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Battle of al-Qadisiyyah

Coordinates: 31°35′N 44°30′E / 31.583°N 44.500°E / 31.583; 44.500
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Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
Part of the Muslim conquests
Datecirca 636 CE
Location
al-Qādisiyyah, Iraq
Result Decisive Muslim victory
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate Sassanid Persian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās Rostam Farrokhzād †
Strength
30,000[1] 120,000[1]
Casualties and losses
6,000 [2] 30,000 [3]

The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (Template:ArB; transliteration, Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyyah; Template:PerB; 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.

Traditional Muslim account

Already in the last years of the life of Muhammad, organized raids began attacking the Sassanid and the Byzantine frontiers (because of their constant threat to attack Arabs in Medina). Although these expeditions slowed during the consolidation of the Arabian peninsula under the first Caliph Abū Bakr (the Riddah wars), the latter's successor `Umar ibn al-Khattāb turned his attention northwards, initiating the Arab Muslim conquests. After a number of small successes and setbacks, `Umar decided to send the very capable general Khālid ibn al-Walīd to the campaign in Syria, and replace him with the 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.

The young Sassanid monarch Yazdgird III (r. 632 - 651 A.D) ordered his advisor and chief general Rostam Farrokhzād to block this threat, and the two armies met on the western side of the Euphrates River, at the village of al-Qadisiyyah (southwest of al-Hillah and al-Kūfah in what is today's Iraq). Negotiations between the two sides carried on and Arab delegations that came to the Persian camp demanded that the latter accept Islam or agree to pay the tribute (jizyah). Rostam, having pessimistic premonitions, tried to delay the battle, but when neither side came to an agreement, fighting broke out. Sa`d himself did not participate in the battle, however, as he suffered from a sciatic illness, but he monitored and directed the proceedings from atop a nearby castle at `Udhayb through his deputy Khālid ibn `Urfutah.

The first day of Battle ended with Persian advances and the Arab force appeared as though it would succumb to the much larger Sassanid army. In particular, the latter's war elephants terrified the Arab cavalry, and succeeded in creating confusion among the Arab fighters. By the third day of battle, Arab veterans of the Syrian campaign (being conducted nearly simultaneously) arrived on the scene and reinforced the Arab army. In addition, a clever trick – whereby the Arab horses were decorated in costume – succeeded in frightening the Persian elephants. When an Arab warrior succeeded in slaying the lead elephant, the rest fled into the rear, trampling numerous Persian fighters. The Arab Muslims continued to advance their attacks during the night (called the "Night of Clangour").

At dawn of the fourth day, a sandstorm broke out – blowing sand in the Persians' faces. Quickly, the tide turned and the Sassanid centre gave way, particularly with the help of Arab archers. Rostam, who had been commanding his force from that location, sought to flee by swimming across the canal (al-`Atīq), but was caught by an Arab fighter and beheaded. The latter (sometimes recorded as Hilāl ibn `Ullafah) 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 nerve and begin 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 source 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. [4] The Arab fighters became known as ahl al-Qādisiyyah and held 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.

Modern usage of al-Qādisiyyah

Academic studies of the Battle have revealed numerous topoi that make up a common schema of the Arab Muslim conquests (see Donner; Noth). These literary layers appear to have accumulated since the period immediately following the Battle, when story-tellers (qussās) embellished their narrative, often in an attempt to glorify past ancestors. The modern usage of the al-Qādisiyyah, thus, has heavy emotional baggage and invoking its name grants deep meaning.

Qādisiyyat-Saddām: The Iran-Iraq War

File:Hands of victory.JPG
'The Sword of Qādisiyyah', sometimes known as the 'Hands of Victory', opened August 1989
File:Iraqi stamp.jpg
Commemorative stamp issued by Iraq depicting both Battles of al-Qādisiyyah
File:Saddam surveys al-Qādisiyyah.gif
Famous Baghdād mural of Saddām surveying the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, with modern tanks in the foreground
File:Al-Qādisiyyah medal.jpg
Iraqi medal issued to commemorate 'Saddām's Qādisiyyah'

The most notable use of Qādisiyyah's emotive power was the dubbing by Saddām Husayn of his eight-year war against Iran as Qādisiyyat-Saddām (Saddām's Qādisiyyah). The first instance of this naming occurred on 02 April 1980, a half-year before the outbreak of hostilities, on the occasion of a visit by Saddām Husayn to al-Mustansiriyyah University in Baghdād, where a bomb attack on the previous day had injured his vice-president, Tarīq `Azīz. Saddām blamed the newly-founded Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and, drawing the parallel to the 7th-Century battle, he announced:

In your name, brothers, and on behalf of the Iraqis and Arabs everywhere we tell those Persian cowards and dwarfs who try to avenge Al-Qadisiyah that the spirit of Al-Qadisiyah as well as the blood and honor of the people of Al-Qadisiyah who carried the message on their spearheads are greater than their attempts. (See Saddam, E3)

Other examples of the usage of al-Qādisiyyah

Support for Saddām's historical characterisation of the modern war was further bolstered through several cultural symbols. An Egyptian film released at this time cast the Battle in ethnic terms (Arab against Persian) and Iraqi scholar Kanan Makiya has commented on the significance of various building and architectural projects that evoked al-Qādisiyyah, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that contains a sword allegedly belonging to Sa`d right next to Saddām's personal machine gun. Makiya has called this an attempt to make Saddām ‘the Sa'ad ibn-abi-Waqas of the 1980s’ (see Makiya, 11).

Art, architecture, literature, cinema, and media

  • Saddām's victory arch, called The Sword of Qādisiyyah, opened August 1989, and one of the largest art pieces in the world. (See Makiya, 1) (image)
  • Egyptian mega-film al-Qādisiyyah, released in 1981.
  • Iraqi newspaper al-Qādisiyyah, established in 1981.
  • Mural depicting Saddām surveying the ancient Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, with modern tanks in the foreground. (photograph)
  • Al-Qādisiyah Palace, designed by TIGRIS Enterprises in Iraq between 1983 and 1993. (website)

Government institutions and symbols

Geographical locations

Educational institutions and recreational organisations

Military forces and installations

Miscellaneous

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ashtiani and Pirnia, p. 51
  2. ^ The Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine A.D. 635-637/A.H. 14-15 By Tabari , Yohanan Friedmann, pg. 124
  3. ^ The Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine A.D. 635-637/A.H. 14-15 By Tabari , Yohanan Friedmann, pg. 125
  4. ^ Shahanshah: A Study of Monarchy of Iran By E. Burke Inlow, Inlow, E. Burke, pg. 13

Academic and primary references

  • Ashtiani, Abbas Iqbal and Pirnia, Hassan. Tarikh-e Iran (History of Iran), 3rd ed. Tehran: Kayyam Publishing House, 1973.
  • Baram, Amatzia. Culture, history, and ideology in the formation of Ba`thist Iraq, 1968 – 69. New York City: St Martin's Press, 1991.
  • Bengio, Ofra. Saddam's word. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  • Donner, Fred McGraw. The Early Islamic conquests. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.
  • Makiya, Kanan. The Monument: Art, vulgarity, and responsibility in Iraq. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
  • Noth, Albrecht (in collaboration with Larence I Conrad). The Early Arabic historical tradition: A Source-critical study. Translated from German by Michael Bonner. Studies in late antiquity and early Islam, 3. 2nd edition. Princeton: Darwin Press, 1994.
  • 'Plan for 34 disabled students'. Bahrain Tribune, 05 October 2001.
  • Rida, Muhammad. 'Qadisiyya: A New stage in Arab cinema'. Ur 3 (1981): 40-43.
  • Saddām Husayn. 'Address given'. Baghdād, Voice of the Masses in Arabic, 1200 GMT 02 April 1980. FBIS-MEA-80-066. 03 April 1980, E2-3.
  • Streck, Maximillian. 'al-Kādisīya'. EI¹.
  • 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.
  • Veccia Vaglieri, Laura. 'al-Kādisiyya'. EI².

31°35′N 44°30′E / 31.583°N 44.500°E / 31.583; 44.500

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