Battle of Marj Rahit | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Second Fitna | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Umayyad Caliphate and pro-Umayyad tribes
|
Pro-Zubayrid forces
| ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Marwan I Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan Amr ibn Sa'id al-Ashdaq Abbad ibn Ziyad Malik ibn Hubayra al-Sakuni Rawh ibn Zinba al-Judhami Bishr ibn Marwan |
al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri † Ziyad ibn Amr al-Uqayli Shurahbil ibn Dhi'l-Kala Ma'n ibn Yazid ibn al-Akhnas al-Sulami † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
6,000 or 13,000, mostly infantry[4] | 30,000 or 60,000, mostly cavalry | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Light | Heavy, including 80 nobles[5] | ||||||
Location of the battle within modern Syria |
The Battle of Marj Rahit (Arabic: يوم مرج راهط, romanized: Yawm Marj Rāhiṭ) was one of the early battles of the Second Fitna. It was fought on 18 August 684 between the Kalb-dominated armies of the Yaman tribal confederation, supporting the Umayyads under Caliph Marwan I, and the Qays under al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, who supported the Mecca-based Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr; the latter had proclaimed himself Caliph. The Kalbi victory consolidated the position of the Umayyads over Bilad al-Sham (the Islamic Levant), paving the way for their eventual victory in the war against Ibn al-Zubayr. However, it also left a bitter legacy of division and rivalry between the Qays and the Yaman, which would be a constant source of strife and instability for the remainder of the Umayyad Caliphate.