The Battle of Kerbala.

The battle marked a fundamental moment in the history of Islam: it was the episode that defined the schism, the irreversible split in the Moslem world, and it is the widely celebrated in Shiite iconography. On 10th day of Muharran of the 61st year of Hejira (10 October 680 A.C.), fifty years after Mohammed's death, Ali's son Husain, who was to succeed the latter as Caliph, was ambushed by his rival's large force, and massacre along with most of his men. The action took place near Karbala, in Iraq. The Karbala massacre was a triumph for the Beni Umaya (the Umayyads, caphs of Damascus), who represented the democratic or elective party, over the Beni Hashim (Hashemites, caliphs of Kufa), who supported the principle of hereditary line descending from the Prophet. Husain's head was presented to his rival Yasid, at Damascus: later the mourning Hashemite woman begged to be returned the head, a request that was granted. The head was brought to Karbala and reunited with the body in a fitting burial. The Shiites consider Husain to be the First Martyr, and his death is celebrated every year in the month of Muharran. The 'Lamentations of Muharran' re-enact the tragic events (the ambush, the massacre, the return of the head) and are often accompanied by collective flagellations. The intense emotion and grief that dominate the Lamentations recall the Medieval Passion plays. The Karbala martyrs includes all Husain's companions who fell in the battle or who were killed after the surrender. The prints that follow the Loran's ruling on the human figure show the battlefield without warriors, and the dramatic event is symbolized by empty tents, crosses scimitars, arrow flying in the sky, while purple roses represent the martyrs. In other prints the Koran's rule is ignored, and the warriors are shown: the story is vividly described in numerous episodes such as duels and other moments of the battle.

Casalino Pierluigi.