Yazid I
Yazid bin Muawiyah (Arabic: يزيد بن معاويه) (c. 645 - 683), also called Yazid the Tyrant, was the sixth caliph of Islam, the second of the Umayyad line; he succeeded his father Muawiyah. He died suddenly in 683, after only three years of rule.
Accession to the caliphate
Since the succession of the caliphate had proved so divisive in the past, Muawiyah I decided on the highly controversial step of breaking with early Islamic tradition of public election of the caliph by a committee of respected elders and scholars (The Shura, or "consultation" system). He founded the first Islamic dynasty by directly designating his son Yazid to succeed him. He attempted to observe the form of the election however by requiring his subjects to "elect" his son and swear allegiance to him in his own lifetime. Yazid was duly proclaimed caliph upon his father's death. However, he faced immediate opposition from other Muslims who rejected the dynastic principle, or supported the claims of different lineages.
Battle of Karbala
Yazid was first opposed by the grandson of Muhammad, Husayn bin Ali, the son of the assassinated former caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Husayn, as the descendant of Muhammad, had a very good claim to the caliphate in the eyes of many Muslims. He is also said to have had a reputation for piety. Many Muslims of Kufa, in Iraq, which had been the stronghold of his father Ali, assured Husayn that they would support him if he bid for the caliphate. Based on this information, Husayn decided to march against Yazid. He started from Mecca and headed towards Kufa.
Husayn neared Kufa and found that he had thoroughly overestimated his support in the city, which was held fast against him. Yazid's army, led by ‘Umar ibn Sa’d, was closing around him. Some Shia sources say that he only had seventy-two men with him, in addition to women and children. At the Battle of Karbala, he and his warriors were all killed. Shi'a Muslims, the partisans of Ali, say that Husayn and his men performed miracles of bravery and defiance during this unequal battle.
For many Shi'a, Yazid is the consummate villain, who will always be remembered for his impiety and usurpation. The events at Karbala figure prominently in Shi'a thought, and many Shi'a Islamist movements liken their causes to Husayn's struggle against Yazid. Leaders of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi government frequently drew such comparisons. The 10th of Muharram (also known as Aashurah), the Islamic calendar date on which the Battle of Karbala occurred, is commemmorated as a day of mourning by Shi'a Muslims around the world. Shi'a rituals on Aashurah usually involve public processions during which Shi'a curse Yazid and recite poems geared at remembering Husayn and his death. Many are also seen to hurt themselves as a form of punishment for the lack of help given to Husayn when he needed it most.
The majority Sunni position on Yazid and the Battle of Karbala is varied. Though Sunnis generally agree that Yazid was not a righteous Caliph, they differ on the nature of Husayn's opposition to Yazid's rule and Yazid's culpability in Husayn's death. Some Sunni authorities have claimed that Husayn opposed Yazid's ascension to the Caliphate but did not actively revolt against him, and that Husayn's killing was ordered not by Yazid but by the Umayyad governor of Iraq Ubaidallah ibn Ziyad. Others have refrained from taking a position on the matter, claiming that although Husayn's martyrdom was an unfortunate event, the evidence on exactly how it occurred and who bears responsibility is too inconclusive to merit judgment. Still others have joined the Shi'a position, cursing Yazid and denouncing him as an illegitimate ruler. In any event however, Yazid, Husayn, and the Battle of Karbala do not occupy a central position in Sunni thought as they do in the Shi'a tradition, and Sunnis generally do not ascribe religious significance to the events at Karbala.
Revolt in Arabia
Many Arabs, who were used to choosing leaders by consultation rather than heredity, refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid. Abdullah bin Zubayr claimed the caliphate for himself and launched an insurgency in the Hejaz, the former heartland of the Islamic empire. Yazid sent armies against him in 683. Medina was captured, and Mecca was besieged. During the siege, the Kaaba was damaged, reportedly causing significant ill feeling among the inhabitants, and the nation at large. The siege ended when Yazid died suddenly in 683 C.E.
Legacy
Historians who judge Yazid as an administrator rather than a religious figure take a kinder view of the man. Yazid energetically tried to continue his father's policies and retained many of the men who served him. He strengthened the administrative structure of the empire and improved the military defenses of Syria, th Umayyad power base. The financial system was reformed. He lightened the taxation of some Christian groups and abolished the tax concessions granted to the Samaritans as a reward for aid they had rendered in the days of the early Arab conquests. He also paid significant attention to agriculture and improved the irrigation system of the Damascus oasis. He was briefly succeeded by his son, Muawiya II.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Hawting, G.R., The First Dynasty of Islam: the Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750, Second edition, Routledge, 2000, ISBN 0415240735 or ISBN 0415240727
| Preceded by: Muawiya I |
Caliph 680–683 |
Succeeded by: Muawiya II |
de:Yazid I. fr:Yazid Ier
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