_Death of Mohammed and Collapse of Mohammedanism. Recovery under
Abu-bekr. Conquest of the Kingdom of Hira. Conquest of Obolla. Invasion
of Mesopotamia. Battle of the Bridge--the Arabs suffer a Reverse. Battle
of El Bow-eib--Mihran defeated by El Mothanna. Fresh Effort made by
Persia--Battle of Cadesia--Defeat of the Persians. Pause in the War.
March of Sa’ad on Ctesiphon. Flight of Isdigerd. Capture of Ctesiphon.
Battle of Jalula. Conquest of Susiana and invasion of Persia Proper.
Recall of Sa’ad. Isdigerd assembles an Army at Nehawend. Battle of
Nehawend. Flight of Isdigerd. Conquest of the various Persian Provinces.
Isdigerd murdered. Character of Isdigerd. Coins of Isdigerd._
“Yazdejird, Persarum rex.... Rostamum misit oppugnatum Saadum... neque
unquam belloram et dissentionum expers fuit, donee oecideretur. Regnavit
autem annos viginti.”--Eutychius, _Annales_, vol. ii. pp. 295-6.
The power which Mohammed had so rapidly built up fell to pieces at his
decease. Isdigerd can scarcely have been well settled upon this throne
when the welcome tidings must have reached him that the Prophet was
dead, that the Arabs generally were in revolt, that Al Mondar had
renounced Islamism and resumed a position of independence. For the
time Mohammedanism was struck down. It remained to be seen whether the
movement had derived its strength solely from the genius of the Prophet,
or whether minds of inferior calibre would suffice to renew and sustain
the impulse which had proceeded from him, and which under him had proved
of such wonderful force and efficacy.
The companions of Mohammed lost no time in appointing his successor.
Their choice fell upon Abu-bekr, his friend and father-in-law, who was a
person of an energetic character, brave, chaste, and temperate. Abu-bekr
proved himself quite equal to the difficulties of the situation. Being
unfit for war himself, as he was above sixty years of age, he employed
able generals, and within a few months of his accession struck such a
series of blows that rebellion collapsed everywhere, and in a short
time the whole Arab nation, except the tribe of Gassan, acknowledged
themselves his subjects. Among the rivals against whom he measured
himself, the most important was Moseilama. Moseilama, who affected the
prophetic character, had a numerous following, and was able to fight a
pitched battle with the forces of Abu-bekr, which numbered 40,000 men.
At the first encounter he even succeeded in repulsing this considerable
army, which lost 1200 warriors; but in a second engagement the
Mohammedans were victorious--Moseilama was slain--and Kaled, “the Sword
of God,” carried back to Medina the news of his own triumph, and the
spoils of the defeated enemy. Soon after the fall of Moseilama, the
tribes still in rebellion submitted themselves, and the first of the
Caliphs found himself at liberty to enter upon schemes of foreign
conquest.
Distracted between the temptations offered to his arms by the East and
by the West, Abu-bekr in his first year (A.D. 633) sent expeditions
in both directions, against Syria, and against Hira, where Iyas, the
Persian feudatory, who had succeeded Noman, son of Al Mondar, held
his court, on the western branch of the Euphrates. For this latter
expedition the commander selected was the irresistible Kaled, who
marched a body of 2000 men across the desert to the branch stream,s
which he reached in about latitude 30°. Assisted by Al Mothanna, chief
of the Beni Sheiban, who had been a subject of Iyas, but had revolted
and placed himself under the protection of Abu-bekr, Kaled rapidly
reduced the kingdom of Hira, took successively Banikiya, Barasuilia,
and El Lis, descended the river to the capital, and there fought an
important battle with the combined Persian and Arab forces, the first
trial of arms between the followers of Mohammed and those of Zoroaster.
The Persian force consisted entirely of horse, and was commanded by
a general whom the Arab writers call Asadsubeh. Their number is not
mentioned, but was probably small. Charged furiously by Al Mothanna,
they immediately broke and fled; Hira was left with no other protection
than its walls; and Iyas, yielding to necessity, made his submission to
the conqueror, and consented to pay a tribute of 290,000 dirhems.
The splendid success of his pioneer induced Abu-bekr to support the war
in this quarter with vigor. Reinforcements joined Kaled from every side,
and in a short time he found himself at the head of an army of 18,000
men. With this force he proceeded southwards bent on reducing the entire
tract between the desert and the Eastern or real Euphrates. The most
important city of the southern region was at the time Obolla which was
situated on a canal or backwater derived from the Euphrates, not far
from the modern Busrah. It was the great emporium for the Indian trade,
and was known as the _limes Indorum_ or “frontier city towards India.”
The Persian governor was a certain Hormuz or Hormisdas who held the
post with 20,000 men. Kaled fought his second great battle with this
antagonist, and was once more completely victorious, killing Hormuz,
according to the Arabian accounts, with his own hands. Obolla
surrendered; a vast booty was taken; and, after liberally rewarding
his soldiers Kaled sent the fifth part of the spoils, together with a
captured elephant, to Abu-bekr at Medina. The strange animal astonished
the simple natives, who asked one another wonderingly “Is this indeed
one of God’s works, or did human art make it.”
The victories of Kaled Over Asadsubeh and Hormuz were followed by a
number of other successes, the entire result being that the whole of
the fertile region on the right bank of the Euphrates from Hit to the
Persian Gulf, was for the time reduced, made a portion of Ahu-bekr’s
dominions, and parcelled out among Mohammedan governors. Persia was
deprived of the protection which a dependent Arab kingdom to the west of
the river had hitherto afforded her, and was brought into direct contact
with the great Mohammedan monarchy along almost the whole of her western
frontier. Henceforth she was open to attack on this side for a distance
of above four hundred miles, with no better barrier than a couple of
rivers interposed between her enemy and her capital.
Soon after his conquest of the kingdom of Hira, Kaled was recalled
from the Euphrates to the Syrian war, and was employed in the siege of
Damascus, while Persia enjoyed a breathing-space. Advantage was taken of
this interval to stir up disaffection in the newly-conquered province.
Rustam appointed to the command against the Arabs by Isdigerd sent
emissaries to the various towns of the Sawad, urging them to rise in
revolt and promising to support such a movement with a Persian army. The
situation was critical; and if the Mohammedans had been less tenacious,
or the Persians more skilfully handled, the whole of the Sawad might
have been recovered. But Rustam allowed his troops to be defeated in
detail. Al Mothanna and Abu Obediah, in three separate engagements, at
Namarik, Sakatiya, and Barusma, overcame the Persian leaders, Jaban,
Narses, and Jalenus, and drove their shattered armies back on the
Tigris. The Mohammedan authority was completely re-established in the
tract between the desert and the Euphrates; it was even extended across
the Euphrates into the tract watered by the Shat-el-Hie; and it soon
became a question whether Persia would be able to hold the Mesopotamian
region, or whether the irrepressible Arabs would not very shortly
wrest it from her grasp. But at this point in the history the Arabs
experienced a severe reverse. On learning the defeat of his lieutenants,
Rustam sent an army to watch the enemy, under the command of
Bahman-Dsul-hadjib, or “Bahman the beetle-browed,” which encamped upon
the Western Euphrates at Kossen-natek, not far from the site of Kufa.
At the same time, to raise the courage of the soldiers, he entrusted to
this leader the sacred standard of Persia, the famous _durufsh-kawani_,
or leathern apron of the blacksmith Kawah, which was richly adorned
with silk and gems, and is said to have measured, eighteen feet long
by twelve feet broad. Bahman had with him, according to the Persian
tradition, 30,000 men and thirty elephants; the Arabs under Abu Obediah
numbered no more than 9000, or at the most 10,000. Bahman is reported
to have given his adversary the alternative of passing the Euphrates
or allowing the Persians to cross it. Abu Obediah preferred the bolder
course, and, in spite of the dissuasions of his chief officers, threw
a bridge of boats across the stream, and so conveyed his troops to the
left bank. Here he found the Persian horse-archers covered with their
scale armor, and drawn up in a solid line behind their elephants. Galled
severely by the successive flights of arrows, the Arab cavalry sought
to come to close quarters; but their horses, terrified by the unwonted
sight of the huge animals, and further alarmed by the tinkling of the
bells hung round their necks, refused to advance. It was found necessary
to dismount, and assail the Persian line on foot. A considerable
impression had been made, and it was thought that the Persians would
take to flight, when Abu Obediah, in attacking the most conspicuous of
the elephants, was seized by the infuriated animal and trampled under
his feet. Inspirited by this success, the Persians rushed upon their
enemies, who, disheartened by the loss of their commander, began a
retrograde movement, falling back upon their newly-made bridge. This,
however, was found to have been broken, either by the enemy, or by a
rash Arab who thought, by making retreat impossible, to give his own
side the courage of despair. Before the damage done could be repaired,
the retreating host suffered severely. The Persians pressed closely
upon them, slew many, and drove others into the stream, where they were
drowned. Out of the 9000 or 10,000 who originally passed the river,
only 5000 returned, and of these 2000 at once dispersed to their homes.
Besides Abu Obediah, the veteran Salit was slain; and Al Mothanna, who
succeeded to the command on Abu Obediah’s death, was severely wounded.
The last remnant of the defeated army might easily have been destroyed,
had not a dissension arisen among the Persians, which induced Bahman to
return to Otesiphon.
The Arabs, upon this repulse, retired to El Lis; and Al Mothanna sent
to Omar for reinforcements, which speedily arrived under the command
of Jarir, son of Abdallah. Al Mothanna was preparing to resume the
offensive when the Persians anticipated him. A body of picked troops,
led by Mihran a general of reputation, crossed the Euphrates, and made a
dash at Hira. Hastily collecting his men, who were widely dispersed, Al
Mothanna gave the assailants battle on the canal El Boweib, in the near
vicinity of the threatened town, and though the Persians fought with
desperation from noon to sunset, succeeded in defeating them and in
killing their commander. The beaten army recrossed the Euphrates, and
returned to Otesiphon without suffering further losses, since the Arabs
were content to have baffled their attack, and did not pursue them many
miles from the field of battle. All Mesopotamia, however, was by this
defeat laid open to the invaders, whose ravages soon extended to the
Tigris and the near vicinity of the capital.
The year A.D. 636 now arrived, and the Persians resolved upon an
extraordinary effort. An army of 120,000 men was enrolled, and Rustam,
reckoned the best general of the day, was placed at its head. The
Euphrates was once more crossed, the Sawad entered, its inhabitants
invited to revolt, and the Arab force, which had been concentrated at
Cadesia (Kadisiyeh), where it rested upon a fortified town, was sought
out and challenged to the combat. The Caliph Omar had by great efforts
contrived to raise his troops in the Sawad to the number of 30,000, and
had entrusted the command of them to Sa’ad, the son of Wakas, since Al
Mothanna had died of his wound. Sa’ad stood wholly on the defensive. His
camp was pitched outside the walls of Cadesia, in a position protected
on either side by a canal, or branch stream, derived from the Euphrates,
and flowing to the south-east out of the Sea of Nedjef. He himself,
prevented by boils from sitting on his horse, looked down on his troops,
and sent them directions from the Oadesian citadel. Rustam, in order
to come to blows, was obliged to fill up the more eastern of the branch
streams (El Atik), with reeds and earth, and in this way to cross the
channel. The Arabs made no attempt to hinder the operation; and the
Persian general, having brought his vast army directly opposite to
the enemy, proceeded to array his troops as he thought most expedient.
Dividing his army into a centre and two wings, he took himself the
position of honor in, the mid-line with nineteen elephants and three
fifths of his forces, while he gave the command of the right wing to
Jalenus, and of the left to Bendsuwan; each of whom we may suppose to
have had 24,000 troops and seven elephants. The Arabs, on their side,
made no such division. Kaled, son of Orfuta, was the sole leader in the
fight, though Sa’ad from his watch-tower observed the battle and gave
his orders. The engagement began at mid-day and continued till sunset.
At the signal of _Allah akbar_, “God is great,” shouted by Sa’ad from
his tower, the Arabs rushed to the attack. Their cavalry charged; but
the Persians advanced against them their line of elephants, repeating
with excellent effect the tactics of the famous “Battle of the Bridge.”
The Arab horse fled; the foot alone remained firm; victory seemed
inclining to the Persians, who were especially successful on either
wing; Toleicha, with his “lions” failed to re-establish the balance; and
all would have been lost, had not Assem, at the command of Sa’ad, sent a
body of archers and other footmen to close with the elephants, gall them
with missiles, cut their girths, and so precipitate their riders to the
ground. Relieved from this danger, the Arab horse succeeded in repulsing
the Persians, who as evening approached retired in good order to their
camp. The chief loss on this, the “day of concussion,” was suffered
by the Arabs, who admit that they had 500 killed, and must have had a
proportional number of wounded.
On the morning of the second day the site of the battle was somewhat
changed, the Persians having retired a little during the night.
Reinforcements from Syria kept reaching the Arab camp through most
of the day; and hence it is known to the Arab writers as the “day of
succors.” The engagement seems for some time not to have been general,
the Arabs waiting for more troops to reach them, while the Persians
abstained because they had not yet repaired the furniture of their
elephants. Thus the morning passed in light skirmishes and single
combats between the champions of either host, who went out singly before
the lines and challenged each other to the encounter. The result of the
duels was adverse to the Persians, who lost in the course of them two of
their best generals, Bendsuwan and Bahman-Dsulhadjib. After a time the
Arabs, regarding themselves as sufficiently reinforced, attacked the
Persians along their whole line, partly with horse, and partly with
camels, dressed up to resemble elephants. The effect on the Persian
cavalry was the same as had on the preceding day been produced by the
real elephants on the horse of the Arabs; it was driven off the field
and dispersed, suffering considerable losses. But the infantry stood
firm, and after a while the cavalry rallied; Rustam, who had been in
danger of suffering capture, was saved; and night closing in, defeat was
avoided, though the advantage of the day rested clearly with the Arabs.
The Persians had lost 10,000 in killed and wounded, the Arabs no more
than 2000.
In the night which followed “the day of succors” great efforts were made
by the Persians to re-equip their elephants, and when morning dawned
they were enabled once more to bring the unwieldy beasts into line. But
the Arabs and their horses had now grown more familiar with the strange
animals; they no longer shrank from meeting them; and some Persian
deserters gave the useful information that, in order to disable the
brutes it was only necessary to wound them on the proboscis or in the
eye. Thus instructed, the Arabs made the elephants the main object of
their attack, and, having wounded the two which were accustomed to lead
the rest, caused the whole body on a sudden to take to flight, cross the
canal El Atik, and proceed at full speed to Ctesiphon. The armies then
came to close quarters; and the foot and horse contended through the
day with swords and spears, neither side being able to make any serious
impression upon the other. As night closed in, however, the Persians
once more fell back, crossing the canal El Atik, and so placing that
barrier between themselves and their adversaries.
Their object in this manoeuvre was probably to obtain the rest which
they must have greatly needed. The Persians were altogether of a frame
less robust, and of a constitution less hardy, than the Arabs. Their
army at Kadisiyeh was, moreover, composed to a large extent of raw
recruits; and three consecutive days of severe fighting must have sorely
tried its endurance. The Persian generals hoped, it would seem, by
crossing the Atik to refresh their troops with a quiet night before
renewing the combat on the morrow. But the indefatigable Arabs, perhaps
guessing their intention, determined to frustrate it, and prevented
the tired host from enjoying a moment’s respite. The “day of embittered
war,” as it was called, was followed by the “night of snarling”--a time
of horrid noise and tumult, during which the discordant cries of the
troops on either side were thought to resemble the yells and barks of
dogs and jackals. Two of the bravest of the Arabs, Toleicha and Amr,
crossed the Atik with small bodies of troops, and under cover of the
darkness entered the Persian camp, slew numbers, and caused the greatest
confusion. By degrees a general engagement was brought on, which
continued into the succeeding day, so that the “night of snarling” can
scarcely be separated from the “day of cormorants”--the last of the four
days’ Kadisiyeh fight.
It would seem that the Persians must on the fourth day have had for a
time the advantage, since we find them once more fighting upon the old
ground, in the tract between the two canals, with the Atik in their
rear. About noon, however, a wind arose from the west, bringing with
it clouds of sand, which were blown into the faces and eyes of the
Persians, while the Arabs, having their backs to the storm, suffered but
little from its fury. Under these circumstances the Moslems made fresh
efforts, and after a while a part of the Persian army was forced to
give ground. Hormuzan, satrap of Susiana, and Firuzan, the general who
afterwards commanded at Nehavend, fell back. The line of battle was
dislocated; the person of the commander became exposed to danger; and
about the same time a sudden violent gust tore away the awning that
shaded his seat, and blew it into the Atik, which was not far off.
Rustam sought a refuge from the violence of the storm among his baggage
mules, and was probably meditating flight, when the Arabs were upon him.
Hillal, son of Alkama, intent upon plunder, began to cut the cords of
the baggage and strew it upon the ground. A bag falling severely injured
Rustam, who threw himself into the Atik and attempted to swim across.
Hillal, however, rushed after him, drew him to shore, and slew him;
after which he mounted the vacant throne, and shouted as loudly as
he could, “By the lord of the Kaaba, I have killed Rustam.” The words
created a general panic. Everywhere the Persian courage fell; the most
part despaired wholly, and at once took to flight; a few cohorts alone
stood firm and were cut to pieces; the greater number of the men rushed
hastily to the Atik; some swam the stream others crossed where it
had been filled up; but as many as 30,000 perished in the waves.
Ten thousand had fallen on the field of battle in the course of the
preceding night and day, while of the Mohammedans as many as 6000
had been slain. Thus the last day of the Kadisiyeh fight was stoutly
contested; and the Persian defeat was occasioned by no deficiency
of courage, but by the occurrence of a sand-storm and by the almost
accidental death of the commander. Among the Persian losses in the
battle that of the national standard, the _durufsh-kawani_ was reckoned
the most serious.
The retreat of the defeated army was conducted by Jalenus. Sa’ad,
anxious to complete his victory, sent three bodies of troops across the
Atik, to press upon the flying foe. One of these, commanded by Sohra,
came up with the Persian rear-guard under Jalenus at Harrar, and
slaughtered it, together with its leader. The other two seem to have
returned without effecting much. The bulk of the fugitives traversed
Mesopotamia in safety, and found a shelter behind the walls of
Ctesiphon.
By the defeat of Kadisiyeh all hope of recovering the territory on the
right bank of the Euphrates was lost; but Persia did not as yet despair
of maintaining her independence. It was evident, indeed, that the
permanent maintenance of the capital was henceforth precarious; and a
wise forethought would have suggested the removal of the Court from so
exposed a situation and its transference to some other position, either
to Istakr, the ancient metropolis of Persia Proper, or to Hamadan, the
capital city of Media. But probably it was considered that to retire
voluntarily from the Tigris would be a confession of weakness, as fatal
to the stability of the empire as to be driven back by the Arabs; and
perhaps it may have been hoped that the restless nomads would be content
with their existing conquests, or that they might receive a check at the
hands of Rome which would put a stop to their aggressions elsewhere.
It is remarkable that, during the pause of a year and a half which
intervened between the battle of Kadisiyeh and the resumption of
hostilities by the Arabs, nothing seems to have been done by Persia in
the way of preparation against her terrible assailants.
In the year A.D. 637 the Arabs again took the offensive. They had
employed the intervening year and a half in the foundation of Busrah and
Kufam and in the general consolidation of their sway on the right bank
of the Euphrates. They were now prepared for a further movement. The
conduct of the war was once more entrusted to Sa’ad. Having collected
an army of 20,000 men, this general proceeded from Kufa to Anbar
(or Perisabor), where he crossed the Euphrates, and entered on the
Mesopotamian region. Isdigerd. learning that he had put his forces in
motion, and was bent upon attacking Ctesiphon, called a council of
war, and asked its advice as to the best course to be pursued under
the circumstances. It was generally agreed that the capital must be
evacuated, and a stronger situation in the more mountainous part of the
country occupied; but Isdigerd was so unwilling to remove that he waited
till the Arabian general, with a force now raised to 60,000, had reached
Sabat, which was only a day’s march from the capital, before he could
be induced to commence his retreat. He then abandoned the town hastily,
without carrying off more than a small portion of the treasures which
his ancestors had during four centuries accumulated at the main seat
of their power, and retired to Holwan, a strong place in the Zagros
mountain-range. Sa’ad, on learning his movement, sent a body of troops
in pursuit, which came up with the rear-guard of the Persians, and cut
it in pieces, but effected nothing really important. Isdigerd made good
his retreat, and in a short time concentrated at Holwan an army of above
100,000 men. Sa’ad, instead of pushing forward and engaging this force,
was irresistibly attracted by the reputed wealth of the Great Ctesiphon,
and, marching thither, entered the unresisting city, with his troops, in
the sixteenth year of the Hegira, the four hundred and eleventh from the
foundation of the Sassanian kingdom by Artaxerxes, son of Babek.
Ctesiphon was, undoubtedly, a rich prize. Its palaces and its gardens,
its opulent houses and its pleasant fields, its fountains and its
flowers, are celebrated by the Arabian writers, who are never weary of
rehearsing the beauty of its site, the elegance of the buildings,
the magnificence and luxury of their furniture, or the amount of the
treasures which were contained in them. The royal palace, now known as
the Takht-i-Khosru, especially provoked their admiration. It was built
of polished stone, and had in front of it a portico of twelve marble
pillars, each 150 feet high. The length of the edifice was 450 feet, its
breadth 180, its height 150. In the centre was the hall of audience, a
noble apartment, 115 feet long and 85 high, with a magnificent vaulted
roof, bedecked with golden stars, so arranged as to represent the
motions of the planets among the twelve signs of the Zodiac, where the
monarch was accustomed to sit on a golden throne, hearing causes
and dispensing justice to his subjects. The treasury and the various
apartments were full of gold and silver, of costly robes and precious
stones, of jewelled arms and dainty carpets. The glass vases of the
spice magazine contained an abundance of musk, camphor, amber, gums,
drugs, and delicious perfumes. In one apartment was found a carpet
of white brocade, 450 feet long and 90 broad, with a border worked in
precious stones of various hues, to represent a garden of all kinds of
beautiful flowers. The leaves were formed of emeralds, the blossoms
and buds of pearls, rubies, sapphires, and other gems of immense value.
Among the objects found in the treasury were a horse made entirely of
gold, bearing a silver saddle set with a countless multitude of jewels,
and a camel made of silver, accompanied by a foal of which the material
was gold. A coffer belonging to Isdigerd was captured at the bridge over
the Nahrwan canal as its guardians were endeavoring to carry it off.
Among its contents were a robe of state embroidered with rubies and
pearls, several garments made of tissue of gold, the crown and seal of
Chosroes (Anushirwan?), and ten pieces of silk brocade. The armory of
Chosroes also fell into the conqueror’s hands. It contained his helmet,
breastplate, greaves, and arm-pieces, all of solid gold adorned with
pearls, six “cuirasses of Solomon,” and ten costly scimitars. The works
of art, and a fifth part of the entire booty, were set apart for the
Caliph Omar, and sent by trusty messengers to Medina; the value of the
remainder was so enormous that when Sa’ad divided it among his 60,000
soldiers the share of each amounted to 12,000 dirhems (L312.).
It is said that Sa’ad, after capturing Ctesiphon, was anxious to set out
in pursuit of Isdigerd, but was restrained by dispatches received from
Omar, which commanded him to remain at the Persian capital, and to
employ his brother Hashem, and the experienced general, El Kakaa, in the
further prosecution of the war. Hashem was, therefore, sent with 12,000
men, against the fugitive monarch, whose forces, said to have exceeded
100,000 men, and commanded by a Mihran, were drawn up at Jalula, not
far from Holwan. The disparity of numbers forced Hashem to condescend
to maneuvering; and it was six months before he ventured on a general
engagement with his antagonist. Again the Mohammedans proved victorious;
and this time the carnage was excessive; 100,000 Persians are said to
have lain dead on the battle-field; the commander was himself among the
slain. Jalula at once surrendered; and fresh treasures were obtained.
Among other precious articles, a figure of a camel, with its rider,
in solid gold, was found in one of the tents. Altogether the booty is
reckoned at about four millions of our money--the share of each soldier
engaged being 10,000 dirhems, or about L260. sterling.
Isdigerd, on learning the result of the battle of Jalula, quitted
Holwan, and retired to Rei, a large town near the Caspian sea, at a
short distance from the modern Teheran, thus placing the entire Zagros
range between himself and his irresistible foes. A general named
Khosru-sum was left behind with a large body of troops, and was bidden
to defend Holwan to the last extremity. Instead of remaining, however,
within the walls of the stronghold, Khosru-sum rashly led his force to
meet that of El Kakaa, who defeated him at Kasr-i-Shirin and entirely
dispersed his army. Holwan, being left without protection, surrendered;
the conquest of Shirwan, Mahsabadan, and Tekrit followed; and by the
close of the year A.D. 637 the banner of the Prophet waved over the
whole tract west of Zagros, from Nineveh almost to Susa, or from the
Kurnib to the Kuran river.
Another short pause in the Arabian aggressions upon Persia now occurred;
but in the year A.D. 639 their attacks were resumed, and the Persians
had to submit to further losses. Otba, governor of Busrah, sent an
expedition across the Shat-el-Arab into. Susiana, and, supported by
the Arab population of the province, which deserted the Persian side,
engaged Horrmuzan, the satrap, in two battles, defeated him, and forced
him to cede a portion of his territory, including the important city of
Ahwaz. Soon afterwards, Ala, governor of Bahrein, conducted in person an
expedition into Persia Proper, crossing the Gulf in the rude vessels of
the time, and attacking Shehrek, the Persian satrap, who acknowledged
the authority of Isdigerd. Here, the Arabs were for once unsuccessful.
Shehrek collected a force which Ala was afraid to encounter; the Arab
chief retreated to the coast, but found his fleet engulfed by the waves;
and it was only with great difficulty that he made his escape by land
from the country which he had ventured to invade. He owed his escape
to Otba, who sent troops from Busrah to his aid, defeated Shehrek, and
rescued his fellow governor from the peril which threatened, him.
In the next year (A.D. 640) Hormuzan, incited by Isdigerd, made a
desperate attempt to recover the territory which he had been compelled
to cede. Assisted by Shehrek, governor of Persia Proper, he attacked the
Arabs unawares, but was speedily met, driven from Ram-Hormuz to Shuster,
and there besieged for the space of six months. As many as eighty
engagements are said to have taken place before the walls, with no
decided advantage to either side. At length Al-Bera, son of Malik, one
of the companions of the Prophet, and believed by many to possess the
prophetic spirit, announced that victory was about to incline to the
Moslems, but that he himself would be slain. A chance arrow having
fulfilled one-half of the prediction, the Arabs felt an assurance that
the other half would follow, and fought with such fanatic ardor that
their expectations were soon fulfilled. The town was won; but Hormuzan
retired into the citadel, and there successfully maintained himself,
till Abu-Sabra, the Mohammedan general, consented to spare his life, and
send him to Medina, where his fate should be determined by the Caliph.
Hormuzan, on obtaining an audience, pretended thirst and asked for a cup
of water, which was given him: he then looked suspiciously around, as
if he expected to be stabbed while drinking. “Fear nothing,” said Omar;
“your life is safe till you have drunk the water.” The crafty Persian
flung the cup to the ground, and Omar felt that he had been outwitted,
but that he must keep his word. Hormuzan became an Arab pensionary, and
shortly afterwards embraced Islamism. His territories were occupied by
the Moslems, whose dominions were thereby extended from the Kuran to the
Tab river.
The Arab conquests on the side of Persia had hitherto been effected
and maintained by the presiding genius of one of the ablest of the
Mohammedan commanders, the victor of Kadi-siyeh, Sa’ad Ibn Abi Wakas.
From Kufa, where he built himself a magnificent palace, which Omar
however caused to be destroyed, this great general and skilful
administrator directed the movements of armies, arranged the divisions
of provinces, apportioned the sums to be paid to the revenue, dealt
out justice, and generally superintended affairs throughout the entire
region conquered by the Arabs to the east of the desert. A man in such
a position necessarily made himself enemies; and complaints were
frequently carried to Omar of his lieutenant’s pride, luxury, and
injustice. What foundation there may have been for these charges is
uncertain; but it seems that Omar was persuaded, towards the close of
A.D. 640, or very early in A.D. 641, that they were of sufficient weight
to make it necessary that they should be investigated. He accordingly
recalled Sa’ad from his government to Medina, and replaced him at Kufa
by Ammar Ibn Yaser.
The news of this change was carried to Isdigerd at Rei, and caused him
to conceive hopes of recovering his lost territory. The event shows that
he attributed too much to the personal ability of his great antagonist;
but the mistake was not unnatural; and it was a noble impulse which
led him to seize the first promising occasion, in order to renew the
struggle and make a last desperate effort to save his empire and repulse
the barbarous nomads. The facts are not as the Arabian historians
represent them. There was no intention on the part of the Mohammedans to
be content with the conquests which they made, or to remain within the
boundary line of the mountains that separate the Mesopotaraian region
from the high plateau of Iran. Mohammedanism had an insatiable ambition,
and was certain to spread itself in all directions until its forces
were expended, or a bound was set to it by resistance which it could not
overcome. Isdigerd, by remaining quiet, might perhaps have prolonged the
precarious existence of Persia for half a dozen years, though even this
is uncertain, and it is perhaps as probable that the tide of conquest
would have flowed eastward in A.D. 641 or 642, even had he attempted
nothing. What alone we can be sure of his, that no acquiescence on his
part, no abstention from warlike enterprise, no submission short of the
acceptance of Islamism, would have availed to save his country for more
than a very brief space from the tramp of the hordes that were bent on
enriching themselves with the plunder of the whole civilized world,
and imposing on all the nations of the earth their dominion and their
religion.
From the citadel of Rei, Isdigerd, in A.D. 641, sounded the call to
battle with no uncertain note. His envoys spread themselves through
Media, Azerbijan, Khorassan, Gurgan, Tabaristan, Merv, Bactria, Seistan,
Kerman, and Farsistan (or Persia Proper), demanding contingents of
troops, and appointing, as the place of rendezvous, the small town of
Nehavend, which is in the mountain region, about fifty miles south of
Hamadan. The call was responded to with zeal; and in a short time
there was gathered together at the place named an army of 150,000 men.
Firuzan, one of the nobles who had commanded at Kadisiyeh, was made
general-in-chief. The design was entertained of descending on Holwan,
and thence upon the lowland region, of re-taking Ctesiphon, crossing the
great rivers, and destroying the rising cities of Kufa and Busrah. But
the Arabs were upon the alert, and anticipated the intended invasion.
Noman, son of Mokarrin, who commanded at Ahwaz, was hastily commissioned
by Omar to collect the Arab troops stationed in Irak, Khuzistan, and
the Sawad, to put himself at their head, and to prevent the outbreak by
marching at once on Nehavend. He succeeded in uniting under his standard
about 30,000 soldiers, and with this moderate force entered the mountain
tract, passed Holwan and Merj, and encamped at Tur, where he expected
the attack of the enemy. But Firuzan had now resolved to maintain the
defensive. He had entrenched himself strongly in front of Nehavend
and was bent on wearing out the patience of the Arabs by a prolonged
resistance. Noman, finding himself unmolested, advanced from Tur to
the immediate neighborhood of Nehavend, and endeavored to provoke his
adversary to give battle, but without effect. For two months the two
hosts faced each other without fighting. At last, the stores of the
Arabs, as well as their patience, began to fail; and it was necessary to
employ some device, or to give up the war altogether. Hereupon, Noman,
by the advice of two of his captains, had recourse to a stratagem. He
spread a report that Omar was dead, and breaking up from from his
camp began a hasty retreat. The plan succeeded. Firuzan quitted his
entrenchments, and led his army on the traces of the flying foe. It was
two days before he reached them, and on the third day the battle began.
Noman, having addressed his soldiers and made arrangements concerning
the command in case of his own death, mounted a milk-white steed, and
gave the signal for the fight by thrice shouting the famous tehbir,
or battle-cry, “_Allah akbar_.” The Arabs charged with fury, and for a
while, amid the clouds of dust which rose beneath their feet, nothing
was heard but the clash of steel. At length the Persians gave way; but,
as Noman advanced his standard and led the pursuit, a volley of
arrows from the flying foe checked his movement, and at the same time
terminated his career. A shaft had struck him in a vital part, and he
fell at the moment of victory. For his men, maddened by the loss of
their commander, pressed on more furiously than before; the Persians
were unable to rally; and a promiscuous flight began. Then followed a
dreadful slaughter. The numbers of the Persians must have impeded
their retreat; and in the defiles of the mountains a rapid flight was
impossible. Firuzan himself, who, instead of falling back on Nehavend,
took the road leading north to Hamadan, was overtaken by El Kakaa in a
narrow pass, and put to the sword. More than 100,000 Persians are
said to have perished.128 The victors, pressing onwards, easily took
Nehavend. Hamadan surrendered to them shortly afterwards.120
The defeat of Nehavend terminated the Sassanian power. Isdigerd indeed,
escaping from Rei, and flying continually from place to place, prolonged
an inglorious existence for the space of ten more years--from A.D. 641
to A.D. 651; but he had no longer a kingdom. Persia fell to pieces on
the occasion of “the victory of victories,” and made no other united
effort against the Arabs. Province after province was occupied by the
fierce invaders; and, at length, in A.D. 651, their arms penetrated
to Merv, where the last scion of the house of Babek had for some years
found a refuge. It is said that during this interval he had made efforts
to engage the Khan of the Turks and the Emperor of the Chinese to
embrace his cause; but, if this were so, it was without success. Though
they may have lent him some encouragement, no real effort was made by
either potentate on his behalf. Isdigerd, at Merv, during his later
years, experienced the usual fate of sovereigns who have lost their
kingdoms. He was alternately flattered and coerced by pretended friends
among his own people--induced to cherish vain hopes, and driven to
despair, by the fluctuating counsels of the monarchs of neighboring
nations. At last he was murdered by a subject for the sake of his
clothes, when he was flying from a combined attack of treacherous
subjects and offended foreigners.
It is difficult to form a decided opinion as to the character of
Isdigerd III. He was but fifteen years of age at his accession,
twenty-four at the time of the battle of Nehavend, and thirty-four at
his decease, A.D. 651. It is in his favor that “history lays no crimes
to his charge;” for this can be said of very few Sassanian sovereigns.
It is also to his credit that he persevered so long in struggling
against his fate, and in endeavoring to maintain, or restore, the
independence of his nation. But, on the other hand, it must be confessed
that there is little to be admired in the measures which he took to meet
the perils of the time, and that personally he appears to have been weak
and of luxurious habits. During the whole of his long struggle with
the Arabs he seems never once to have placed himself at the head of his
troops, much less to have crossed swords with the enemy. He intrusted
the defence of Persia to generals, and did not even seek to inspire
his soldiers with enthusiasm by his own presence in their camp. Always
occupying some secure fortress far in the rear of his army, he fled from
each as the enemy made a step in advance, quitting Ctesiphon for Holwan,
Holwan for Rei, and Rei for Merv, never venturing upon a stand, never
making an appeal to the loyalty which was amongst the best qualities of
the Persians, and which would have caused them to fight with desperation
in defence of a present king. Carrying with him in all his wanderings
the miserable pageant of an Oriental court, he suffered his movements
to be hampered and his resources crippled by a throng of 4000 useless
retainers, whom he could not bring himself to dismiss. Instead of
donning the armor which befitted one who was struggling for his crown,
he wore to the last the silken robes, the jewelled belt, the rings and
bracelets that were only suited for the quiet inmate of a palace, and by
this incongruous and misplaced splendor he provoked, and, perhaps we may
say, deserved his fate. A monarch who loses his crown for the most
part awakens interest and sympathy; but no historian has a word of
commiseration for the last of the Sassanidae, who is reproached with
feebleness, cowardice, and effeminacy. It must certainly be allowed that
he was no hero; but considering his extreme youth when his perils began,
the efforts which he made to meet them, and the impossibility of an
effective resistance in the effete and exhausted condition of the
Persian nation, history is scarcely justified in passing upon the
unfortunate prince a severe judgment.
The coins assigned to Isdigerd III. are neither numerous nor very
remarkable. The head is in general very similar to that of Artaxerxes
III. The pearl bordering around it is single, and in the margin are
the usual stars and crescents of the later Sassanian kings. The margin,
however, shows also in some instances a peculiar device behind the
crown, and also a legend, which has been read, but very doubtfully,
as “Ormazd.” The king’s name is given as Iskart or Iskarti. Among
the regnal years marked on the reverse have been found the numbers
“nineteen” and “twenty.” Among the mint-marks are Azer-bijan, Abiverd,
and Merv. [PLATE XXIV., Fig. 4]