Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, medieval

Battle of Karbala

Battle of Karbala was a battle fought on 10 October AD 680 at Karbala, in what is now Iraq. It was part of Second Fitna, which ran from AD 680 to AD 692. The recorded result: Umayyad victory.

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Battle of Karbala
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought10 October AD 680
WhereKarbala, Iraq32.615N, 44.031E
OutcomeUmayyad victory
BelligerentsUmayyad CaliphateagainstAlids
Part ofSecond FitnaAD 680 to AD 692

Where it sits in Second Fitna

Battle of Karbala, AD 680Battle of al-Harrah, AD 683Siege of Mecca, AD 683Battle of Marj al-Rahit, AD 684Battle of Ayn al-Warda, AD 684Battle of Sala and Salbara, AD 685Battle of Khazir, AD 686Battle of Maskin, AD 691Siege of Mecca, AD 692AD 680AD 692Battle of Karbala, AD 680
9 placed engagements of Second Fitna in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date10 October AD 680
PlaceKarbala, Iraq
32.615N, 44.031E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength4,000–30,000
Commanders
  • Husayn ibn Ali
  • Abbas ibn Ali
  • Habib ibn Muzahir
  • Zuhayr ibn al-Qayn
Battle of KarbalaBattle of KarbalaFall of BabylonBattle of BursSiege of BabylonSiege of BabylonBattle of DamourBattle of BursBattle of DamourBaghdadNajafBaqubahAl FallujahAd DiwaniyahAl MusayyibMandali100 km32.615N, 44.031E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Karbala
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 5 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Karbala today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-09-07. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 33 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 49 m, 49 m of relief, flat country and today it is 72% built-up, 19% tree cover, 7% bare ground.

built-up: 72%tree cover: 19%bare ground: 7%built-up 72%tree cover 19%bare ground 7%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 43 mnorth to south, 10.0 km25 to 43 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 680

Battle of Karbala is one of 203 engagements of the 7th century in the atlas and one of 206 in present-day Iraq.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q626058, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Karbala, revision 1385691860, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.