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Siege of Ctesiphon 637
Part of the Muslim conquest of Sassanid empire
Date January-March, 637 Location Ctesiphon, Iraq Result Decisive Rashidun victory Territorial changes Ctesiphon occupied by Rashidun Caliphate
Belligerents
Sassanid Persian empire	Rashidun Caliphate
Commanders and leaders
Yazdgerd III Mihran Khurrazad	Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya Abdullah ibn Al-Mutim Shurhabeel ibn As samt Khalid ibn Arfatah Hashim bin Utba
Strength
unknown but few	15,000 strong
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

Ctesiphon (Persian: تیسفون) also known as 'Al-Mada'in ' (المدائن) in Arabic, was conquered by the Rashidun army after a siege lasting about two months, from January to March 637 AD. It was one of the great cities of the Persian Empire, located on the east bank of the Tigris and was an imperial capital of the Arsacids and of their successors, the Sassanids. Soon after the conquest of the city by Muslims, Sassanid rule in Iraq ended. Ctesiphon is located approximately at Al-Mada'in, 20 miles southeast of the modern city of Baghdad, Iraq, along the river Tigris. Ctesiphon measured 30 square kilometers (cf. the 13.7 square kilometers of 4th century imperial Rome). The only visible remain is the great arch Taq-i Kisra located in what is now the Iraqi town of Salman Pak.

March to Ctesiphon

After the decisive victory at Battle of Qadisiyyah, Caliph Umar decided to capture the Sassanid Persian capital city of Ctesiphon, because as long as Sassanid held their capital at Ctesiphone, there was always a possibility that sooner or later they could mount another counter-attack. umar accordingly ordered Saad, Muslims commander in chief in Iraq, to march against Ctesiphon. In December 636, Saad marched with ahead of 15,000 strong Muslim army towards Ctesiphon. Emperor Yazdgerd III, already feared that Muslims will next march against Ctesiphon. As he received the intelligence of preparation of Muslims march against Ctesiphon he deployed detachments of whatever troops he had at capital on the main stages to the route to Ctesiphon, so that necessary arrangement could be done for the defense of the capital city. Meanwhile he hastily concentrated the survivors of Battle of Qaddasiyyah at Ctesiphon. Saad, when came to know about the Sassanid detachments on main route to Ctesiphon, he decided to subjugate them. He accordingly organized a strong advance guard to overpower the Sassanid detachments, the main army would join the advance guard shortly afterwards. For the ease in movement he divided rest of his army into four corps. Under the following commanders:

• Abdullah ibn Mutim;
• Shurahbeel ibn As Samt;
• Hashim bin Utba
• Khalid bin Arfatah.

Saad himself moved with the corps of Khalid bin Arfatah. From Qadisiyya, the main stages on the route to Ctesiphon were Najaf, Burs, Babylon, Sura, Deir Kab, Kusa, Sabat. The advance guard comprising all of cavalry was put under the charge of Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya. Zuhra was directed to move to the main stages on the route to Ctesiphon and deal with the Sassanid detachments in case of any large concentration Sassanid army, he was directed to wait until the main army arrive. The rest of the Muslim army was to move behind the advance guard in quit a slow pace. The corps of Zuhra set off as the advance guard. It occupied Najaf and stayed there till the other corps reached Najaf. Then Zuhra with his corps crossed the Euphrates and proceeded on the road to Ctesiphon. He reached Burs on the western bank of the Hilla branch of the Euphrates, where a small Sassanid force resisted, and the contingent was overpowered and retreated towards Babylon.

Location of Ctesiphon in Iraq.

Zuhra stayed at Burs waiting for main army to join him, the next stage was Babylon and it was learnt that there was a large concentration of Sassanid forces in that fortified city. Babylon was across the other bank of the Euphrates. It was also a place of strategic importance and was the gateway of the Suwad, the land between the Euphrates and the Tigris. Some time in the middle of December 636, the Muslims crossed the Euphrates and camped outside Babylon. The Sassanid forces at Babylon are said to have been commanded by Feerzan, Hormuzan, Mihran and Nakheerzan. It appears that there was disunity among the Persians, and they could not put up a stiff resistance against the Muslim charge. Hormuzan with his forces withdrew to his home province Ahwaz. On his withdrawal, the other Generals also pulled back their forces and withdrew northward.

After the Persian forces had left, the citizens of Babylon formally surrendered. They were afforded protection under the usual terms of payment of Jaziya. They volunteered to cooperate with the Muslims in their fight against the Sassanid regime. They furnished a good deal of useful information about the disposition of the Persian forces. Some Babylonians engineers are said to have been employed for the construction of roads and bridges. While the main Muslim army remained at Babylon, Zuhra was commanded by Saad to pursue the Persians who had retreated from Babylon, before they could concentrate effectively at some other place to give a combine resistance. The Muslim advance guard under Zuhra followed the Persians, and caught the Persian rear-guard at Sura in an engagement took place at Sura, Sassanids were routed, they retreated towards Deir Kab. Zuhra next marched to Deir Kab and defeated the Sassanid detachment there. After which Deir Kab was occupied by the Muslims, and the people were afforded protection under the usual terms. Zuhra waited until the main army joined him at Deir Kab. Early in January 637, the Muslim advance guard under Zuhra reached Kusa, ten miles from Ctesiphon, where Sassanid Persians were to make their last stand to delay the Muslim advance as much as they can. The Sassanid detachment there was commanded by Shahryar, who was killed in a duel with one of Muslim Mubarizun. The rest of Sassanid army hastily withdrew to Ctesiphon. Thereafter the Muslims occupied Kusa on the usual terms. After the victory, Zuhra stayed at Kusa for some time. In the meantime main army reached Kusa. Kusa was a place of historic importance. It was the place where Nimrod imprisoned the Prophet Abraham, and where he was thrown in burning fire, out of which he had emerged unharmed. Saad wrote a detail account of the march towards Ctesiphon. In the second week of January 637, Muslims advance guard reached Sabat four miles from Ctesiphon. It was a Persian cantonment, but there was no garrison there. The residents were given protection on the usual terms of payment of Jaziya. Now the entire land up to the very gates of Ctesiphon belonged to the Muslims.

Siege of Bahrseer

Ctesiphon the capital of Persia was not one city; it was a conglomeration of several cities. Indeed the Arabs called Ctesiphon Al-Madain, meaning the cities. The main city lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris. The part of the city lay on the western bank of the Tigris and was known as Bahrseer.

Muslims advance to Ctesiphon was delayed by the detachments placed on the route to Ctesiphon, that gave enough time to Sassanids to arrange for the defense of the city, as Yazdgerd III planned. Muslims were expected to follow the traditional route to Ctesiphon and expected to appear before Bahrseer, for this purpose, Bahrseer had been well prepared for defense, and a deep ditch had been dug round the perimeter of the suburb. As the Muslim advance guard approached Bahrseer, the Persian garrison within the fortified city hurled stones at the Muslims through ballistas and catapults. The Muslims pulled back beyond the range of the projectiles and laid siege to the city.

The siege began in January 637, and dragged on for two months. The supplies from the countryside on which Bahrseer depended were entirely cut off however it continued getting supplies from the main Ctesiphon across the Tigris. It was here that Muslims first used siege equipment made for them by the Persian engineers who had accepted the Muslim rule. Some time in March 637, the Sassanid garrison called forth from the city in the determined effort to break the siege. Muslim chronicles record an interesting duel between a lion and Muslim commander Hashim, it is said that the Sassanid forces were led by a fierce lion which had been specially trained for war. The lion rushed at the Muslim front, and the Muslim horses bolted. Hashim bin Utbah is said to have rushed at the lion and delivered a well directed blow that it fell dead. Saad the Commander-in-Chief of the Muslim forces stepped forward to kiss Hashim on the forehead as a mark of admiration for his act of unparalleled heroism. Exactly who commanded the Sassanid army there is not certain, however Muslims chronicles record that the Sassanid commander was killed in a duel by Zuhra. Later that evening Zuhra was stuck by an arrow and the hero of the march to Ctesiphon, died. He was buried with full military honors. After the break in fighting, a Persian emissary came to the Muslim camp to convey a message from the Persian emperor. The Persian emissary is reported to have said:

“ Our emperor asks if you would be agreeable to peace on the condition that the Tigris should be the boundary between you and us, so that whatever is with us on the eastern side of the Tigris remains ours and whatever you have gained on the western side is yours. And if this does not satisfy your land hunger, then nothing would satisfy you. ”

Saad, however insisted on the usual term, Jaziyah or sword. Sassanid accepted sword.

With main city Ctesiphon prepared for defenses, Sassanid forces and residents of the Bahrseer withdraw to main city Ctesiphon the next day. In withdrawing the Persian garrison had destroyed all bridges on the Tigris. They had also taken away all the boats from the western bank of the Tigris, and anchored them on the eastern bank. Ctesiphon was guarded from its southern end by a natural barrier, river Tigris and by now a ditch had been dug surrounding rest of the suburbs. With these arrangements Yazdgerd felt satisfied that he could resist Muslims until he manage to get sufficient reinforcement from other provinces to break the siege. The Muslim forces occupied Bahrseer, The town was empty.

Capture of Ctesiphon

After the occupation of Bahrseer, only the Tigris half a mile wide lay between the Muslims and Ctesiphon. The river was in flood and there were no means with the Muslims to cross it. In their withdrawal from Bahrseer the Persians had taken away all the boats. The Sassanid forces in Ctesiphon were commanded by Generals Mihran and Khurrazad, brother of General Rostam who had been killed in the Battle of Qaddisiyyah. Thanks to the Persian volunteers who had accepted the Muslim rule, who showed a site downstream where the river could be forded. Saad saw the site, but was not sure whether it was fit for crossing. The next morning Saad asked for volunteers who could cross the river on horseback. First band of six hundred horsemen volunteers under Asim ibn Amr plunge into the river to cross over to the other bank. A detachment of Sassanid cavalry was sent to intercept the approaching Muslims, and Sassanid horsemen also plunged in the river to hold back the Muslims from crossing the river. A river battle ensued, the Muslims cavalry however successfully overpowered the Persian cavalry and routed them and landed on the eastern bank of the Tigris. The first band of volunteers was immediately followed by other cavalry regiments. The infantry was probably brought to the eastern bank by the boats anchored on the shore. Sassanid forces were too few to offer an effective resistance against Muslims and thus evacuate Ctesiphon. From the river bank the Muslim forces marched to the city of Ctesiphon. Led by the column of Asim ibn Amr. The Muslim columns marched through the heart of Ctesiphon. All business premises were closed. No Persians were seen, and the Muslims met no resistance. The Muslims got to the White Palace, the seat of the Persian government; the white Palace was occupied by the Muslims. The capital City of Sassanid Persian Empire was thus captured by the Rashidun army with out any major battle.

Aftermaths

After occupying the city, Saad announced amnesty to all Persians who were in the city. A delegation of the representatives of the people waited on Saad. They sought terms, and the usual terms of jaziya were imposed. A regular peace pact was drawn up, and the citizens were called upon to follow their normal avocations. Sa'ad moved into the White Palace and established his headquarters there. The great courtyard of the palace was converted into a mosque. Emperor Yazdgerd had retreated to Hulwan. While withdrawing the Persian emperor carried away as much of the imperial treasure and other valuable possessions as he could carry. Saad next sent out columns in several directions to deal with the Persian stragglers. A massive booty fell in the Muslim hands. Caliph Umar directed Saad to evacuate the north eastern Iraq from Sassanid troops; Saad sent the columns against them accordingly. Muslim forces conquered the Persian provinces upto Khuzistan, the conquest however was slow down due to a severe drought in Arabia in 638 and the plague in southern Iraq and Syria in 639 After this Caliph Umar wanted a break to manage the conquered territories and for then he wanted to leave rest of Persia to the Persians. Umar is reported to have said:

“ I wish there were a mountain of fire between us and the Persians, so that neither could they get to us, nor we to them. ”

But the Persians thought differently. The pride of the imperial Sassanids had been hurt by the conquest of their land by the Arabs. They could not acquiesce in the occupation of their lands by the Arabs and continued the struggle to regain the lost territory. Thus a major Persians counter attack was repulsed at Battle of Nihawand fought in December 641. After which a whole scale invasion of Sassanid Persians Empire was planned to finish the business for good. The last Persians emperor Yazdgerd III was killed in 653 during the reign of Caliph Uthman, with his death Sassanid Persian empire ceased to exist.

See also

• Modern usage of al-Qādisiyyah
• Islamic conquest of Persia
• Muslim conquests
• Sassanid Empire
• Rashidun Caliphate
• Rashidun army
• Shāh-nāmeh

References

• Ashtiani, Abbas Iqbal and Pirnia, Hassan. Tarikh-e Iran (History of Iran), 3rd ed. Tehran: Kayyam Publishing House, 1973.
• at-Tabarī, Abū Ja`far Muhammad. The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and the conquest of Syria and Palestine. Edited and translated by Yohanan Friedmann. SUNY series in Near Eastern studies. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.

Category:History of Iran Category:Islamic history Category:Sassanid dynasty Al-Qādisiyyah Al-Qādisiyyah Category:630s