Karbala

Karbala is a town in Iraq, located south of Baghdad at 32.61°N, 44.08°E, in the Iraqi province also called Karbala. The estimated population in 2003 was 572,300 people.

Husain, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima and Ali Abu-Taleb, was killed in the Battle of Karbala on the 10th day of the month of Muharram in 61 A.H. (680 A.D.) and buried in Karbala. His tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle.