Centered in the districts of Mosul and Diyar Rabi'a in the province of al-Jazira (upper Mesopotamia), the rebellion lasted for approximately thirty years, despite numerous attempts by both the central government and provincial authorities to quell it.

The Kharijite movement was a prominent religious sect in early Islamic history, known for its members' fanaticism and staunch opposition to the Muslim ruling establishment.

The Kharijites' views on the nature of the caliphate caused them to reject the legitimacy of the rule of the Alids, Umayyads and Abbasids alike, and over the course of the seventh through ninth centuries they were responsible for numerous rebellions against the established government.

Few of these attempts proved to be successful, but the Kharijites' continual presence in many Muslim-held regions meant that they were a near-constant source of trouble for the caliphs' governors.

[1] In the caliphal province of al-Jazira, Sufri Kharijism had enjoyed a strong following since the late seventh century, particularly among the Arabs of the Rabi'a tribe.

These problems were exacerbated in 865, when the rival caliphs al-Musta'in and al-Mu'tazz fought a civil war in central Iraq, which left thousands dead and caused major economic damage to the region.

[8] In early 868, in response to the growing power of the rebels, the deputy governor of Mosul, the Azdi Allah ibn Sulayman, raised an army and headed for Musawir in the vicinity of the Zab Rivers.

[13] Beginning in 867, the Abbasid government in Samarra undertook a series of military campaigns in an effort to suppress the Kharijite rebellion.

Upon receiving reports in January 870 that Musawir was attacking the town of Balad, the caliph ordered the commanders Musa ibn Bugha, Muflih and Bayakbak to proceed against him; a political crisis in the capital, however, resulted in this expedition's postponement.

The army set up a base at al-Sinn and Muflih proceeded to pursue Musawir, eventually engaging the rebel on a mountain near al-Haditha.

[19] The caliphal forces remained at al-Sinn for some time, but in early June Musa and Muflih were made aware of a plot by al-Muhtadi to either have them assassinated or imprisoned; they immediately responded by abandoning al-Jazira and withdrawing toward the Khurasan Road.

[20] At Khanaqin Musa encountered Musawir, who had a strong numerical advantage, but in spite of this the Kharijites were routed and suffered severe losses.

[24] Masrur undertook further campaigns in 874 and 875, both times in response to the killing of government officials by Musawir's followers; on the latter occasion he was assisted by al-Mu'tamid's brother Abu Ahmad (the future al-Muwaffaq).

He soon regained control of the situation, however, by soliciting the support of the local Taghlib Arabs and writing offers to Ibn Khurzad's followers, urging them to defect to his side.

They subdued numerous villages and rural districts adjacent to the Tigris River, putting deputies over these territories and levying taxes and tithes from the inhabitants.

[28] Harun also established an alliance with Hamdan ibn Hamdun, a Taghlibite chieftain and the eponymous founder of the Hamdanid dynasty, and over the course of the next several years the two leaders jointly conducted a number of campaigns within the Mosul district.

[30] A short time later, the district began to suffer from raiding activities by the Banu Shayban; in response, Harun and Hamdan assembled their forces in an effort to stop them.

[31] Harun undertook another advance against Mosul four years later, after he received word that Ishaq ibn Kundaj, the city's governor, had killed a local Kharijite.

The leader of the dissidents was one Muhammad ibn 'Ubaydah, a member of the Banu Zuhayr from the village of Qabratha, who gathered a number of supporters from the tribal Arabs and began collecting taxes for himself.

The Banu Zuhayr within the fortress eventually agreed to submit after they were granted a guarantee of safe-conduct; the gates were opened to Harun's men, and Muhammad's son and several of his followers were beheaded.

Muhammad fled to Amid, but was captured by its governor Ahmad ibn 'Isa al-Shaybani and sent to Baghdad, where he was flayed on the caliph's orders.

At the time of his ascension, al-Mu'tadid was already an experienced military commander, having previously campaigned against both the Zanj rebels in southern Iraq and the Tulunids in Syria.

Toward this end, he personally undertook several campaigns against the various factions in al-Jazira, in an effort to break their hold over the region and force them to recognize his authority.

[36] In January 895 he again advanced into the province; this time, his intended target was Hamdan ibn Hamdun, due to the latter's association with Harun and the Kharijites.

When al-Mu'tadid was shown the letter, he appointed al-Hasan ibn Ali Kurah over Mosul and charged him with combatting the Kharijites.

In 899 he captured Amid from Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Shaybani,[43] and by the end of his reign in 902 most of the province was back under the central government's authority.