Including:
184-601: The Najdat were the sub-sect of the Kharijite movement that followed Najda ibn 'Amir al-Hanafi , and in 682 launched a revolt against the Umayyad Caliphate in the historical provinces of Yamama and Bahrain , in central and eastern Arabia . Among the beliefs of the Najdat were: After the assassination of the third caliph Uthman in 656 by provincial rebels, the caliphate fell into civil war as Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ,
368-636: A Levantine coalition, that included forces from the northern Aram-Hamath kingdom and troops supplied by King Ahab of Israel, in the Battle of Qarqar against the Neo-Assyrian army. Aram-Damascus came out victorious, temporarily preventing the Assyrians from encroaching into Syria. However, after Hadadzezer was killed by his successor, Hazael, the Levantine alliance collapsed. Aram-Damascus attempted to invade Israel but
552-509: A caravan city was evident with the trade routes from southern Arabia , Palmyra , Petra , and the silk routes from China all converging on it. The city satisfied the Roman demands for eastern luxuries. Circa 125 AD the Roman emperor Hadrian promoted the city of Damascus to "Metropolis of Coele-Syria ". Little remains of the architecture of the Romans, but the town planning of the old city did have
736-799: A 12th-century work by al-Qalhati, is another example of Ibadi heresiographies and discusses the origins of the Kharijites and the divisions within the Kharijite movement. The Kharijites were the first sect to arise within Islam . They originated during the First Fitna, the struggle for political leadership over the Muslim community ( umma ), following the assassination in 656 of the third caliph Uthman ( r. 644–656 ). The later years of Uthman's reign were marked by growing discontent from multiple groups within
920-689: A 2,000-strong Basran force in Ahwaz , he fell to a larger army of 3,000 or 4,000 in Fars in southern Persia. His fate is said to have aroused the quietists and contributed to the increased Kharijite militancy in the subsequent period. After the death of Mu'awiya in 680, civil war ensued over leadership of the Muslim community. The people of the Hejaz (where Mecca and Medina are located) rebelled against Mu'awiya's son and successor, Yazid . The Mecca-based Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ,
1104-635: A continuous tribal influx from Arabia, diminishing revenue from the conquests , and the growing influence of the pre-Islamic tribal nobility. Opposition by the Iraqi early-comers, who became known as the qurra (which probably means 'the Qur'an reciters'), and the Egyptians turned into open rebellion in 656. Encouraged by the disaffected Medinese elite, the rebels marched on Medina, killing Uthman in June 656. His murder sparked
1288-459: A crusader stronghold, which led to a new crusade from Europe in 1148. In the meantime, Zengi was assassinated and his territory was divided among his sons, one of whom, Nur ad-Din , emir of Aleppo, made an alliance with Damascus. When the European crusaders arrived, they and the nobles of Jerusalem agreed to attack Damascus. Their siege , however, was a complete failure. When the city seemed to be on
1472-498: A group led by Atiyya ibn al-Aswad split up and headed to Sistan where they founded their own Kharijite branch. In the same year, Najda invaded Yemen and seized it, including Sanaa , and his lieutenant Abu-Fudayk conquered the Hadramaut . The Najdat now controlled the most peripheral areas of the caliphate and therefore most adequate to avoid the oppression of caliphate forces. The Najdat then began their conquest of Hejaz where, after
1656-463: A lasting effect. The Roman architects brought together the Greek and Aramaean foundations of the city and fused them into a new layout measuring approximately 1,500 by 750 m (4,920 by 2,460 ft), surrounded by a city wall. The city wall contained seven gates, but only the eastern gate, Bab Sharqi , remains from the Roman period. Roman Damascus lies mostly at depths of up to five meters (16 feet) below
1840-419: A major threat to Kufa and its suburbs under Shabib. With a small army of a few hundred warriors, Shabib defeated several thousands-strong Umayyad armies in 695–696, looted Kufa's treasury and occupied al-Mada'in. From his base in al-Mada'in, Shabib moved to capture Kufa. Hajjaj had already requested Syrian troops from Abd al-Malik, who sent a 4,000-strong army which defeated Shabib outside Kufa. Shabib drowned in
2024-573: A mandate from the Abbasids to extend his authority to Damascus. In 1129, around 6,000 Isma'ili Muslims were killed in the city along with their leaders. The Sunnis were provoked by rumors alleging there was a plot by the Isma'ilis, who controlled the strategic fort at Banias , to aid the Crusaders in capturing Damascus in return for control of Tyre . Soon after the massacre, the Crusaders aimed to take advantage of
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#17328477309442208-630: A new caliph. Ali defeated them in November 656 at the Battle of the Camel . Later, Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan , Uthman's kinsman and the governor of Syria , denounced Ali's election, holding that Uthman's murderers were in Ali's camp and evaded punishment. The two faced each other at the Battle of Siffin in July 657. On the verge of defeat, Mu'awiya ordered his soldiers to hoist leaves of the Qur'an ( masahif ) on their lances,
2392-417: A reconstruction of 'what actually happened' and the true motives of the Kharijites, which is free of later interpolations, especially difficult. According to the historians Hannah-Lena Hagemann and Peter Verkinderen, the sources sometimes used the Kharijites as a literary tool to address other issues, which were otherwise unrelated to the Kharijites, such as "the status of Ali, the dangers of communal strife, or
2576-467: A relative of Uthman and the governor of Syria , challenged the legitimacy of the new caliph Ali . The indecisive battle between the two at Siffin ended in an arbitration agreement in July 657. Asserting that human arbitration was invalid as God's command was clear that the rebels (in this case Mu'awiya) had to be fought and overcome, some of Ali's soldiers left the army. They were called Kharijites following this secession. They later fought against Ali in
2760-560: A result of these repressive measures, some of the Kharijites abandoned military action, adopting political quietism and concealing their religious beliefs. Of the quietists, the best known was Abu Bilal Mirdas ibn Udayya al-Tamimi . One of the earliest Kharijites who had seceded at Siffin, he was held in the highest esteem by the Basran quietists. Provoked by the torture and murder of a Kharijite woman by Ibn Ziyad, Abu Bilal abandoned Basra and revolted in 680/681 with 40 men. Shortly after defeating
2944-617: A river during his flight, his band was destroyed, but the Kharijites continued to maintain a presence in the Jazira. Distinct Sufriyya and Ibadiyya sects are attested from the early eighth century in North Africa and Oman. The two differed in association with different tribal groups and competed for popular support. During the last days of the Umayyad empire, a major Sufri revolt erupted in Iraq in 744. It
3128-573: A shrine on the site of Mu'awiya's grave in the city. Tulunid rule of Damascus was brief, lasting only until 906 before being replaced by the Qarmatians who were adherents of Shia Islam . Due to their inability to control the vast amount of land they occupied, the Qarmatians withdrew from Damascus and a new dynasty, the Ikhshidids , took control of the city. They maintained the independence of Damascus from
3312-449: A signal to stop the fight and negotiate peace. The qurra in Ali's army were moved by the gesture, which they interpreted as an appeal to the Book of God, and demanded that Ali halt the fighting immediately. Although initially unwilling, he yielded under pressure and threats of violence against him by the qurra . An arbitration committee composed of representatives of Ali and Mu'awiya
3496-478: A son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, was the most prominent Hejazi opponent of Yazid. When Yazid sent an army to suppress the rebellion in 683 and Mecca was besieged , Kharijites from Basra reinforced Ibn al-Zubayr. After Yazid's death in November, Ibn al-Zubayr proclaimed himself caliph and publicly condemned Uthman's murder. Both acts prompted the Kharijites to abandon his cause. The majority, including Nafi ibn al-Azraq and Najda ibn Amir al-Hanafi , went to Basra, while
3680-450: A strong uprising in Damascus that was eventually put down. On 24 November 847, a multiple earthquake struck and destroyed Damascus , causing the lives of 70,000 people in estimated deaths. Ahmad ibn Tulun , a dissenting Turkish wali appointed by the Abbasids, conquered Syria, including Damascus, from his overlords in 878–79. In an act of respect for the previous Umayyad rulers, he erected
3864-453: A town close to Ibn al-Zubayr's capital Mecca, leaving the latter cornered in the Hejaz, as Najda controlled most of Arabia. Not long after, his followers became disillusioned with him for his alleged correspondence with the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik , irregular pay to his soldiers, his refusal to punish a soldier who had consumed wine, and his release of a captive granddaughter of caliph Uthman. He
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#17328477309444048-705: A truce with the Crusaders in 1110. In 1126, the Crusader army led by Baldwin II fought Burid forces led by Toghtekin at Marj al-Saffar near Damascus; however, despite their tactical victory, the Crusaders failed in their objective to capture Damascus. Following Toghtekin's death in 1128, his son, Taj al-Muluk Buri , became the nominal ruler of Damascus. Coincidentally, the Seljuq prince of Mosul , Imad al-Din Zengi , took power in Aleppo and gained
4232-489: Is asserted as the leader of the movement following Abu Bilal Mirdas. Modern historians consider Ibn Saffar to be a legendary figure, and assert that the Sufriyya and Ibadiyya sects did not exist during the seventh century. The heresiographers, whose aim was to categorize the divergent beliefs of the Kharijites, most likely invented the Sufriyya to accommodate those groups who did not fit neatly anywhere else. As such, there
4416-511: Is based on the works of earlier historians like Abu Mikhnaf (d. 773), Abu Ubayda (d. 825), and al-Mada'ini (d. 843). The authors of the heresiographical category include al-Ash'ari (d. 935), al-Baghdadi (d. 1037), Ibn Hazm (d. 1064), al-Shahrastani (d. 1153), and others. Notable among the surviving Ibadi works is the eighth-century heresiographical writing of Salim ibn Dhakwan. It distinguishes Ibadism from other Kharijite groups which it treats as extremists. Al-Kashf wa'l-Bayan ,
4600-542: Is called Bilād aš-Šām ( بلاد الشام , lit. ' land of the Levant ' ). The latter term etymologically means "land of the left-hand side" or "the north", as someone in the Hijaz facing east, oriented to the sunrise, will find the north to the left. This is contrasted with the name of Yemen ( اَلْيَمَن al-Yaman ), correspondingly meaning "the right-hand side" or "the south". The variation ش ء م ( š-ʾ-m '), of
4784-414: Is speculated that control of Damascus was gained by Aretas IV Philopatris of Nabatea between the death of Herod Philip in 33/34 AD and the death of Aretas in 40 AD but there is substantial evidence against Aretas controlling the city before 37 AD and many reasons why it could not have been a gift from Caligula between 37 and 40 AD. In fact, all these theories stem not from any actual evidence outside
4968-569: Is the capital and largest city of Syria , the oldest current capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam . Known colloquially in Syria as aš-Šām ( الشَّام ) and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine " ( مَدِيْنَةُ الْيَاسْمِينِ Madīnat al-Yāsmīn ), Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world . Situated in southwestern Syria, Damascus
5152-546: Is the center of a large metropolitan area. Nestled among the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea level , Damascus experiences an arid climate because of the rain shadow effect . The Barada River flows through Damascus. Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in
5336-522: Is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, lies on the south bank of the river Barada which is almost dry (3 cm (1 in) left). To the southeast, north, and northeast it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages: Midan in the southwest, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighborhoods originally arose on roads leading out of
5520-457: The mawali (sing. mawla ; non-Arab, free Muslims of conquered lands, especially Iraq and Persia) with the Arabs . The Najdat chose a mawla , a fruit seller named Thabit, as their leader after Najda's execution. This choice, however, conflicted with their feelings of ethnic solidarity and they soon asked him to step down and choose an Arab leader for them; he chose Abu Fudayk. The leader of
5704-510: The Amarna letters , from the 14th century BC: Dimašqa ( 𒁲𒈦𒋡 ), Dimašqì ( 𒁲𒈦𒀸𒄀 ), and Dimašqa ( 𒁲𒈦𒀸𒋡 ). Later Aramaic spellings of the name often include an intrusive resh (letter r ), perhaps influenced by the root dr , meaning "dwelling". Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus , which was imported from Greek Δαμασκός and originated from
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5888-729: The Arab Muslim general Khalid ibn al-Walid in August–September 634 CE. His army had previously attempted to capture the city in April 634 but without success. With Damascus now in Muslim-Arab hands, the Byzantines, alarmed at the loss of their most prestigious city in the Near East, had decided to wrest back control of it. Under Emperor Heraclius , the Byzantines fielded an army superior to that of
6072-545: The Battle of Marj al-Saffar , to put an end to Mongol invasions of the Levant . Later on, the Black Death of 1348–1349 killed as much as half of the city's population. In 1400, Timur , the Turco-Mongol conqueror, besieged Damascus . The Mamluk sultan dispatched a deputation from Cairo, including Ibn Khaldun , who negotiated with him, but after their withdrawal, Timur sacked the city on 17 March 1401. The Umayyad Mosque
6256-478: The Battle of Nahrawan (July 658), in which al-Rasibi and most of his supporters were slain. Around 1,200 Kharijites surrendered and were spared. The bloodshed sealed the split of the Kharijites from Ali's followers, and they continued to launch insurrections against the caliphate. Five small Kharijite revolts following Nahrawan, involving about 200 men each, were suppressed during Ali's rule. The Kharijite calls for revenge ultimately led to Ali's assassination by
6440-493: The Battle of Nahrawan in July 658 and were crushed by the Caliph. Following Ali's assassination in 661 by a Kharijite, Mu'awiya became the sole ruler, establishing the Umayyad Caliphate . During his reign, the Kharijites flourished in the southern Iraqi city of Basra . Severely repressed by the Iraqi governor Ziyad ibn Abih and later Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad , the Kharijites fled to Arabia around 680. After Mu'awiya's death in 680,
6624-465: The First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challenger, Mu'awiya , at the Battle of Siffin in 657. They asserted that "judgment belongs to God alone," which became their motto, and that rebels such as Mu'awiya had to be fought and overcome according to Qur'anic injunctions. Ali defeated
6808-583: The Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule. Thus they were known as al-Akrad (the Kurds) and al-Muhajirin (the migrants) . They lay 2–3 km (1–2 mi) north of the old city. From the late 19th century on, a modern administrative and commercial center began to spring up to the west of the old city, around the Barada, centered on the area known as al-Marjeh or "the meadow". Al-Marjeh soon became
6992-539: The Qumranic Darmeśeq ( דרמשק ), and Darmsûq ( ܕܪܡܣܘܩ ) in Syriac , meaning "a well-watered land". In Arabic , the city is called Dimashq ( دمشق Dimašq ). The city is also known as aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbors and Turkey ( Şam ). Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for " Levant " and for "Syria"; the latter, and particularly the historical region of Syria ,
7176-708: The Silk Road , gave the English language "damask". Ayyubid rule (and independence) came to an end with the Mongol invasion of Syria in 1260, in which the Mongols led by Kitbuqa entered the city on 1 March 1260, along with the King of Armenia, Hethum I , and the Prince of Antioch, Bohemond VI ; hence, the citizens of Damascus saw for the first time for six centuries three Christian potentates ride in triumph through their streets. However, following
7360-574: The Syrian civil war , Damascus was named the least livable city out of 140 global cities in the Global Liveability Ranking . As of June 2023 , it was the least livable out of 173 global cities in the same Global Liveability Ranking. In 2017, two new development projects have been launched in Damascus to build new residential districts, Marota City and Basillia City to symbolize post-war reconstruction. The name of Damascus first appeared in
7544-465: The Third Crusade in 1189, led by Richard I of England , Philip II of France and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor , though the last drowned en route. The surviving crusaders, joined by new arrivals from Europe, put Acre to a lengthy siege which lasted until 1191. After re-capturing Acre, Richard defeated Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191 and the Battle of Jaffa in 1192, recovering most of
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7728-522: The Tigris . Some five hundred of their Basran comrades were informed and joined them in Nahrawan, numbering reportedly up to 4,000 men. They declared Ali and his followers as unbelievers, and are held to have killed several people who did not share their views. In the meantime, the arbitrators declared that Uthman had been killed unjustly by the rebels. They could not agree on any other substantive matters and
7912-711: The Zubayrid governor of Basra in early 685 defeated the Azariqa, and Ibn al-Azraq was killed. The Azariqa chose Ubayd Allah ibn Mahuz as their new leader, regrouped, forced the Zubayrid army to retreat, and resumed their raids. After more defeats, Ibn al-Zubayr deployed his most able commander, Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra , against the Azariqa. Muhallab defeated them at the battle of Sillabra in May 686 and killed Ibn Mahuz. The Azariqa retreated to Fars. In late 686, Muhallab discontinued his campaign as he
8096-546: The moral authority of the Baghdad-based Abbasids. While the rulers of Damascus were preoccupied in conflict with their fellow Seljuqs in Aleppo and Diyarbakir , the Crusaders, who arrived in the Levant in 1097, conquered Jerusalem , Mount Lebanon and Palestine. Duqaq seemed to have been content with Crusader's rule as a buffer between his dominion and the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. Toghtekin, however, saw
8280-604: The northern Arabs were the overwhelming majority. Only six or seven revolts led by a southern Arab have been reported, their leaders hailing from the tribes of Tayy , Azd , and Kinda . Among the northern Arabs, the Rabi'a group produced most of the Kharijite leaders. Of the 48 identified Rabi'a leaders, 46 were from the Bakr ibn Wa'il branch (17 from the Shayban sub-tribe, 12 from Yashkur , five from Hanifa, and 12 from other sub-tribes). Among
8464-539: The 20th century, newer suburbs developed north of the Barada, and to some extent to the south, invading the Ghouta oasis. In 1956–1957, the new neighborhood of Yarmouk became a second home to many Palestinian refugees. City planners preferred to preserve the Ghouta as far as possible, and in the later 20th century some of the main areas of development were to the north, in the western Mezzeh neighborhood and most recently along
8648-511: The Anti-Lebanon Mountains and the prevailing ocean currents. Summers are prolonged, dry, and hot with less humidity. Winters are cool and somewhat rainy; snowfall is infrequent. Autumn is brief and mild, but has the most drastic temperature change, unlike spring where the transition to summer is more gradual and steady. Annual rainfall is around 130 mm (5 in), occurring from October to May. Carbon-14 dating at Tell Ramad , on
8832-612: The Arab Hamdanid dynasty of Aleppo 967. A period of instability in the city followed, with a Qarmatian raid in 968, a Byzantine raid in 970, and increasing pressures from the Fatimids in the south and the Hamdanids in the north. The Shia Fatimids gained control in 970, inflaming hostilities between them and the Sunni Arabs of the city who frequently revolted. A Turk, Alptakin drove out
9016-466: The Azariqa, Ibn al-Azraq, is said to have been the son of a mawla of Greek origin. The imams of the North African Kharijites from 740 onwards were all non-Arabs. The Kharijites also advocated for the equality of women with men. On the basis of women fighting alongside Muhammad, the Kharijites viewed jihad as incumbent upon women. The warrior and poet Layla bint Tarif is a famous example. Shabib's wife Ghazala participated in his battles against
9200-410: The Azariqa. In 694 the commander Hajjaj ibn Yusuf was appointed governor of Iraq and reinstated Muhallab to lead the war against the Azariqa. Muhallab forced their retreat to Kirman, where they split into two groups and were subsequently destroyed in 698–699. During his time in Ahwaz, Najda broke with Ibn al-Azraq over the latter's extremist ideology. Najda, with his followers, moved to the Yamama,
9384-561: The Barada River mitigated this, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta , irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, and fruits have been farmed since ancient times. Maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada River emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake because in years of severe drought, it does not even exist. The modern city has an area of 105 km (41 sq mi), out of which 77 km (30 sq mi)
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#17328477309449568-432: The Barada valley in Dummar in the northwest and on the slopes of the mountains at Barzeh in the north-east. Poorer areas, often built without official approval, have mostly developed south of the main city. Damascus used to be surrounded by an oasis , the Ghouta region ( Arabic : الغوطة , romanized : al-ġūṭä ), watered by the Barada river. The Fijeh spring , west along the Barada valley, used to provide
9752-470: The Fatimids five years later, and through diplomacy, prevented the Byzantines during the Syrian campaigns of John Tzimiskes from attempting to annex the city. However, by 977, the Fatimids under Caliph al-Aziz , wrested back control of the city and tamed Sunni dissidents. The Arab geographer, al-Muqaddasi , visited Damascus in 985, remarking that the architecture and infrastructure of the city were "magnificent", but living conditions were awful. Under al-Aziz,
9936-426: The Ibadis in Oman and Africa are estimated to be around 2.5 million and 200,000 respectively. The Kharijites did not have a uniform and coherent set of doctrines. Different sects and individuals held different views. Based on these divergences, heresiographers have listed more than a dozen minor Kharijite sects, in addition to the four main sects discussed above. In addition to their insistence on rule according to
10120-417: The Ibadi–Sufri distinction emergent in this period, the groups with no Ibadi affiliation were associated with the Sufriyya. Around 740, the Sufriyya under the leadership of Maysara al-Matghari had revolted in Tangiers and captured the city from the Umayyads. They marched onto the provincial capital Kairouan , but were unable to capture it. Nevertheless, Sufri disturbances in North Africa continued throughout
10304-446: The Kharijite dissident Ibn Muljim . The latter killed Ali with a poisoned sword while Ali was leading morning prayers on 26 January 661 in the Great Mosque of Kufa . The accession of Mu'awiya, the original enemy of the Kharijites, to the caliphate in August 661 provided the new impetus for Kharijite rebellion. Those Kharijites at Nahrawan who had been unwilling to fight Ali and had left the battlefield, rebelled against Mu'awiya. Under
10488-411: The Kharijite factions of the Azariqa and Najdat came to control large areas in Persia and Arabia . Internal disputes and fragmentation weakened them considerably before their defeat by the Umayyads in 696–699. In the 740s, large-scale Kharijite rebellions broke out across the caliphate, but all were eventually suppressed. Although the Kharijite revolts continued into the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258),
10672-438: The Kharijite phenomenon to purely religious motivations, economic factors, or a Bedouin (nomadic Arab) challenge to the establishment of an organized state, with some rejecting the traditional account of the movement having started at Siffin. The term al-Khariji was used as an exonym by their opponents for leaving the army of Caliph Ali during the First Fitna . The term comes from the Arabic root خ ر ج , which has
10856-449: The Kharijites as religious extremists who left the Muslim community . The term Kharijites is often used by modern mainstream Muslims to describe Islamist extremist groups that have been compared to the Kharijites for their radical ideology and militancy. On the other hand, some modern Arab historians have stressed the egalitarian and proto-democratic tendencies of the Kharijites. Modern, academic historians are generally divided in attributing
11040-421: The Kharijites at the Battle of Nahrawan in 658, but their insurrection continued. Ali was assassinated in 661 by a Kharijite dissident seeking revenge for the defeat at Nahrawan. After Mu'awiya established the Umayyad Caliphate in 661, his governors kept the Kharijites in check. The power vacuum caused by the Second Fitna (680–692) allowed for the resumption of the Kharijites' anti-government rebellion, and
11224-401: The Kharijites from the rear. Nearly all of them were slain. Kufan Kharijism died out around 663, and Basra became the center of Kharijite disturbances. Ziyad ibn Abihi and his son Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad , who successively became governors of Iraq, dealt harshly with the Kharijites, and five Kharijite revolts, usually involving around 70 men, were suppressed. Notable among these was that of
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#173284773094411408-442: The Kharijites out of Basra and they escaped to Ahwaz . Doctrinal differences between Nafi and Najda ibn Amir al-Hanafi , another of the leaders, led to a split within the group. Najda, with his followers, returned to Yamama and the faction became known as Najdat. In 685, after some particular successes, the Kharijite faction of Abu Talut recognized Najda as their leader. Najda started raiding towns in Ibn al-Zuabyr's domains. In 687
11592-497: The Mongol defeat at Ain Jalut on 3 September 1260, Damascus was captured five days later and became the provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate , ruled from Egypt, following the Mongol withdrawal. Following their victory at the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar , the Mongols led by Ghazan besieged the city for ten days, which surrendered between December 30, 1299, and January 6, 1300, though its Citadel resisted. Ghazan then retreated with most of his forces in February, probably because
11776-451: The Mongol horses needed fodder, and left behind about 10,000 horsemen under the Mongol general Mulay . Around March 1300, Mulay returned with his horsemen to Damascus, then followed Ghazan back across the Euphrates . In May 1300, the Egyptian Mamluks returned from Egypt and reclaimed the entire area without a battle. In April 1303, the Mamluks managed to defeat the Mongol army led by Kutlushah and Mulay along with their Armenian allies at
11960-407: The Muslim community. His favoritism and enrichment of his Umayyad relatives was disdained by the Muslim elite in Medina . The early Muslim settlers of the garrison towns of Kufa and Fustat , in the conquered regions of Iraq and Egypt, felt their status threatened by several factors during this period. These were Uthman's interference in provincial affairs, overcrowding of the garrison towns by
12144-608: The Muslim empire fell to civil war . Denouncing the new caliph Yazid , the Qurayshi leader Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr established himself in the sanctuary of Mecca . When Yazid sent an army to end the rebellion in 683 and Mecca was besieged , Kharijites assisted Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr in defending the city. However, Yazid died in November 683 and Ibn al-Zubayr proclaimed himself caliph. Kharijites, after discovering that Ibn al-Zubayr had proclaimed caliphate and did not share their view of Uthman and condemned his murder, abandoned him. Some of them went to Yamama , in central Arabia, under
12328-450: The Muslims maintained the building's dedication to John the Baptist . By 715, the mosque was complete. Al-Walid died that same year and he was succeeded at first by Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik and then by Umar II , who each ruled for brief periods before the reign of Hisham in 724. With these successions, the status of Damascus was gradually weakening as Suleiman had chosen Ramla as his residence and later Hisham chose Resafa . Following
12512-450: The Nabatean architect and engineer, Apollodorus of Damascus , who joined him in Rome when he was a consul in 91 AD, and later built several monuments during the 2nd century AD. Damascus became a metropolis by the beginning of the 2nd century and in 222 it was upgraded to a colonia by the Emperor Septimius Severus . During the Pax Romana , Damascus and the Roman province of Syria in general began to prosper. Damascus's importance as
12696-514: The Najdat stance to practical necessities which they encountered while governing Arabia, as the administration of a large area required flexibility and allowance for human imperfection. The Sufriyya and Ibadiyya held that while the establishment of a legitimate dominion was desirable, it was legal to employ taqiyya and continue living among the non-Kharijites if rebellion was not possible. The Kharijites espoused that all Muslims were equals, regardless of ethnicity and advocated for equal status of
12880-417: The Najdat's philosophy as an early form of anarchism . The Kharijites also asserted that faith without accompanying deeds is useless, and that anyone who commits a major sin is an unbeliever ( kafir ; pl. kuffar ) and must repent to restore the true faith. However, the Kharijite notion of unbelief ( kufr ) differed from the mainstream Muslim definition, which understood a kafir as someone who
13064-404: The Near East as well as the Arameaen resistance. In 727, a revolt took place in the city but was put down by Assyrian forces. After Assyria led by Tiglath-Pileser III went on a wide-scale campaign of quelling revolts throughout Syria, Damascus became subjugated by their rule. A positive effect of this was stability for the city and benefits from the spice and incense trade with Arabia . In 694 BC,
13248-607: The New Testament but rather "a certain understanding of 2 Corinthians 11:32" and in reality "neither from archaeological evidence, secular-historical sources, nor New Testament texts can Nabatean sovereignty over Damascus in the first century AD be proven." Roman emperor Trajan who annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea , had previously been in Damascus, as his father Marcus Ulpius Traianus served as governor of Syria from 73 to 74 AD, where he met
13432-480: The Qur'an, the view common to all Kharijite groups was that any Muslim was qualified to become caliph, regardless of origin, if he had the credentials of belief and piety . They rejected Qurayshite descent or close kinship with Muhammad as a prerequisite for the office, a view espoused by most Muslims at the time. This differs from the position of both Sunnis, who accepted the leadership of those in power provided that they were Qurayshite, and Shi'a, who asserted that
13616-535: The Qur'an, for they considered its content to be worldly and frivolous. Many Kharijites were well-versed in traditional Arabic eloquence and poetry, which the orientalist Giorgio Levi Della Vida attributes to the majority of their early leaders being from Bedouin stock. The sermons and poems of many Kharijite leaders were compiled into collections ( diwans ). Kharijite poetry is mainly concerned with religious beliefs, with piety and activism, martyrdom , selling life to God ( shira ), and afterlife being some of
13800-481: The Qur'an, which was then abrogated . A hadith is ascribed to Umar, asserting the existence of this verse in the Qur'an. These Kharijites rejected the authenticity of such a verse. The heresiographer al-Ash'ari attributed this position to the Azariqa, who held a strict scripturalist position in legal matters (i.e. following only the Qur'an and rejecting commonly held views if they had no Qur'anic basis), and thus also refused to enforce legal punishment on slanderers when
13984-440: The Qur'anic verse: And if two groups of believers fight each other, then make peace between them. But if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight against the transgressing group until they ˹are willing to˺ submit to the rule of Allah. If they do so, then make peace between both ˹groups˺ in all fairness and act justly. Surely Allah loves those who uphold justice. They held that in agreeing to arbitration, Ali committed
14168-560: The Rashidun in manpower. They advanced into southern Syria during the spring of 636 and consequently Khalid ibn al-Walid's forces withdrew from Damascus to prepare for renewed confrontation. In August, the two sides met along the Yarmouk River where they fought a major battle which ended in a decisive Muslim victory, solidifying Muslim rule in Syria and Palestine. While the Muslims administered
14352-500: The Umayyad "usurpers" and those who were in favor of a treaty with Damascus . Subsequently, some of Najda's supporters began to object to certain beliefs of his and rebelled against him. The intransigents, led by 'Atiya al-it Hanafī, took refuge in the Iranian region of Helmand , assuming the title of Atawiyya, while some more radical Najdat, led by Abu Fudayk, murdered Najda himself in 691 and took his place. They later tried to fight against
14536-494: The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan . In 692 Fudayk repelled a caliphate attack from Basra, but they were eventually defeated by the caliphate in 693, at the battle of Mushahhar. Politically exterminated, Najdat retreated into obscurity and disappeared around tenth century. Kharijite The Kharijites ( Arabic : الخوارج , romanized : al-Khawārij , singular Arabic : خارجي , romanized : khārijī ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during
14720-684: The Umayyad period. Around 750, the Sufri Midrarids established a dynasty in Sijilmasa , in modern Morocco. The dynasty survived until the Fatimid capture of the city in 909. Nonetheless, the Midrarids continued governing the city under intermittent Fatimid suzerainty until 976. The North African Sufriyya later disappeared, and their remnants were absorbed into the Ibadiyya around the tenth or 11th century. In
14904-687: The Umayyad rulers, and all non-Kharijites in general, were unbelievers, it was unlawful to continue living under their rule ( dar al-kufr ), for that was in itself an act of unbelief. It was thus obligatory to emigrate, in emulation of Muhammad's Hijra to Medina, and establish a legitimate dominion of their own ( dar al-hijra ). The Azariqa prohibited the practice of dissimulation of their faith ( taqiyya ) and branded non-activist Kharijites (i.e. those who did not emigrate to their camp) as unbelievers. The Najdat allowed taqiyya and quietism, but labeled their practitioners as hypocrites. The Islamicist Montgomery Watt attributes this moderation of
15088-578: The Umayyads in 750, Sufri revolts in the eastern parts of the empire continued for almost two centuries, though at a small scale and were easily put down. However, in revolts led by Abd al-Hamid al-Bajali in 866–877 and by Harun ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali in 880–896, the Kharijites gained control of northern Mesopotamia from the Abbasids and collected taxes. By the mid-8th century, the quietist Kharijites appeared in North Africa. They were mostly of Berber origin and were recruited through missionary activity. With
15272-462: The Umayyads later improved the same network, and still forms the basis of the water system of the old part of the city today. The Aramaeans initially turned Damascus into an outpost of a loose federation of Aramaean tribes, known as Aram-Zobah , based in the Beqaa Valley . The city would gain pre-eminence in southern Syria when Ezron , the claimant to Aram-Zobah's throne who was denied kingship of
15456-751: The Western invaders as a viable threat to Damascus which, at the time, nominally included Homs , the Beqaa Valley, Hauran, and the Golan Heights as part of its territories. With military support from Sharaf al-Din Mawdud of Mosul , Toghtekin managed to halt Crusader raids in the Golan and Hauran. Mawdud was assassinated in the Umayyad Mosque in 1109, depriving Damascus of northern Muslim backing and forcing Toghtekin to agree to
15640-478: The actual events, and many of the theological and political disputes among the early Muslims had been settled by then. As representatives of the emerging orthodoxy, the Sunni as well as Shia authors of these works looked upon the original events through the lens of this orthodox viewpoint. The bulk of information regarding the Kharijites, however, comes from the second category. These sources are outright polemical, as
15824-548: The advent of Saint Paul's proselytization. During the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , the city was besieged and captured by Shahrbaraz in 613, along with a large number of Byzantine troops as prisoners, and was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war. Muhammad's first indirect interaction with the people of Damascus was when he sent a letter, through his companion Shiya ibn Wahab, to Harith ibn Abi Shamir ,
16008-448: The arbitration proposal despite his reservations. They acknowledged that they had sinned but insisted that they repented and asked him to do the same, which Ali then did in general and ambiguous terms. The troops at Harura subsequently restored their allegiance to Ali and returned to Kufa, on the condition that the war against Mu'awiya be resumed within six months. Ali refused to denounce the arbitration proceedings, which continued despite
16192-537: The army and set up camp in Harura, a place near Kufa. They thus became known as the Harurites. They held that Uthman had deserved his death because of his nepotism and not ruling according to the Qur'an, and that Ali was the legitimate caliph, while Mu'awiya was a rebel. They believed that the Qur'an clearly stated that as a rebel Mu'awiya was not entitled to arbitration, but rather should be fought until he repented, pointing to
16376-542: The ascetic Salih ibn Mussarih and the tribal leader Shabib ibn Yazid al-Shaybani are associated with the Sufriyya, as well as the revolt of Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani during the Third Fitna (744–750). After Ibn Ibad's death, the Ibadiyya are considered to have been led into the late Umayyad period successively by Jabir ibn Zayd and Abu Ubayda Muslim ibn Abi Karima. Jabir, a respected scholar and traditionist, had friendly relations with Abd al-Malik and Hajjaj. Following
16560-491: The authors tend to portray their own sect as the true representative of original Islam and are consequently hostile to the Kharijites. Although the authors in both categories used earlier Kharijite as well as non-Kharijite sources, which are no longer extant, their rendering of the events has been heavily altered by literary topoi . Based on a hadith (saying or tradition attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad ) prophesying
16744-476: The best. Similarly, Ali's assassin Ibn Muljam was exalted by the poet Ibn Abi Mayyas al-Muradi in the following: You upon whom be blessings, we have struck Ḥaydar ['the lion'; a nickname for Ali] Abū Ḥasan [Ali] with a blow to the head and he was split apart. Kharijite poetry has survived mainly in the non-Kharijite sources, and hence may have been subject to alteration by its transmitters. Nevertheless,
16928-632: The central Oman, whereas his successor Rashid ibn Sa'id al-Yahmadi ( r. 1029–1053 ) drove the then Abbasid patrons Buyids out of the coastal region, thereby restoring the Ibadi control of Oman. Internal splits led to fall of the third Ibadi imamate in the late 12th century. Ibadi imamates were reestablished in subsequent centuries. Ibadis form the majority of the Omani population to date. Ibadi missionary activity met with considerable success in North Africa. In 757, Ibadis seized Tripoli and captured Kairouan
17112-493: The central arch was for chariots while the side arches were for pedestrians. In 23 BC, Herod the Great was given lands controlled by Zenodorus by Caesar Augustus and some scholars believe that Herod was also granted control of Damascus as well. The control of Damascus reverted to Syria either upon the death of Herod the Great or was part of the lands given to Herod Philip which were given to Syria with his death in 33/34 AD. It
17296-536: The city saw a brief period of stability that ended with the reign of al-Hakim (996–1021). In 998, hundreds of Damascus citizens were rounded up and executed by him for incitement. Three years after al-Hakim's mysterious disappearance, a rebellion was initiated in southern Syria against the Fatimids, but was stifled by the Fatimid Turkish governor of Syria and Palestine, Anushtakin al-Duzbari , in 1029. This victory gave
17480-468: The city were dismissed. Afterwards, the Umayyad family cemetery was desecrated and the city walls were torn down, reducing Damascus into a provincial town of little importance. It roughly disappeared from written records for the next century and the only significant improvement of the city was the Abbasid-built treasury dome in the Umayyad Mosque in 789. In 811, distant remnants of the Umayyad dynasty staged
17664-475: The city with drinking water, and various sources to the west are tapped by water contractors. The flow of the Barada dropped with the rapid expansion of housing and industry in the city and it is almost dry. The lower aquifers are polluted by the city's runoff from heavily used roads, industry, and sewage. Damascus has a cool arid climate ( BWk ) in the Köppen-Geiger system , due to the rain shadow effect of
17848-445: The city's governor. Umar drove out Ibn al-Azraq's men from Basra and they escaped to Ahwaz. From Ahwaz, Ibn al-Azraq raided Basra's suburbs. His followers are called Azariqa after their leader, and are described in the sources as the most fanatic of the Kharijite groups, for they approved the doctrine of isti'rad : indiscriminate killing of the non-Kharijite Muslims, including their women and children. An army sent against them by
18032-458: The city, near the tombs of religious figures. In the 19th century outlying villages developed on the slopes of Jabal Qasioun , overlooking the city, already the site of the al-Salihiyah neighborhood centered on the important shrine of medieval Andalusian Sheikh and philosopher Ibn Arabi . These new neighborhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the Europe regions of
18216-489: The city, the population of Damascus remained mostly Christian— Eastern Orthodox and Monophysite —with a growing community of Muslims from Mecca , Medina , and the Syrian Desert . The governor assigned to the city which had been chosen as the capital of Islamic Syria was Mu'awiya I . Following the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali 's death in 661, Mu'awiya was chosen as the caliph of the expanding Islamic empire. Because of
18400-419: The civil war. Afterward, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali became caliph with the help of the people of Medina and the rebels. He was soon challenged by Muhammad's widow, A'isha , and Muhammad's early companions, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam , who held that his election was invalid as it involved Uthman's murderers and hence a shura (consultative assembly) had to be called to elect
18584-650: The coast for the Christians, but could not recover Jerusalem or any of the inland territory of the kingdom. The crusade came to an end peacefully, with the Treaty of Jaffa in 1192. Saladin allowed pilgrimages to be made to Jerusalem, allowing the Crusaders to fulfill their vows, after which they all returned home. Local crusader barons set about rebuilding their kingdom from Acre and the other coastal cities. Saladin died in 1193, and there were frequent conflicts between different Ayyubid sultans ruling in Damascus and Cairo. Damascus
18768-460: The country of Damascus; and there is a village named after him, The Habitation of Abraham. Damascus is first documented as an important city during the arrival of the Aramaeans , a Semitic people , in the 11th century BC. By the start of the first millennium BC, several Aramaic kingdoms were formed, as Aramaeans abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and formed federated tribal states. One of these kingdoms
18952-712: The cousins Qarib ibn Murra al-Azdi and Zuhhaff ibn Zahr al-Tayyi . In 672/673 they rebelled in Basra with a 70-strong band. They are reported to have been involved in the random killing ( isti'rad ) of people in the streets and mosques of Basra before being cornered in a house, where they were eventually killed and their bodies crucified. Afterward, Ziyad is reported to have severely persecuted their followers. Ibn Ziyad jailed any Kharijite whom he suspected of being dangerous and executed several Kharijite sympathizers who had publicly denounced him. Between their successive reigns, Ziyad and his son are said to have killed 13,000 Kharijites. As
19136-448: The death of Abd al-Malik, relations between the Ibadiyya leaders and Hajjaj deteriorated, as the former became inclined towards activism ( khuruj ) . Hajjaj consequently exiled some of them to Oman and imprisoned others. Abu Ubayda, who was released after the death of Hajjaj in 714, became the next leader of the Ibadiyya. After unsuccessfully attempting to win over the Umayyad caliphs to the Ibadi doctrine, he sent missionaries to propagate
19320-453: The defeat of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, they suffered an attack from Muhammad 's cousin Abd Allah ibn Abbas. Here they blocked supplies to Mecca and Medina and isolated Taizz , but did not want to attack the holy villages. At this point the Najdat dominated almost all of Arabia. However, an ideological split severed their ranks, between those who favored the continuation of the fight against
19504-486: The doctrine in different parts of the empire. Almost simultaneously, the Sufriyya also spread into North Africa and southern Arabia through missionary activity. Through absorption into the Ibadiyya, the Sufriyya eventually became extinct. Ibadi sources too are more or less in line with this scheme, where the Ibadiyya appear as the true successors of the original Medinese community and the early, pre-Second-Fitna Kharijites, though Ibn Ibad does not feature prominently and Jabir
19688-460: The early eighth century, a proto-Ibadi movement emerged from the Basran moderates. Missionaries were sent to propagate the doctrine in different parts of the empire including Oman, Yemen, Hadramawt, Khurasan , and North Africa. During the final years of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Ibadi propaganda movement caused several revolts in the periphery of the empire, though the leaders in Basra adopted
19872-457: The emergence of 73 sects in Islam, of which one would be saved ( al-firqa al-najiya ) and the rest doomed as deviant, the heresiographers were mainly concerned with classifying what they considered to be deviant sects and their heretical doctrines. Consequently, views of certain sects were altered to fit into classification schemes, and sometimes fictitious sects were invented. Moreover, the reports are often confused and contradictory, rendering
20056-639: The end of the Bronze Age in the region and brought about new development of warfare. Damascus was only a peripheral part of this picture, which mostly affected the larger population centers of ancient Syria. However, these events contributed to the development of Damascus as a new influential center that emerged with the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age . Damascus is mentioned in Genesis 14:15 as existing at
20240-550: The federation, fled Beqaa and captured Damascus by force in 965 BC. Ezron overthrew the city's tribal governor and founded the independent entity of Aram-Damascus. As this new state expanded south, it prevented the Kingdom of Israel from spreading north and the two kingdoms soon clashed as they both sought to dominate trading hegemony in the east. Under Ezron's grandson, Ben-Hadad I (880–841 BC), and his successor Hazael , Damascus annexed Bashan (modern-day Hauran region), and went on
20424-619: The geographical list of Thutmose III as ṯmśq ( 𓍘𓄟𓊃𓈎𓅱 ) in the 15th century BC. The etymology of the ancient name ṯmśq is uncertain. It is attested as Imerišú ( 𒀲𒋙 ) in Akkadian , ṯmśq ( 𓍘𓄟𓊃𓈎𓅱 ) in Egyptian , Damašq ( 𐡃𐡌𐡔𐡒 ) in Old Aramaic and Dammeśeq ( דַּמֶּשֶׂק ) in Biblical Hebrew . A number of Akkadian spellings are found in
20608-660: The governor al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba . The best known of these revolts was that of al-Mustawrid ibn Ullafa , who was recognized as caliph by the Kufan Kharijites in 663. With about 300 followers, he left Kufa and moved to Behrasir . There, he confronted the deputy governor Simak ibn Ubayd al-Absi and invited him to denounce Uthman and Ali "who had made innovations in the religion and denied the holy book". Simak refused and al-Mustawrid, instead of engaging him directly, decided to exhaust and fragment Simak's forces by forcing them into pursuit. Moving onto Madhar near Basra, al-Mustawrid
20792-481: The grave sin of rejecting God's judgment ( hukm ) and attempted to substitute human judgment for God's clear injunction, which prompted their motto 'judgment belongs to God alone'. From this expression, which they were the first to adopt as a motto, they became known as the Muhakkima . Ali visited the Harura camp and attempted to regain the dissidents' support, arguing that it was they who had forced him to accept
20976-464: The heralding of the Abbasid Caliphate, Damascus became eclipsed and subordinated by Baghdad , the new Islamic capital. Within the first six months of Abbasid rule, revolts began erupting in the city, albeit too isolated and unfocused to present a viable threat. Nonetheless, the last of the prominent Umayyads were executed, the traditional officials of Damascus were ostracised, and army generals from
21160-426: The historian Fred Donner believes that Kharijite poetry may have suffered a lesser and "different kind" of interpolation than the historical accounts about the Kharijites. According to Hagemann, poetry is seemingly "the only genuinely Khārijite material" in existence. A modern compilation of Kharijite poetry was published by Ihsan Abbas in 1974. Most Kharijite leaders in the Umayyad period were Arabs. Of these,
21344-496: The historiographical category include the History of al-Tabari (d. 923), Ansab al-Ashraf of al-Baladhuri (d. 892), al-Kamil of al-Mubarrad (d. 899), and Muruj al-Dhahab of al-Mas'udi (d. 956). Other notable sources include the histories of Ibn Athir (d. 1233), and Ibn Kathir (d. 1373), but these have drawn most of their material from al-Tabari. The core of the information in these historiographical sources
21528-504: The homeland of his Banu Hanifa tribe. He became leader of Abu Talut's Kharijite faction, which became known as the Najdat after him. Najda took control of Bahrayn , repulsing a 14,000-strong Zubayrid army deployed against him. His lieutenant, Atiyya ibn al-Aswad , captured Oman from the local Julanda rulers, though the latter reasserted their control after a few months. Najda seized Hadramawt and Yemen in 687 and later captured Ta'if ,
21712-405: The khurūj [rebellion]". The poet Abu'l-Wazi al-Rasibi addressed Ibn al-Azraq, before the latter became activist, with the lines: Your tongue does no harm to the enemy you will only gain salvation from distress by means of your two hands. The government was often labelled as tyrannical and obedience to it was criticized. The Kharijite poet Isa ibn Fatik al-Khatti thus sang: You obeyed
21896-518: The king of Damascus. In his letter, Muhammad stated: "Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Be informed that my religion shall prevail everywhere. You should accept Islam, and whatever under your command shall remain yours." After most of the Syrian countryside was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate during the reign of Caliph Umar ( r. 634–644 ), Damascus itself was conquered by
22080-454: The land above Babylon , called the land of the Chaldeans: but, after a long time, he got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, and went into the land then called the land of Canaan , but now the land of Judea, and this when his posterity became a multitude; as to which posterity of his, we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abraham is even still famous in
22264-484: The late 11th century, Damascus again became the capital of independent states. It was ruled by Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla Tutush I starting in 1079 and he was succeeded by his son Abu Nasr Duqaq in 1095. The Seljuqs established a court in Damascus and a systematic reversal of Shia inroads in the city. The city also saw an expansion of religious life through private endowments financing religious institutions ( madrasas ) and hospitals ( maristans ). Damascus soon became one of
22448-469: The latter mastery over Syria, displeasing his Fatimid overlords, but gaining the admiration of Damascus' citizens. He was exiled by Fatimid authorities to Aleppo where he died in 1041. From that date to 1063, there are no known records of the city's history. By then, Damascus lacked a city administration, had an enfeebled economy, and a greatly reduced population. With the arrival of the Seljuq Turks in
22632-439: The leader authority over the community. If the leader committed a sin and deviated from the right path or failed to manage Muslims' affairs through justice and consultation, he was obliged to acknowledge his mistake and repent, or else he forfeited his right to rule and was subject to deposition. In the view of the Azariqa and the Najdat, Muslims had the duty to revolt against such a ruler. Almost all Kharijite groups considered
22816-471: The leadership belonged to Ali and his descendants. The Kharijites held that the first four caliphs had not been elected for their Qurayshite descent or kinship with Muhammad, but because they were among the most eminent and qualified Muslims for the position, and hence were all legitimate caliphs. In particular, they had a high regard for Abu Bakr ( r. 632–634 ) and Umar ( r. 634–644 ) as, according to them, they governed justly. Uthman, on
23000-470: The leadership of Abu Talut, whereas the majority went to Basra. In the meantime, Basran tribal chiefs expelled Ibn Ziyad and the city fell to tribal warfare. Kharijites, under the leadership of Nafi ibn al-Azraq , took over the city, killed the deputy appointed by Ibn Ziyad and broke 140 of their comrades free from Ibn Ziyad's prison. Soon afterwards, Basrans recognized Ibn al-Zubayr and he appointed Umar ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Ma'mar his governor there. Umar drove
23184-566: The leadership of Farwa ibn Nawfal al-Ashja'i of the Banu Murra , some 500 of them attacked Mu'awiya's camp at Nukhayla (a place outside Kufa) where he was taking the Kufans' oath of allegiance . In the ensuing battle, the Kharijites repelled the initial sortie by Mu'awiya's troops, but were eventually defeated and most of them killed. Seven more Kufan Kharijite uprisings, with rebel numbers in individual revolts varying between 20 and 400, were defeated by
23368-639: The legal aspects of rebellion". The Ibadi sources, on the other hand, are hagiographical and are concerned with preserving the group identity. Toward this purpose, stories are sometimes created, or real events altered, in order to romanticize and valorize early Kharijite revolts and their leaders as the anchors of the group identity. These too are hostile to other Kharijite groups. The sources, whether Ibadi, historiographical, or heresiographical, do not necessarily report events as they actually happened. They rather show how their respective authors viewed, and wanted their readers to view, these events. The sources in
23552-540: The major themes of their poetry were piety and martyrdom . The Kharijites of the eighth and ninth centuries participated in theological debates and, in the process, contributed to mainstream Islamic theology . What is known about Kharijite history and doctrines derives from non-Kharijite authors of the ninth and tenth centuries and is hostile toward the sect. The absence of the Kharijite version of their history has made unearthing their true motives difficult. Traditional Muslim historical sources and mainstream Muslims viewed
23736-569: The moderate movement. The moderates further split into the true Sufriyya and Ibadiyya only during the eighth century, with the main difference being tribal affiliations rather than doctrinal differences. During the Second Fitna, the moderates remained inactive. However, in the mid-690s they also started militant activities in response to persecution by Hajjaj. The first of their revolts was led in 695 by Ibn Musarrih, and ended in defeat and Ibn Musarrih's death. Afterward, this Kharijite group became
23920-529: The moderates, the Sufriyya and Bayhasiyya considered all non-Kharijite Muslims as unbelievers, but also abstained from taking up arms against them, unless necessary, and allowed intermarriage with them. The Ibadiyya, on the other hand, did not declare the non-Kharijites as polytheists or unbelievers in the general sense, rather as hypocrites ( kuffar bil-nifaq ), or ungrateful for God's blessings ( kuffar bil-ni'ma ). They also permitted marriages outside their own sect. The Azariqa and Najdat held that since
24104-620: The modern city. The old borough of Bab Tuma was developed at the end of the Roman/Byzantine era by the local Eastern Orthodox community. According to the Acts of the Apostles , Saint Paul and Saint Thomas both lived in that neighborhood. Roman Catholic historians also consider Bab Tuma to be the birthplace of several Popes such as John V and Gregory III . Accordingly, there was a community of Jewish Christians who converted to Christianity with
24288-610: The more typical ش م ل ( š-m-l ), is also attested in Old South Arabian , 𐩦𐩱𐩣 ( šʾm ), with the same semantic development. Damascus was built in a strategic site on a plateau 680 m (2,230 ft) above sea level and about 80 km (50 mi) inland from the Mediterranean, sheltered by the Anti-Lebanon Mountains , supplied with water by the Barada River , and at a crossroads between trade routes:
24472-528: The most important centers of propagating Islamic thought in the Muslim world. After Duqaq died in 1104, his mentor ( atabeg ), Toghtekin , took control of Damascus and the Burid line of the Seljuq dynasty. Under Duqaq and Toghtekin, Damascus experienced stability, elevated status, and a revived role in commerce. In addition, the city's Sunni majority enjoyed being a part of the larger Sunni framework effectively governed by various Turkic dynasties who in turn were under
24656-513: The most militant Kharijite groups were gradually eliminated. They were replaced by the non-activist Ibadiyya , who survive to this day in Oman and some parts of North Africa. They, however, deny any links with the Kharijites of the Second Muslim Civil War and beyond, condemning them as extremists. The Kharijites believed that any Muslim, irrespective of his descent or ethnicity, qualified for
24840-569: The most prominent themes, though the themes of heroism and courage are also evident. Referring to his rebellion, Abu Bilal Mirdas said: "Fear of God and the dread of the fire made me go out, and selling my soul for which has no price [paradise]". Some poems encouraged militant activism. Imran ibn Hittan , whom the Arabist Michael Cooperson calls the greatest Kharijite poet, sang after Abu Bilal's death: "Abū Bilāl has increased my disdain for this life; and strengthened my love for
25024-650: The murder of the latter in 743, the Caliphate of the Umayyads—which by then stretched from Spain to India— was crumbling as a result of widespread revolts. During the reign of Marwan II in 744, the capital of the empire was relocated to Harran in the northern Jazira region. On 25 August 750, the Abbasids , having already beaten the Umayyads in the Battle of the Zab in Iraq, conquered Damascus after facing little resistance. With
25208-432: The name of what was initially the central square of modern Damascus, with the city hall in it. The courts of justice, post office, and railway station stood on higher ground slightly to the south. A Europeanized residential quarter soon began to be built on the road leading between al-Marjeh and al-Salihiyah . The commercial and administrative center of the new city gradually shifted northwards slightly towards this area. In
25392-865: The next year. Driven out by an Abbasid army in 761, Ibadi leaders founded a state, which became known as the Rustamid dynasty , in Tahart . It was overthrown in 909 by the Fatimids. Ibadi communities continue to exist today in the Nafusa Mountains in northwestern Libya, Djerba island in Tunisia and the M'zab valley in Algeria. In East Africa they are found in Zanzibar . Ibadi missionary activity also reached Persia, India, Egypt, Sudan, Spain and Sicily, although Ibadi communities in these regions disappeared over time. The total numbers of
25576-534: The north. Later, Demetrius III Philopator rebuilt the city according to the Greek hippodamian system and renamed it "Demetrias". In 64 BC, the Roman general Pompey annexed the western part of Syria. The Romans occupied Damascus and subsequently incorporated it into the league of ten cities known as the Decapolis which themselves were incorporated into the province of Syria and granted autonomy. The city of Damascus
25760-537: The northern Arab Mudar group, the Tamim accounted for the majority, with 16 of the 21 Mudar leaders hailing from the tribe; the other leaders were from the Qays . Three or four revolts were led by a mawla or a Berber. Damascus Damascus ( / d ə ˈ m æ s k ə s / də- MAS -kəs , UK also / d ə ˈ m ɑː s k ə s / də- MAH -skəs ; Arabic : دِمَشق , romanized : Dimašq )
25944-529: The north–south route connecting Egypt with Asia Minor , and the east–west cross-desert route connecting Lebanon with the Euphrates river valley. The Anti-Lebanon Mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft (3,000 m) and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean Sea, so the region of Damascus is sometimes subject to droughts. However, in ancient times,
26128-517: The offensive with Israel. This conflict continued until the early 8th century BC when Ben-Hadad II was captured by Israel after unsuccessfully besieging Samaria . As a result, he granted Israel trading rights in Damascus. Another possible reason for the treaty between Aram-Damascus and Israel was the common threat of the Neo-Assyrian Empire which was attempting to expand into the Mediterranean coast. In 853 BC, King Hadadezer of Damascus led
26312-436: The orders of the stubborn tyrant but no obedience is due to oppressors. Many poems were written to eulogize fallen Kharijite activists, and thus represent the romanticized version of actual historical events. The Muhakkima are thus valorized and remembered at many places. The poet Aziz ibn al-Akhnas al-Ta'i eulogized them in the following lines: I complain to God that from every tribe of people, battle has annihilated
26496-401: The other hand, had deviated from the path of justice and truth in the latter half of his caliphate and was thus liable to be killed or deposed, whereas Ali committed a grave sin when he agreed to the arbitration with Mu'awiya. In contrast to the Umayyad idea that their rule was ordained by God, the Kharijite idea of leadership lacked any divine sanctioning; only correct attitude and piety granted
26680-605: The other life [with God] ( al-Akhirah )". Almost no primary Kharijite sources survive, except for works by authors from the sole surviving Kharijite sect of Ibadiyya , and excerpts in non-Kharijite works. As the latter are the main sources of information and date to later periods, the Kharijite material has suffered alterations and distortions during transmission, collection, and classification. Non-Kharijite sources fall mainly into two categories: histories and heresiographical works—the so-called firaq (sects) literature. The histories were written significantly later than
26864-451: The outskirts of Damascus, suggests that the site may have been occupied since the second half of the seventh millennium BC, possibly around 6300 BC. However, evidence of settlement in the wider Barada basin dating back to 9000 BC exists, although no large-scale settlement was present within Damascus' walls until the second millennium BC. Some of the earliest Egyptian records are from 1350 BC Amarna letters when Damascus (called Dimasqu )
27048-478: The policy of kitman (also called taqiyya ); concealing beliefs so as to avoid persecution. In 745, Abd Allah ibn Yahya al-Kindi established the first Ibadi state in Hadramawt, and captured Yemen in 746. His lieutenant, Abu Hamza Mukhtar ibn Aws al-Azdi , later conquered Mecca and Medina . The Umayyads defeated and killed Abu Hamza and Ibn Yahya in 748 and the first Ibadi state collapsed. An Ibadi state
27232-405: The position of a leader (imam) to be necessary. Many Kharijite leaders adopted the title of amir al-mu'minin , which was usually reserved for caliphs. An exception are the Najdat, who, as a means of survival, abandoned the requirement of war against non-Kharijites after their defeat in 692, and rejected that the imamate was an obligatory institution. The historian Patricia Crone has described
27416-469: The primary meaning "to leave" or "to get out", as in the basic word خرج , ḵẖaraja , "to go out". The term Khawarij is anglicized to 'Kharijites' from the singular Khariji . They called themselves al-Shurat ("the Exchangers"), which they understood within the context of Islamic scripture ( Quran 2:207 ) and philosophy to mean "those who have traded the mortal life ( al-Dunya ) for
27600-437: The process collapsed. Ali denounced the conduct of Abu Musa and Mu'awiya's lead arbitrator Amr ibn al-As as contrary to the Qur'an and the sunna , and rallied his supporters for a renewed war against Mu'awiya. He invited the Kharijites to join him as before. They refused, pending his acknowledgement of having gone astray and his repentance. Seeing no chance of reconciliation, Ali decided to depart for Syria without them. On
27784-483: The radical Azariqa and Najdat on the question of rebellion and separation from the non-Kharijites. Ibn Saffar and Ibn Ibad then disagreed amongst themselves as to the faith of the non-Kharijites, and thus came the two other sects: the Sufriyya and Ibadiyya. All the other uncategorized Kharijite subgroups are considered offshoots of the Sufriyya. In this scheme, the Kharijites of the Jazira region (north-western Iraq), including
27968-401: The reconciliation with the troops at Harura. In March 658, Ali sent a delegation, led by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari , to carry out the talks. The troops opposed to the arbitration thereafter condemned Ali's rule and elected the pious Abd Allah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi as their caliph. In order to evade detection, they moved out of Kufa in small groups and went to a place called Nahrawan on the east bank of
28152-552: The remainder left for the Yamama , in central Arabia, under the leadership of Abu Talut Salim ibn Matar . In the meantime, Ibn Ziyad was expelled by tribal chiefs in Basra, where inter-tribal strife ensued. Ibn al-Azraq and other militant Kharijites took over the city, killed the deputy left by Ibn Ziyad and freed 140 Kharijites from prison. Soon afterwards, the Basrans recognized Ibn al-Zubayr, who appointed Umar ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Ma'mar as
28336-402: The role of caliph , provided he was morally irreproachable. It was the duty of Muslims to rebel against and depose caliphs who sinned. Most Kharijite groups branded as unbelievers ( kuffar ; sing. kafir ) Muslims who had committed a grave sin, and the most militant declared killing of such unbelievers to be licit, unless they repented. Many Kharijites were skilled orators and poets, and
28520-441: The slander was targeted at a male. The Azariqa instituted the practice of testing the faith of new recruits ( mihna ), which is said to have involved giving them a prisoner to kill. It was either an occasional practice, as held by Watt, or a later distortion by the heresiographers, as held by Lewinstein. One of the Kharijite groups also refused to recognize the sura (Qur'anic chapter) of Yusuf as being an original part of
28704-565: The time of the War of the Kings . According to the 1st-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his twenty-one volume Antiquities of the Jews , Damascus (along with Trachonitis ), was founded by Uz , the son of Aram . In Antiquities i. 7, Josephus reports: Nicolaus of Damascus , in the fourth book of his History, says thus: " Abraham reigned at Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of
28888-461: The town was called Šaʾimerišu (Akkadian: 𒐼𒄿𒈨𒊑𒋙𒌋) and its governor was named Ilu-issīya . However, Assyrian authority was dwindling by 609–605 BC, and Syria-Palestine was falling into the orbit of Pharaoh Necho II 's Egypt. In 572 BC, all of Syria had been conquered by Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonians , but the status of Damascus under Babylon is relatively unknown. Damascus
29072-648: The treasury of Damascus. Arabic was also established as the official language, giving the Muslim minority of the city an advantage over the Aramaic-speaking Christians in administrative affairs. Abd al-Malik 's successor, al-Walid initiated the construction of the Grand Mosque of Damascus (known as the Umayyad Mosque) in 706. The site originally had been the Christian Cathedral of St. John and
29256-403: The troops of Hajjaj. The Kharijites had a scrupulous attitude towards non-Muslims, respecting their dhimmi (protected) status more seriously than others. Some of the Kharijites rejected the punishment of adultery with stoning , which is prescribed in other Islamic legal schools . Although the Qur'an does not prescribe this penalty, Muslims of other sects hold that such a verse existed in
29440-612: The unstable situation and launch an assault against Damascus with nearly 2,000 knights and 10,000 infantry. However, Buri allied with Zengi and managed to prevent their army from reaching the city. Buri was assassinated by Isma'ili agents in 1132; he was succeeded by his son, Shams al-Mulk Isma'il who ruled tyrannically until he was murdered in 1135 on secret orders from his mother, Safwat al-Mulk Zumurrud ; Isma'il's brother, Shihab al-Din Mahmud, replaced him. Meanwhile, Zengi, intent on putting Damascus under his control, married Safwat al-Mulk in 1138. Mahmud's reign then ended in 1139 after he
29624-442: The vast amounts of assets his clan, the Umayyads , owned in the city and because of its traditional economic and social links with the Hijaz as well as the Christian Arab tribes of the region, Mu'awiya established Damascus as the capital of the entire Caliphate . With the ascension of Caliph Abd al-Malik in 685, an Islamic coinage system was introduced and all of the surplus revenue of the Caliphate's provinces were forwarded to
29808-403: The verge of collapse, the crusader army suddenly moved against another section of the walls and was driven back. By 1154, Damascus was firmly under Nur ad-Din's control. In 1164, King Amalric of Jerusalem invaded Fatimid Egypt , requested help from Nur ad-Din. The Nur ad-Din sent his general Shirkuh , and in 1166 Amalric was defeated at the Battle of al-Babein . When Shirkuh died in 1169, he
29992-402: The way, however, he received news of the Kharijites' murder of a traveler, which then was followed by murder of his envoy, who had been sent to investigate. He was urged by his followers, who feared for their families and property in Kufa, to deal with the Kharijites first. After the Kharijites refused to surrender the murderers, Ali's men attacked their camp, inflicting a heavy defeat on them at
30176-468: The world . First settled in the 3rd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty , the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad . Damascus saw its importance decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the central government of Syria . As of September 2019 , eight years into
30360-406: Was Aram-Damascus , centered on its capital Damascus. The Aramaeans who entered the city without battle, adopted the name "Dimashqu" for their new home. Noticing the agricultural potential of the still-undeveloped and sparsely populated area, they established the water distribution system of Damascus by constructing canals and tunnels which maximized the efficiency of the river Barada. The Romans and
30544-464: Was a non-Muslim. To the Kharijites, kufr implied a defective Muslim, or pseudo-Muslim, who rejected true Islam. The Azariqa held a more extreme position that such unbelievers were in fact polytheists and apostates who could not reenter Islam and could be killed, along with their women and children. Intermarriage between the Kharijites and such unbelievers was forbidden in the Azariqa doctrine. The Najdat allowed marriages with non-Kharijites. Of
30728-515: Was at first led by Sa'id ibn Bahdal al-Shaybani, and after his death from plague, Dahhak ibn Qays al-Shaybani. Joined by many more Sufriyya from other parts of the empire, he captured Kufa in April 745 and later Wasit , which had replaced Kufa as the regional capital under Hajjaj. At this stage even some Umayyad officials, including two sons of former caliphs ( Sulayman , son of Hisham and Abd Allah , son of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ), recognized him as caliph and joined his ranks. Dahhak captured Mosul, but
30912-448: Was conquered by Alexander the Great . After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Damascus became the site of a struggle between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. The control of the city passed frequently from one empire to the other. Seleucus I Nicator , one of Alexander's generals, made Antioch the capital of his vast empire, which led to the decline of Damascus' importance compared with new Seleucid cities such as Syrian Laodicea in
31096-414: Was defeated by the crusaders at the Battle of Montgisard , despite his numerical superiority. Saladin also besieged Kerak in 1183, but was forced to withdraw. He finally launched a full invasion of Jerusalem in 1187 and annihilated the crusader army at the Battle of Hattin in July. Acre fell to Saladin soon after, and Jerusalem itself was captured in October. These events shocked Europe, resulting in
31280-455: Was entirely redesigned by the Romans after Pompey conquered the region. Still today the Old Town of Damascus retains the rectangular shape of the Roman city, with its two main axes: the Decumanus Maximus (east-west; known today as the Via Recta ) and the Cardo (north-south), the Decumanus being about twice as long. The Romans built a monumental gate which still survives at the eastern end of Decumanus Maximus. The gate originally had three arches:
31464-458: Was established in Oman in 750 after the fall of Abu Yahya, but fell to the Abbasids in 752. It was followed by the establishment of another Ibadi state in 793, which survived for a century until the Abbasid recapture of Oman in 893. Abbasid influence in Oman was mostly nominal, and Ibadi imams continued to wield considerable power. Around a century later, Ibadi leader al-Khalil ibn Shathan al-Kharusi ( r. 1016–1029 ) reasserted control over
31648-479: Was established with a mandate to settle the dispute according to the Qur'an and the sunna . While most of Ali's army accepted the agreement, one group, which included many Tamim tribesmen, vehemently objected to the arbitration and raised the slogan 'judgment belongs to God alone' ( la hukma illa li-llah ). As Ali marched back to his capital at Kufa, widespread resentment toward the arbitration developed in his army. As many as 12,000 dissenters seceded from
31832-501: Was eventually killed along with 6,000 followers in 692 by Umayyad forces in Bahrayn. Politically exterminated, the Najdat retreated into obscurity and disappeared around the tenth century. According to the heresiographers' accounts, the original Kharijites split into four principal groups ( usul al-Khawarij ; the mother sects of all the later Kharijites sects), during the Second Fitna. A moderate group, headed by Abd Allah ibn Saffar (or Asfar) and Abd Allah ibn Ibad , disagreed with
32016-417: Was interrupted by the renewed Assyrian invasion. Hazael ordered a retreat to the walled part of Damascus while the Assyrians plundered the remainder of the kingdom. Unable to enter the city, they declared their supremacy in the Hauran and Beqa'a valleys. By the 8th century BC, Damascus was practically engulfed by the Assyrians and entered a Dark Age. Nonetheless, it remained the economic and cultural center of
32200-424: Was killed by the forces of the Caliph Marwan II in 746. His successor, Shayban ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Yashkuri, was driven out from Mosul by Marwan II and fled to Fars to join the Alid leader Abd Allah ibn Mu'awiya , who ruled in opposition to the Umayyads. Attacked there by the Umayyads, they dispersed and Shayban fled to Oman, where he was killed by the local leaders around 751. Under the Abbasids , who had toppled
32384-467: Was killed for relatively unknown reasons by members of his family. Mu'in al-Din Unur , his mamluk ("slave soldier") took effective power of the city, prompting Zengi—with Safwat al-Mulk's backing—to lay siege against Damascus the same year. In response, Damascus allied with the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem to resist Zengi's forces. Consequently, Zengi withdrew his army and focused on campaigns against northern Syria. In 1144, Zengi conquered Edessa ,
32568-438: Was only one moderate Kharijite current, which might have been called "Sufri". According to the historian Keith Lewinstein, the term probably originated with the pious early Kharijites because of their pale-yellow appearance ( sufra ) caused by excessive worship. The moderates condemned the militancy of the Azariqa and Najdat, but otherwise lacked a set of concrete doctrines. Jabir and Abu Ubayda may have been prominent figures in
32752-408: Was overtaken by a 300-strong advance party of Simak's forces. Although al-Mustawrid was able to withstand this small force, he fled again toward Kufa when the main body of Simak's forces, under the command of Ma'qil ibn Qays, arrived. Eluding Ma'qil's advance guard of 600 men, al-Mustawrid led a surprise attack on Ma'qil's main force, destroying it. The advance guard returned in the meantime and attacked
32936-401: Was redeployed to suppress them. Although the Azariqa were not dislodged from Fars and Kirman, Muhallab prevented their advance into Iraq. Qatari minted his own coins and adopted the caliphal title amir al-mu'minin (commander of the faithful). After the Umayyads reconquered Iraq from the Zubayrids in 691, Umayyad princes took over the command from Muhallab, but were dealt severe defeats by
33120-406: Was ruled by king Biryawaza . The Damascus region, as well as the rest of Syria, became a battleground circa 1260 BC, between the Hittites from the north and the Egyptians from the south, ending with a signed treaty between Hattusili III and Ramesses II where the former handed over control of the Damascus area to Ramesses II in 1259 BC. The arrival of the Sea Peoples , around 1200 BC, marked
33304-417: Was sent to rein in the pro-Alid ruler of Kufa, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi , and was afterward appointed governor of Mosul to defend against possible Umayyad attacks from Syria. The Azariqa plundered al-Mada'in and then besieged Isfahan , but were defeated. They fled and eventually regrouped in Kirman . Reinvigorated by a new leader, Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a , the Azariqa attacked Basra's environs afterward and Muhallab
33488-452: Was succeeded by his nephew Yusuf, better known as Saladin , who defeated a joint crusader-Byzantine siege of Damietta . Saladin eventually overthrew the Fatimid caliphs and established himself as Sultan of Egypt. He also began to assert his independence from Nur ad-Din, and with the death of both Amalric and Nur ad-Din in 1174, he was well-placed to begin exerting control over Damascus and Nur ad-Din's other Syrian possessions. In 1177 Saladin
33672-406: Was the capital of independent Ayyubid rulers between 1193 and 1201, from 1218 to 1238, from 1239 to 1245, and from 1250 to 1260. At other times it was ruled by the Ayyubid rulers of Egypt. During the internecine wars fought by the Ayyubid rulers, Damascus was besieged repeatedly, as, e.g., in 1229 . The patterned Byzantine and Chinese silks available through Damascus, one of the Western termini of
33856-428: Was thus deposed for having gone astray and subsequently executed in 691. Atiyya had already broken from Najda and moved to Sistan in eastern Persia, and was later killed there or in Sind . In Sistan, his followers split into various sects, including the Atawiyya and the Ajarida. In Arabia, Abu Fudayk Abd Allah ibn Thawr took over the leadership of the Najdat and defeated several Zubayrid and later Umayyad attacks. He
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