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The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (Arabic: معركة القادسيّة‎; transliteration, Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyyah; Persian: نبرد قادسيه‎; alternative spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was fought in 636; it was the decisive engagement between the Arab muslim army and the Sassanid Persian army during the first period of Muslim expansion. It resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia, and was key to the conquest of Iraq. The battle also saw the alleged alliance of Emperor Yazdegerd III with Emperor Heraclius, who then married off his granddaughter Manyanh to Yazdegerd as a symbol of alliance.
Date: 16th – 19 November, 636
Location: Al-Qādisiyyah, Iraq
Result: Decisive Rashidun victory
Territorial changes: Iraq annexed by Rashidun Caliphate
Belligerents
Sassanid Persian Empire (Sassanid army)
VS
Rashidun Caliphate (Rashidun army)
Commanders and leaders
(Sassanid army)
Rostam Farrokhzād
Hormuzan
Jalinus
al-Bayruzan
Mihran-i Bahram-i Razi
(Rashidun army)
Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās
Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha
Qa’qa ibn Amr
Asim ibn Amr
Abdullah ibn Al-Mutim
Shurhabeel ibn As samt
Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya
Jarreer bin Abdullah Al-Bijli
Strength
(Sassanid army)
200,000
33 War Elephants
Sources:
-- ^ Ṭabarī, The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine, Transl.Yohanan Friedmann, (State University of New York Press, 1992), 62.
-- ^ The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History By Ibn Khaldūn, Franz Rosenthal, N. J.. Dawood pg, 12,
(Rashidun army)
30,000
-- ^ Trevor N Dupuy and R. Ernest Dupuy, The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History, 249.
Casualties and losses
(Sassanid army)
22,500
(Rashidun army)
8,500
Background
During the Muslim Prophet Muhammad's lifetime, Persia was ruled by Emperor Khosrau II. Khosrau II waged a war against the Byzantines to avenge Maurice's death. Therefore, the Sassanid army invaded and captured Syria, Egypt and Anatolia and the True Cross was carried away in triumph. Emperor Heraclius, who succeeded Phocas in 610, united the Byzantine empire and began a war of reconquest. He successfully regained territory lost to the Sassanid Empire. He also defeated the Persians at the final and decisive Battle of Nineveh and advanced towards Ctesiphon. Khosrau fled, and Heraclius ordered his armies to retreat only after a pact was signed with the newly appointed Emperor Kavadh II. According to the pact, the True Cross would be given back to Heraclius and all Byzantine territory that the Persians had captured would be evacuated.
Internal conflicts of succession
Khosrau II was murdered in his palace by his son Kavadh II in 629. Kavadh II put his 18 brothers to death and began negotiations with Heraclius, but died after a reign of a few months.[11] 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 Farrokhan. Farrokhan was called Shahrbaraz, a title meaning "the Boar of the Empire".[11] Shahrbaraz took Damascus and Jerusalem from the Byzantine Empire in 613 and 614 respectively, during the Byzantine-Persian War when the True Cross was carried away in triumph.[11] Following the Persian surrender, Shahrbaraz was heavily involved in the intrigues of the Sassanian court. He made peace with Heraclius and returned 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. Then on 9 June 630 Shahrbaraz was slain, and succeeded by Purandokht, the daughter of the King Khosrau II of Persia (590–628). She was one of only two women to sit on the throne of the Sassanid dynasty, the other being her sister Azarmidokht. She was the 26th sovereign Monarch of Persia, from 629 to 631. When Purandokht ascended to the throne after the murder of the general Shahrbaraz, who had 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 by the implementation of justice, reconstruction of the infrastructure, lowering of taxes, minting coins, and a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. She also appointed Rostam Farrokhzād as the commander in chief of the Persian army. She was, however, largely unsuccessful in her attempts to restore the power of the central authority, which was weakened considerably by civil wars, and she resigned or was murdered soon after. She was replaced by her sister Azarmidokht who in turn was replaced by Hormizd VI, a noble of the Persian court.
After 5 years of internal power struggle and the assassination of Khosrau II, Yazdgerd III (the grandson of Khosrau) became emperor at the age of 16. However, the real pillars of the state were generals Rostam Farrokhzād and Firoz. There was violent friction between these two, although pressure from the Persian courtiers pushed this backstage. The coronation of Yazdgerd III infused new life into the Sassanid Persians.
Rise of Caliphate and invasion of Iraq
Map detailing the route of Khalid ibn Walid's conquest of Iraq.
After Prophet Muhammad, the Caliph Abu Bakr re-established control over Arabia through the Ridda Wars, and then launched campaigns against the remaining Arabs of Syria and Palestine. He triggered the trajectory that would in few decades form the largest empire the world had ever seen. He thus 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 that would eventually result in the ultimate demise of the Byzantine empire and the Sassanid empire, as well as the annexation of 80% of their respective territories. To make certain of victory, Abu Bakr decided that the invading army would consist entirely of volunteers and it would be commanded by his best general, Khalid ibn al-Walid. Khalid won quick victories in four consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains, fought in April 633; the Battle of River, fought in the 3rd week of April 633; the Battle of Walaja, fought in May 633; followed by the decisive Battle of Ullais, fought in the mid of May, 633. By now the Persian Empire was struggling and in the last week of May 633, the capital city of Iraq, Al-Hirah, fell to the Muslims after 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. In November 633, the Persian counter-attack was repulsed by Khalid and in December 633, Muslim forces reached the border city of Firaz, where Khalid 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. By now, with the exception of Ctesiphon, Khalid had captured whole of Iraq. However, circumstances changed on the western front. The Byzantine forces soon came in direct conflict in Syria and Palestine, and Khalid was sent to deal with this new development along with half of his army. Soon after, Caliph Abu Bakr died in August 634 and was succeeded by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattāb. Muslim forces in Iraq were now too few to control the region. After the devastating invasion by Khalid, Persians took time to recover. Moreover, the political instability was at its peak at Ctesiphon. Once the Persians recovered they concentrated more troops and mounted a counter attack. Muthanna ibn Haris, who was now commander in chief of the Muslim forces in Iraq, pulled his troops back from all outposts and evacuated Al-Hirah. He then retreated to the region near the Arabian Desert. Meanwhile, Umar sent reinforcements from Madinah under the command of Abu Ubaid. The reinforcements reached Iraq in October 634, and Abu Ubaid assumed the command of the army and defeated the Sassanids at the Battle of Namaraq near modern day Kufa. Then, in the Battle of Kaskar, he recaptured Hira without any resistance.
The Persians then launched another counterattack, and were successful in defeating the Muslims at Battle of the Bridge which killed Abu Ubaid, and the Muslims suffered heavy losses. Muthanna then assumed command of the army and withdrew the remnant of his army, about 3000 strong, across the Euphrates. The Persian commander Bahman (also known as Dhu al-Hajib) was committed to drive the Muslims away from the Persian soil but was restrained from pursuing the defeated Muslims after being called back by Rustum to Ctesiphon to help in putting down the revolt against him. Muthanna retreated near the frontier of Arabia and called for reinforcements. Then, after getting sufficient reinforcements, he re-entered the fray and camped at the western bank of Euphrates, where a Persian force intercepted him and was defeated.
Persian counter-attack
Since Khalid left Iraq for Syria, Suwad, the fertile area between the Euphrates and the Tigris, remained unstable. Sometimes it was occupied by the Persians and sometimes by the Muslim force., This "tit-for-tat" struggle continued until emperor Yazdgerd III consolidated his power and sought alliance with Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 635, in an effort to prepare for a massive counter attack. Heraclius married his daughter to Yazdegerd III, according to an old Roman tradition to seal an alliance. Heraclius then prepared for a major offense in Levant. Meanwhile, Yazdegerd ordered a concentration of massive armies to pull back from Iraq for good. This was supposed to be a well coordinated attacks by both emperors to annihilate the power of their common enemy, Caliph Umar.
When Heraclius launched his offense in May 636, Yazdegerd could not coordinate with Heraclius, and the plan did not come off. Umar, allegedly having intelligence of this alliance, devised his own plan. He wanted to finish off business first with the Byzantines and then reinforce the Muslim army at Yarmouk. He sent 6000 soldiers in small bands to give the impression of a continuous stream of reinforcements. Meanwhile, Umar engaged Yazdegerd III, ordering Saad ibn Abi Waqqas to enter in peace negotiations with Yazdegerd III by inviting him to Islam. Heraclius had instructed his general Vahan, to not engage in battle with Muslims until his orders. However, fearing more reinforcement for the Muslims from Madinah and their growing strength, the Byzantines felt compelled to attack the Muslim forces before they get stronger. Heraclius's imperial army was annihilated at Battle of Yarmouk in August 636, three months before Qadisiyyah, ending the power of the Roman Emperor, for good. Nevertheless, Yazdegerd continued to execute his ambitious offensive plan and concentrated armies near his capital Ctesiphon. A large force was put under the control of veteran general Rostam and was cantoned at Sabat near Ctesiphon. Getting news of the preparations of this massive counter-attack, Umar ordered Muthana to retreat to the edge of Arabian Desert and abandon Iraq. The campaign of Iraq was now to be started again from the beginning. .
Muslim battle preparation
Caliph Umar raised new armies from all over Arabia to send a large enough force to re-invade Iraq. Umar appointed Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās, an important member of the Quraysh tribe, and cousin of Prophet Muhammad, as commander of this army. In May 636, Saad marched from his camp at Sisra (near Madinah) with an army of 4,000 men and was instructed to join other armies, concentrated in northern Arabia, on his way to Iraq. Saad, being less experienced in the matter of war, was instructed by Caliph Umar to seek the advise of the experienced commanders. Once Saad entered Iraq, Umar sent orders to him to halt at al-Qadisiyyah, a small town, 30 miles from Kufah. Muslims marched to Qadisiyyah and camped there on July 636. Umar continued to issue strategic orders and commands to his army throughout the campaign. Umar wanted victory on Persian front but he ran short of the manpower and decided to lift the ban on the ex-apostate tribes of Arabia of not participating in state affairs. Because of this, the army raised was not the professional army, but was instead composed of newly recruited contingents from all over Arabia. Due to this fact, Umar was more concerned about providing it strategic aid. Umar, however was quite satisfied with the developments on Byzantine front, as the army there was a veteran, and was commanded by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and Khalid ibn Walid, a military genius. After they won a decisive victory against the Byzantine army at the Battle of Yarmouk, Umar sent orders to Abu Ubaidah to immediately send a contingent of veterans to Iraq. Later, a force of 5,000 strong veterans of Yarmouk were also sent and arrived on second day of the battle. This proved to be the turning point in the battle. The battle fought was more between Caliph Umar and Rostam Farrokhzād, rather than between Saad and Rostam. On the other hand, the bulk of the Sassanid army was also made of new recruits since as bulk of the regular Sassanid forces was destroyed during the Battle of Walaja and the Ullais .
Battlefield
Qadisiyya was a small town on the west bank of the river Ateeq, a branch of the Euphrates. Al-Hira, ancient capital of Lakhmid Dynasty, was laid about thirty miles west. According to present day geography it is situated at southwest of al-Hillah and Kufah in Iraq.
The site of the Battle of Qadisiyyah, showing Muslim army (in red) and Sassanid army (in blue).
Troop deployment
Modern estimates suggest that the size of Sassanid forces was about 100,000 strong and Muslims around 30,000 strong after being reinforced by the Syrian contingent on second day of the battle. These figures come from studying the logistical capabilities of the combatants, the sustainability of their respective bases of operations, and the overall manpower constraints affecting the Sassanids and Arabs. Most scholars, however, agree that the Sassanid army and their allies outnumbered the Muslim Arabs by a sizable margin.
Sassanid Persian
The Persian army reached Qaddasiyyah in July 636 and established their highly fortified camps on the eastern bank of the Ateeq river. There was a strong bridge over the Ateeq river, and it was the only crossing to the main Sassanid camps, although they had boats available in reserve to cross the river.
The Sassanid Persians army, about 60,000 strong, fell into three main categories, infantry, heavy cavalry ,and the Elephant corps. The Elephant corps was also known as the Indian corps, for the elephants were trained and brought from the Persians provinces in India. On November 16, 636, the Sassanid army crossed over the west bank of Ateeq, and Rostam deployed his 45,000 infantry in four divisions, each about 150 meters apart from the other. 15,000 cavalry were divided among four divisions to be used as reserve for counter-attack and offensives. At Qaddasiyyah, about 33 elephants were present, eight with each of four divisions of army. The battle front was about 4 km long. The Sassanid Persians' right wing was commanded by Hormuzan, the right center by Jalinus, the rear guard by al-Bayruzan, and the left wing by Mihran. Rostam himself was stationed at an elevated seat, shaded by a canopy, near the west bank of the river and behind the right center, where he enjoyed a wide view of the battlefield. By his side waved the Derafsh-e-Kāveyān (in Persian: درفش کاویان, the 'flag of Kāveh'), the standard of the Sassanid Persians. Rostam placed men at certain intervals between the battlefield and the Sassanid capital, Ctesiphon, to convey intelligence.
Rashidun
In July 636 A.D. the main Muslim army marched from Sharaf to Qadisiyya. After establishing the camp, organizing the defenses, and securing the river heads, Saad sent parties inside the Suwad to conduct raids. Saad was continuously in contact with Caliph Umar, to whom he sent a detailed report of the geographical features of the land where the Muslims encamped and the land between Qaddasiyyah, Madinah and the region where the Persians were concentrating their forces. The Muslim army at this point was about 30,000 strong, including 7,000 cavalry. Its strength rose to 36,000 strong once it was reinforced by the contingent from Syria and local Arabs allies. Saad was suffering from sciatica, and there were boils all over his body. Saad took a seat in the old royal palace at Qaddasiyyah from where he would direct the war operations and could have a good view of the battlefield. He appointed Khalid ibn Arfatah as his Deputy, who would carried out his instructions to the battlefield. The Rashidun infantry was deployed in four corps, with each corps having its own cavalry regiment which was stationed at the rear for counter-attacks. Each corps was about 150 meter apart from the other. The army was all formed on a tribal and clan basis, so that every man would fight next to well-known comrades and so that tribes may be held accountable for any weakness. Saad ibn Abi Waqas was the commander in chief of the army, due to his illness he was unable to participate directly in the battle and thus made Khalid ibn Arfatah his deputy. The Muslims' left wing was commanded by Shurahbeel ibn As-Samt, left center was commanded by Asim ibn Amr while the right center was commanded by Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya and right wing was commanded by Abdullah ibn Al-Mut'im. Cavalry of the right wing was commanded by Jareer ibn Abdullah and that of right center by Ath'ath ibn Qais.
Weaponry
The helmets included gilded helmets similar to that of silver helmets of Sassanid empire. Mail was commonly used to protect the face, neck and cheek either as an aventail from the helmet or as a mail coif. Heavy leather sandals as well as Roman type sandal boots were also typical of the early Muslim soldiers. Armor included, hardened leather scale or lamellar armour and mail. Infantry soldiers were more heavily armored than the horsemen. Hauberks and large wooden or wickerwork shields were used as well as long-shafted spears. Infantry spears were about 2.5 meters long and those of the cavalry were up to 5.5 meters long. Swords used were a short infantry weapon like the Roman gladius, and the Sassanid long sword. Both were worn hung from a baldric. Bows were about two meters long when unbraced, about the same size as the famous English longbow– with a maximum range of about 150 meters. Early Muslim archers were infantry archers who proved very effective against the opposing cavalry. The troops at the Sassanid Persian front were lightly armored compared to the Rashidun troops deployed at the Byzantine front.
Date: 16th – 19 November, 636
Location: Al-Qādisiyyah, Iraq
Result: Decisive Rashidun victory
Territorial changes: Iraq annexed by Rashidun Caliphate
Belligerents
Sassanid Persian Empire (Sassanid army)
VS
Rashidun Caliphate (Rashidun army)
Commanders and leaders
(Sassanid army)
Rostam Farrokhzād
Hormuzan
Jalinus
al-Bayruzan
Mihran-i Bahram-i Razi
(Rashidun army)
Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās
Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha
Qa’qa ibn Amr
Asim ibn Amr
Abdullah ibn Al-Mutim
Shurhabeel ibn As samt
Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya
Jarreer bin Abdullah Al-Bijli
Strength
(Sassanid army)
200,000
33 War Elephants
Sources:
-- ^ Ṭabarī, The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine, Transl.Yohanan Friedmann, (State University of New York Press, 1992), 62.
-- ^ The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History By Ibn Khaldūn, Franz Rosenthal, N. J.. Dawood pg, 12,
(Rashidun army)
30,000
-- ^ Trevor N Dupuy and R. Ernest Dupuy, The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History, 249.
Casualties and losses
(Sassanid army)
22,500
(Rashidun army)
8,500
Background
During the Muslim Prophet Muhammad's lifetime, Persia was ruled by Emperor Khosrau II. Khosrau II waged a war against the Byzantines to avenge Maurice's death. Therefore, the Sassanid army invaded and captured Syria, Egypt and Anatolia and the True Cross was carried away in triumph. Emperor Heraclius, who succeeded Phocas in 610, united the Byzantine empire and began a war of reconquest. He successfully regained territory lost to the Sassanid Empire. He also defeated the Persians at the final and decisive Battle of Nineveh and advanced towards Ctesiphon. Khosrau fled, and Heraclius ordered his armies to retreat only after a pact was signed with the newly appointed Emperor Kavadh II. According to the pact, the True Cross would be given back to Heraclius and all Byzantine territory that the Persians had captured would be evacuated.
Internal conflicts of succession
Khosrau II was murdered in his palace by his son Kavadh II in 629. Kavadh II put his 18 brothers to death and began negotiations with Heraclius, but died after a reign of a few months.[11] 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 Farrokhan. Farrokhan was called Shahrbaraz, a title meaning "the Boar of the Empire".[11] Shahrbaraz took Damascus and Jerusalem from the Byzantine Empire in 613 and 614 respectively, during the Byzantine-Persian War when the True Cross was carried away in triumph.[11] Following the Persian surrender, Shahrbaraz was heavily involved in the intrigues of the Sassanian court. He made peace with Heraclius and returned 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. Then on 9 June 630 Shahrbaraz was slain, and succeeded by Purandokht, the daughter of the King Khosrau II of Persia (590–628). She was one of only two women to sit on the throne of the Sassanid dynasty, the other being her sister Azarmidokht. She was the 26th sovereign Monarch of Persia, from 629 to 631. When Purandokht ascended to the throne after the murder of the general Shahrbaraz, who had 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 by the implementation of justice, reconstruction of the infrastructure, lowering of taxes, minting coins, and a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. She also appointed Rostam Farrokhzād as the commander in chief of the Persian army. She was, however, largely unsuccessful in her attempts to restore the power of the central authority, which was weakened considerably by civil wars, and she resigned or was murdered soon after. She was replaced by her sister Azarmidokht who in turn was replaced by Hormizd VI, a noble of the Persian court.
After 5 years of internal power struggle and the assassination of Khosrau II, Yazdgerd III (the grandson of Khosrau) became emperor at the age of 16. However, the real pillars of the state were generals Rostam Farrokhzād and Firoz. There was violent friction between these two, although pressure from the Persian courtiers pushed this backstage. The coronation of Yazdgerd III infused new life into the Sassanid Persians.
Rise of Caliphate and invasion of Iraq
Map detailing the route of Khalid ibn Walid's conquest of Iraq.
After Prophet Muhammad, the Caliph Abu Bakr re-established control over Arabia through the Ridda Wars, and then launched campaigns against the remaining Arabs of Syria and Palestine. He triggered the trajectory that would in few decades form the largest empire the world had ever seen. He thus 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 that would eventually result in the ultimate demise of the Byzantine empire and the Sassanid empire, as well as the annexation of 80% of their respective territories. To make certain of victory, Abu Bakr decided that the invading army would consist entirely of volunteers and it would be commanded by his best general, Khalid ibn al-Walid. Khalid won quick victories in four consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains, fought in April 633; the Battle of River, fought in the 3rd week of April 633; the Battle of Walaja, fought in May 633; followed by the decisive Battle of Ullais, fought in the mid of May, 633. By now the Persian Empire was struggling and in the last week of May 633, the capital city of Iraq, Al-Hirah, fell to the Muslims after 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. In November 633, the Persian counter-attack was repulsed by Khalid and in December 633, Muslim forces reached the border city of Firaz, where Khalid 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. By now, with the exception of Ctesiphon, Khalid had captured whole of Iraq. However, circumstances changed on the western front. The Byzantine forces soon came in direct conflict in Syria and Palestine, and Khalid was sent to deal with this new development along with half of his army. Soon after, Caliph Abu Bakr died in August 634 and was succeeded by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattāb. Muslim forces in Iraq were now too few to control the region. After the devastating invasion by Khalid, Persians took time to recover. Moreover, the political instability was at its peak at Ctesiphon. Once the Persians recovered they concentrated more troops and mounted a counter attack. Muthanna ibn Haris, who was now commander in chief of the Muslim forces in Iraq, pulled his troops back from all outposts and evacuated Al-Hirah. He then retreated to the region near the Arabian Desert. Meanwhile, Umar sent reinforcements from Madinah under the command of Abu Ubaid. The reinforcements reached Iraq in October 634, and Abu Ubaid assumed the command of the army and defeated the Sassanids at the Battle of Namaraq near modern day Kufa. Then, in the Battle of Kaskar, he recaptured Hira without any resistance.
The Persians then launched another counterattack, and were successful in defeating the Muslims at Battle of the Bridge which killed Abu Ubaid, and the Muslims suffered heavy losses. Muthanna then assumed command of the army and withdrew the remnant of his army, about 3000 strong, across the Euphrates. The Persian commander Bahman (also known as Dhu al-Hajib) was committed to drive the Muslims away from the Persian soil but was restrained from pursuing the defeated Muslims after being called back by Rustum to Ctesiphon to help in putting down the revolt against him. Muthanna retreated near the frontier of Arabia and called for reinforcements. Then, after getting sufficient reinforcements, he re-entered the fray and camped at the western bank of Euphrates, where a Persian force intercepted him and was defeated.
Persian counter-attack
Since Khalid left Iraq for Syria, Suwad, the fertile area between the Euphrates and the Tigris, remained unstable. Sometimes it was occupied by the Persians and sometimes by the Muslim force., This "tit-for-tat" struggle continued until emperor Yazdgerd III consolidated his power and sought alliance with Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 635, in an effort to prepare for a massive counter attack. Heraclius married his daughter to Yazdegerd III, according to an old Roman tradition to seal an alliance. Heraclius then prepared for a major offense in Levant. Meanwhile, Yazdegerd ordered a concentration of massive armies to pull back from Iraq for good. This was supposed to be a well coordinated attacks by both emperors to annihilate the power of their common enemy, Caliph Umar.
When Heraclius launched his offense in May 636, Yazdegerd could not coordinate with Heraclius, and the plan did not come off. Umar, allegedly having intelligence of this alliance, devised his own plan. He wanted to finish off business first with the Byzantines and then reinforce the Muslim army at Yarmouk. He sent 6000 soldiers in small bands to give the impression of a continuous stream of reinforcements. Meanwhile, Umar engaged Yazdegerd III, ordering Saad ibn Abi Waqqas to enter in peace negotiations with Yazdegerd III by inviting him to Islam. Heraclius had instructed his general Vahan, to not engage in battle with Muslims until his orders. However, fearing more reinforcement for the Muslims from Madinah and their growing strength, the Byzantines felt compelled to attack the Muslim forces before they get stronger. Heraclius's imperial army was annihilated at Battle of Yarmouk in August 636, three months before Qadisiyyah, ending the power of the Roman Emperor, for good. Nevertheless, Yazdegerd continued to execute his ambitious offensive plan and concentrated armies near his capital Ctesiphon. A large force was put under the control of veteran general Rostam and was cantoned at Sabat near Ctesiphon. Getting news of the preparations of this massive counter-attack, Umar ordered Muthana to retreat to the edge of Arabian Desert and abandon Iraq. The campaign of Iraq was now to be started again from the beginning. .
Muslim battle preparation
Caliph Umar raised new armies from all over Arabia to send a large enough force to re-invade Iraq. Umar appointed Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās, an important member of the Quraysh tribe, and cousin of Prophet Muhammad, as commander of this army. In May 636, Saad marched from his camp at Sisra (near Madinah) with an army of 4,000 men and was instructed to join other armies, concentrated in northern Arabia, on his way to Iraq. Saad, being less experienced in the matter of war, was instructed by Caliph Umar to seek the advise of the experienced commanders. Once Saad entered Iraq, Umar sent orders to him to halt at al-Qadisiyyah, a small town, 30 miles from Kufah. Muslims marched to Qadisiyyah and camped there on July 636. Umar continued to issue strategic orders and commands to his army throughout the campaign. Umar wanted victory on Persian front but he ran short of the manpower and decided to lift the ban on the ex-apostate tribes of Arabia of not participating in state affairs. Because of this, the army raised was not the professional army, but was instead composed of newly recruited contingents from all over Arabia. Due to this fact, Umar was more concerned about providing it strategic aid. Umar, however was quite satisfied with the developments on Byzantine front, as the army there was a veteran, and was commanded by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, and Khalid ibn Walid, a military genius. After they won a decisive victory against the Byzantine army at the Battle of Yarmouk, Umar sent orders to Abu Ubaidah to immediately send a contingent of veterans to Iraq. Later, a force of 5,000 strong veterans of Yarmouk were also sent and arrived on second day of the battle. This proved to be the turning point in the battle. The battle fought was more between Caliph Umar and Rostam Farrokhzād, rather than between Saad and Rostam. On the other hand, the bulk of the Sassanid army was also made of new recruits since as bulk of the regular Sassanid forces was destroyed during the Battle of Walaja and the Ullais .
Battlefield
Qadisiyya was a small town on the west bank of the river Ateeq, a branch of the Euphrates. Al-Hira, ancient capital of Lakhmid Dynasty, was laid about thirty miles west. According to present day geography it is situated at southwest of al-Hillah and Kufah in Iraq.
The site of the Battle of Qadisiyyah, showing Muslim army (in red) and Sassanid army (in blue).
Troop deployment
Modern estimates suggest that the size of Sassanid forces was about 100,000 strong and Muslims around 30,000 strong after being reinforced by the Syrian contingent on second day of the battle. These figures come from studying the logistical capabilities of the combatants, the sustainability of their respective bases of operations, and the overall manpower constraints affecting the Sassanids and Arabs. Most scholars, however, agree that the Sassanid army and their allies outnumbered the Muslim Arabs by a sizable margin.
Sassanid Persian
The Persian army reached Qaddasiyyah in July 636 and established their highly fortified camps on the eastern bank of the Ateeq river. There was a strong bridge over the Ateeq river, and it was the only crossing to the main Sassanid camps, although they had boats available in reserve to cross the river.
The Sassanid Persians army, about 60,000 strong, fell into three main categories, infantry, heavy cavalry ,and the Elephant corps. The Elephant corps was also known as the Indian corps, for the elephants were trained and brought from the Persians provinces in India. On November 16, 636, the Sassanid army crossed over the west bank of Ateeq, and Rostam deployed his 45,000 infantry in four divisions, each about 150 meters apart from the other. 15,000 cavalry were divided among four divisions to be used as reserve for counter-attack and offensives. At Qaddasiyyah, about 33 elephants were present, eight with each of four divisions of army. The battle front was about 4 km long. The Sassanid Persians' right wing was commanded by Hormuzan, the right center by Jalinus, the rear guard by al-Bayruzan, and the left wing by Mihran. Rostam himself was stationed at an elevated seat, shaded by a canopy, near the west bank of the river and behind the right center, where he enjoyed a wide view of the battlefield. By his side waved the Derafsh-e-Kāveyān (in Persian: درفش کاویان, the 'flag of Kāveh'), the standard of the Sassanid Persians. Rostam placed men at certain intervals between the battlefield and the Sassanid capital, Ctesiphon, to convey intelligence.
Rashidun
In July 636 A.D. the main Muslim army marched from Sharaf to Qadisiyya. After establishing the camp, organizing the defenses, and securing the river heads, Saad sent parties inside the Suwad to conduct raids. Saad was continuously in contact with Caliph Umar, to whom he sent a detailed report of the geographical features of the land where the Muslims encamped and the land between Qaddasiyyah, Madinah and the region where the Persians were concentrating their forces. The Muslim army at this point was about 30,000 strong, including 7,000 cavalry. Its strength rose to 36,000 strong once it was reinforced by the contingent from Syria and local Arabs allies. Saad was suffering from sciatica, and there were boils all over his body. Saad took a seat in the old royal palace at Qaddasiyyah from where he would direct the war operations and could have a good view of the battlefield. He appointed Khalid ibn Arfatah as his Deputy, who would carried out his instructions to the battlefield. The Rashidun infantry was deployed in four corps, with each corps having its own cavalry regiment which was stationed at the rear for counter-attacks. Each corps was about 150 meter apart from the other. The army was all formed on a tribal and clan basis, so that every man would fight next to well-known comrades and so that tribes may be held accountable for any weakness. Saad ibn Abi Waqas was the commander in chief of the army, due to his illness he was unable to participate directly in the battle and thus made Khalid ibn Arfatah his deputy. The Muslims' left wing was commanded by Shurahbeel ibn As-Samt, left center was commanded by Asim ibn Amr while the right center was commanded by Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya and right wing was commanded by Abdullah ibn Al-Mut'im. Cavalry of the right wing was commanded by Jareer ibn Abdullah and that of right center by Ath'ath ibn Qais.
Weaponry
The helmets included gilded helmets similar to that of silver helmets of Sassanid empire. Mail was commonly used to protect the face, neck and cheek either as an aventail from the helmet or as a mail coif. Heavy leather sandals as well as Roman type sandal boots were also typical of the early Muslim soldiers. Armor included, hardened leather scale or lamellar armour and mail. Infantry soldiers were more heavily armored than the horsemen. Hauberks and large wooden or wickerwork shields were used as well as long-shafted spears. Infantry spears were about 2.5 meters long and those of the cavalry were up to 5.5 meters long. Swords used were a short infantry weapon like the Roman gladius, and the Sassanid long sword. Both were worn hung from a baldric. Bows were about two meters long when unbraced, about the same size as the famous English longbow– with a maximum range of about 150 meters. Early Muslim archers were infantry archers who proved very effective against the opposing cavalry. The troops at the Sassanid Persian front were lightly armored compared to the Rashidun troops deployed at the Byzantine front.
