Battle of Karbala

The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar (October 10, 680 AD) in Karbala, in present-day Iraq. A small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali fought against a larger army serving Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph. The Umayyads won. The forces of Ali were the Shia. Shi'ites every year commemorate the battle of the Day of Ashura.