Ibadi revolt | |||||||
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Part of the Third Fitna | |||||||
Map of Arabia under the Umayyads, showing the key locations of the revolt | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Umayyad Caliphate | Ibadi rebels | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Atiyyah Abd al-Wahid ibn Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik Al-Qasim ibn Umar al-Thaqafi Abd al-Aziz ibn Abdallah ibn Amr ibn Uthman |
Talib al-Haqq † Abu Hamzah al-Mukhtar ibn Awf al-Azdi † Balj ibn Uqbah al-Azdi † |
The Ibadi revolt was an Ibadi Kharijite uprising that occurred in ca. 747–748 against the Umayyad Caliphate. It established the first Ibadi imamate, a short-lived state located in the Arabian Peninsula.
Taking place during the tumultuous last years of Umayyad rule, the revolt initially broke out in Hadramawt in southern Arabia under the leadership of Abdallah ibn Yahya al-Kindi, who assumed the name of Talib al-Haqq. The rebels were able to occupy Sana'a in Yemen and then, under the command of Abu Hamzah al-Mukhtar ibn Awf al-Azdi and Balj ibn Uqbah al-Azdi, seize control of the cities of Mecca and Medina and threaten the traditional Umayyad power base of Syria. A Syrian army led by Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Atiyyah eventually restored Umayyad rule in the Hijaz and Sana'a and killed Abdallah ibn Yahya, Abu Hamzah and Balj, but the remaining Ibadis were able to avoid total defeat when Ibn Atiyyah was recalled to Mecca.
Although the revolt failed to create a permanent Ibadi imamate, the sect was able to achieve some limited victories. As a result of the uprising, the Ibadis were allowed to retain their effective autonomy in Hadramawt, and they were to remain an influential force in southern Arabia for the next several centuries.