Ubaydallah ibn Ziyad
| ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Died | August 686 |
| Allegiance | Umayyad Caliphate (673–death) |
| Battles/wars |
Battle of Karbala (680) Battle of Khazir (686) |
| Relations | Ziyad ibn Abihi (father) |
| Other work | Governor of Kufa, Basra and Khurasan (673–683) |
ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād (Arabic: عبيد الله بن زياد; died August 686) was the Umayyad governor of Basra, Kufa and Khurasan during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I and Yazid I, and the leading general of the Umayyad army under caliphs Marwan I and Abd al-Malik. Ubayd Allah is primarily remembered for his role in the killings of members of Ali ibn Abi Talib's family and he has become infamous in Shi'a Muslim tradition.
He virtually inherited the governorships from his father Ziyad ibn Abihi after the latter's death in 673. During Ubayd Allah's governorship, he suppressed Kharijite and Alid revolts, including an attempt by Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of the prophet Muhammad, to enter Kufa and revolt against Yazid. In the ensuing Battle of Karbala in 680, Husayn and his small retinue were slain by Ubayd Allah's troops, shocking many in the Muslim community. Ubayd Allah was ultimately evicted from Iraq by the Arab tribal nobility amid the revolt of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr.
He made it to Syria where he persuaded Marwan I to seek the caliphate and helped galvanize support for the flailing Umayyads. Afterward, he fought at the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684 against pro-Zubayrid tribes and helped reconstitute the Umayyad army. With this army he struggled against rebel Qaysi tribe in the Jazira before advancing against the Alids and Zubayrids of Iraq. However, he was slain and his forces routed at the Battle of Khazir by Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar, the commander of the pro-Alid al-Mukhtar of Kufa.
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