Millions of Iranians Commemorate Ashura Nationwide

Millions of Iranians staged nationwide rituals on Saturday to commemorate Ashura, a day of mourning for the martyrdom of the third Imam of Shiite Muslims, Hussein ibn Ali (AS).
Massive crowd of mourners took to the streets and mosques in Iran to pay tribute to Imam Hussein (AS) who devoted his life to Islam in a battle in Karbala in 680 AD.

Men, women and children, dressed in black, have been holding mourning ceremonies since ten days ago to mark the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and his uprising for justice.
Each year, the mourning rituals start with the Islamic lunar month of Muharram and reach their climax on the tenth day of the month, known as Ashura.
The third Shiite Imam, along with 72 of his companions, was martyred in a battle against the second Umayyad caliph, Yazid ibn Muawiyah, in the Iraqi region of Karbala, after he refused to pledge allegiance to the ruling tyrant.