Internal wars · 683, 692

Sieges of Makkah

Ibn al-Zubayr had ruled as caliph from Makkah since 683. Catapult stones hit the city in both sieges, and his death in 692 ended the second civil war.

The site of the battle on the 750 map. Shaded: Umayyad Caliphate at its peak.

Key facts

When: 683, 692
Where: Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Sides: Umayyads vs Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr
Commanders: al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf vs Ibn al-Zubayr
Result: Umayyad victory
Type: Internal wars
Chapter: 2. The Umayyads

Who led it

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan646 to 705
Won the second civil war, made Arabic the language of government and issued the first purely Islamic coins.

The wider picture: The Umayyads of Damascus

Muawiya ruled from Damascus and named his son Yazid as heir, the first time the caliphate passed from father to son. Karbala followed in 680. Then came the largest expansion in Islamic history: Spain in 711, Sindh in 712 and Central Asia up to the Syr Darya.

See the 750 map Read chapter 2

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