Revolt of Zayd ibn Ali

In 740, Zayd ibn Ali led an unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate, that had taken over the Rashidun Caliphate since the death of his great-grandfather, Ali.

Revolt of Zayd ibn Ali
Date 122 Hijri (AD 740) Location Kufa Result Umayyad victory
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate	Alids
Commanders and leaders
Yusuf ibn Umar al-Thaqafi Hakam ibn Salt	Zayd ibn Ali † Muawiyat ibn Ishaq † Salma ibn Kohayk Nasr ibn Khazima Abasi † Jafar as-Sadiq (spiritual support)
Strength
≈12,000	218

The revolt

Unlike his brother, Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Imam of the Twelver and Isma'ili Shi'as, Zayd ibn Ali believed the time was ripe for renewing the rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphs in support of the claims of his own Hashemite clan. On his trip to Iraq, he was persuaded by pro-Alid faction of Kufa that he had support of 10,000 warriors and could easily drive out a few hundred Umayyad soldiers stationed there. Kufa had previously been the capital of his great-grandfather Ali. He started his propaganda in Kufa, Basra and Mosul and 15,000 people were enlisted on his army register. The Umayyad governor of Kufa, however, learned of the plot, and commanded the people to gather at the great mosque, locked them inside and began a search for Zayd. Zayd with some troops fought his way to the mosque and called on people to come out.

However, in events that echoed Husayn's own abandonment by the Kufans decades earlier, the bulk of Zayd's supporters deserted him and joined the Umayyads, leaving Zayd with only a few dozen outnumbered followers.

Nevertheless, Zayd fought on. His small band of followers was soundly defeated by the much larger Umayyad force, and Zayd fell in battle to an arrow that pierced his forehead. The arrow's removal led to his death. He was buried in secret outside Kufa, but the Umayyads were able to find the burial place, and, in retribution for the rebellion, exhumed Zayd's body and crucified it. The corpse remained on the cross for three years. After the death of Hisham, the new caliph ordered his corpse to be burned. The ashes were scattered in the Euphrates. When the Abbasids, who, like Zayd, were Hashemites, overthrew the Umayyads in 750, they in turn exhumed Hisham's body, crucified it, and burned it, out of revenge for Zayd.

Consequences

Zayd's desperate rebellion became the inspiration for the Zaydi sect, a school of Shi'a Islam that holds that any learned descendant of Ali can become an Imam by asserting and fighting for his claim as Zayd did (the rest of the Shi'as believe, in contrast, that the Imam must be divinely appointed). However, all schools of Islam, including the majority Sunnis, regard Zayd as a righteous martyr (shahid) against what is regarded as the corrupt leadership of the Umayyads. It is even reported that Abu Hanifa, founder of the largest school of Sunni jurisprudence, gave financial support to Zayd's revolt and called on others to join Zayd's rebellion.

Zayd's son Yahya, who managed to escape the suppression of the revolt, tried to recruit followers in Khurasan, but in vain; once the Umayyads were alerted to his presence there, he was pursued and killed. Zayd's rebellion inspired other revolts by members of his clan, especially in the Hejaz, the most famous among these being the revolt of Muhammad al-Nafs az-Zakiyya against the Abbasids in 762. Zaydi agitation continued until 785 and re-erupted in Tabaristan under the leadership of the Zayd's son, Hasan ibn Zayd ibn Ali. His revolt attracted many supporters, among them the ruler of Rustamids, the son of Farīdūn (a descendant of Rostam Farrokhzād), Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rustam.

It is narrated in the Shi'a book, Uyun al-Akhbar al-Ridha it says that it is narrated from Fudhayl ibn Yasar, one of Zayd ibn Ali's companions who fought alongside him that :

I went to see Zayd ibn Ali ibn Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (s) on the morning of the day on which he revolted in Kufa. I heard him say. ‘Which of you men will help me fight with the Anbats from Sham? I swear by Him who appointed Muhammad to the Prophethood and established him as one to give glad tidings and admonishments, that on the Resurrection Day I will grab the hands of whoever helps me in this battle and deliver him to Paradise with the permission of the Honorable the Exalted God.’I rented a horse when he got killed and set out for Medina. I went to see Imam As-Sadiq (s) there. I thought I should not tell him (s) about Zayd getting killed since the Imam (s) might get upset. When I saw the Imam (s), he said, “What did my uncle Zayd do?” I got so upset I could hardly talk. I said, “They killed him.” He (s) said, “Did they kill him?” I said, “Yes. By God, they killed him.” He (s) asked, “Did they hang his corpse on the gallows?” I said, “Yes. By God, they hung his corpse on the gallows.”The narrator added, “The Imam (s) started to cry and his tears were flowing down his face like pearls. Then the Imam (al-Sadiq) said, ‘O Fudhayl! Were you present there in the battle with the people of Syria along with my uncle?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ The Imam (s) asked, ‘How many people did you kill?’ I said, ‘Six of them.’ The Imam (s) said, ‘Did you have any doubts about shedding their blood?’ I said, ‘No, I would not have killed them if I had had any doubts.’ Then I heard the Imam (s) say, ‘O God! Please give me a share of the reward for this battle. I swear by God that my uncle and his companions were martyrs just like Ali ibn Abi Talib (s) and his companions.

See also

• Zayd ibn Ali
• Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
• Zaydism
• Husayn ibn Ali
• Alids
• Hashemites
• Shi'a
• Rafida
• Rustamids
• Farīdūn (the father of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rustam, a descendant of Rostam Farrokhzād)