Battle of Karbala

Battle of Karbala
Abbas Al-Musavi's Battle of Karbala, Brooklyn Museum
Date 10 Muharram 61, October 10, 680 AD Location Karbala Result Umayyad military victory Death of Husayn ibn Ali and members of his family and companions Incident is mourned by Sunni and Shia Muslims to date
Belligerents
The Umayyads	Husayn of Banu Hashim
Commanders and leaders
Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad Umar ibn Sa'ad Shimr ibn Thil-Jawshan Al-Hurr ibn Yazid al Tamimi (defected)	Husayn ibn Ali † Al-Abbas ibn Ali † Habib ibn Muzahir † Zuhayr ibn Qayn † Al-Hurr ibn Yazid al Tamimi †
Strength
4,000 or 5,000 – 30,000	70–150 (general consensus 110; including six-month-old baby). The common number '72' comes from the number of heads severed.
Casualties and losses
88 killed, plus some wounded	72–136 casualties
^A Hurr was originally one of the commanders of Ibn Ziyad's army but changed allegiance to Husayn along with his son, servant and brother on 10 Muharram 61 AH, October 10, 680 AD

Umayyad military victory
Death of Husayn ibn Ali and members of his family and companions

The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar (October 10, 680 AD) in Karbala, in present-day Iraq. The battle took place between a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali, and a larger military detachment from the forces of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph.

When Muawiyah I died in 680, Husayn did not give allegiance to his son, Yazid I, who had been appointed as Umayyad caliph by Muawiyah; Husayn considered Yazid's succession a breach of the Hasan–Muawiya treaty. The people of Kufa sent letters to Husayn, asking his help and pledging allegiance to him, but they later did not support him. As Husayn traveled towards Kufa, at a nearby place known as Karbala, his caravan was intercepted by Yazid I's army led by Al-Hurr ibn Yazid al Tamimi. He was killed and beheaded in the Battle of Karbala by Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan, along with most of his family and companions, including Husayn's six month old son, Ali al-Asghar, with the women and children taken as prisoners. The battle was followed by later uprisings namely, Ibn al-Zubayr, Tawwabin, and Mukhtar uprising which occurred years later.

The dead are widely regarded as martyrs by Sunni and Shia Muslims. The battle has a central place in Shia history, tradition and theology and it has frequently been recounted in Shia Islamic literature. Sunni Muslims, on the other hand, do not regard the incident as one that influences the traditional Islamic theology and traditions, but merely as a historical tragedy.

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