YAZID I (680-683)

Yazid I was the son of Mu'awiya and was the second Caliph of the Ummayyad Dynasty. He became Caliph the day his that father died, 7 April 680. His father, Mu'awiya, designated Yazid as his successor, establishing hereditary succession as the norm for the Caliphate.

Yazid I was responsible for the death of <>Hussain

and his family at Karbala. He ruled for about four years. During his reign the Muslims conquered Khorasan and Khawirzam. He was also a poet and the first and the last lines in Arabic of the Ghazal with which Hafiz opened his magnificent Diwan were borrowed from Yazid.

Further Reading:

- Islam's Royal Family, Part 6: Yazid & Husayn
- The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall - From Original Sources

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