Battle of Khazir
686 CE.
Shown on the map at 36.310°, 43.530°.
The Battle of Khazir (Arabic: يوم الخازر, romanized: Yawm Khāzir) took place in August 686 near the Khazir River in Mosul's eastern environs, in modern-day Iraq. The battle occurred during the Second Fitna and was part of the larger struggle for control of Iraq between the Syrian-led Umayyad Caliphate, the Kufa-based pro-Alid forces under Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, and the Mecca-based caliphate of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. It ended with the Umayyad forces being routed and resulted in the expansion of Mukhtar's rule into the Mosul region. The Second Fitna left the Umayyad realm restricted to Damascus and its environs, after most of its territories came under the control of Ibn al-Zubayr. An Umayyad resurgence began with the accession of Caliph Marwan I, who dispatched an army led by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad to reconquer Iraq. This army's advance toward Mosul precipitated the Battle of Khazir. Ubayd Allah, its commander, was a sworn enemy of the Alids. To halt the Umayyad advance, Mukhtar deployed his mawali-dominated forces under the command of Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar to confront the predominantly Syrian Arab army.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Khazir, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.