Mu'sab ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; died October 691) was the governor of Basra in 686–691 for his brother, the Mecca-based counter-caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, during the Second Fitna. Mus'ab was a son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Before becoming governor, he led an unsuccessful campaign against Umayyad-held Palestine. He defeated and killed the pro-Alid revolutionary Mukhtar al-Thaqafi after a series of battles in 687, gaining control over all of Iraq. Complaints from the Iraqis caused his removal from office by his brother, but he was restored shortly after. He was killed by Umayyad forces led by the caliph Abd al-Malik in the Battle of Maskin four years later.

Overview

Mu'sab ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (; died October 691) was the governor of Basra in 686–691 for his brother, the Mecca-based counter-caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, during the Second Fitna. Mus'ab was a son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Before becoming governor, he led an unsuccessful campaign against Umayyad-held Palestine. He defeated and killed the pro-Alid revolutionary Mukhtar al-Thaqafi after a series of battles in 687, gaining control over all of Iraq. Complaints from the Iraqis caused his removal from office by his brother, but he was restored shortly after. He was killed by Umayyad forces led by the caliph Abd al-Malik in the Battle of Maskin four years later. Early life and family Mus'ab was the son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, a prominent companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Mus'ab's mother was Rabab bint Unayf, a daughter of a chieftain of the Banu Kalb tribe. During the last years of the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I, Mus'ab was part of a group that met together in the mosque of Medina, likely to study religion. The group included, among others, Mus'ab's half-brother Urwa and the later Umayyad caliph, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. Mus'ab, like many of his brothers, inherited property from their father in the city's al-Baqi' area and he had a home there. Mus'ab had several children from a number of wives and slave women (ummahat awlad; sing: umm walad). From one of his wives, a certain Fatima bint Abd Allah, he had his sons Isa al-Kabir, Ukasha and a daughter, Sukayna. He also wed A'isha, a daughter of Talha ibn Ubaydallah, another prominent companion of Muhammad; she mothered his sons Muhammad and Abd Allah. From various ummahat awlad, he had the sons Hamza, Asim, Umar, Ja'far, Mus'ab (also known as Khudayr), Sa'd, Mundhir, Isa al-Saghir. Political career and governorship of Iraq

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