Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad
Silver dirham following Sassanid motives, struck in the name of Ubayd Allah
Governor of Khurasan
In office 673–676
Preceded by	Ziyad ibn Abihi
Succeeded by	Sa'id ibn Uthman
Governor of Basra
In office 674/75–684
Preceded by	Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn Ghaylan
Succeeded by	Abd al-Malik ibn Abd Allah ibn Amir
Governor of Kufa
In office 679/680–683/684
Preceded by	Nu'man ibn Bashir
Succeeded by	Amir ibn Mas'ud ibn Umayya
Personal details
Died	6 August 686
Relations	Abbad ibn Ziyad, Salm ibn Ziyad, Yazid ibn Ziyad, Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad (siblings)
Parents	Ziyad ibn Abihi (father) Marjana (mother)
Military service
Allegiance	Umayyad Caliphate
Battles/wars	Early Muslim conquests Muslim conquest of Transoxiana Second Fitna Battle of Karbala Battle of Marj Rahit Battle of Ayn al-Warda Battle of Khazir †

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad (Arabic: عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ, romanized: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ziyād) was the Umayyad governor of Basra, Kufa and Khurasan during the reigns of caliphs Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) and Yazid I (r. 680–683), and the leading general of the Umayyad army under caliphs Marwan I (r. 684–685) and Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705).

He virtually inherited the governorships from his father Ziyad ibn Abihi after the latter's death in 673. During Ubayd Allah's governorship, he suppressed Kharijite and Alid revolts. In the ensuing Battle of Karbala in 680, Husayn ibn Ali and his small retinue were slain by Ubayd Allah's troops, shocking many in the Muslim community. Ubayd Allah is primarily remembered for his role in the killings of members of Ali ibn Abi Talib's family and he has become infamous in Muslim tradition. Ubayd Allah was ultimately evicted from Iraq by the Arab tribal nobility amid the revolt of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr.

He made it to Syria where he persuaded Marwan I to seek the caliphate and helped galvanize support for the flailing Umayyads. Afterward, he fought at the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684 against pro-Zubayrid tribes and helped reconstitute the Umayyad army. With this army he struggled against rebel Qaysi tribes in the Jazira before advancing against the Alids and Zubayrids of Iraq. However, he was slain and his forces routed at the Battle of Khazir by Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar, the commander of the pro-Alid al-Mukhtar of Kufa.