40 Facts About Mukhtar al-Thaqafi

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi returned to Kufa where he declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali and brother of Husayn, the mahdi and the imam, and called for the establishment of an Alid caliphate and retaliation for Husayn's killing.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi raised the social status of and they became an important political entity.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was important as an early proponent of treating Arab and non-Arab Muslims on an equal footing.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi is a controversial figure among Sunnis; condemned by them as a false prophet, but revered by most Shias because of his support for the Alids.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi died two years later and was succeeded by Umar, who expanded the Muslim conquests initiated by Abu Bakr, and sent Mukhtar's father Abu Ubayd to the Iraqi front.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi hosted Ibn Aqil at his house before the arrival of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was arrested and brought to the governor but he denied involvement in the revolt.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was afterward released upon the intervention of Abd Allah ibn Umar, an influential son of the second caliph and Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's brother-in-law, and ordered to leave Kufa.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi then left for Ta'if and, after one year, Ibn al-Zubayr, persuaded by his advisers, accepted Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's homage under the same terms.

When Yazid dispatched an army to retake Mecca in 683, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi participated in the city's defence.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was informed by people coming from Kufa that the city had come under Ibn al-Zubayr's control but many Kufans were looking for an independent leader of their own.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi claimed that he was the man they were looking for.

In Kufa, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi began recruiting people to take revenge against the killers of Husayn, promising them victory and fortune.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi criticised the Tawwabin's actions as premature and destined for failure, arguing that Ibn Surad was old, weak, and militarily inexperienced.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi then claimed that he was a lieutenant of Ibn al-Hanafiyya, whom he called the Mahdi.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi replied in an ambiguous manner that he was satisfied with anyone whom God uses to take revenge on enemies of the family of the prophet.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi tolerated the use of his name and did not disapprove of Mukhtar's activities.

Nonetheless, when he wanted to visit his followers in Kufa, he was deterred by a rumour, floated by Mukhtar al-Thaqafi upon hearing this news, that the true Mahdi would not die if struck by a sword.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi signaled an early declaration of revolt to his troops by lighting fires.

Ibn Muti went into hiding and later, with help from Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, escaped to Basra.

The next morning, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi received allegiance from Kufans in the mosque on the basis of, "Book of God, Sunnah of the Prophet, revenge for the Prophet's family, defence of the weak and war on sinners".

Support for Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's revolt came from two divergent groups: the Arab tribal nobility and the mawali.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi announced that any mawali slaves who joined him would be freed, resulting in increased support from this group.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi sent three thousand cavalrymen under the command of Yazid ibn Anas.

In Kufa, rumour spread that Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's forces had been defeated and Ibn Anas slain.

Some of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's soldiers carried a chair, circling around it, which they claimed belonged to Ali and would give them victory in the battle.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi had invented it to increase his support among more religious people and compared it to the Ark of the Covenant, but orientalist Julius Wellhausen holds he was not the originator of the concept.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi allowed them to carry the chair, as he needed their zeal.

Sometime after expelling Ibn Muti, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi complained to Ibn al-Zubayr about the failure to keep his promise, despite Mukhtar al-Thaqafi having served him well.

Ibn al-Zubayr accepted and requested troops to Wadi al-Qura, a valley north of Medina, but instead, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi dispatched three thousand fighters under Shurahbil ibn Wars with orders to enter Medina until further notice.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi subsequently informed Ibn al-Hanafiyya of his foiled plan to seize the region for the Alid and offered to send another army to Medina if Ibn al-Hanafiyya notified the city's inhabitants that Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was working on his behalf.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's hand was cut off and hung on the wall of the mosque.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's grave is, reportedly, located inside the shrine of Muslim ibn Aqil, at the back of the Great Mosque of Kufa.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi had proclaimed Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as the Mahdi and the Imam.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was the first person to introduce the concept of, when after defeat at the battle of Madhar, for which he had claimed he was promised victory, he said that God had changed his plan.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi then transferred the Imamate to Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas before dying.

Wellhausen writes that although Mukhtar al-Thaqafi did not claim to be a prophet, he made every effort to create the impression that he was one, and spoke in a way as if he sat in the counsel of God.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi concludes that Mukhtar was nevertheless a sincere man who tried to eradicate the social differences of his time.

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi further argues that Mukhtar made extravagant claims and exploited Ibn al-Hanafiyya's name out of necessity, as he could not have achieved his goal in his own name.

Historian Hugh Kennedy writes that Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was a revolutionary who tried to put together a united Kufan coalition but was beset by internal divisions and let down by the Alid family.