680 CE
A year defined by the Battle of Karbala, in which Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was killed by Umayyad forces, an event that became the defining tragedy of Shia Islam.
Conflict & Security
- Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, was killed along with most of his small band of followers at the Battle of Karbala on October 10 by forces of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid I.
- Husayn had refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid, whom he regarded as an illegitimate and impious ruler, and traveled from Medina toward Kufa in response to invitations from supporters in Iraq.
- The small group of Husayn's followers, numbering roughly seventy-two, was intercepted and surrounded by a vastly larger Umayyad army that cut off their access to water before the final battle.
Culture & Society
- The killing of Husayn at Karbala became the central martyrdom narrative of Shia Islam, commemorated annually during the month of Muharram with the observance of Ashura.
- The events at Karbala deepened the permanent division between Sunni and Shia Muslims and generated a powerful tradition of resistance against unjust authority within Shia thought.
- The estimated world population was approximately 215 million.
Climate & Environment
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 277 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.