The umma spiraled further into disorder and civil war after the sudden death of the caliph and the subsequent collapse of Umayyad authority. Ibn il Zubayr’s candidacy was transformed from an unlikely proposition to a victory by default as he became the last man standing. Despite ...Show more
Episode 23: The chosen one
Before we can continue our discussion of the struggle between Abdulmalik and Ibn il Zubayr, we need to step back and survey the complicated situation in Iraq. Deep divisions made its cities difficult for either leader to claim, especially considering the significant Hashemite sym ...Show more
Muawiyyah and his administration have subdued the Muslim Empire. Most of Iraq has settled down and his detractors have fell silent. But Muawiyyah is concerned about the future. What's going to happen when he's gone? The Caliph conspires with his governors to turn the Caliphate to ...Show more
Muawiyyah dies and as planned, his son Yazid succeeds him as Caliph. But there are many people in the Muslim Empire who do not agree with this. Two of them are Husayn ibn Ali and Abdullah ibn Zubayr. They refuse to give Yazid the pledge and flee to Mecca. Ibn Zubayr begins to bui ...Show more
On his death bed, Babur tells his eldest son not to fight with his brothers however awful they will be to him. As his father passes away, Humayun inherits a fragile empire on shaky ground. And his dad’s message of peace quickly comes to the fore when his treacherous younger broth ...Show more