Taking place during the tumultuous last years of Umayyad rule, the revolt initially broke out in Hadramawt in southern Arabia under the leadership of Abdallah ibn Yahya al-Kindi, who assumed the name of Talib al-Haqq.

Centered in Basra in southern Iraq, they initially formed a moderate alternative to the more extremist elements of Kharijism, and sought to peaceably win over the Umayyad caliphs to their cause.

By the second quarter of the eighth century, however, the prospect of a reconciliation with the Umayyads had become increasingly unlikely, and radical elements among the Ibadis eventually steered the sect toward active resistance against the ruling government.

Infighting among the members of the Umayyad dynasty and tribal rivalries between the Qays and Yaman sapped the strength of the regime, and undermined its ability to deal with the outbreak of several rebellions throughout the provinces of the empire.

[2] The relative weakness of the Umayyads, along with their preoccupation with threats on multiple fronts, made the final years of their rule an ideal time for groups such as the Ibadis to attempt their own revolts against the dynasty.

[3] During the reign of Marwan II, the Ibadis of Basra dispatched an agent named Abu Hamzah al-Mukhtar ibn Awf al-Azdi to spread their message in Mecca and call on the people there to oppose the Umayyads.

While undertaking his mission in Mecca, Abu Hamzah was approached in 746 by Abdallah ibn Yahya al-Kindi, called Talib al-Haqq ("The Seeker of Justice"), who was the qadi of Hadramawt.

The Ibadis of Basra, encouraged by the prospect of a revolt in Hadramawt, quickly threw their support behind Abdallah, and numerous Basrans arrived in the region to provide assistance.

After formally receiving the oath of allegiance from the Hadrami and Basran Ibadis and being recognized as imam,[5] he resolved to make an advance on Sana'a, the chief town of the Yemen, and set out with two thousand of his men.

In the same sermon, Abu Hamzah outlined the Ibadhi cause, declaring that they called people to follow the Qur'an, the Prophet's Sunnah, and to justice and equal distribution of resources.

Ibn Atiyyah then proceeded to Medina, where the local residents had turned on and killed the Ibadis there after receiving the news of Balj's defeat, and reclaimed the city for the caliph.

[14] Following the death of Abdallah, Ibn Atiyyah was forced to spend some time dealing with two Himyari uprisings in the area of al-Janad and the coastal regions of the Yemen.

Ibn Atiyyah began to attack the rebels, but at this point he received a message from Marwan that he had been placed in charge of the pilgrimage for that year, necessitating his return to Mecca.

Several of these eventually ended in long term gains for the sect, notably in Oman, where two Ibadi imamates (750–752 and 793–893) were formed, and in the Maghreb, where the Rustamid dynasty lasted for over a century.