Mukhtar al-Thaqafi
The small number of Penitents who survived felt remorse for not having fulfilled their vows of sacrifice. They went over to join another pro-Alid leader, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who had earlier been prevented by the Umayyad governor from assisting Husayn in the Battle of Karbala. Mukhtar had been critical of the Penitents movement for its lack of organization and political program. With Ibn Surad gone, Mukhtar became the undisputed leader of the pro-Alid Kufans. He had long-term plans and a more organized movement; he appropriated the Penitents' slogan of "Revenge for Husayn", but also advocated for the establishment of an Alid caliphate in the name of Ali's son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah. In contrast to the Penitents, which had been a purely Arab movement, Mukhtar also appealed to local non-Arab converts ("mawālī"). In addition, he was able to win over an influential military commander and the chief of the Nakha tribe, Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar. With his combined forces, he seized Kufa, and consequently its eastern and northern dependencies, in October 685. Later he sent a considerably large and professional army of 13,000, which consisted mostly of infantry, under Ibn al-Ashtar, to fight the Umayyads. Ibn al-Ashtar destroyed the Umayyad army at the Battle of Khazir and killed Ibn Ziyad, Ibn Numayr, and Shurahbil. Mukhtar controlled most of Iraq, parts of the Jazira, Arminiya, and parts of western and northern Iran (Adharbayjan and Jibal), before he was killed by the Zubayrid governor of Basra Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr in April 687.