Zaydiyya: Difference between revisions

After the martyrdom of Zayd b. Ali, several revolts were carried out, most of which were suppressed by the rulers.

Yahya b. Zayd, who went to Mada'in and then to Ray and Sarakhs after the martyrdom of his father, started his revolt in Khurasan. He was able to defeat the army of Nasr b. Sayyar, the Umayyad governor of [[Iraq]], but was martyred in another battle that took place in [[Juzjan]]. The people of Khurasan mourned for him for seven days. It is reported that [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] wrote a letter to Yahya, prohibiting him from uprising.

In 145/762 (towards the end of Mansur's reign), two revolts were conducted in [[Medina]] and [[Basra]], one by Muhammad and the other by Ibrahim, the sons of 'Abd Allah b. al-Hasan. During the lifetime of Zayd, 'Abd Allah did not support him, but when Zayd was killed, he adopted Zayd's idealogy and became the leader of the revolts of his sons.

Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah b. al-Hasan, also known as [[al-Nafs al-Zakiyya]] (the Pure Soul), was regarded by some people as the Mahdi. Before the victory of Abbasid revolution, al-Mansur and al-Saffah paid allegiance to him and were of his missionaries. Muhammad's revolt took place in 145/762-763 in Medina, where he was called Amir al-Mu'minin (the Commander of the Faithful). When al-Mansur became the [[caliph]], he wrote Muhammad letters, threatening him but at the same time giving him safety if he ended his revolt. Muhammad disregarded al-Mansur's letters, so the latter send an army to Medina. In the battle that took place there, Muhammad's revolt was suppressed and Muhammad himself was killed; his head was circulated in [[Kufa]] and then taken to the caliph.

When Zaydi revolts in Kufa and Medina were being defeated and Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah was killed, his brother [[Ibrahim b. 'Abd Allah]] started a revolt in Basra, where he had settled in 143/760. With the help of 'Isa b. Zayd b. 'Ali, he organized his uprising, and many Zaydis, Mu'tazilis, as well as many other people from Fars, Ahwaz, and other places joined him. However, in a battle that took place in Bakhmara between Ibrahim's army and that of the caliph, Ibrahim and four-hundred Zaydis were killed.

The uprising of [[Husayn b. 'Ali b. al-Hasan]], well-known as the Martyr of Fakhkh, took place in 169/785 and was suppressed by Muhammad b. Sulayman. Al-Husayn was killed, together with a number of his companions in a place called [[Fakhkh]] near Mecca and their bodies were left in the desert.

During the reign of [[Harun al-Rashid]] (170/786-193/808), one of the companions of Husayn b. 'Ali b. al-Hasan, who was present in the massacre of Fakhkh, went to the land of Daylam and, with the help of some Zaydis, organized an uprising. However, his supporters left him, so he had no choice other than making peace with the caliph.

Idris was another survivor of the massacre of Fakhkh, who went to [[Egypt]] in 172/788 and from there to Morocco, where he called people to support the Zaydiyya. He was able to attract the support of the local tribes and establish the Idrisid dynasty, whose territory extended from Kairouan to the Atlantic Ocean. The Idrisid rule lasted from 172/788 until 375/985.

Sari b. Mansur al-Shaybani, known as Abu l-Saraya, started a revolt in 199/815 in Kufa. He was able to gain victory by calling people to "the Chosen One from the Family of Muhammad (s)." Despite initial victories, his uprising was suppressed in 200/815.