In the Islamic calendar, the month of Muharram marks a special time for Iranians when they dress in black and attend mourning ceremonies to pay tribute to the third Shiite imam and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
In 680 CE, Hussein ibn Ali led an uprising against Yazid ibn Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, the Umayyad Caliph. He refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid, calling his rule unjust. He was brutally killed during the Battle of Karbala along with his 72 companions by the Yazid army.