Schlacht von Kerbela
Die Schlacht von 680 n. Chr. bei Kerbela, in der Imam Husayn und seine Gefährten von Yazids Heer getötet wurden; ein prägendes Ereignis für schiitische Identität, Trauer und Ritual.
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- Date
- 10 Muharram 61 AH (10 October 680 CE)
- Location
- Karbala, present-day Iraq
- Combatants
- Imam Husayn's band vs. the Umayyad army of Yazid
- Significance
- Symbol of resistance to tyranny; Ashura mourning
Details
The Battle of Karbala took place on 10 Muharram 61 AH (10 October 680 CE) on the plain of Karbala in present-day Iraq and is one of the most pivotal events in Shi'a history. Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet of Islam and the third Shi'a Imam, refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid ibn Mu'awiya, the Umayyad caliph whose rule he deemed unjust and illegitimate. Husayn set out toward Kufa with his family and a small band of companions—about 72 people—but was surrounded at Karbala by a large Umayyad army and cut off from water. On the day of Ashura, after an unequal battle, Husayn and nearly all his companions were killed, and the women and children of his household were taken captive. The event became an enduring symbol of standing against tyranny and of sacrifice for justice, and the mourning rites of Ashura and Tasua remain central to Shi'a religious and emotional identity to this day. Karbala has profoundly shaped the culture, literature, and rituals of Iran and the wider Shi'a world.
Verwandte Einträge
Quellen
- Encyclopædia Iranica, "Karbala" and "Hosayn b. Ali"
- Mahmoud Ayoub, Redemptive Suffering in Islam
- Encyclopaedia of Islam (Brill), "Karbala"