The high point of the Kharijites' influence is in the years 690-730 around Basra in south Iraq, which was always a center of Sunni theology.

Kharijite ideology is a popular creed for rebels against the officially Sunni Caliphate, inspiring breakaway states and rebellions (like Maysara's) throughout the Maghrib and sometimes elsewhere.

The Azraqī revolt against the Caliphate in 685 after separating from the Ibādī near Basra and departing for Fars.

They are suppressed by Abd al-Malik's armies, under the command of Amir al-Hajjaj; their leader is killed, and by 699 they will have vanished.

Another revolt occurs in 695; Sunni traditions underline the massacre of Muslims at a mosque in Kufa as an example of Kharijite fury and brutality.

Agitations such as these fatally weaken the Ummayad caliphate and pave the way for its overthrow by the Abbasids.