Shii Muslims as the first Imam. Sayyida Zaynab’s
brothers Hasan and Husayn met violent deaths
like their father and are recognized as the second
and third Imams, respectively. At an unknown age
she married Abd Allah ibn Jaafar, with whom she
had five children.
The most significant event in Sayyida Zaynab’s
life was certainly her presence in 680 at the Battle
of karbala, in present day iraq, where a much
larger Umayyad army overwhelmed Husayn’s
forces. As the sole surviving adult, Sayyida Zaynab
was transported, along with the head of Husayn,
first to Kufa and then to damascUs, where the
caliph Yazid I (r. 680–683) made them examples
of the fate of rebels. Sayyida Zaynab is remem-
bered for having publicly and eloquently defended
the honor of Husayn, his companions, and ahl
al-bayt (Muhammad’s family) generally, in front
of her captors. Sources say that upon returning
to medina, she educated the nascent Shii com-
munity about what happened at Karbala and
led them until the fourth Imam, Ali ibn Husayn
Zayn al-Abidin (658–713), matured. She also is
remembered for having initiated many of the ritu-
als that are now part of the annual commemora-
tion of Husayn’s martyrdom known as ashUra,
which occurs in Muharram, the first month of the
Islamic calendar.
There is some dispute about Sayyida Zaynab’s
final resting place. Both cairo and Damascus
are home to large shrines in her name that host
pilgrims and tourists from all over the Muslim
world. Pilgrims often appeal to Sayyida Zaynab
to intercede with God on their behalf. They hope
that as a woman who suffered much in her life
she will understand their suffering and help them
with issues ranging from business matters to ill-
nesses to efforts to become pregnant.
Each year Sayyida Zaynab’s mawlid festival in
Cairo draws tens of thousands of Sunni and Shii
Muslims. This stands in contrast to her Damascus
shrine, which is more dominantly Shii and shows
significant Iranian influence both architecturally
and in the population it attracts. Since the late
1970s, Sayyida Zaynab has become an important
figure for political activists, especially in iran and
lebanon. The patience, piety, and forthrightness
in the face of oppression that she exhibited during
her life are seen by many as ideal characteristics
for a modern Shii woman seeking to live a truly
Islamic life.
See also hUsayn ibn ali; intercession; saint;
Women; ziyara.
Michelle ZimneyFurther reading: Kamran Scot Aghaie, ed., The Women
of Karbala: Ritual Performance and Symbolic Discourses
in Modern Shii Islam (Austin: University of Texas Press,
2005); Lara Deeb, An Enchanted Modern: Gender and
Public Piety in Lebanon, (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 2006).Zaytuna Mosque
The oldest and largest mosqUe in Tunis, tUni-
sia, the Zaytuna was completed by the Aghlabid
amir Ibrahim bin Ahmad in the 860s, building
upon the site of an earlier Umayyad mosque
constructed in 732. Building materials, including
some 200 marbled columns, were taken from the
nearby ruins of Carthage. Over the centuries, the
mosque was expanded by the Zirids, who built
the galleries, the crypt, and the dome in the 10th
century; the Hafsids, who constructed the library
in the 15th century; and the Ottomans, who built
the current minaret in the 19th century.
The Zaytuna mosque served as the central
structure in the old medina of Tunis, around
which sUqs and guild-shops were constructed.
The mosque included a University, which pro-
vided an advanced edUcation in the religious
sciences and related subjects by some of the lead-
ing local Ulama. Many well-known scholars and
administrators of the premodern era studied at
the Zaytuna, which became a focal point of debate
between Westernizing reformers and traditional
ulama in the 19th century. With the establishment
of the French protectorate in 1881, the ZaytunaZaytuna Mosque 721 J