Urwa ibn al-Zubayr

Urwa ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam al-Asadi lived from about 644 to 713 and was an early Muslim jurist, traditionist and historian, widely regarded as a founding figure in the field of historical study among Muslims. He was a son of Muhammad's close aide al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and a nephew of Muhammad's wife Aisha, and he spent much of his life in Medina. As a youth he witnessed the First Fitna of 656 to 661, and he supported his elder brother Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's failed attempt to establish a rival caliphate during the Second Fitna of 680 to 692. After his brother's defeat and death at the hands of Syria-based Umayyad rivals, Urwa reconciled with the Umayyads, whom he visited occasionally and with whom he kept up a literary correspondence.