (llth November 683). 8 Harra is the volcanic district outside of Medina, gates of the city is called the Gate of I larra. One of the