Battle of al-Qādisiyyah

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Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
Part of the Muslim conquests
Date circa 636 CE Location al-Qādisiyyah, Iraq Result Decisive Muslim victory
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate	Sassanid Persian Empire
Commanders
Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās	Rostam Farrokhzād †
Strength
30,000[2]	Estimates vary: 50,000[3] to 100,000[2]
Casualties and losses
6,000 [4]

Muslim conquest of the Persian Empire Chains – River – Walaja – Ullais – Hira – Al-Anbar – Ein-ul-tamr – Daumat-ul-Jandal – Muzayyah – Saniyy – Zumail – Firaz – Bridge – Al-Qādisiyyah – Nihawānd

The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (Arabic: معركة القادسيّة; transliteration, Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyyah; Persian: نبرد قادسيه; alternate spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion which resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia.

Contents 1 Events leading up to the battle 1.1 Events in Persia 1.2 Turn of Tides 1.3 Internal Conflicts of Succession 1.4 Events in Arabia 2 Muslim Battle Preparations 2.1 Meeting the Shah 3 Persian Battle Preparations 4 The Battle 4.1 Day 1 Yaum-ul-Armah 4.2 Day 2 4.3 Day 3 Yaum-ul-‘Amas 4.4 Day 4 5 See also 6 References 7 References

[edit] Events leading up to the battle

[edit] Events in Persia

At the time of Prophet Muhammad the Sassanid Empire had been around for more than 300 years. During his time the Emperor of the Sassanid Empire was Khosrau II (in classical sources, sometimes called Parviz, "the ever Victorious"). He was the 22nd Sassanid Shah of Persia, and ruled from 590 to 628. He was the son of Hormizd IV (579–590) and grandson of Khosrau I (also known as Anushiravan the Just and the most famous and celebrated of the Sassanid Kings, ruling from 531–579).

At the beginning of his reign, Khosrau II favoured the Christians; but when in 602 Maurice had been murdered by Phocas (602–610), he began war with Rome to avenge his death. His armies plundered Syria and Asia Minor, and in 608 advanced to Chalcedon.

In 613 and 614 Damascus and Jerusalem were taken by the General Shahrbaraz, and the True Cross was carried away in triumph. Soon after, General Shahin marched through Anatolia and conquered Egypt in 618. The Romans could offer but little resistance, as they were torn by internal dissensions, and pressed by the Avars and Slavs. This defeat and eventual victory of the Romans was foretold in the Quran in Surah Ar-Room/The Romans;

“

The Roman Empire has been defeated-In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious-Within a few years. With Allah is the Decision, in the past and in the Future: on that Day shall the Believers rejoice-With the help of Allah. He helps whom He will, and He is exalted in might, most merciful.(It is) the promise of Allah. Never does Allah depart from His promise: but most men understand not.

”

- Quran 030:2-6

[edit] Turn of Tides

Ultimately, in 622, the Emperor Heraclius (who had succeeded Phocas in 610 and ruled until 641) was able to take the field. In 624 he advanced into northern Media, where he destroyed the great fire-temple of Ganzhak (Gazaca); in 626 he fought in Lazistan (Colchis). In 626, Persian general Shahrbaraz advanced to Chalcedon and tried to capture Constantinople with the help of Persia's Avar allies. His attempt failed, and he withdrew his army from Anatolia later in 628.

Following the Khazar invasion of Transcaucasia in 627, Heraclius defeated the Persian army at the final and decisive Battle of Nineveh and advanced towards Ctesiphon. Khosrau II fled from his favourite residence, Dastgerd (near Baghdad), without offering resistance; some of the grandees freed his eldest son Kavadh II, whom Khosrau II had imprisoned, and proclaimed him king.

[edit] Internal Conflicts of Succession

Four days afterwards, Khosrau II was murdered in his palace, by his son. Meanwhile, Heraclius returned in triumph to Constantinople; in 629 the Cross was given back to him and Egypt evacuated, while the Persian Empire, from the apparent greatness which it had reached ten years ago, sank into hopeless anarchy. Kavadh II put his eighteen brothers to death and began negotiations with Heraclius, but died after a reign of a few months. Ardashir III (c. 621–630) son of Kavadh II (628), was raised to the throne as a boy of 7 years, but was killed 18 months later by his general, Shahrbaraz. His real name was Farrokhan and Shahrbaraz was his title. It means "the Boar of the Empire", attesting to his dexterity in military command and his warlike persona, as the boar was the animal associated with the Zoroastrian Izad Vahram, the epitome of victory. It was Shahrbaraz who took Damascus and Jerusalem from the Byzantine Empire in 613 and 614 respectively, during the Byzantine-Persian War, after which the Holy Cross was carried away in triumph. Following the Persian surrender, Shahrbaraz was heavily involved in the intrigues of the Sassanian court. He made peace with Heraclius and returned to him a relic that was accepted as the True Cross. In April 630 he failed to deal with the invasion of Armenia by a Khazar-Gokturk force under Chorpan Tarkhan. On June 9, 630, Shahrbaraz was slain, and Borandukht succeeded him.

Borandukht was daughter of the King Khosrau II of Persia (590–628). She was one of only two women on the throne of the Sassanid dynasty (the other was her sister Azarmidokht). Borandukht ascended to the throne after the murder of the general Shahrbaraz, who killed her nephew Ardashir III. She was made Queen of Persia on the understanding that she would vacate the throne on Yazdgerd III attaining majority. She attempted to bring stability to the empire. This stability was brought about by a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire, the revitalization of the empire through the implementation of justice, reconstruction of the infrastructure, lowering of taxes, and minting coins. She was the one who appointed Rostam Farrokhzād as the commander in chief of the Persian army. She was largely unsuccessful in her attempts to restore the power of the central authority, which was weakened considerably by civil wars, and resigned or was murdered soon after. She was replaced by her sister Azarmidokht who in turn was replaced by a noble of the Persian court Hormizd VI. He was followed by Yazdgerd III who became Emperor at 16, after 5 years of internal power struggle and the assassination of his grand father Khosrau II. But the real pillars of the state were Generals Rostam Farrokhzād and Firoz. However, there was violent friction between the two, which for the time being was repressed by pressure from the Persian courtiers. The coronation of Yazdgerd III infused new life into the Sassanid Persians.

[edit] Events in Arabia

The Lakhmids revolted against the Persian king Khosrau II. Nu'aman III (son of Al-Monder IV), the first Christian Lakhmid king, was deposed and killed by Khosrau II, because of his attempt to throw off the Persian tutelage. After Khusrau's assassination, the Persian Empire fractured and the Lakhmids were effectively semi-independent. It is tenable that the weakening of the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids bulwark contributed to the consequent Arab-Muslim breakthrough into what is today known as Iraq and Bahrain.

After Muhammad, the Caliph Abu Bakr re-established control over Arabia (the Ridda Wars) and then launched campaigns against the remaining Arabs of Syria and Palestine. However, this put the nascent Islamic empire on a collision course with the Byzantine and Sassanid empires, which had been disputing these territories for centuries. The wars soon became a matter of conquest, rather than mere consolidation of the Arab tribes.

To make certain of victory, Abu Bakr decided on two measures: that the invading army would consist entirely of volunteers, and that it would be commanded by his best general, Khalid ibn al-Walid;the Muslim General who never Lost a Battle or War in his Life and Whom The Prophet of Islam said to be the Sword of Allah. Khalid won decisive victories in four consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains, fought in April 633 CE; the Battle of River, fought in the 3rd week of April 633 CE; the Battle of Walaja, fought in May 633 CE, where he successfully used the double envelopment maneuver which made Hannibal famous at the Battle of Cannae; followed by the Battle of Ullais, fought in the mid of May, 633 CE. By now the Persian Empire was struggling and in the last week of May 633 CE, the capital city of Iraq, Al-Hirah, fell to the Muslims after resistance in the Battle of Hira. Thereafter the Siege of Al-Anbar during June-July 633 resulted in surrender of the city after strong resistance. Khalid then moved towards the south, and conquered the city of Ein ul Tamr after the Battle of ein-ul-tamr in the last week of July, 633 CE.

In December 633 CE, Khalid reached the border city of Firaz, where he defeated the combined forces of the Sassanid Persians, Byzantine Romans and Christian Arabs in the Battle of Firaz. This was the last battle in his conquest of Iraq.

But circumstances changed on the western front. The Byzantine forces would come in direct conflict in Syria and Palestine, and Khalid was recalled to deal with this new development. Soon after, Caliph Abu Bakr died in 634 CE and was succeeded by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattāb.

[edit] Muslim Battle Preparations

Umar ibn al-Khattāb turned his attention towards Persia in 636 CE. After a number of small successes and setbacks, Umar ibn al-Khattāb decided to send the very capable general and famed Companion, Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās, an important member of the Quraysh tribe, and under his command Umar sent a large Arab force into Iraq, then part of the Sassanid Empire. Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās left Medina for Th’alabah or Zardu. From there he planned to reach Kufah with another commander, Muthanna from Dhiqar, with 8000 men, of whom 6000 were from the Bakr bin Wayil tribe. Muthanna was supposed to join Sa’ad at Sharaf, but died due to wounds sustained at the battle of Jasr. Sa’ad was however joined by Mu’ama, the new commander of Muthana’s army and his brother. The total strength of the Muslim army at this point was ~25000.

Of the notables of the various clans, comprising the army corps under the command of Sa’ad, were 70 veterans of the Battle of Badr. 300 were those present at Bait al Ridwan (Pledge of the Tree), a pledge that was sworn to Prophet Muhammad by his companions right before the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH, 628 AD/CE) under a tree, to avenge the rumored death of Uthman ibn Affan. Several were part of the conquest of Makkah and 700 were descendants of the companions of Muhammad.

Sa’ad was still at Sharaf when Caliph Umar sent orders to him to halt at al-Qadisiyyah rather than Kufah; al-Qadisiyyah was a small town 30 miles away from Kufah. On reaching al-Qadisiyyah it was learnt that the Persian army under Rostam Farrokhzād had left their capital of Al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon). Caliph Umar dispatched a messenger to Sa’ad instructing him to send an embassy with the object of inviting the Persians to Islam. 14 Arab representatives with N’uman bin Maqran as their head were sent to Ctesiphon to meet with Emperor Yazdgerd III.

[edit] Meeting the Shah

The Muslim ambassadors entered the Emperor's court. The Persians were in the habit of prognosticating events by Omens. Emperor Yazdgerd III asked the ambassadors what a mantle was called in Arabic. They replied; “Burd”, which incidentally meant “carried off” in Persian. Yazdgerd III and his court took this to mean that “the Arabs will carry the world”. He then asked to hear the word whip in Arabic. The Muslims replied “Saut”, which he took to sound like the Persian word “Sokht”, which meant “burned” and he exclaimed “They burned Persia”. These evil omens were chafing the entire court, but no one said anything out of respect. Finally he asked them why they had come to his country. N’uman bin Maqran began to explain the mission of Islam. When he finished Yazdgerd III said:

“Do you not re-collect that you were the most wretched and most miserable people the world ever saw! Whenever you showed signs of recalcitrance we had only to issue orders to the frontier land owners who invariably succeeded in crushing your mutinous spirit and humbling you to the dust.”

Listening to this insult hurled at them, one of the Arab ambassadors, Mughirah bin Zurarah, spoke up;

“These personages (pointing towards his comrades) are the flower of the Arab nobility and their forbearance and dignity does not permit them to be loquacious. The remarks they made became them, but certain things which were worth saying have not been said. I take this opportunity to say that it is true that we were a wretched people. We slew each other and we buried our infant daughters alive. But Allah sent unto us a Prophet who was the noblest among us as the scion of the noblest house. At first we opposed him. He spoke the truth and we belied him; he advanced and we receded. Gradually, however, he touched a chord in our hearts. Whatever he said, he said at the bidding of Allah. He commanded us to offer this religion to the whole world. Those who embraced Islam became our brothers. Those who refused agreed to pay Jizya and were promised our protection. But those who accepted neither had to face the sword”.

Yazdgerd III fell into a fit of rage and said:

“None of you would leave this place alive if it were legitimate to kill ambassadors”.

He then asked which one of them was the most respected of all; Asim bin Umar stepped forward. Yazdgerd III ordered his menials to place a basket full of earth on Asim’s head. After this the Arab ambassadors left Ctesiphon in a hurry to meet Sa’ad. When Asim met Sa’ad he said:

“Congratulations! The enemy has voluntarily surrendered its territory to us (referring to the earth in the basket)”.

[edit] Persian Battle Preparations

The Persians were well informed and well prepared. Rostam Farrokhzād was encamped at Sabat. Nonetheless Rostam stalled an all out attack. In the meantime certain Persians defected to the Muslim side. Jaushan Mah was one such person; he was the Head of Persian frontier Intelligence. Finally after several days Rostam left for al-Qadisiyyah and camped there. Roastam was inclined to avoid fighting; he once more opened peace negotiations. Sa’ad sent Rabi bin Amir and later Mughirah bin Zurarah.

Rabi had deliberately decided to wear unusual clothing in order to appear strange to the Persians. He went up to Rostam who asked “Why have you come to our country?”, to which Rabi replied “We want to restore the worship of the Creator instead of the created”. Looking at Rabi’s strange attire Rostam said “Is it with this that you have undertaken the conquest of Persia?” But when Rabi drew his sword and hacked bucklers into pieces, Rostam was convinced that the Arabs would prove to be a formidable foe. Negotiations continued with several ambassadorial visits, the last by Mughirah bin Zurarah. As soon as Mughirah entered Rostam’s magnanimous tent he saw all the officers and dignitaries wearing long robes of silk and gold coronets and seated on beautiful chairs on either side. The floor of the audience canopy was covered with ermine and silk carpets. Mughirah went straight towards Rostam and sat right beside him. The Persian mace bearers were taken aback and grabbed Mughirah and pulled him off the throne. Mughirah addressed the audience:

“I did not come of my own accord, but because I was invited by you. I was therefore your guest and as a guest I did not merit this unbecoming treatment at your hands. Like you it is not customary among us that one should sit as Allah while others bow down to him like so many slaves.”

The audience exclaimed “We were mistaken in regarding such people with contempt.”

Rostam too was put out of countenance and endeavored to justify his conduct by throwing the blame on his guards. After the usual civilities Rostam took out a few arrows from the sheaf of Mughirah and asked “What effect will these spindles take?” Mughirah retorted: “Flames of fire, although do not part out in hissing tongues, can still burn!” Rostam then examined Mughirah’s scabbard and said: “Oh! It is quite rotten.”To this Mughirah replied; “May be the sword has just been whetted and its edge is very sharp.” After exchanging these innuendoes, they began to talk business. Rostam dwelt at great length on the grandeur and glory of his people and then observed in a patronizing way (as if to confer favor) that if the Muslims turned back even now, no offence would be taken; on the other hand, a remuneration of some sort might to be bestowed upon them. Mughirah placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said: “If you do not accept Islam or Jizya this will decide the matter”. Rostam exclaimd in anger; “By the Sun? I shall annihilate all of Arabia tomorrow.” After this negotiations ended and Mughirah left the canopy.

Rostam now began to prepare for war. An intervening canal was choked up and converted into a road on Rostam’s orders at the dawn of morning. Before noon the entire Persian army crossed the canal. Rostam now armed himself in a set of complete armour and requisite weapons; he mounted his war steed and shouted: “Tomorrow the Arabs will die”. He displayed great skill in placing his troops in battle order. He placed them thirteen deep and backed the center as well as the right and left wings with Persian War Elephants, the backbone of the Persian army and something the Arabs had never fought against before. There were many Arabs who had not even seen elephants before. Rostam placed men at intervals between the battlefield and the capital Ctesiphon to convey intelligence.

[edit] The Battle

There was an old castle at Udhayb in al-Qadisiyyah which stood just at the extremity of the battlefield. Sa`ad himself did not participate in the battle, as he suffered from sciatica, but he monitored and directed the proceedings from atop the castle and entrusted the command to his deputy Khālid ibn `Arfatah. The war tactics and strategy were communicated to Khalid throughout the battle by Sa’ad. Khalid changed tactics when ordered to do so.

[edit] Day 1 Yaum-ul-Armah

Sa’ad shouted the battle cry four times, and at the fourth time the Muslims attacked. Rostam, seeing the charge, ordered his War Elephants to attack the Bahilah Cavalry, the most distinguished of the Arab cavalry. The Arab horses were frightened at the sight of the elephants and bolted. The Arab infantry too began to stagger. Sa’ad was watching this and issued new orders. He ordered the Asad Tribes’ head Talaiha to take his band of small cavalry with lances to rescue the Bahilah Cavalry. It worked, but now the elephants turned and attacked the small rescue team. Sa’ad ordered the Tamim tribe of archers and lancers to help the small group. They fired volley after volley of arrows and brought down some riders of the elephants from their canopy and forced others to leave the small group alone. The fray continued till dusk; it was not until total darkness had enveloped the scene that the opposing armies withdrew to their earlier positions. The Arabs call this day Yaum-ul-Armah.

[edit] Day 2

Sa’ad noticed a cloud of dust coming from the road to Syria. He learned that reinforcements from Syria had arrived. Caliph Umar had given orders to Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah to send the army that of Iraq that had been used in the Syrian expedition. The total strength of this column was 5000 from the tribes of Rabi’ah and Madar plus 1000 from Hijaz, commanded by Sa’ad’s brother Hisham bin Utbah. Q’aqa was commander of the vanguard, and it was he who arrived first. Hisham bin Utbah and the rest did not arrive until the third day. on arriving Q’aqa rode towards the Persians and challenged anyone to a duel. On hearing his challenge the famous Persian general and commander Bahman, who had defeated the Muslims at the Battle of the Bridge 2 years earlier, issued forth. The two faced each other with swords in hand, and after some cuts and thrusts Bahman was finally slain. This set off a series of single armed combats in which warriors of both sides were mortally engaged. The prince of Sistan, Shahrbraz, was killed by Aur bin Qatbah. Bazurch-Mehr of Hamdan, a noted warrior, was killed by Q’aqa. Persia lost several important knights and captains of their army in these duels. Eventually a general battle ensued. Q’aqa divided the reinforcements into small groups and bands, ordering them to appear from afar and gradually from all sides throughout the day, thus deliberately giving the Persians the impression of an endless onslaught. Each band arriving with deafening cries of Allah-u-Akbar. Q’aqa, realizing that the elephants posed a serious threat, had devised a most ingenious plan. He had camels and horses decorated in weird costumes which succeeded in frightening the Persian War Elephants. But the battle remained undecided the whole day. The Arabs call this engagement “Aghwath”.

[edit] Day 3 Yaum-ul-‘Amas

Q’aqa hit upon a new device in this battle. At nightfall he ordered a squadron of cavalry and infantry to encamp near the road to Syria. At dawn they would send the first 100 horsemen followed by the remaining group in rapid succession, giving the impression of new reinforcements, which troubled the Persians a great deal. It so happened that Hisham bin Utbah did finally arrive with reinforcements later that day with 700 of them horsemen. But Yazdgerd III too was receiving intelligence from the battlefield and had sent reinforcements. Rostam, learning from past days, posted infantry to the left and right of his Persian War Elephants. The Persian Battle order was devastating to the Arab army. Sa’ad was worried and sent for two Persians, Dakham and Salam, who had embraced Islam for their help in the matter. They advised him to attack the trunks and eyes of the elephants. Two elephants in particular, noticed the Arabs, were unusually distinguished and as it happened were leaders of the lot. They were named Abyad and Ajrab. Sa’ad sent for Q’aqa, Hammal, and Rabil and told them of this new information. He told them that the success of the undertaking rested solely on them. Q’aqa first sent a number of horsemen and infantry to form a cordon round the elephants. He then personally advanced with a spear in hand towards Abyad with another soldier Asim. Both struck the elephant’s eye simultaneously. The animal reeled back in agony and Q’aqa immediately took out his sword and dealt the animal’s trunk a tremendous blow severing it from its head. Rabil and Hammal had teamed up against the elephant Ajrab and also met with success, the rest of the elephants, seeing their lead elephants flee, followed them into the rear, trampling numerous Persian fighters. The Arab Muslims continued to attack during the night, which was called Lailat-ul-Harir by Arabs, meaning the "Night of Clangor or Rumbling Noises".

[edit] Day 4

At dawn of the fourth day, a sandstorm broke out, blowing sand in the Persians' faces. Rostam rearranged his troops, making the center column and the right and left wings thirteen deep. Sa’ad, watching this change take place, ordered a new battle position for his army. He arranged the army in three columns, one behind the other. In the front was cavalry, the middle was infantry and the rear had archers. But before Sa’ad ordered the attack, the Muslim cavalry charged. The cavalry assault was led by Q’aqa, who became impatient. The Persian forces stood their ground and formed an impenetrable wall, fighting with so much resolution and firmness that the Muslim cavalry could not shake them. Seeing this, Q’aqa ordered some of his horsemen to attack on foot. The battle continued all night long, and now both sides were extremely tired from continuous fighting. The battle still remained undecided, and now Q’aqa resolved with other chiefs of the clans to make one final push towards Rostam himself. Horsemen jumped down from their horses and archers put their bows aside and unsheathed their swords, and they made a desperate rush towards Rostam. The forces of Firuzan and Hurmuzan were driven back by this onward force. As they got closer Rostam saw them and left his throne to manfully face the attack. He fought till he was badly wounded and sought to flee by swimming across the canal al-`Atīq, but his half-alive body was caught by an Arab fighter and beheaded. Islamic tradition states that it was Hilāl ibn `Ullafah who announced the deed, displaying Rostam's head before the fighters, exclaiming:

By the Lord of the Ka`bah! I have slain Rustam! I am Hilal ibn 'Ullafah

Seeing their respected leader's head dangling before them, the Persian fighters lost their nerve and began to flee, leading to a devastating rout. Most of the Sassanid fighters lost their lives in this melée, with a small number announcing their conversion to Islam.

From this battle, the Arab Muslims gained a large amount of loot, including the famed jewel-encrusted royal standard, called the Derafsh-e-Kāveyān (in Persian: درفش کاویان, the 'flag of Kāveh'), which was subsequently cut up and sold in pieces in Medina. ^[5] The Arab fighters became known as ahl al-Qādisiyyah and held the highest prestige (and pay) of the later Arab settlers within Iraq and its important garrison town, al-Kūfah.

Following the battle, the Arab Muslim armies pushed forward toward the Persian capital of Ctesiphon (also called Madā'in in Arabic), which was quickly evacuated by Yazdgird after a brief siege. After seizing and sacking the city, they continue their drive eastwards, defeating two Sassanid counter-attacks (at Jalūlā' and at Nihawand) and eventually destroying the Persian empire.

[edit] See also

• Modern usage of al-Qādisiyyah
• Islamic conquest of Persia
• Muslim conquests
• Sassanid Empire
• Shāh-nāmeh

[edit] References

[edit] References

• Ashtiani, Abbas Iqbal and Pirnia, Hassan. Tarikh-e Iran (History of Iran), 3rd ed. Tehran: Kayyam Publishing House, 1973.
• at-Tabarī, Abū Ja`far Muhammad. The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and the conquest of Syria and Palestine. Edited and translated by Yohanan Friedmann. SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.

Coordinates: 31°35′N 44°30′E / 31.583, 44.5