Hasan accession and abdication
Ali’s oldest son, Hasan, was elected as a fifth Caliph in Kufa in 661. He was an ease-loving and a private person.
Muawiyah was recognized by half of Western empire. He saw Hasan’s accession as an opportunity to tighten and broaden his empire. He now marched against Kufa.
Hasan, too, marched with 40k troops. He sent his ablest commander, Qays, first and then went later. His own inactivity and a rumor of Qays’s death made his soldiers revolt against him. Upon this he decided to make peace with Muawiyah on three conditions:
➢ He would retain to himself 5 million dirham in the Bayt al-Mal of Kufa
➢ Enjoy the revenue of Ahwaz Province
➢ Muawiyah would stop reviling Ali’s name in empire’s mosques
According to another version, there was a fourth condition too that was that Hussain, Hasan’s younger brother, would ascend the throne after Muawiyah, though the version remains challenged.
Hasan retired from politics, abdicating in favor of Muawiyah. Muawiyah became the new Caliph of the Muslim Empire in 661.
Hasan lived another 8 years but was later poisoned by his wife on the instigation of Yezid, as Shias assert.
For complete Islamic history notes click here.
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