The Alid defeat at Fakhkh ended a Hasanid revolt near Mecca and shaped Zaydi Shia practice while inadvertently enabling the Idrisid dynasty's founding in Morocco.
Key Facts
- Date of battle
- 11 June 786
- Alid force size
- approximately 300 fighters
- Alid casualties at Fakhkh
- over 100 killed including Husayn
- Revolt started
- 16 May 786, at Medina
- Abbasid caliph
- al-Hadi
- Alid leader
- al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid, inspired by Zayd ibn Ali's 740 revolt, planned an uprising at Medina during the 786 Hajj pilgrimage. A premature confrontation with the local governor al-Umari forced the conspirators to rise openly on 16 May, seizing the Mosque of the Prophet before being contained by the Abbasid garrison and retreating toward Mecca with around 300 followers.
On 11 June 786, Abbasid forces under Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Ali, commanding the armed retinues of Abbasid princes on pilgrimage, met the Alid rebels at the wadi of Fakhkh near Mecca. Husayn and more than a hundred followers were killed in battle, many others were captured, and a small number escaped by disguising themselves as pilgrims.
The battle crushed the Hasanid rebellion and killed its leader. Among those who escaped was the future founder of the Idrisid dynasty, which established itself in what is now Morocco. The uprising left a lasting imprint on Zaydi Shia religious and political thought, influencing later Zaydi practices and the tradition of armed resistance to Abbasid rule.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Ali.
Side B
1 belligerent
al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Abid.