Muslim conquest of Persia(Redirected from Muslim conquest of
Iraq)Muslim conquest of Persia
Part of the Muslim conquests
Map of the Persia and its surrounding regions on the eve of the
Muslim invasions.
Date633654[1]
LocationMesopotamia, Caucasus, Persia, and Greater Khorasan
ResultDecisive Arab victory
Territorialchanges Fall of the Sasanian Empire Rise of several
dynasties in Tabaristan
Belligerents
Sasanian EmpireCaucasian Albania (633636)Arab Christians
(633637)Kanrangyns (633651)Ispahbudhans (633651)Hephthalites
(651654)House of Mihran (633651)House of Karen (633654)Dabuyids
(642651)Rashidun CaliphateKanrangyns (after 651)
Commanders and leaders
See list[show]See list[show]
[show] v t eMuslim conquestof Persia
[show] v t eEarly Muslim expansion
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest
of Iran[2] led to the end of the Sasanian Empire in 651 and the
eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran. Arabs first
attacked the Sassanid territory in 633, when general Khalid ibn
Walid invaded Mesopotamia (what is now Iraq), which was the
political and economic center of the Sassanid state.[3] Following
the transfer of Khalid to the Roman front in the Levant, the
Muslims eventually lost their holdings to Iranian counterattacks.
The second invasion began in 636 under Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, when a
key victory at the Battle of Qadisiyyah led to the permanent end of
Sasanian control west of Iran. The Zagros mountains then became a
natural barrier and border between the Rashidun Caliphate and the
Sassanid Empire. Owing to continuous raids by Persians into the
area, Caliph Umar ordered a full invasion of the Sasanian Iranian
empire in 642, which was completed with the complete conquest of
the Sasanians around 651.a[] The quick conquest of Iran in a series
of well coordinated multi-pronged attacks, directed by Caliph Umar
from Medina several thousand miles from the battlefields in Iran,
became his greatest triumph, contributing to his reputation as a
great military and political strategist.[4]Iranian historians have
sought to defend their forebears by using Arab sources to
illustrate that "contrary to the claims of some historians,
Iranians, in fact, fought long and hard against the invading
Arabs."[5] By 651, most of the urban centers in Iranian lands, with
the notable exception of the Caspian provinces and Transoxiana, had
come under the domination of the Arab armies. Many localities in
Iran staged a defense against the invaders, but in the end none was
able to repulse the invasion. Even after the Arabs had subdued the
country, many cities rose in rebellion, killing the Arab governor
or attacking their garrisons, but reinforcements from the caliphs
succeeded in putting down all these rebellions and imposing the
rule of Islam. The violent subjugation of Bukhara after many
uprisings is a case in point. Conversion to Islam was, however,
only gradual. In the process, many acts of violence took place,
Zoroastrian scriptures were burnt and many priests executed.[6]
Once conquered politically, the Persians began to reassert
themselves by maintaining Persian language and culture. Regardless,
Islam was adopted by many, for political, socio-cultural or
spiritual reasons, or simply by persuasion, and became the dominant
religion.[7][8]Contents 1 Historiography and recent scholarship 2
Sassanid Empire before the Conquest 2.1 Revolt of the Arab client
states (602) 2.2 ByzantineSassanid War (612629) 2.2.1 Execution of
Khosrau II 2.3 During Muhammad's life 3 Rise of the Caliphate 4
First invasion of Mesopotamia (633) 5 Second invasion of
Mesopotamia (636) 5.1 Battle of Qadisiyyah 6 Conquest of
Mesopotamia (636638) 6.1 Raids of Persians in Mesopotamia (638641)
7 Battle of Nahawand (642) 8 Conquest of Persia (642651) 8.1
Strategic planning for the conquest of Persia 8.2 Conquest of
Central Persia 8.3 Conquest of Southern Persia (Fars) 8.4 Conquest
of Southeastern Persia (Kerman and Makran) 8.5 Conquest of Eastern
Persia (Sistan) 8.6 Conquest of Azerbaijan 8.7 Conquest of Armenia
8.8 Conquest of Khorasan 9 Persian rebellion and reconquest 10 End
of the Sassanid dynasty 11 Persia under Muslim rule 11.1
Administration 11.2 Religion 11.3 Ancient Zorastrian Fire Temples
12 Language 13 Urbanisation 14 See also 15 References 16 Sources 17
External linksHistoriography and recent scholarshipWhen Western
academics first investigated the Muslim conquest of Persia, they
only had to rely on the accounts of the Armenian Christian bishop
Sebeos, and accounts in Arabic that were written some time after
the events they describe. The most significant work was probably
that of Arthur Christensen, and his LIran sous les Sassanides,
published in Copenhagen and Paris in 1944.[9]However recent
scholarship, both Iranian and Western,[citation needed] has begun
to question the traditional narrative. Parvaneh Pourshariati, in
her Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian
Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, published in 2008,
provides both a detailed overview of the problematic nature of
trying to establish exactly what happened, and a great deal of
original research that questions fundamental facts of the
traditional narrative, including the timeline and specific
dates.Pourshariati's central thesis is that contrary to what was
commonly assumed, the Sassanian Empire was highly decentralized,
and was in fact a "confederation" with the Parthians, who
themselves retained a high level of independence.[10] Despite their
recent victories over the Byzantine Empire, making the Byzantines a
client-state of the Sassanians, the Parthians unexpectedly withdrew
from the confederation, and the Sassanians were thus ill-prepared
and ill-equipped to mount an effective and cohesive defense against
the Muslim armies.[11] Moreover, the powerful northern and eastern
Parthian families, the kust-i khwarasan and kust-i adurbadagan,
withdrew to their respective strongholds and made peace with the
Arabs, refusing to fight alongside the Sassanians.Another important
theme of Pourshariati's study is a re-evaluation of the traditional
timeline. Pourshariati argues that the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia
"took place, not, as has been conventionally believed, in the years
632634, after the accession of the last Sasanian king Yazdgerd III
(632651) to power, but in the period from 628 to 632."[12] An
important consequence of this change in timeline means that the
Arab conquest started precisely when the Sassanians and Parthians
were engaged in internecine warfare over succession to the
Sassanian throne.[12]Sassanid Empire before the ConquestSince the
1st century BC, the border between the Roman (later Byzantine) and
Parthian (later Sassanid) empires had been the Euphrates river. The
border was constantly contested. Most battles, and thus most
fortifications, were concentrated in the hilly regions of the
north, as the vast Arabian or Syrian Desert (Roman Arabia)
separated the rival empires in the south. The only dangers expected
from the south were occasional raids by nomadic Arab tribesmen.
Both empires therefore allied themselves with small,
semi-independent Arab principalities, which served as buffer states
and protected Byzantium and Persia from Bedouin attacks. The
Byzantine clients were the Ghassanids; the Persian clients were the
Lakhmids. The Ghassanids and Lakhmids feuded constantlywhich kept
them occupied, but that did not greatly affect the Byzantines or
the Persians. In the 6th and 7th centuries, various factors
destroyed the balance of power that had held for so many
centuries.Revolt of the Arab client states (602)
Ancient Iranians attached great importance to music and poetry,
as they still do today. This 7th century plate depicts Sassanid era
musicians.The Byzantine clients, the Arab Ghassanids, converted to
the Monophysite form of Christianity, which was regarded as
heretical by the established Byzantine Orthodox Church. The
Byzantines attempted to suppress the heresy, alienating the
Ghassanids and sparking rebellions on their desert frontiers. The
Lakhmids also revolted against the Persian king Khusrau II. Nu'man
III (son of Al-Monder IV), the first Christian Lakhmid king, was
deposed and killed by Khusrau II in 602, because of his attempt to
throw off the Persian tutelage. After Khusrau's assassination, the
Persian Empire fractured and the Lakhmids were effectively
semi-independent. It is now widely believed that the annexation of
the Lakhmid kingdom was one of the main factors behind the Fall of
Sassanid dynasty, to the Muslim Arabs and the Islamic conquest of
Persia, as the Lakhmids agreed to act as spies for the Muslims
after being defeated in the Battle of Hira by Khalid ibn
al-Walid.[13]ByzantineSassanid War (612629)Main articles:
Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602628 and ByzantineSassanid WarsSee
also: Fall of Sassanid dynastyThe Persian ruler Khosrau II (Parviz)
defeated a dangerous rebellion within his own empire, the Bahram
Chobin's rebellion. He afterward turned his energies towards his
traditional Byzantine enemies, leading to the Byzantine-Sassanid
War of 602628. For a few years, he succeeded gloriously. From 612
to 622, he extended the Persian borders almost to the same extent
that they were under the Achaemenid dynasty (550330BC), capturing
Western states as far as Egypt, Palestine, and more.The Byzantines
regrouped and pushed back in 622 under Heraclius. Khosrau was
defeated at the Battle of Nineveh in 627, and the Byzantines
recaptured all of Syria and penetrated far into the Persian
provinces of Mesopotamia. In 629, Khosrau's general Shahrbaraz
agreed to peace, and the border between the two empires was once
again the same as it was in 602.Execution of Khosrau II
Sassanid King Khosrau II submitting to the Byzantine Emperor
Heraclius, from a plaque on a 12th-century French cross.Khosrau II
was executed in 628 and as a result, there were numerous claimants
to the throne; from 628 to 632 there were ten kings and queens of
Persia. The last, Yazdegerd III, was a grandson of Khosrau II and
was said to be a mere child aged 8 years.[14]During Muhammad's
lifeAfter the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in 628, Islamic tradition holds
that Muhammad sent many letters to the princes, kings, and chiefs
of the various tribes and kingdoms of the time, inviting them to
convert to Islam. These letters were carried by ambassadors to
Persia, Byzantium, Ethiopia, Egypt, Yemen, and Hira (Iraq) on the
same day.[15] This assertion has been brought under scrutiny by
some modern historians of Islamnotably Grimme and Caetani.[16]
Particularly in dispute is the assertion that Khosrau II received a
letter from Muhammad, as the Sassanid court ceremony was
notoriously intricate, and it is unlikely that a letter from what
at the time was a minor regional power would have reached the hands
of the Shahanshah.[17]With regards to Persia, Muslim histories
further recount that at the beginning of the seventh year of
migration, Muhammad appointed one of his officers, Abdullah Huzafah
Sahmi Qarashi, to carry his letter to Khosrau II inviting him to
convert:"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From
Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to the great Kisra of Iran. Peace
be upon him, who seeks truth and expresses belief in Allah and in
His Prophet and testifies that there is no god but Allah and that
He has no partner, and who believes that Muhammad is His servant
and Prophet. Under the Command of Allah, I invite you to Him. He
has sent me for the guidance of all people so that I may warn them
all of His wrath and may present the unbelievers with an ultimatum.
Embrace Islam so that you may remain safe. And if you refuse to
accept Islam, you will be responsible for the sins of the
Magi."[18]There are differing accounts of the reaction of Khosrau
II. Nearly all assert that he destroyed the letter in anger; the
variations concentrate on the extent and detail of his
response[citation needed].Rise of the CaliphateMuhammad died in
June 632, and Abu Bakr took the title of Caliph and political
successor at Medina. Soon after Abu Bakr's succession, several Arab
tribes revolted, in the Ridda Wars (Arabic for the Wars of
Apostasy). The Ridda Wars preoccupied the Caliphate until March
633, and ended with the entirety of the Arab Peninsula under the
authority of the Caliph at Medina.Whether Abu Bakr intended a
full-out imperial conquest or not is hard to say. He did, however,
set in motion a historical trajectory (continued later on by Umar
and Uthman) that in just a few short decades would lead to one of
the largest empires in history,[19] beginning with a confrontation
with the Sassanid Empire under the general Khalid ibn
al-Walid.First invasion of Mesopotamia (633)
Map detailing the route of Khalid ibn Walid's conquest of
Mesopotamia.After the Ridda Wars, a tribal chief of north eastern
Arabia, Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, raided the Persian towns in
Mesopotamia (what is now Iraq). Abu Bakr was strong enough to
attack the Persian Empire in the north-east and the Byzantine
Empire in the north-west. There were three purposes for this
conquest: 1. Along the borders between Arabia and these two great
empires were numerous Arab tribes leading a nomadic life and
forming a buffer-like state between the Persians and Romans. Abu
Bakr hoped that these tribes might accept Islam and help their
brethren in spreading it. 2. The Persian and Roman populations
suffered with very high taxation laws; Abu Bakr believed that they
might be persuaded to help the Muslims, who agreed to release them
from the excessive tributes. 3. Two gigantic empires surrounded
Arabia, and it was unsafe to remain passive with these two powers
on its borders. Abu Bakr hoped that by attacking Iraq and Syria he
might remove the danger from the borders of the Islamic State.[20]
With the success of the raids, a considerable amount of booty was
collected. Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha went to Medina to inform Caliph
Abu Bakr about his success and was appointed commander of his
people, after which he began to raid deeper into Mesopotamia. Using
the mobility of his light cavalry he could easily raid any town
near the desert and disappear again into the desert, into which the
Sassanid army was unable to chase them. Misnah's acts made Abu Bakr
think about the expansion of the Rashidun Empire.[21]To be certain
of victory, Abu Bakr made two decisions concerning the attack on
Persia: first, the invading army would consist entirely of
volunteers; and second, to put in command of the army his best
general: Khalid ibn al-Walid. After defeating the self-proclaimed
prophet Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama, Khalid was still at
Al-Yamama when Abu Bakr sent him orders to invade the Sassanid
Empire. Making Al-Hirah the objective of Khalid, Abu Bakr sent
reinforcements and ordered the tribal chiefs of north eastern
Arabia, Misnah ibn Haris, Mazhur bin Adi, Harmala and Sulma to
operate under the command of Khalid along with their men. Around
the third week of March 633 (first week of Muharram 12th Hijrah)
Khalid set out from Al-Yamama with an army of 10,000.[21] The
tribal chiefs, with 2,000 warriors each, joined Khalid; so Khalid
entered the Persian Empire with 18,000 troops.After entering
Mesopotamia with his army of 18,000, Khalid won decisive victories
in four consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains, fought in April
633; the Battle of River, fought in the 3rd week of April 633 AD;
the Battle of Walaja, fought in May 633 (where he successfully used
a double envelopment manoeuvre), and the Battle of Ullais, fought
in the mid of May, 633 AD. The Persian court, already disturbed by
internal problems, was thrown into chaos. In the last week of May
633, the important city of Hira fell to the Muslims after their
victory in the Siege of Hira. After resting his armies, in June 633
Khalid laid siege to the city of Al Anbar, which resisted and
eventually surrendered after a siege of a few weeks in July 633
after the Siege of Al-Anbar. Khalid then moved towards the south,
and conquered the city of Ein ul Tamr after the Battle of Ein ut
Tamr in the last week of July, 633. At this point, most of what is
now Iraq was under Islamic control.Khalid got a call of help from
northern Arabia at Daumat-ul-Jandal, where another Muslim Arab
general, Ayaz bin Ghanam, was trapped among the rebel tribes.
Khalid went to Daumat-ul-jandal and defeated the rebels in the
Battle of Daumat-ul-jandal in the last week of August, 633.
Returning from Arabia, he got news of the assembling of a large
Persian army. He decided to defeat them all separately to avoid the
risk of being defeated by a large unified Persian army. Four
divisions of Persian and Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at
Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni and Muzieh. Khalid devised a brilliant plan
to destroy the Persian forces. He divided his army in three units,
and attacked the Persian forces in well coordinated attacks from
three different sides at night, starting from the Battle of Muzieh,
then the Battle of Sanni, and finally the Battle of Zumail during
November 633. These devastating defeats ended Persian control over
Mesopotamia, and left the Persian capital Ctesiphon unguarded and
vulnerable to Muslim attack. Before attacking the Persian capital,
Khalid decided to eliminate all Persian forces in the south and
west. He accordingly marched against the border city of Firaz,
where he defeated the combined forces of the Sassanid Persians, the
Byzantine Romans and Christian Arabs in the Battle of Firaz in
December 633. This was the last battle in his conquest of
Mesopotamia. While Khalid was on his way to attack Qadissiyah (a
key fort in the way to the Persian capital Ctesiphon), he received
a letter from Caliph Abu Bakr and was sent to the Roman front in
Syria to assume the command of the Muslim armies to conquer Roman
Syria.[22]
Waste sorting is the process by which waste is separated into
different elements.[1] Waste sorting can occur manually at the
household and collected through curbside collection schemes, or
automatically separated in materials recovery facilities or
mechanical biological treatment systems. Hand sorting was the first
method used in the history of waste sorting.[2]Waste can also be
sorted in a civic amenity site.Waste segregation means dividing
waste into dry and wet. Dry waste includes wood and related
products, metals and glass. Wet waste, typically refers to organic
waste usually generated by eating establishments and are heavy in
weight due to dampness. Waste can also be segregated on basis of
biodegradable or non-biodegradable waste.Landfills are an
increasingly pressing problem.[citation needed] Less and less land
is available to deposit refuse, but the volume of waste is growing
all time. As a result, segregating waste is not just of
environmental importance, but of economic concern,
too.Contents[hide] 1 Methods 2 By country 3 See also 4 References 5
External linksMethods[edit]Waste is collected at its source in each
area and separated. The way that waste is sorted must reflect local
disposal systems. The following categories are common: Paper
Cardboard (including packaging for return to suppliers) Glass
(clear, tinted no light bulbs or window panes, which belong with
residual waste) Plastics Scrap metal Compost Special/hazardous
waste Residual wasteOrganic waste can also be segregated for
disposal: Leftover food which has had any contact with meat can be
collected separately to prevent the spread of bacteria. Meat and
bone can be retrieved by bodies responsible for animal waste If
other leftovers are sent, for example, to local farmers, they can
be sterilised before being fed to the animals Peel and scrapings
from fruit and vegetables can be composted along with other
degradable matter. Other waste can be included for composting, too,
such as cut flowers, corks, coffee grindings, rotting fruit, tea
bags, egg- and nutshells, paper towels etc.Chip pan oil (fryer
oil), used fats, vegetable oil and the content of fat filters can
be collected by companies able to re-use them. Local authority
waste departments can provide relevant addresses. This can be
achieved by providing recycling bins.By country[edit]In Germany,
regulations exist that provide mandatory quotas for the waste
sorting of packaging waste and recyclable materials such as glass
bottles.[3]