Second Fitna

At a glance

Dates: 680 – 692.

Place: Arabian Peninsula, Umayyad Caliphate.

Type: conflict.

Key figures / parties: Yazid I, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Husayn ibn Ali, Umar ibn Sa'd, Marwan I, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, and Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni.

What came before

Background First Fitna Main article: Assassination of Uthman After the 656 assassination of Uthman , the third caliph, the rebels and the townspeople of Medina proclaimed Ali , the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad , the prophet of Islam , as the fourth caliph. Most of the Quraysh (the grouping of Meccan clans to which Muhammad and all the early caliphs belonged), led by the prominent companions of Muhammad Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam , and Muhammad's widow Aisha , refused to recognize Ali.

Timeline

Follows: First Fitna. Followed by: Third Fitna.

What happened

Aftermath First Umayyad gold dinar allegedly depicting Abd al-Malik With the victory of Abd al-Malik, Umayyad authority was restored and hereditary rule in the caliphate was solidified. Abd al-Malik and his descendants, in two cases his nephews, ruled for another fifty-eight years, before being overthrown by the Abbasid revolution in 750. [ 1 ] Administrative changes After winning the war, Abd al-Malik enacted significant administrative changes in the caliphate.

The Second Fitna was the second civil war 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 three main challenges to the authority of the Umayyad dynasty: the first by Husayn ibn Ali and his supporters, including Sulayman ibn Surad and Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who rallied to avenge Husayn's death in Iraq; the second by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr,