Abū-Tāhir Al-Jannābī leads the Qarmatians’ most notorious…

Abū-Tāhir Al-Jannābī leads the Qarmatians’ most notorious attack when he pillages Mecca in 930 and desecrates Islam’s most sacred sites.

Unable to gain entry to the city initially, Abu Tahir calls upon the right of all Muslims to enter the city and gives his oath that he comes in peace.

Once inside the city walls, the Qarmatian army sets about massacring the pilgrims, taunting them with verses of the Koran as they do so.

The bodies of the pilgrims are left to rot in the streets or thrown down the Well of Zamzam.

The Kaaba is looted, with Abu Tahir taking personal possession of the Black Stone and bringing it back to Al-Hasa.

The attack on Mecca symbolizes the Qarmatians’ break with the Islamic world—it is believed to have been aimed to prompt the appearance of the Mahdi, who will bring about the final cycle of the world and end the era of Islam.