Battle of al-Harra 683
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 683 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Saudi Arabia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Fitna | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 24.4667, 39.6333 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of al-Harra (Arabic: يوم الحرة, romanized: Yawm al-Ḥarra, lit. 'Day of al-Harra') was fought between the Umayyad army of the caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683) led by Muslim ibn Uqba and the defenders of Medina from the Ansar and Muhajirun factions, who had rebelled against the caliph. The battle took place at the lava field of Harrat Waqim in the northeastern outskirts of Medina on 26 August 683 and lasted less than a day.
The elite factions of Medina disapproved of the hereditary succession of Yazid (unprecedented in Islamic history until that point), resented the caliph's impious lifestyle, and chafed under Umayyad economic acts and policies. After declaring their rebellion, they besieged the Umayyad clan resident in Medina and dug a defensive trench around the city. The expeditionary force sent by Yazid and local Umayyads, who had since been released from the siege, encamped at Harrat Waqim, where the rebels confronted them. Despite an initial advantage, the Medinans were routed due to the defection of one of their factions, the Banu Haritha, which enabled Umayyad horse riders led by Marwan ibn al-Hakam to attack them from the rear.
Afterward, the army pillaged Medina for three days, though accounts of the plunder vary considerably.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of al-Harra (revision 1378650816), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of the Trench 627 · 3 km
- Siege of Banu Qaynuqa 624 · 3 km
- Siege of Medina 1916 · 3 km
- Battle of Medina (1812) 1812 · 3 km
- Battle of Uhud 625 · 5 km
- Battle of Abraq 632 · 44 km
Other battles of the Second Fitna
- Battle of Karbala 680
- Siege of Mecca (683) 683
- Battle of Marj Rahit (684) 684
- Battle of Ayn al-Warda 685
- Battle of Khazir 686
- Battle of Maskin 691
- Siege of Mecca (692) 692
All 8 battles of the Second Fitna →
Browse more: battles in Saudi Arabia · Asia · Medieval battles