Siege of Shushtar | |||||||
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Part of the Muslim conquest of Khuzestan | |||||||
Picture of the remains of Sasanian architecture in Shushtar | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Hormuzan (POW) Siyah al-Uswari Shiruya al-Uswari | Abu Musa Ashaari al-Nu'man Siyah al-Uswari Shiruya al-Uswari | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Heavy | Low |
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.
In 633, the Rashidun Arabs invaded the territories of the Byzantine and Sasanian Empire. By 637, the Arabs owned the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon, all of Iraq, and large parts of Syria. One year later, they invaded the rich Sasanian province Khuzestan, which was part of the domains of the Iranian aristocrat Hormuzan, who had, following the fall of Ctesiphon, retreated to Hormizd-Ardashir, which he used as his base in his raids in Meshan against the Arabs. [1] The Sasanian king Yazdegerd III (r. 632–651) supported him in these raids and believed that it was possible to regain the territories that had been taken by the Arabs. [2]
Hormuzan was eventually defeated and asked for peace, which the Arabs accepted in return for tribute. However, Hormuzan soon broke the peace by stopping paying tributes but was once again defeated, while the cities of Khuzestan were slowly subjugated one by one. Sometime later in 641, after a defeat at Ram-Hormizd, Hormuzan fled to Shushtar, and was defeated near the city, but managed to reach it, while 900 of his men were killed, and 600 were captured and would later be executed. [3] The Arabs then laid siege to the city.
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). [4] 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." [5]
Al-Nu'man did as he told him, and with a small portion of his army, charged into Shushtar. These small units who infiltrate and opening the gate of Shushtar were led by Al-Bara' ibn Malik. [6] Hormuzan then retreated to the citadel and continued his resistance, but was eventually forced to surrender. [7] [5] 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. [4] 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. [8]
The reason for their defection was 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. [8]
After his defeat, Hormuzan was taken captive by the Arabs and sent to their capital Medina, while the Arabs continued their invasions into Iran. Hormuzan, after being threatened to choose between death and Islam, converted to Islam. [9] Hormuzan was later suspected as being part of the assassination of the Rashidun caliph Umar, and was put to death. [7] By 651, most of Iran was under the control of the Arabs, and Yazdegerd III had been assassinated under the orders of his servant Mahoe Suri, an aristocrat from the Suren family, who served as the governor ( marzban ) of Merv, a powerful Sasanian stronghold. In 654, all of Iran was under the possession of the Arabs.
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.
Shahrbaraz, was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurping the Sasanian throne he was a spahbed (general) under Khosrow II (590–628). He is furthermore noted for his important role during the climactic Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, and the events that followed afterwards.
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.
Boran was Sasanian queen (banbishn) of Iran from 630 to 632, with an interruption of some months. She was the daughter of king Khosrow II and the Byzantine princess Maria. She is the second of only three women to rule in Iranian history, the others being Musa of Parthia, and Boran's sister Azarmidokht.
Rostam Farrokhzād was a dynast from the Ispahbudhan family, who served as the spahbed of the northwestern quarter (kust) of Adurbadagan under the Sasanian monarchs Boran and Yazdegerd III. Rostam is remembered as a historical figure, a character in the Persian epic poem Shahnameh, and as a touchstone of many Iranian nationalists.
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).
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.
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.
Hulwan was an ancient town on the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, located on the entrance of the Paytak Pass, nowadays identified with the town of Sarpol-e Zahab.
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.
Bahman Jādhūyah/Jādūyah, or Bahman Jādhawayh was an Iranian general of the Sasanians. He is mostly known to have led the Sasanians to victory against the Arabs at the Battle of the Bridge. The Arab Muslims referred to Bahman as Dhul Hājib. He had a reputation for being anti-Arab. He is often confused with Mardanshah, another Sasanian general.
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.
Narsi or Narse, was an Iranian nobleman who served as the Sasanian governor of Kashkar.
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