had now exacted revenge for Uthman, indicating that he held Talha responsible in the assassination of Uthman. Even so, Hassan Abbas suggests that Marwan's main motive in killing Talha was to rid his kinsman Mu'awiya of a serious contender for the caliphate. Marwan received only minor wounds during the battle, and afterward joined the court of Mu'awiya in Damascus. Madelung similarly believes that the murder of Talha was premeditated and postponed by Marwan long enough for him to be confident that he would not face any retribution from a victorious Aisha. In contrast, Ali Bahramian suggests that Marwan claimed to have killed Talha to gratify the Umayyads, who held Talha responsible in Uthman's death. Death of Zubayr Zubayr, an experienced fighter, left shortly after the battle began, possibly without having fought at all, or after Talha was killed, or after single combat with Ammar, according to al-Tabari. Madelung and Veccia Vaglieri suggest that it was the serious misgivings of Zubayr about the justice of their cause that led Zubayr to desertion. Apparently al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, a pro-Ali chief of the Banu Sa'd, who had remained on the sidelines of the battle, learned about the desertion. Some of his men then followed and killed Zubayr, either to gratify Ali, or more likely for his dishonorable act of leaving other Muslims behind in a civil war he had ignited, as suggested by al-Ya'qubi, Ayoub, and Madelung. Some early sources introduce Amr ibn Jurmuz al-Muj'ashi'i as the killer and Wadi al-Siba near Basra as the location of his death. When the news of his death reached Ali, he commented that Zubayr had many times fought valiantly in front of Muhammad but that he had come to an evil end. This account is narrated by Marwan and also by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Harith al-Taymi, as reported by the prominent Twelver al-Mufid. This account is preferred by Shias because it suggests that Ali did not forgive Zubayr. According to another account, preferred by Sunnis, Ali said that the killer of Zubayr was damned to hell. In another version of this account, Ali adds that Zubayr was a good man, who made mistakes. Then he recites verse 15:47 and expresses hope that it applies to both Talha and Zubayr. The latter account is not credible in the opinion of Madelung. Surrender of Aisha The deaths of Talha and Zubayr likely sealed the fate of the