Battle of Nahrawan 659
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 659 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Iraq | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | First Fitna | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 34.5214, 43.7842 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Nahrawan (Arabic: مَعْرَكَة النَّهْرَوَان, romanized: Ma'rakat an-Nahrawān) was fought between the Kufan forces of the fourth Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Kharijites, who were primarily composed of qurra originating from across Iraq, in July 658 CE (Safar 38 AH). The latter were a group of former allies of Ali during the First Fitna. They separated from him following the Battle of Siffin when Ali agreed to settle the conflict with Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the Umayyad governor of Syria, through arbitration, a move labeled by the group as against the Qur'an. After failed attempts to regain their loyalty and because of their rebellious and violent activities, Ali confronted the Kharijites near their headquarters by the Nahrawan Canal, near modern-day Baghdad. Of the 4,000 rebels, some 1,200 were won over with the promise of amnesty while the majority of the remaining 2,800 rebels were killed in the ensuing battle. Other sources put the casualties at 1500–1800.
The battle resulted in a permanent split between the group and the rest of the Muslims, whom the Kharijites branded as apostates. Although defeated, they continued to threaten and harass cities and towns for several years. Ali was assassinated by a Kharijite dissident in January 661.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Nahrawan (revision 1377875014), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- First Battle of Tikrit 2014 · 13 km
- Battle of Istabulat 1917 · 50 km
- Second Battle of Baiji 2014 · 53 km
- First Battle of Baiji 2014 · 53 km
- Battle of Samarra (1733) 1733 · 58 km
- Battle of al-Anbar 633 · 61 km
Other battles of the First Fitna
All 3 battles of the First Fitna →
Browse more: battles in Iraq · Asia · Medieval battles