Karbala (61 AH)

Historical overview

On 10 Muharram 61 AH Imam Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet (PBUH), refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid ibn Mu'awiya. Travelling to Kufa with his family and companions, he was stopped and forced to camp on the plain of Karbala beside the Euphrates. From 7 Muharram the army of Umar ibn Sa'd, sent by Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad, cut the camp off from the river. On Ashura about 72 companions and family members faced an army of thousands; al-Abbas ibn Ali fell trying to bring water from the Euphrates. Imam Husayn was martyred, the tents were burned and the women and children, including Zaynab and Ali Zayn al-Abidin, were taken captive to Kufa and Damascus. Karbala remains a timeless symbol of standing for truth against tyranny.

Historical context and how to read this record

This record presents Karbala (61 AH), dated in the archive as 61 AH / 680 CE and associated with Karbala, Iraq. The date, place, summary, named groups, terrain features, and references shown here come from the bundled or published event record. They provide a concise entry point for study, while the linked source notes remain the place to check what each historical or religious text actually reports. A label in the archive is not, by itself, proof that every chronology, number, or interpretation is agreed across historians.

The timeline on this page is deliberately limited to information attached to the record: its displayed event date and era, its named location, and the geographic markers that the map author normalized for the scene. These map markers are not a minute-by-minute sequence of movements. They do not claim to reconstruct every decision, speech, or formation. Where historians preserve differing accounts, the distinction matters: a conventional date can help readers orient themselves, but a date recorded in a database should not be mistaken for a universally settled day or for a primary-source quotation.

The terrain is a deterministic educational model. A shared height function keeps water, formations, landmarks, and ground visually aligned; the normalized coordinates make the same record render consistently when the optional cloud archive is unavailable. This approach supports comparison of broad relationships—such as a camp in relation to a water feature, a fortified settlement against a highland, or a route beside a valley—without presenting synthetic elevation as archaeological survey data. Lighting, camera angle, and visual scale are choices for legibility, not evidence about the historical scene.

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For an efficient study sequence, begin with the short overview, note the event date and place, then select each geographic marker in the dual reader. The camera will move to the schematic coordinate while the corresponding source note is brought into view. Next compare the land and water features, read any force labels and their uncertainty notes, and return to the source dossier before drawing conclusions. This order helps distinguish what the archive records, what the visualization illustrates, and what a reader may need to verify in a primary edition. The purpose is source-aware orientation and respectful learning, not a substitute for historical fieldwork or a scholar’s judgment.

Record timeline and tactical markers

1. Archive date: 2026-10-01 · 61 AH / 680 CE
2. Recorded setting: Karbala, Iraq
3. Map feature 1: Euphrates river bank
4. Map feature 2: Camp of Imam Husayn
5. Map feature 3: Tall al-Zaynabiyya
6. Map feature 4: Open desert plain
7. Schematic marker 1: Camp of Imam Husayn · Imam Husayn ibn Ali; standard: al-Abbas ibn Ali · approx. 72 companions and family
8. Schematic marker 2: Army of Yazid · Umar ibn Sa'd; Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan · several thousand (sources vary)

Marker ordering is a reading aid, not a chronological claim about the event.

Forces and commanders

• Camp of Imam Husayn — Imam Husayn ibn Ali; standard: al-Abbas ibn Ali (approx. 72 companions and family)
• Army of Yazid — Umar ibn Sa'd; Shimr ibn Dhi al-Jawshan (several thousand (sources vary))

Geography: water and landscape

• Euphrates (al-Furat) (river)
• Euphrates river bank
• Camp of Imam Husayn
• Tall al-Zaynabiyya
• Open desert plain

The caravan route: Makkah to Karbala

Distances: Najaf, Kufa, Karbala and Samarra

Distances are approximate and given for orientation.

Sources

• al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, events of 61 AH
• Shaykh al-Mufid, Kitab al-Irshad
• Abu Mikhnaf, Maqtal al-Husayn
• Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh

More 3D maps

• Karbala · The Plain of 61 AH
• Battle of Badr · Wells and Two Slopes
• Khaybar · Basalt Harrat and Fortified Oases
• Hijrah Route · Makkah to Madinah
• Najaf & Kufa · The Historic Plain
• Siffin · Euphrates Campaign Landscape