Battle of Ayn al-Tamr (659)

Battle of Ayn al-Tamr (659)
Part of Mu'awiya I's Southern Campaigns (658–660)
Date 659 Location Ayn al-Tamr, Iraq Result Victory for Ali [1]
Belligerents
Umayyad Caliphate Uthmaniyya	Rashidun Caliphate Pro-Alids
Commanders and leaders
Mu'awiya I Nu'man ibn Bashir	Ali ibn Abi Talib Adi ibn Hatim Malik ibn Ka'ab Mikhnaf ibn Sulaym
Strength
2,000 troops	100 troops
Casualties and losses
3 killed	Unknown

The Battle of Ayn al Tamr (659) was a military confrontation that took place in the Iraqi town of Ayn al-Tamr during Mu'awiya's Southern Campaigns. The Umayyad forces under Nu'man ibn Bashir attacked Ali's garrison at Ayn al-Tamr, but failed to subdue Ali's forces.

Background

Nu'man ibn Bashir had been sent earlier by Mu'awiya along with Abu Hurayra to question Ali about handing over the killers of Uthman. Ali then asked Nu'man about him being one out of three or four Ansars who broke ranks with Ali and opposed him. Nu'man was reported to have been embarrassed by the direct interrogation. Nu'man stated that he was in support of peace between Ali and Mu'awiya or otherwise in support of Ali. Abu Hurayra returned to Syria empty handed whereas Nu'man while pretending to be on the side of him, stayed a month with Ali before fleeing and being captured in Ayn al Tamr by the governor Malik ibn Ka'ab. When he intended to inform Ali of the circumstances, Nu'man urged him not to inform Ali, thus Malik informed the Ansar Qaraza bin Ka'ab who told to let him flee secretly. Malik gave two days to Nu'man for escaping and threatened to behead him. Two months after Al-Dahhak's raid in Iraq, Nu'man volunteered for Mu'awiya to get his revenge against Malik. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

The Confrontation

Mu'awiya I sent Nu'man ibn Bashir with a contingent of 2000 troops to Ayn al-Tamr which was a defense base of Ali under Malik ibn Ka'ab. ^[6] 1000 combatants were under the command of Malik however only 100 were currently stationed. Malik informed Ali about the advance of Numan, who then began preparations for sending reinforcements, managing to gather only 300 men. In a sermon, Ali expressed his disappointment and called for war against the forces of Nu'man ibn Bashir. Adi ibn Hatim responded and offered support with 1000 men of Banu Tay. Ali stated to prepare their troops in Nukhayla. Besides the forces of Banu Tay, only 1000 more troops came in support for Ali. Banu Tay awaited for an order from Malik ibn Ka'b for advancing, however Malik assured that no reinforcement was required as his command had expelled the enemies. The reason for such an order was that Malik hastily sent Abdullah ibn Hawalah and asked for reinforcements from Mikhnaf ibn Sulaym and Qarzah ibn Ka'ab because if his reinforcements from Kufa had delayed, he could receive help from them. He was assured help from Makhnaf but not from Qarzah. Mikhnaf mobilised 50 troops which was under the command of Abd al-Rahman ibn Mikhnaf and they arrived in the evening. Until then the 2000 troops of Numan couldn't subdue the forces of Malik and upon the arrival of reinforcements they began to flee. Malik pursued and attacked them and killed 3 of Nu'man ibn Bashir's men. ^[7] Following the raid, Adi ibn Hatim raided the Syrian territories along the Euphrates with 1000 men after arriving in Al-Nukhayla. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

References

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4. "Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books". www.shiavault.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
5. "The Events of the Year 39 (659/660)" , The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 17, SUNY Press, pp. 198–205, 2015-06-17, doi:10.1515/9781438406206-007, ISBN   978-1-4384-0620-6 , retrieved 2025-06-14
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8. علي،, ابو الفداء، اسمعيل بن (1869). تأريخ الملك المؤيد اسماعيل ابى الفداء: صاحب حماة (in Arabic). اسم الناشر غير معروف.
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