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Yazid dismissed his cousin [[al-Walid ibn Utba ibn Abi Sufyan]] from the governorship of Medina for failing to prevent Husayn and the other major opponent to his rule, [[Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr]], a grandson of Abu Bakr, from leaving Medina. Al-Walid's replacement, a distant Umayyad kinsman [[Amr ibn Sa'id al-Ashdaq]], failed to capture Ibn al-Zubayr, who took refuge in the [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca]], or force him to give the [[bay'ah|oath of allegiance]] to Yazid. Al-Ashdaq mobilized a troop of Medinans enrolled in the army, as well as {{transl|ar|[[mawla|mawali]]}} (sing. {{transl|ar|mawla}}; non-Arab, Muslim freedmen or clients) of the Umayyad clan, to assault Ibn al-Zubayr, but many of the recruited Medinans were reticent to participate and hired men to fight in their place.{{sfn|Kister|1977|pp=34–35}} Ibn al-Zubayr defeated this force and partly as a consequence, Yazid replaced al-Ashdaq with al-Walid in August 681. Feigning an attempted reconciliation with the caliph, Ibn al-Zubayr requested that Yazid replace al-Walid with a milder governor. Yazid acceded, installing his young and politically inexperienced cousin [[Uthman ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Sufyan]] in December 682.{{sfn|Kister|1977|pp=35–36}}
Most of the Medinans, and many in the wider Muslim community, sympathized with Ibn al-Zubayr amid general uncertainty about the stability of Umayyad rule and the prospects of Ibn al-Zubayr coming to power.{{sfn|Kister|1977|pp=34–35}} Reports of impious behavior by Yazid, including entertainment by singing girls and a pet monkey contributed to prevailing attitudes in Medina of his unsuitability as caliph.{{sfn|Hawting|2000|p=47}} The Medinans mainly consisted of the [[Ansar (Islam)|Ansar]] (native Medinans who had hosted and allied with Muhammad after his [[
To reconcile with the Medinans, Yazid requested that they send a delegation to his court in Damascus.{{sfn|Vaglieri|1971|p=226}} Uthman ibn Muhammad organized the Medinan embassy.{{sfn|Wellhausen|1927|p=152}} Yazid attempted to win over the delegates by lavishing them with gifts and money.{{sfn|Vaglieri|1971|p=226}}{{sfn|Wellhausen|1927|p=152}} This proved fruitless when the delegates returned and incited the people of Medina with accounts detailing Yazid's scandalous lifestyle.{{sfn|Vaglieri|1971|p=226}} The most vociferous critic among the delegates was [[Abd Allah ibn Hanzala]]. He declared that he and his sons would fight against Yazid should others not help him and though he was respected by Yazid, he would use the gifts the latter gave him against the caliph.{{sfn|Howard|1990|p=219}} Meanwhile, Ibn al-Zubayr took control of Mecca in September 683 and allied with Ibn Hanzala in opposition to Yazid.{{sfn|Hawting|2000|p=47}}{{sfn|Anthony|2016|p=12}}{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=55}} The leaders of the Medinan opposition dismissed counsel from Yazid's messengers and friends in Damascus to avoid rebellion as attempts to undermine the unity of the Medinans. Prominent exceptions to this united bloc in Medina included the [[Alids]] (family of Ali), [[Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab]], son of the second caliph, and the companion of Muhammad [[Abu Barza al-Aslami|Abu Barza]], all of whom viewed the anti-Umayyad opposition in the Hejaz as engaging in a struggle for power and wealth rather than for a just and pious cause.{{sfn|Kister|1977|pp=36–37}}
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