683 Kaaba burnt to the ground

In September 683, Yazid's army besieged Mecca under Ibn al-Zubayr. Rocks from catapults fell into the sacred Kaaba. To the horror of believers the Kaaba caught fire, burned to the ground, and the sacred Black Stone split and fell from its socket. In November the leader of Yazid's army learned that Yazid had died. The leader of the Syrian forces offered Zubayr his allegiance as caliph if he would promise to take no vengeance regarding previous warfare and if he would rule from Damascus. Ibn al-Zubayr refused the latter condition. The Syrians then lifted their siege and returned to Syria, where conflict erupted over succession.

Finally, Marwan, took power for the Umayyads. A great battle was fought in 684 at Marj Rahit, a little to the east of Damascus, the Syrian army winning and allowing Marwan to hold on to power in Syria. Marwan extended his rule through Palestine to Egypt, persuading Arab tribesmen in Egypt to change their support from Zubayr to himself. Then on May 7, 685, after nine months as caliph, Marwan died of plague, which had been ravaging Syria and Mesopotamia.

Marwan was succeeded by his son, ABD AL-MALIK B. MARWAN (646-705). The civil war raged for twelve years, until 692, when the Syrian army under AL-HAJJAJ B. YUSUF (d.714)killed Ibn al-Zubayr and overran Mecca. AL-HAJJAJ is credited with introducing vowel marks to the Qur'anic text.