Muslim conquest of Khuzestan | |||||||||
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Part of the Muslim conquest of Persia | |||||||||
Map of Khuzestan and its surroundings | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Rashidun Caliphate | Sasanian Empire | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari Al-Nu'man ibn Muqrin Arfajah ibn Harthama Hurqus ibn Zuhayr al-Sa'di Siyah al-Uswari (defected in Shushtar) Sulma ibn al-Qayn Harmalah ibn Muraytah Shiruya al-Uswari (defected in Shushtar) | Hormuzan (POW) Siyah al-Uswari Shahriyar Shiruya al-Uswari | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Heavy | Unknown, probably heavy |
The Muslim conquest of Khuzestan took place from 637/8 to 642, and ended with the acquisition of the rich Khuzestan Province by the Rashidun Caliphate.
The Arabs started invading Khuzestan in 637/8—around the same time when Hormuzan, a nobleman of high status, had arrived to Hormizd-Ardashir after suffering several defeats to the Arabs in Asoristan. Hormuzan used the city as a base to mount his raids in Meshan against the Arabs. [1] The young Sasanian king Yazdegerd III (r. 632-651) supported him in these raids, and believed that it was possible to regain the territories which had been taken by the Arabs. [2] After some time, Hormuzan clashed with an Arab army to the west of Hormizd-Ardashir, but was easily defeated and retreated back to the city, where he asked for peace. The Arabs agreed in return for tribute, which Hormuzan accepted. [3] However, he soon stopped paying tribute, and raised an army of Kurds (a term then used to describe Iranian nomads). [3] Umar, who was caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, responded by sending an army under Hurqus ibn Zuhayr al-Sa'di, who defeated Hormuzan in 638 at Hormizd-Ardashir, and forced the city to pay jizya . [4] Meanwhile, Hormuzan fled to Ram-Hormizd. He then once again sought a peace treaty and was granted one in return for tribute. [4]
However, he once again stopped paying tribute and continued his resistance, but was again defeated in a battle. Meanwhile, the cities of Khuzestan were slowly one-by-one conquered. Sometime later in 641, after a defeat at Ram-Hormizd, Hormuzan fled to Shushtar, and was defeated near the city, which cost him the lives of 900 of his men, while 600 were captured and would later be executed. Nevertheless, he managed to reach the city. [5] The Arabs then laid siege to the city.
Fortunately for Hormuzan, Shushtar was well fortified due to the rivers and canals that surrounded it on almost all sides. One of them was known as Ardashiragan, named after the first Sasanian king Ardashir I (r. 224-240). Another known as Shamiram, named after the legendary Assyrian Queen Semiramis. The last one mentioned was known as Darayagan, named after the Achaemenid king Darius I (r. 550–486 BCE). [6] There are several versions of how the city got captured; according to al-Tabari, during the siege, an Iranian defector named Sina (or Sinah) went to al-Nu'man and pleaded for his life to be spared in return for helping him how to show a way into the city. Al-Nu'man agreed, and Sina told him the following thing; "attack via the outlet of the water, and then you will conquer the city." [7]
Al-Nu'man did as he told him, and with a small portion of his army, charged into Shushtar. Hormuzan then retreated to the citadel and continued his resistance, but was eventually forced to surrender. [8] [7] According to another version written in the Khuzestan Chronicle, similar to the version by al-Tabari, a defector from Qatar, along with another person, asked the Arabs for some of their plunder in exchange of how to enter the city. The Arabs agreed, and after some time, they managed to enter the city. [6] According to al-Baladhuri, during the siege, the Arabs were reinforced with a group of professional Iranian elites under Siyah al-Uswari, known as the Asawira. [9]
The reason for their defection was in order to preserve their status and wealth. However, according to the Khuzestan Chronicle, the Asawira first defected to the Arabs after they entered Shushtar. The brother of Hormuzan, Shahriyar, is said to have been a part of the Asawira. [9] According to Pourshariati, the story of the Asawira helping the Arabs in their conquest of Khuzestan, may have been false. [10] Hormuzan, after his surrender, was taken by the Arabs and brought to their capital, Medina.
According to most sources, Gundishapur was the last major city in Khuzestan that the Arabs conquered. According to al-Tabari and al-Baladhuri, Abu Musa Ashaari marched to Gundishapur and besieged the city in 642. [11] The city didn't put much of a resistance, due its weak defence mechanism; only after a few days, the city surrendered and opened its gate. Abu Musa then made peace with the city in return for tribute, which the city accepted. However, some inhabitants of the city refused to live under the rule of the Rashidun Caliphate, and fled to Kalbaniyah. Abu Musa then went to the city and easily seized it. [11] He thereafter seized a few other small cities, thus completing the conquest of Khuzestan. [11]
After the conquest of Khuzestan, the inhabitants of the province didn't put much of a resistance as much as the other Sasanian provinces did. The biggest rebellion that took place in the province was the rebellion of Piruz in 643/4, who was defeated in the same year at Bayrudh. This was due to the mixed population of the province, where "people were used to different cultures and various religions" (Jalalipour). [12]
Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of Hormizd I, was the third Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah) of Iran, who ruled from May 270 to June 271. He was the third-born son of Shapur I, under whom he was governor-king of Armenia, and also took part in his father's wars against the Roman Empire. Hormizd I's brief time as ruler of Iran was largely uneventful. He built the city of Hormizd-Ardashir, which remains a major city today in Iran. He promoted the Zoroastrian priest Kartir to the rank of chief priest (mowbed) and gave the Manichaean prophet Mani permission to continue his preaching.
Yazdegerd III was the last Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II.
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also called the Muslim conquest of Iran, the Arab conquest of Persia, or the Arab conquest of Iran, was a major military campaign undertaken by the Rashidun Caliphate between 632 and 654. As part of the early Muslim conquests, which had begun under Muhammad in 622, it led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and the eventual decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been predominant throughout Persia as the nation's official religion. The persecution of Zoroastrians by the early Muslims during and after this conflict prompted many of them to flee eastward to India, where they were granted refuge by various kings.
The Battle of Nahavand, also spelled Nihavand or Nahawand, was fought in 642 between the Rashidun Muslim forces under caliph Umar and Sasanian Persian armies under King Yazdegerd III. Yazdegerd escaped to the Merv area, but was unable to raise another substantial army. It was a victory for the Rashidun Caliphate and the Persians consequently lost the surrounding cities including Spahan (Isfahan).
Sakastan was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Nemroz. The province bordered Kirman in the west, Spahan in the north west, Kushanshahr in the north east, and Turan in the south east. The governor of the province held the title of marzban. The governor also held the title of "Sakanshah" until the title was abolished in ca. 459/60.
Hormuzan was a Persian aristocrat who served as the governor of Khuzestan, and was one of the Sasanian military officers at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah. He was later taken prisoner by the Muslims after the fall of Shushtar in 642. Two years later, he was accused of the assassination of the Rashidun caliph Umar, and was killed by Ubayd Allah, the deceased caliph's son.
Farrukhzad was an Iranian aristocrat from the House of Ispahbudhan and the founder of the Bavand dynasty, ruling from 651 to 665. Originally a powerful servant of the Sasanian king Khosrow II, he, along with several other powerful aristocrats made a conspiracy against the latter and ended his tyrannical rule. They thereafter put Khosrow's son Kavadh II on the throne, whose rule lasted only a few months, before he was killed by a plague, being succeeded by his son Ardashir III, who was only after one year murdered by the rebellious former Sasanian army chief (spahbed) Shahrbaraz, who usurped the throne.
Arfajah ibn Harthama al-Bariqi was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was a member of the Azd branch of the Bariq clan that inhabited Southwestern Arabia.
Siyavakhsh was an Iranian aristocrat from the House of Mihran who was descended from Bahram Chobin, the famous spahbed of the Sasanian Empire.
Piruz Khosrow, 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.
The Sasanian civil war of 628–632, also known as the Sasanian Interregnum was a conflict that broke out after the execution of the Sasanian king Khosrow II between the nobles of different factions, notably the Parthian (Pahlav) faction, the Persian (Parsig) faction, the Nimruzi faction, and the faction of general Shahrbaraz. Rapid turnover of rulers and increasing provincial landholder power further diminished the empire. Over a period of four years and fourteen successive kings, the Sasanian Empire weakened considerably, and the power of the central authority passed into the hands of its generals, contributing to its fall.
Mihran-i Bahram-i Razi, better simply known as Mihran Razi, was an Iranian military officer from the Mihran family. He was killed in 637 at the battle of Jalula.
The Battle of Waj Rudh was fought in 642/643 between the Rashidun Caliphate under Nu'man, and the Sasanian Empire under the Dailamite Muta, the Parthian Farrukhzad and Isfandiyar, and the Armenian Varaztirots. The battle was fought in Waj Rudh, a village in Hamadan. The location was precisely theorized and occurred on a road junction between Hamadan and Qazvin.
The siege of Shushtar was fought from 641 to 642 between the Sasanian Empire and the invading Arab Muslims of the Rashidun Caliphate. Shushtar was an ancient strong stronghold in Khuzestan, and was attacked by the Arabs under their commander Abu Musa Ashaari. Although the city managed to resist the Arabs, the Sasanians later faced desertion, which resulted in the Arabs capturing the city and capturing its commander, Hormuzan.
The siege of Gundishapur took place in 642. It was the last major city in Khuzestan to fall to the Arabs. According to al-Tabari and al-Baladhuri, the Arab general Abu Musa Ashaari marched to Gundishapur and besieged the city. The cities defences were weak and after a few days the city surrendered and opened its gate. Abu Musa then made peace with the city in return for tribute, which the city accepted. However, some inhabitants of the city refused to live under the rule of the Rashidun Caliphate, and fled to Kalbaniyah. Abu Musa then went to the city and easily seized it. He thereafter seized a few other small cities, thus completing the conquest of Khuzestan.
The Asawira were a military unit of the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphate. The unit consisted of Iranian noblemen who were originally part of the aswaran unit of the Sasanian army. It was disbanded in 703 by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf.
Siyah, known in Arabic sources as Siyah al-Uswari was the commander of a faction of the Sasanian asbaran unit, but later defected to the Rashidun Caliphate, where he continued serving as the commander of the asbaran.
Iyas ibn Qabisah al-Ta'i was governor of al-Hirah, the capital of the Lakhmid kingdom, from 613 to 618CE. He was the son of Qabisah al-Ta'i. He was also the father of Hayyah and Farwah. The last part of Iyas ibn Qabisah's name, al-Ta'i, indicates that he came from the Tayy tribe.
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Khuzistan or Huzistan was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, which almost corresponded to the present-day province of Khuzestan. Its capital was Gundeshapur. During the late Sasanian era, the province was included in the southern quadrant (kust) of Nemroz.