Mukhtar al-Thaqafi

Mukhtar al-Thaqafi.
Mukhtar al-Thaqafi (c. 622 – 687) was an early Islamic revolutionary based in Kufa who led a rebellion against the Umayyads during the Second Islamic Civil War and ruled over most of Iraq for eighteen months. Mukhtar had allied with the Mecca-based rival caliph Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr following Husayn ibn Ali's death at the Battle of Karbala, but returned to Kufa after caliph Yazid's death. He declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, a son of Ali, to be the Mahdi, and took power in his name in 685. Hostile relations with Ibn al-Zubayr ultimately led to Mukhtar's death at the hands of the Zubayrid governor of Basra, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, following a four-month siege. Mukhtar's followers formed a radical Shia sect; later called Kaysanites, they developed novel doctrines and played a significant role in the Abbasid Revolution. Mukhtar is a controversial figure among Muslims, revered by Shia but condemned by many others as a false prophet.