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 = , burial_place = , burial_coordinates = , monuments = , rank =

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, battles =

Battle of Ullais The Battle of Ullais () was fought between the forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanian Persian Empire in the middle of June 633 AD in Iraq, and is sometimes referred to as the ''Battle of Blood River'' since, as a result of the bat ...

Battle of Walaja The Battle of Walaja () was fought in Mesopotamia 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. Khalid defeated the Sasanian forces by us ...

Battle of Babylon (634)
Battle of Namaraq
Battle of the Bridge
Battle of Buwaib

Battle of al-Qadisiyyah The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ; ) took place between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanian Empire in November 636. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Rashidun army and is considered to be one of the most significant engagements of the ...

Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha al-Shaybani () was a

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

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of the

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...

Career

Al-Muthanna was a commander of the Muslim Arabs in

al-Hira Al-Hira ( Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient Lakhmid Arabic city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. The Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the Arabian Desert ...

, from which they were conducting raids in the plains of Sasanian Mesopotamia. He asked

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

for reinforcements against the Sasanians, as they started fighting back. As

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

became caliph, he dispatched a force under

Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi Abū 'Ubayd ibn Mas'ūd ibn 'Amr ibn 'Umayr ibn 'Awf ibn Uqda ibn Ghayra ibn Awf ibn Thaqif al-Thaqafi

, who took over command from al-Muthanna for the second time. In the upcoming battle at the coast of the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

river, known as the Battle of the Bridge, Abu Ubayd was killed and the Arab Muslims were defeated, but al-Muthanna, although wounded, survived with 3,000 soldiers who deserted to Medina and elsewhere in the Arabian desert. In 634, al-Muthanna led his army to defeat the Persians in Battle of Buwaib. He was among the commanders at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in 636. In the same year, after the capture of Persian territory in Iraq by Muslim Arab forces and the departure of

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

, al-Muthanna was put in charge of the Muslim Arab occupied territories of Iraq.Ghareeb & Dougherty (2004), p. 1. Al-Muthanna relied on his tribe, the

Banu Bakr The Banu Bakr bin Wa'il ( '), or simply Banu Bakr, today known as Bani Bakr is an Arabian tribe belonging to the large Rabi'ah, a branch of Adnanite tribe. It is registered as one of the oldest and most ancient Arab gatherings. The tribe is rep ...

along with other powerful Arab tribes including the

Taghlib The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Jazira. Their parent tribe was the Rabi'a, and they thus traced their descent to the Adnanites. The Taghlib were among the most powerful and cohesive no ...

and the Tamim to maintain control over the territories.

Legacy

Due to his victory he became a celebrated historical figure in modern Iraq. His name was used as a title by the pan-Arab nationalist political movement called the

al-Muthanna Club The Al-Muthanna Club () was an influential pan-Arabism, pan-Arab Fascism, fascist society established in Baghdad ca. 1935 to 1937 which remained active until May 1941, when the coup d'état of pro-Nazi Rashid Ali al-Gaylani failed. It was named a ...

.Ghareeb & Dougherty (2004), p. 167. His name was also given to the Muthanna Province in the south of the country and is mentioned in the former Iraqi national anthem, which was used from 1981 to 2003.

References

Sources

* Year of birth missing Year of death missing 7th-century Arab people Generals of the Rashidun Caliphate People of the Muslim conquest of Persia Banu Shayban {{MEast-mil-bio-stub