Husayn ibn Ali

Born 11 January 626, Husayn ibn Ali was the second son of Ali and Fatima, younger brother of Hasan. He fought alongside his father during the First Fitna, then spent nine years in Medina after his brother signed a peace treaty with Mu'awiya I, keeping clear of politics. When Mu'awiya died in 680 and his son Yazid demanded allegiance - breaking the treaty - Husayn refused and left for Mecca. Letters from Kufa invited him to lead; he set out with a small caravan of roughly seventy-two. On 2 October, near Karbala, a Umayyad force intercepted them. The governor refused safe passage unless Husayn submitted. He declined. On 10 October, the battle ended with Husayn and most of his companions dead, his family taken prisoner. The killing triggered the Second Fitna and became the defining trauma of Shia Islam: annual mourning during Muharram, processions on Ashura, a symbol of resistance to tyranny that shaped a faith's identity.