This video was suggested by our patreon supporter Koopinator
Supporting us on patreon is the best way to propose and sponsor a new video
In one of our previous videos we depicted the six-day Battle of Yarmouk between the Byzantine Empire and the rashidun caliphate
But the early Muslim incursion was not limited to the lands of the Roman emperors
To the east the forces of the Caliphate attached the mighty Sassanid Empire and fought a 20 year war
culminating in the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
The Byzantine and sassanid empires forge each other in many conflicts through the centuries
But none of them was as bloody and fruitless as the war of 602 - 628
This conflict weakened and exposed both empires
Meanwhile to the south the Prophet of Islam Muhammad had United most of Arabia by 630
His successor caliph abu bakr faced a massive rebellion against his rule
This conflict later known as the ridda wars continued until February of
633
With the peninsula back under his control Abu Bakr started thinking about expansion
early Muslim sources do not offer a justification, but in March of
633 he sent his best general Khalid ib'n Alwaleed to attack the Sassanid Empire
In April al walid and his 18,000 troops entered modern-day Kuwait
The local governor Hormozd had 20,000 men under his command and moved to intercept al walid near kazimah
But the Arab army was more mobile and our lead was able to outflank the Sassanid to move on her fear
That forced Hormozd to march towards who fear to defend it, but al walid again moved quicker now threatening kazimah again
The sassanids had to move back
All this marching tired the forces of Hormozd
And they eventually had to fight exhausted in the engagement that would later be known as the Battle of Chains
The battle began with a duel between the generals in which Hormozd was killed
The Sassanid footman in the center had been chained to each other to allow them to hold the line while cavalry waited on the flanks
The death of their general affected morale, but they managed to repel the initial Muslim attack
Still for sassanids were exhausted from marching and eventually their cavalry started to give ground and had to retreat
This turned into a general retreat, but with the centre slowed by the chains most of the Sassanid infantry was killed
However a bigger Sassanid army under Qarin was on route
Qarin across the Tigris in late April and set up his camp near the river the remainder of Hormozd's troops joined him as well
Al-Walid was moving to the north to cross the river, but had to stop as his 17000 were now facing 40,000 foes
Once again the armies formed up with infantry in the center and cavalry on the flanks and once again the battle started with Duels
During which Qarin and two of his generals were killed
Al-Walid led a frontal attack and the leaderless sassanids were slaughtered the Muslim troops killed around
20,000 enemies
The Sassanid court learned about the losses by the end of April and gathered two more armies
The first army led by and Andarzaghan were sent to the city of were larger to intercept the Muslims as it was expected that
Al-Waleed would move to the west along the Euphrates
Indeed Al-Waleed's army was marching as predicted
He had a number of spies in the area and knew that the second sassanid army under Barman would soon
Reinforce Andarzaghan so he decided to attack the first sassanid force
The two armies met in early May near were larger in a field between two Hills
Alwaleed had 10,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry against 30,000 sassanid troops
initially Andarzaghan was planning to wait for barman, so he didn't attack the Muslims on the first day
Al-Walid needed to lure his enemy out so during the night. He sent his cavalry away
the Sassanid leader fell right into the trap
He ordered his troops to attack head-on and the Muslim army started retreating under pressure towards the hill behind it
Al-Walid Center allowed itself to be pushed back at his army formed a crescent
Andarzaghan concluded that it was a great moment to move all of his cavalry against the flanks of the enemy and
encircle the Muslims that
Was the moment Al-Walid cavalry was waiting for?
It was hidden behind the opposite hill and charged into the enemy at a crucial moment
the forces of Andarzaghan were now encircled
In a battle eerily reminiscent of the classical Battle of cannae the sassanids lost more than 20 thousand warriors
Al-Walid continued moving to the west
Six more sassanid armies were sent against him between May and November of 633, but each of these armies was defeated
However movement into the central part of the Sassanid Empire was still impossible and a letter from the Caliph ordered Al-Walid to move into
Syria instead
He won another battle against the Allied sassanid Byzantine army near Firaz in late
633 and move on to fight the Romans
Modern-day Iraq was now under Muslim control
Sources are not clear on what happened in the next two years, but it seems that the region changed hands a few times
The only significant engagement during this period called the Battle of the bridge was won by the sassanids
In May of 636 the new caliph Umar recruited a new army
30,000 troops commanded by Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqas entered Iraq in July
The Sassanid army under Rostam was already nearby in the area called al-qadisiyyah near modern-day Kufa in Iraq
It had around 70,000 troops
Both sides, built a fortified camp, but as negotiations were going on the battle would not start for a few more months
the victory over the
Byzantines at Yarmouk allowed the caliph to divert more than six thousand veterans of the Syrian campaign to al-qadisiyyah
Which they probably reached in late October?
By the time of the battle the sassanids had about 50,000 infantry
15,000 cavalry and 40 elephants
Meanwhile the army of the caliphate had around 30,000 footmen and 8,000 cavalry
Rostam divided his infantry cavalry and the elephants into four groups with elephants in front
infantry in the second line and cavalry in the third
The Muslim troops were formed into four infantry divisions in the first line and four cavalry division's in the second
The Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah took place between November 16th and 19th
636
the first day started with traditional personal combat
It is not clear which side had the upper hand
But later in the day Rustam sent his entire left flank forward to attack the right flank of the enemy
The Muslims attempted to use their cavalry to outflank and kill the elephants, but were counter-attacked by the Sassanid heavy cavalry
Both the infantry and the cavalry of Saad right flank had to retreat
The Muslim cavalry division in the right-center was sent to outflank the Sassanid cavalry
While one of the infantry units of the right-center was ordered to attack the enemy infantry and the elephants from the left
This allowed the right side of the Muslim army to push the enemy back
The Sassanid right and right-center were also commanded to attack
Initially the elephants broke the enemy lines
But support from the Muslim Center repelled the elephants and soon the Muslim infantry managed to counter-attack and drive the Sassanid's back
Saad ordered his cavalry on the flanks to attempt an envelopment and that put pressure on the Sassanid cavalry
But eventually Rostam moved into the fray himself with the central units and drove the foe Back
the first day ended in conclusively
The Muslim army received a number of reinforcements throughout the second day
And as the enemy elephants were not in position Saad decided to go on the offensive
His right flank cavalry was able to push their counterparts back and that allowed the Muslim infantry to gain an advantage against the sassanids
Once more rostam joined the battle and counter attacked Saad units needed to retreat and the second day. Also had no breakthrough
At the beginning of the third day
Rostam commanded his troops to attack the enemy as he was eager to end the battle before more Muslim reinforcements arrived
The charge started with a skirmish in which the Sassanid archers got the better of their counterparts
Soon the elephants attacked and Saad army retreated under this pressure
Rostam tried to end the battle by killing the enemy leader, but his cavalry was stopped
Muslim forces across the front finally maimed the elephants enough to drive them into a rage
All the beasts that didn't die on the spot panics and move towards the river which broke the Sassanid formation
The Muslims attempted to counter-attack, but Rostam reformed his lines yet again and another day ended with no results
There was no pitched battle in the early hours of the fourth day and that made the sassanids complacent
Before the troops got into position the Muslims sent her left cavalry charged behind enemy lines and achieved its goal of killing
Rostam
Although the sassanids eventually pushed this cavalry division away and built a front the death of their leader demoralized the army
The full charge of the Muslim army finally sent the sassanids into full retreat
The Muslims lost around 10,000 men in this battle while the casualties of their foes were more than
25,000
Soon the Sassanid capital Ctesiphon fell
the war would continue until
654 with various sassanid generals and governors attempting to mount resistance
But it was too late the battle of al-qadisiyyah sealed the fate of the Empire and the Middle East
Thank you for watching our documentary on the Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah
We would like to express our gratitude to our patreon supporters who make the creation of these videos possible
Patreon is the best way to suggest a new video learn about our schedule and so much more
This is the kings and Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one