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The battle of al-Zab

وقعة الزاب

132 AH

In the year 132 Marwan ibn Muhammad was defeated at al-Zab 1, and was killed after the defeat 2. According to al-Suyuti, the Abbasids rose against Marwan under Abd Allah ibn Ali, paternal uncle of al-Saffah; he marched against them, the two hosts met near Mosul, Marwan was broken and returned to Syria, and Abd Allah followed him 3. According to al-Mas'udi, Marwan camped at the Lesser Zab and had a bridge built over it; Abd Allah ibn Ali came to him with the armies of the people of Khurasan two nights into Jumada II of the year 132, and Marwan arranged his cavalry in squadrons of one thousand and two thousand. It went against Marwan: he was routed on Saturday, eleven nights into Jumada II, and three hundred men of the Umayyads drowned, among them Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, who had been deposed 4

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In 132 AH Marwan ibn Muhammad was defeated at al-Zab, and he was killed after the defeat. 1 2

al-Suyuti's account

al-Suyuti says that the Banu al-Abbas rose against Marwan, led by Abd Allah ibn Ali, uncle of al-Saffah. The two hosts met near Mosul, Marwan was broken and returned to Syria. 5

al-Mas'udi's account

al-Mas'udi relates that Marwan camped at the Lesser Zab and set up a bridge over it. Abd Allah ibn Ali came to him with the armies of the people of Khurasan two nights before the end of Jumada al-Akhira 132 AH. Marwan was defeated on Saturday, eleven nights into that month, and three hundred men of the Umayyads drowned, among them Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, the deposed. 6

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.7 p.432
  2. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk — al-Tabari (ed. Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim) , j.7 p.437
  3. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 413
  4. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p. 231-232
  5. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.413
  6. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p.231-232
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islam.museum contributors. “The battle of al-Zab”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/battle-of-al-zab/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-25.

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