What was the Battle of Maskin (691)?

Introduction The Battle of Maskin (Arabic: معركة مسكن‎), also known as the Battle of Dayr al-Jathaliq (Arabic: معركة دير الجثاليق‎) from a nearby Nestorian monastery, was a decisive battle of the Second Fitna (680-690). It was fought in mid-October 691 near present-day Baghdad on the western bank of the river Tigris between the army of… Read More

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What was the Battle of Khazir (686)?

Introduction The Battle of Khazir (Arabic: يوم الخازر‎, romanized: Yawm Khāzir) took place in August 686 near the Khazir River in Mosul’s eastern environs, in modern-day Iraq. The battle occurred during the Second Muslim Civil War (Second Fitna) and was part of the larger struggle for control of Iraq between the Syria-based Umayyad Caliphate, the… Read More

What was the Battle of Marj Rahit (684)?

Introduction The Battle of Marj Rahit (Arabic: معركة/يوم مرج راهط‎, Yawm Marj Rāhiṭ) was one of the early battles of the Second Fitna. It was fought on 18 August 684 between the Kalb-dominated armies of the Yaman, supporting the Umayyads under Caliph Marwan I, and the Qays under al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, who supported the… Read More

What was the Second Fitna (680-692)?

Introduction The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and conflicts in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad caliphate. It followed the death of the first Umayyad caliph Mu’awiya I in 680 and lasted for about twelve years. The war involved the suppression of two challenges to the Umayyad dynasty,… Read More