Episode 24: How the best man won

The second fitna revealed the unprecedented level of division within the umma, divisions which only grew as the civil conflict ground on for a decade. Under Abdulmalik’s leadership, the Umayyads managed to slowly grow their power until they found themselves in a position to challenge for the umma’s leadership once again. 

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Glossary

• Muhallab ibn Sufra: the amazing general who had been winning battles for the Arabs in Khurasan and the East for decades. He got stuck fighting kharijites in Basra when Tamim requested him personally, which is noteworthy because he was of Azd, their tribal rival, which goes to show that these divisions were not absolute in any real sense.
• Al Ashdaq: the son of Sa’id ibn il ‘As who rebelled against Abdulmalik in an attempt at replacing him as caliph. I abbreviated the affair in the episode, but it was a pretty big deal; al Ashdaq had a significant following and stood a real chance at becoming the man in charge.
• Zufar: leader of the Adnani confederation of the Syrian tribal conflict, although he bore the Kalb and Qahtanis a real grudge, he was probably pushed a little too far by Umayr’s crazy actions.
• Umayr: Umayr ibn il Hubab al Sulami was hugely influential in the Syrian tribal conflict. He was the chief of the Sulaim tribe, and if Zufar concentrated on defending Qirqasiya and the alliance, Umayr was the one out hurting their enemies.
• Abu Amra Kaysan: it’s said that he was a Persian mawla of Mukhtar’s, and some even claim that he was a commander in the final battle at Harura between Mus’ab and Mukhtar. We don’t know much about the Kaysanites because they were such a small and inconsequential part of the umma. 
• Ibrahim ibn Malik il Ashtar: the son of Ali’s right-hand man remained unyielding in his hostility towards the Umayyads, all the way to his bloody death in battle with the Syrian armies. 
• Mus’ab ibn il Zubayr: apart from being shamed for his underhanded massacring of Mukhtar’s supporters in Kufa, Mus’ab is roundly praised in our sources, presented as a sort of Arab role model, with even the most pro-Umayyad accounts showing respect. His presence in Iraq did so much for his brother’s cause as it gave the tribes there someone important they could work with, and with his death Abdullah no longer stood a real chance at rivaling the Umayyad.
• Abdallah ibn il Zubayr: the Meccan caliph’s power waned almost as rapidly as it had first come to him. His attempts at restoring the caliphate through emulating his grandfather Abu Bakr fell flat, and he wasted his chance at consolidating his grip on power.
• Najda il Hanafi: the peninsula’s kharijite leader was a chief of the main tribe of Yamama, the same tribe which had to be pacified by Abu Bakr way back when. The second fitna really pissed a lot of tribes off, and these all preferred joining Najdat’s disdainful movement to being supplicants of Quraysh.
• Al Hajjaj ibn Youssef al Thaqafi: this trusted commander of Abdulmalik’s will go on to become one of the most important figures of his generation, famed for his brutality.