The Battle of Ullais ( ar, معركة أليس) was fought between the forces of the

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 ...

and the Sasanian Persian Empire in the middle of May 633 AD in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, and is sometimes referred to as the ''Battle of Blood River'' since, as a result of the battle, there were enormous amounts of Persian

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

and

Arab Christian Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who l ...

casualties. This was now the last of four consecutive battles that were fought between invading Muslims and the Persian army. After each battle the Persians and their allies regrouped and fought again. These battles resulted in the retreat of the Sasanian Persian army from

and its capture by Muslims under the Rashidun Caliphate.

Background

Before taking on the Persians,

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...

wrote to Hormuz, the Persian

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the frontier district of Dast Meisan, saying: After their defeat at the

Battle of Walaja The Battle of Walaja ( ar, معركة الولجة) was a battle fought in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in May 633 between the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid ibn al-Walid and Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha against the Sassanid Empire and its Arab allies. ...

, the Sassanid survivors of the battle who consisted mostly of

Christian Arabs Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who ...

fled from the battlefield, crossed the River Khaseef (a tributary of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

) and moved between it and the

. Their flight ended at Ullais, about 10 miles from the location of the

. The

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s were aware of the presence of hostile Arabs at Ullais but, as they were less numerous and were survivors of Walaja, they never considered them a military threat until they started to regroup and the Muslim commander

Khalid ibn Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...

was informed about the arrival of more Arab hordes, mainly from the

Christian Arab Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who ...

tribe of Bani Bakr. More reinforcements were raised from the Christian Arab tribes in the region between

Al-Hirah Al-Hirah ( ar, الحيرة, translit=al-Ḥīra Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. History Kingdom of the Lakhmids Al-Hirah was a significant city in pre-Is ...

and Ullais. The

Rashidun Caliphate army The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, grant ...

under Khalid crossed the river Khaseef and approached Ullais frontally. Emperor Ardsheer meanwhile sent orders to

Bahman Jaduya Bahman Jādhūyah/Jādūyah (also Jādhōē/Jādōē; New Persian: ), or Bahman Jādhawayh (Middle Persian: ''Vahūman Ĵādaggōw'') was an Iranian general of the Sasanians. He is mostly known to have led the Sasanians to victory against the Arabs ...

to proceed to Ullais and take command of Arab contingents there and stop the Muslims advance at Ullais. Bahman sent his senior general Jaban with the imperial army to Ullais with orders to avoid battle until

himself arrived. As Jaban set off with the army,

returned to

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

to discuss certain matters with the Emperor. He arrived at Ctesiphon to find Emperor Ardsheer very ill and remained in attendance on him. By now the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

s had realised that the

s' objective was

. They decided to fight and defeat the Muslims army. The

contingents were under the command of a tribal chief called ''Abdul-Aswad'', who had lost his two sons in the

against the Muslims and wanted revenge.

The battle

One of the Muslim commanders,

Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

, advanced with the

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily ...

scouts to the Ullais and informed the Muslim commander-in-chief

of the location of the hostile Arabs. Khalid tried to reach Ullais before the

Sasanian army The Sasanian army was the primary military body of the Sasanian armed forces, serving alongside the Sasanian navy. The birth of the army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I (r. 224–241), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, to the throne. Ar ...

could reinforce them, in order to avoid a battle with an army that would have heavily outnumbered his own; however he failed to do so. In order to deny the Persians time to organize and to coordinate their plans, Khalid decided to fight the battle that very same day. According to modern geography the battlefield lies 25 miles south-east of the Iraqi city of

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 popula ...

, and about 4 miles south-west of modern ''Ash Shinafiyah''. The

Sassanid army The Sasanian army was the primary military body of the Sasanian armed forces, serving alongside the Sasanian navy. The birth of the army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I (r. 224–241), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, to the throne. Arda ...

and

s contingents were camped side by side with the

to their left, the Khaseef to their right, and the river junction behind them. Muslim commander-in-chief Khalid ibn Walid arrayed his army in battle formation, appointing

Adi ibn Hatim Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai () was a leader of the Arab tribe of Tayy, and one of the companions of Muhammad. He was the son of the poet Hatim al-Tai who was widely known for his chivalry, masculinity, and generosity among Arabs. Adi remained antagonisti ...

(who was a son of the famous Arab Christian leader Hatim At Tai and a former Christian) as commander of the right wing and

Asim ibn Umar ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ( ar, عاصم بن عمر; c. 628 – c. 689) was the son of Jamila bint Thabit and Umar, the second Rashidun caliph. Asim was also the famous Hadith scholar. Biography Asim was the son of Umar ibn al-Khattab the senior Sa ...

commander of the left wing. Information of the

's advance reached Jaban a little before midday. It was mealtimeTabari: Vol. 2, p. 561 and the Persian soldiers were to take their meal, but the

troops abstained from food so as to "display their toughness" to the

s. Jaban arranged the

in great haste before the Muslims could arrive, appointing the

s to form the wings of his army, with the tribal chief ''Abdul-Aswad'' commanding the right wing and the tribal chief ''Abjar'' commanding the left wing. The center was formed by the Imperial army. The battlefield ran south-east of Ullais between the

and Khaseef. The Persian army was deployed with its back to Ullais, while in front of it was arrayed the

. The northern flank of both armies rested on the Euphrates and their southern flank on the river ''Khaseef'', a distance of about 2 miles. Details of the manoeuvres used by Khalid are not recorded by history. Muslim commander in chief

killed the Christian Arab tribal chief Abdul-Aswad in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

. The fighting was heaviest on the bank of the Khaseef. It is mentioned in Muslim chronicles that ''If ever an army meant to fight it out to the last, it was the imperial army of Ullais''. The fierce battle continued for hours; no signs of weakness were shown on either side. Early in the afternoon the Sassanid Persian army and Arab allies, unable to withstand the veteran

army, finally retreated to the north-west in the direction of

. Against the Persians and their allies,

had always been heavily Inferior in number but understood the concept of desert warfare and when threatened, his men, who were used to the harsh desert conditions, would withdraw into the desert, where they could not be pursued. The Arab camels drank water less frequently than the Persian horses. Khalid also used the desert for his camel supply line. Arab tribes were the only ones who could interfere with his strategy and defeat him from the rear by disrupting his supply line and stopping his escape routes.

feared that these Arab tribes would regroup, others will also get bribed by the Persians and attack his supply line and close off his escape routes. He also feared that the Persians would regroup and attack his front. They had already fought him in three battles and after each battle regrouped.

The "River of Blood"

The Islamic historian

Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

states that upon being unable to make a breakthrough the defensive lines of the Sassanians, Khalid had prayed to

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...

and promised that he would flow rivers of blood of the Sassanid forces if he won the battle. The Sassanids started fleeing towards

in front of a renewed vigorous assault by the Muslims. Thousands were killed with the bank of the river turning red from the amount of dead. Khalid Ibn Walid ordered some of his men to publicly announce that the defeated Persians were to be captured, not killed--unless they fought back. Group after group gave themselves up and were brought to Khalid who assigned some of his men to behead them all alongside the bank of the river. This continued for a day and a night. Over the next two days, he pursued the fleeing Persian soldiers until they found themselves cornered by the rivers. They were then all beheaded. When he saw that the blood was congealing on the soil instead of flowing, on the advice of Qa'qa ibn Amr, one of the commanders of the Muslim army, Khalid ordered the dam on the river to be opened, and the water then flowed in and moved mills, then they made bread with that which fed his troops of 18,000 for three days, thus fulfilling his earlier oath about running the river with blood and it became known as the "River of Blood". This episode isn't mentioned by any other early Islamic accounts including the historian

Al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and e ...

. While the Muslims had no name for the river in which the Persians were beheaded,

Agha Ibrahim Akram Agha Ali Ibrahim Akram ( Urdu: آغا ابراہیم اکرم), (1989- 1923) better known as A. I. Akram was a Lieutenant-General in the Pakistan Army and a historian. He wrote books about early Muslim conquests. His most famous book The Sword ...

identified it with the Khaseef or Khasif river, a tributary of the

The Cambridge History of Iran ''The Cambridge History of Iran'' is a multi-volume survey of Iranian history published in the United Kingdom by Cambridge University Press. The seven volumes cover "the history and historical geography of the land which is present-day Iran, as w ...

adds that the legend is also attributed to other Arab commanders.

Aftermath

Over 70,000 Sassanids lost their lives in the battle included those beheaded in the river of Ullais on Khalid's order. However modern historian Peter Crawford estimated the real number of the Sassanid army to be around 30,000 Persians only and the number of 70,000 is the result of exaggeration. The Sasanian commander Jaban however escaped. After the battle, Khalid imposed the jizyah (tax on non-muslims) on the civilians of Ullais and mandated them to act as spies among the Iranians. Khalid gave a tribute to the Sassanid Persian army. He said: Afterwards, Khalid besieged the city of

, the regional capital city of lower Mesopotamia, in the

Battle of Hira The Battle of Hira ( ar, معركة الحيرة) was fought between the Sasanian Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate in 633. It was one of the early battles of the Muslim conquest of Persia, and the loss of the frontier city on the Euphrates River ...

in the last week of May 633. The inhabitants were given peace on the terms of annual payment of jizya and agreed to provide intelligence for Muslims. After resting his armies, in June 633, Khalid laid siege to Anbar which despite fierce resistance fell in July 633 as a result of the siege imposed on the town. Khalid then moved towards the south, and captured Ein ul Tamr in the last week of July, 633. Later in December 633 some Arab tribes assisted by a Persian garrison did exactly what he had feared, in Ain al-Tamr. They attacked his supply line so

fought them. Khalid then moved to the siege of Ein-al-Tamr and made a pact with them too. With the fall of the main cities the whole of southern and central Iraq came under Muslim control. In 634 AD

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

ordered him to proceed to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

with half of his army to command the invasion of the Byzantine Empire. Misna bin Haris was left as the successor of Khalid. The Persians, under their new emperor

Yazdgerd III Yazdegerd III (also spelled Yazdgerd III and Yazdgird III; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne at the ...

, regrouped, concentrated new armies and defeated the

s in the

Battle of the Bridge The Battle of the Bridge or the Battle of al-Jisr ( ar, معركة الجسر) was a battle at the bank of the Euphrates river between Arabs led by Abu Ubaid al-Thaqafi, and the Persian Sasanian forces led by Bahman Jaduya. It is traditionally ...

, and recaptured

. The second invasion of Iraq was undertaken under

Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās , image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png , alt = , caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy , birth_date = , death_date = , birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia , death_place ...

who, after defeating the

at the

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 th ...

in 636 AD, captured

. This was followed by the whole scale invasion''See'':

Islamic conquest of Persia The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The r ...

. of the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

References

Sources

* A.I. Akram, ''The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns'', Nat. Publishing. House, Rawalpindi (1970) . * * *

External links

A.I. Akram, ''The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns'' Lahore, 1969
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Ullais Ullais Ullais Ullais Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia 633 630s in the Byzantine Empire 630s in the Rashidun Caliphate