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Karbala timeline

Karbala.
History and remembrance.

An introductory timeline drawn from the app. Specific reports, speeches and details require source-by-source review.

Explore the historical event of Karbala

Read the historical sequence leading to 10 Muharram 61 AH, its aftermath and source notes; for child-friendly chapter storytelling use the linked Karbala learning story.

Learning library · Review edition. The app’s editorial material is reproduced with its review status intact. Historical claims and source references await scholarly verification. Our editorial approach ↗
60 AH / 680 CE

Accession of Yazid

Following the death of Muawiyah I, Yazid assumed the caliphate. Accounts describe pressure on Imam Hussain to acknowledge his rule.

60 AH / 680 CE

Departure from Medina

Imam Hussain left Medina for Mecca amid the political crisis surrounding allegiance to Yazid.

60 AH / 680 CE

Messages from Kufa

Reports describe invitations from people in Kufa and the mission of Muslim ibn Aqil. Individual accounts differ in their details.

60–61 AH / 680 CE

Journey towards Iraq

Imam Hussain and his companions travelled from Mecca towards Iraq. The route and some encounters require careful source-by-source review.

10 Muharram 61 AH / 680 CE

The events of Ashura

Imam Hussain and many of his companions were killed at Karbala. Specific speeches, numbers and scenes vary across historical and devotional accounts.

After 10 Muharram 61 AH

Survivors and aftermath

Surviving members of the household, including Lady Zaynab and Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin, figure prominently in accounts of the aftermath. Details need individual citations.

YOUR NEXT STEP · KARBALA

Understand the people and context

Explore Imam Husayn’s biography and the broader historical setting.

A central figureImam HusaynMore historyHistory & EventsCheck the evidenceSources and editorial approach

How to check historical claims

This page presents a Twelver Shia educational perspective. Individual dates, speeches, chains of transmission and interpretations should be checked against the cited works rather than assumed to be unanimously established.

See the source review methodology for evidence categories and remaining verification work.