Siege of Mecca (683) 683
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 683 | Wikidata P580 (start 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 |
| Participants | Umayyad Caliphate | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 21.4167, 39.8167 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Mecca in September–November 683 was one of the early battles of the Second Fitna. The city of Mecca was a sanctuary for Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who was among the most prominent challengers to the hereditary succession to the Caliphate by Yazid I of the Umayyad dynasty. After nearby Medina, the other holy city of Islam, also rebelled against Yazid, the Umayyad ruler sent an army to subdue the Hejaz. The Umayyad army defeated the Medinans and took the city, but Mecca held out in a month-long siege, during which the Kaaba was damaged by fire. The siege ended when news came of Yazid's sudden death. The Umayyad commander, Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni, after failing to induce Ibn al-Zubayr to return with him to Syria and be recognized as Caliph, departed with his forces. Ibn al-Zubayr remained in Mecca throughout the civil war, but he was nevertheless soon acknowledged as Caliph across most of the Muslim world. It was not until 692 that the Umayyads were able to send another army, which again besieged and captured Mecca, ending the civil war.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Mecca (683) (revision 1370743386), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Mecca (692) 692 · 0 km
- Capture of Mecca (1813) 1813 · 1 km
- Capture of Mecca (1924) 1924 · 1 km
- Aksumite siege of Mecca 570 · 1 km
- Battle of Fakhkh 786 · 4 km
- Battle of Hunayn 630 · 26 km
Other battles of the Second Fitna
- Battle of Karbala 680
- Battle of al-Harra 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