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Siege Of Ctesiphon (637)
The siege of Ctesiphon took place from January to March, 637 between the forces of Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate. Ctesiphon, located on the eastern bank of the Tigris, was one of the great cities of Persia, the imperial capital of the Parthian and Sassanid Empires. The Muslims managed to capture Ctesiphon ending the Persian rule over Mesopotamia. Prelude After a Muslim victory in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, the Caliph Umar ruled that it was time to conquer the Sassanid Empire's capital of Ctesiphon. He knew that as long as the Persians had kept control of their main city, they would have retained the possibility, sooner or later, of arranging a new counterattack. Umar then ordered Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās, commander of Islamic leader in Iraq, to march on Ctesiphon. In December 636, Sa'd marched to Ctesiphon with a caliphate army of 15,000 soldiers. The Shahanshah Sassanid Yazdegerd III, fearing an invasion, acted quickly when he received news from his intelligence. He th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muslim Conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He established a new unified polity in Arabia that expanded rapidly under the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate, culminating in Islamic rule being established across three continents. According to Scottish historian James Buchan: "In speed and extent, the first Arab conquests were matched only by those of Alexander the Great, and they were more lasting." At their height, the territory that was conquered stretched from Iberia (at the Pyrenees) in the west to India (at Sind) in the east; Muslim rule spanned Sicily, most of North Africa and the Middle East, and the Caucasus and Central Asia. English historian Edward Gibbon writes in ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'': Among other drastic changes, the early Musl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate ( ar, اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ, al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah) was the first caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his death in 632 CE (11 AH). During its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in West Asia. The caliphate arose following Muhammad’s passing in June 632 and the subsequent debate over the succession to his leadership. Muhammad's childhood friend and close companion Abu Bakr (), of the Banu Taym clan, was elected the first caliph in Medina and he began the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula. His brief reign ended in August 634 when he died and was succeeded by Umar (), his appointed successor from the Banu Adi clan. Under Umar, the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, ruling more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Empire and nearly the entire Sasanian Empire. Umar was assassinated in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piruz Khosrow
Piruz Khosrow (Middle Persian: ''Pērōz Khusraw''), also known as Piruzan or Firuzan, was a powerful Persian aristocrat who was the leader of the ''Parsig'' (Persian) faction that controlled much of the affairs of the Sasanian Empire during the Sasanian civil war of 628-632. He was killed at the Battle of Nahāvand in 642. Biography Sasanian civil war Piruz is first mentioned in 628, as one of the conspirators against Khosrow II. During this period Piruz assumed the leadership of the ''Parsig'' faction, while the Ispahbudhan Farrukh Hormizd, assumed the leadership of the ''Pahlav'' (Parthian) faction. After the overthrow of Khosrow, the latter's son Kavadh II became the new king of the Sasanian Empire. Piruz was then elected as his '' wuzurg framadār'' (vizier or prime minister); reportedly, under Kavadh's orders, he executed all of Kavadh's brothers and half-brothers. Kavadh then made peace with the Byzantine Empire, which restored all their lost territories. However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sawad
Sawad was the name used in early Islamic times (7th–12th centuries) for southern Iraq. It means "black land" or "arable land" and refers to the stark contrast between the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Desert. Under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, it was an official political term for a province encompassing most of modern Iraq except for the Syrian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia in the north. As a generic term in Arabic, ''sawād'' () was used to denote the irrigated and cultivated areas in any district. Unmodified, it always referred to southern Iraq, the ''sawād'' of Baghdad. It replaced the earlier and more narrow term Rādhān. The term ''sawad'' eventually came to refer to the rural district around a particular city; thus, contemporary geographers made references to the Sawad of Baghdad, of Basra, of Kufa, of Wasit, of Samarra, or of Anbar. This usage was exclusive to Iraq. Geography The enormous economic potential of the Sawad is reflected in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Babylon (636)
Battle of Babylon was fought between the forces of Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate in 636. Muslim Arabs won the encounter to maintain their pursuit of conquering Ctesiphon. Prelude After a Muslim victory in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, the Caliph Umar ruled that it was time to conquer the Sasanian Empire's capital of Ctesiphon. Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya's military body left in advance and occupied Najaf, where he expected the rest of the troops to reach him. Then he crossed the Euphrates and proceeded along the road to Ctesiphon. He waited in Burs, after the victorious Battle of Burs, at the right bank of the Euphrates for the bulk of the Muslim troops to reach him. The next step was Babylon, on the opposite bank of the Euphrates, a fortified city where it was known there was a large concentration of Sassanian forces. Babylon was strategically important and the access key for Sawad, the territory between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Battle By mid-December of 636, Musli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babylon
''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babili'' *Kassite: ''Karanduniash'', ''Karduniash'' , image = Street in Babylon.jpg , image_size=250px , alt = A partial view of the ruins of Babylon , caption = A partial view of the ruins of Babylon , map_type = Near East#West Asia#Iraq , relief = yes , map_alt = Babylon lies in the center of Iraq , coordinates = , location = Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq , region = Mesopotamia , type = Settlement , part_of = Babylonia , length = , width = , area = , height = , builder = , material = , built = , abandoned = , epochs = , cultures = Sumerian, Akkadian, Amorite, Kassite, Assyrian, Chaldean, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, Muslim , dependency_of = , occupants = , event = , excavations = , archaeologists = Hormuzd Rassam, Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Burs
The Battle of Burs was a minor engagement in 636 AD at Burs or Birs Nimrud, now in central Iraq, during the Muslim conquest of the Sassanid Empire. The Rāshidūn commander, Zuhra ibn al-Ḥawiyya, defeated Busbuhra, the Sassanid commander of the town, in single combat Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies. Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who repre ..., and the garrison offered little further resistance. After his victory at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in summer 636, Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqās divided his army into five forces for the advance on Ctesiphon; they were commanded by Zuhra ibn al-Ḥawiyya, ʿAbdullah ibn al-Mutʼim, Shurḥabīl ibn as-Simt, Khālid ibn ʿUrfatah and Hāshim bin ʿUtba. The force under Zuhra met with some resistance at Burs, but this was soon overcome after he defeated Busbuhra, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borsippa
Borsippa ( Sumerian: BAD.SI.(A).AB.BAKI; Akkadian: ''Barsip'' and ''Til-Barsip'')The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. or Birs Nimrud (having been identified with Nimrod) is an archeological site in Babylon Province, Iraq. The ziggurat is today one of the most vividly identifiable surviving ones, identified in the later Arabic culture with the Tower of Babel. However, modern scholarship concludes that the Sumero-Akkadian builders of the Ziggurat in reality erected it as a religious edifice in honour of the local god Nabu, called the "son" of Babylon's Marduk, as would be appropriate for Babylon's lesser sister-city. Borsippa was an important ancient city of Sumer, built on both sides of a lake about southwest of Babylon on the east bank of the Euphrates. History Borsippa is mentioned, usually in connection with Babylon, in texts from the Ur III period through the Seleucid period and even in early Islamic texts. It is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Najaf
Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2013 was 1,000,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam and one of its spiritual capitals, whilst also remaining the center of Shia political power in Iraq. Name According to Ibn al-Manzur, the word, "najaf" (), literally means a high and rectangular place around which water is accumulated, although the water does not go above its level. Al-Shaykh al-Saduq appeals to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), claiming that "Najaf" comes from the phrase, "nay jaff" which means "the nay sea has dried" which gradually changed into "Najaf". "Najaf" is usually accompanied with the adjective, "al-Ashraf" (dignified). According to the author of ''al-Hawza al-'ilmiyya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shurahbil Ibn Simt
Shuraḥbīl ibn al-Simṭ ibn al-Aswad al-Kindī () commonly referred to as Ibn al-Simṭ, was a Kindite commander in the Muslim army against the Sasanian Persians at the Battle of al-Qadisiyya in 636 and later a Homs-based member of the inner circle of Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan during the latter's governorship of Syria (639–661) and caliphate (661–680). Life Shurahbil was the son of the Kindite chieftain Simt ibn al-Aswad.Crone 1980, p. 101. Following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Shurahbil and his father loyally served the nascent Medina-based Muslim state and fought with distinction during the Ridda wars against the Arabian tribes that had defected from Medina. As a result, their star rose in Medina at the expense of al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, a rival Kindite chief who fought against the Muslims in the Ridda and repented following his defeat and capture in Yemen. While in the mid to late 630s, Simt played a role in the Muslim conquest of Syria, Shurahbil fought in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634. Umar was a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was also an expert Muslim jurist known for his pious and just nature, which earned him the epithet ''al-Fārūq'' ("the one who distinguishes (between right and wrong)"). Umar initially opposed Muhammad, his distant Qurayshite kinsman and later son-in-law. Following his conversion to Islam in 616, he became the first Muslim to openly pray at the Kaaba. Umar participated in almost all battles and expeditions under Muhammad, who bestowed the title ''al-Fārūq'' ('the Distinguisher') upon Umar, for his judgements. After Muhammad's death in June 632, Umar pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr () as the first caliph and served as the closest advis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Al-Qādisiyyah
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة ٱلْقَادِسِيَّة, Maʿrakah al-Qādisīyah; fa, نبرد قادسیه, Nabard-e Qâdisiyeh) was an armed conflict which took place in 636 CE between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanian Empire. It occurred during the early Muslim conquests and marked a decisive victory for the Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of Persia. The Rashidun offensive at Qadisiyyah is believed to have taken place in November of 636. The leader of the Sasanian army at the time, Rostam Farrokhzad, died in uncertain circumstances during the battle. The subsequent collapse of the Sasanian army in the region led to a decisive Arab victory over the Iranians, and the incorporation of territory that comprises modern-day Iraq into the Rashidun Caliphate.D. Gershon Lewental, "QĀDESIYA, BATTLE OF," Encyclopædia Iranica Online, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/qadesiya-battle (accessed on 21 July 2014). Arab succe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
