Battle of Maskin

Battle of Maskin
Part of the Second Fitna
DateMid-October 691
Location
Dayr al-Jathaliq in Maskin district, 50–55 kilometers (31–34 mi) north of present-day Baghdad
33°49′24″N 44°14′24″E / 33.82333°N 44.24000°E / 33.82333; 44.24000
Result Umayyad victory
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate Zubayrid Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Abd al-Malik
Muhammad ibn Marwan
Khalid ibn Yazid
Abd Allah ibn Yazid
Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr 
Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar 
Muslim ibn Amr al-Bahili 
Attab ibn Warqa (defected)
Battle of Maskin is located in Iraq
Battle of Maskin
Location within modern Iraq

The Battle of Maskin (Arabic: معركة مسكن), also known as the Battle of Dayr al-Jathaliq (Arabic: معركة دير الجثاليق) from a nearby Nestorian monastery, was a decisive battle of the Second Fitna (680s-690s). It was fought in mid-October 691 near present-day Baghdad on the western bank of the river Tigris, between the army of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and the forces of Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, governor of Iraq for his brother, the Mecca-based rival caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr.

When the battle started, most of Mus'ab's troops refused to fight, having secretly switched allegiance to Abd al-Malik, and Mus'ab's main commander, Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar, was killed in action. Mus'ab was slain soon afterward, resulting in the Umayyads' victory and recapture of Iraq, which opened the way for the Umayyad reconquest of the Hejaz (western Arabia) in late 692.


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