From Karbala
to Damascus
After Ashura, the surviving members of the Prophet’s household were taken captive and made to travel from Karbala to Damascus, along with the heads of the martyrs, as the Umayyad authorities sought to display their victory.
A Journey of Endurance
Historical sources preserve a number of reports about this journey.
This series brings those narrations together to reconstruct the route and examine the hardships endured by the Ahlulbayt, the reactions of the communities they encountered, and the significant events that unfolded along the way.
The map below traces that route to provide an overview of the long journey before you explore each stage in detail.
Journey
AT A GLANCETo make the journey easier to follow, we have divided it into five stages.
Select any stage below to explore the historical reports and events associated with that part of the route.
The Five Stages
STAGE 1
Karbala → Kufa
After Ashura, the captives and the heads of the martyrs were taken to Kufa, where they were presented before Ibn Ziyad.
STAGE 2
Kufa → Mosul
From Kufa, the caravan travelled north through the towns of Iraq, where several encounters challenged the Umayyad narrative.
STAGE 3
Mosul → Aleppo
As the caravan entered Syria, open resistance became less common, but communities continued to respond in different ways.
STAGE 4
Aleppo → Baalbek
Resistance resurfaced as the caravan travelled through central Syria, but one town welcomed the Umayyad procession.
STAGE 5
Damascus
The final stage of the journey brought the captives and the heads of the martyrs to Damascus, where they were presented before Yazid.
The route presented in this series has been reconstructed from historical sources. While many locations are widely reported, historians do not always agree on the exact sequence of every stop. Where multiple reports exist, we have relied on sources that have been widely regarded as reliable by scholars.
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