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The events that took place on the tenth of Muharram in the year 680 changed forever the character of this month by making it a month of mourning, at least for the Shiʿa. On that date, Husayn—the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third Imam of Shiʿite Islam—was brutally killed on the battlefield of Karbala. In this battle Husayn's sons, male relatives, and followers also perished. The women of his encampment were taken as captives to Caliph Yazid in Damascus. This tragic event overshadows any other event in that month. Husayn's ordeal started on the first of Muharram, when he and his party were intercepted by Yazid's troops, and continued even after his death, with the captivity of the Karbala survivors. Although the tenth of Muharram (known as Ashura ), is the actual date of Husayn's death, the mourning has been extended to cover the whole month.
For the Shiʿa, the Muharram tragedy of Husayn is the greatest act of suffering and redemption in history. It acquired a timeless quality, and, therefore, apart from the yearly Muharram observances, the Shiʿa continually try to measure themselves against the principle of the paradigm of Husayn whenever they regard themselves as deprived, humiliated, or abused. In fact, one of the main slogans during the Islamic revolution in Iran (1978/79) chanted by the crowds or scribbled as graffiti on town and village walls was "Every day is Ashura; every place is Karbala; every month is Muharram." This same slogan was intoned on radio and television and was graphically depicted on posters and even postage stamps during Iran's eight-year (1980–1988) war against Iraq.
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