Person

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad

d. 686 · 7th century

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad was an Umayyad governor of Basra and Kufa, the son of Ziyad ibn Abihi. As governor of Iraq for Yazid I, he sent the army that killed Husayn ibn Ali and his followers at Karbala in 680, which made him one of the most reviled figures in Shia tradition. He was killed in 686 at the Battle of the Khazir River by the forces of al-Mukhtar, who sought vengeance for Husayn.

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad
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Umayyad CaliphateFoundation

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ubayd-allah-ibn-ziyad
MLA
“Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ubayd-allah-ibn-ziyad. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ubayd-allah-ibn-ziyad.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ubayd-allah-ibn-ziyad (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻