The siege of Wasit involved the army of the

Abbasid Revolution The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early Islamic history, by the third, the Abbasid Caliphate ( ...

under

al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba Al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i () was a senior military leader in the early Abbasid Caliphate. Biography He was the son of Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i, who along with Abu Muslim led the Abbasid Revolution that toppled the Umayyad Caliphat ...

and the future Caliph

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) ...

, and the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

garrison of

Wasit Wasit ( ar, وَاسِط, Wāsiṭ, syr, ‎ܘܐܣܛ) is an ancient city in Wasit Governorate, south east of Kut in eastern Iraq. History The city was built by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in c. 702 CE on the west bank of the Tigris across from the his ...

under the last Umayyad governor of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Yazid ibn Umar ibn Hubayra Yazid ibn Umar ibn Hubayra al-Fazari ( ar, يَزِيد بن عُمَر بن هُبَيْرَة الْفَزارِيّ , Yazīd ibn ʿUmar ibn Hubayra al-Fazārī; died 750) was the last Umayyad governor of Iraq. A son of former governor Umar ibn ...

. Yazid had been forced to abandon

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Naja ...

due to a rebellion by Abbasid sympathizers, and fled to Wasit, where he was besieged for 11 months, from August/September 749 to his surrender in June/July 750. The siege was marked by constant sallies and attacks, but as it progressed, the Umayyad garrison's morale collapsed and the internal divisions among the

Qays and Yaman tribes Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic er ...

began to manifest themselves. After news of the defeat of the Umayyad Caliph

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم, Marwān ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of ...

at the

Battle of the Zab The Battle of the Zab ( ar, معركة الزاب), also referred to in scholarly contexts as Battle of the Great Zāb River, took place on January 25, 750, on the banks of the Great Zab River in what is now the modern country of Iraq. It spel ...

and the Abbasid conquest of Syria arrived at Wasit, defections began. Yazid nevertheless held out for a few more months, until he received a pardon for himself and his followers from the Abbasid Caliph

al-Saffah Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Saffāḥ ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن محمد السفّاح‎; 721/722 – 8 June 754, al-Anbar) usually known as Abūʾl-ʿAbbās as-Saffāḥ or simply by his laqab As-S ...

. Nevertheless, Yazid and his senior officers were executed soon after on al-Saffah's orders.

Sources

* * 749 750

Iraq under the Umayyad Caliphate 8th century in the Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid Revolution {{siege-stub