Episode 23: The chosen one

Before we can continue our discussion of the struggle between Abdulmalik and Ibn il Zubayr, we need to step back and survey the complicated situation in Iraq. Deep divisions made its cities difficult for either leader to claim, especially considering the significant Hashemite sympathies in Kufa which now had no outlet following the clan’s massacre. The situation was dangerous and volatile, but presented the perfect conditions for one especially innovative and ambitious local leader.