Battle of Maskin

The Battle of Maskin, also known as Battle of Dayr al-Jathaliq from a nearby Nestorian monastery, was a decisive battle of the Second Islamic Civil War (680s-690s), fought on the western bank of the river Tigris between the army of the Umayyads under Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and the forces of Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, governor of Iraq for his brother, the Meccan anti-Caliph Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr. Abd al-Malik had carefully cultivated contacts among the Arab tribal leaders of Iraq, and most of Mus'ab's army deserted him. With a few followers, Mus'ab fought on and was killed. His tomb later became a site of pilgrimage. The battle was the turning point of the long civil war, as Abd al-Malik took possession of Iraq. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was now isolated in his original stronghold of Mecca, which was retaken after a siege in 692.