Following the death of Ali's grandson Abu Hashim in 703, the leadership of the Alid cause was vacant, and several candidates vied for it: one party claimed that Abu Hashim had transferred his rights to the Abbasid Muhammad ibn Ali, while another faction wanted to proclaim Abd Allah ibn Amr al-Kindi as the next imam.

[1] Ibn Mu'awiya claimed not only the imamate, but also, according to Swedish orientalist Karl Vilhelm Zetterstéen, a divine status.

[1] In October 744, Ibn Mu'awiya and his followers rebelled in Kufa, and joined by other Alid sympathizers (especially Zaydis), took control of the city and expelled its governor.

Most of the citizens deserted the Alid cause, but the Zaydi contingent fought with enough determination to allow Ibn Mu'awiya to withdraw from Kufa, first to al-Mada'in and thence to Jibal.

Taking advantage of the turmoils of the Third Fitna and the burgeoning Abbasid Revolution in Khurasan, which debilitated the Umayyad government, he managed to extend his control over large parts of Persia, including most of Jibal, Ahvaz, Fars and Kerman.