Battle of Basra (871)

Battle of Basra (871)
Part of the Zanj Rebellion
Map of lower Iraq and al-Ahwaz during the Zanj Rebellion.
Date September 7–10, 871 Location Basra Result Zanj victory
Belligerents
Abbasid Caliphate	Zanj rebels
Commanders and leaders
Bughraj Burayh	Yahya ibn Muhammad 'Ali ibn Aban Rafiq
Casualties and losses
Likely above 10,000 (including civilians)	Unknown

The Battle of Basra was a major engagement of the Zanj Rebellion, fought on September 7–10, 871. Zanj rebels and allied Arab tribesmen, led by Yahya ibn Muhammad al-Azraq and 'Ali ibn Aban al-Muhallabi, launched a coordinated attack against the city of Basra. The city’s defenders, consisting of a small contingent of Abbasid regular troops and local Basran militia, were quickly overwhelmed, and the Zanj were able to enter the city, after which they massacred its inhabitants and engaged in a several-day period of looting.

The historian Alexandre Popovic has called the battle "the most outstanding event of this whole period if not of the entire [Zanj] revolt."^[1] The total loss of life and damage to the city is unknown, but Muslim historians have generally described the incident as being extremely destructive. Following the battle, the Abbasid government intensified its efforts to suppress the Zanj, and in the following year the caliphal regent Abu Ahmad personally went on campaign against the rebels.