User:Dgl/Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (scholarly article)

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Unfortunately, Wikipedia's nature as an open encyclopædia allows anyone to edit articles, resulting in unscholarly (or anti-scholarly) results. Indeed, the entry on al-Qādisiyyah, which I wrote intially, has been corrupted repeatedly over time. This page restores more or less one of my last attempts to maintain the al-Qādisiyyah article from April 2006. It is quite unfortunate that the current nature of Wikipedia drives away individuals with academic backgrounds. Educated edits are welcomed.


Battle of al-Qādisiyyah
Part of the Muslim conquests
Date circa 636 CE
Location al-Qādisiyyah (historical city), Iraq
Result Decisive Arab victory
Belligerents
Muslim Arabs Sāsānian Empire of Iran
Commanders
Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ Rostam Farrokhzād
 
Muslim conquest of the Persian Empire

The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (in Arabic: معركة القادسية, Maʿrakat al-Qādisiyyah; alternate spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the Sāsānian Persian army during the first period of Islamic expansion which resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia. Although there is little doubt that this battle occurred, scholarship suggests that its legend has grown manyfold and a whole mythological literature (full of topoi) has developed around it. Particularly, uncertainty with respect to the date of the battle (variously given anywhere between 634 and 640 CE, most likely to have been around 636 CE) and the size of the forces, in addition to scarce mention in non-Muslim annals suggests that the current perception of al-Qādisiyyah differs starkly from the original event. However, this scholarship in no way demeans or marginalises the role of the Battle in the perception of Muslims today. Rather, it highlights the significant function of history and memory in the modern Middle East; Ṣaddām Ḥusayn’s evocation of this battle during the Iran-Iraq War exemplifies the emotive power of this ancient engagement.

Contents

[edit] Traditional Muslim account

Already in the last years of the life of Muhammad, organised raids began attacking the Sāsānian and Byzantine frontiers. Although these expeditions slowed during the consolidation of the Arabian peninsula under the first Caliph Abū Bakr (the Riddah wars), the latter’s successor ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb turned his attention northwards, initiating the Arab conquests. After a number of small successes and setbacks, ʿUmar decided to replace the capable general Khālid ibn al-Walīd with an important member of the Quraysh tribe, and sent a large Arab force towards Iraq (part of the Sāsānian Empire) under the control of the famed Companion Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ.

The young Sāsānian monarch Yazdgerd III (r. 632 - 651 CE) ordered his advisor and top general Rostam Farrokhzād to block this threat, and the two armies met on the western side of the Euphrates River, at the village of al-Qādisiyyah (southwest of al-Hillah and al-Kūfah in Iraq). Negotiations between the two sides carried on and Arab delegations that came to the Persian camp demanded that the latter accept Islam or agree to pay the tribute (jizyah). Rostam, having pessimistic premonitions, tried to delay the Battle, but when neither side came to an agreement, fighting broke out. Saʿd himself did not participate in the battle, however, as he suffered from a sciatic illness, but he monitored and directed the proceedings from atop a nearby castle at ʿUdhayb through his deputy Khālid ibn ʿUrfutah.

The first day of Battle ended with Persian advances and the Arab force appeared as though it would succumb to the much larger Sāsānian army. In particular, the latter’s elephants terrified the Arab cavalry, and succeeded in creating confusion among the Arab fighters. By the third day of battle, Arab veterans of the Syrian campaign (being conducted nearly simultaneously) arrived on the scene and re-inforced the Arab army. In addition, a clever trick – whereby the Arab horses were decorated in costume – succeeded in frightening the Persian elephants. When an Arab warrior succeeded in slaying the lead elephant, the rest fled into the rear, trampelling numerous Persian fighters. The Arab Muslims continued to advance their attacks during the night (called the ‘Night of Clangour’).

At dawn of the fourth day, a sandstorm broke out – blowing sand in the Persians’ faces. Quickly, the tide turned and the Sāsānian centre gave way, particularly with the help of Arab archers. Rostam, who had been commanding his force from that location, sought to flee by swimming across the canal (al-ʿAtīq), but was caught by an Arab fighter and beheaded. The latter (sometimes recorded as Hilāl ibn ʿUllafah) announced the deed, displaying Rostam’s head before the fighters, exclaiming: ‘By the Lord of the Kaʿbah!’ Seeing their respected leader’s head dangling before them, the Persian fighters lost nerve and begin to flee, leading to a devastating rout. Most of the Sāsānian fighters lost their lives in this melée, with a small number announcing their conversion to Islam.

From this Battle, the Arab Muslims gained a large source of loot, including the famed jewel-encrusted royal standard, called the Drafsh-e Kāveyān (in Persian: درفش کاویان, the ‘flag of Kāveh’). The Arab fighters became known as ahl al-Qādisiyyah and held highest prestige (and pay) of the later Arab settlers within Iraq and its important garrison town, al-Kūfah.

Following the Battle, the Arab Muslim armies pushed forward toward the Persian capital of Ctesiphon (also called Madāʾin in Arabic), which was quickly evacuated by Yazdgerd after a brief siege. After seizing and sacking the city, they continue their drive eastwards, defeating two Sāsānian counter-attacks (at Jalūlāʾ and at Nihawānd) and eventually destroying the Persian empire.

[edit] Modern usage of al-Qādisiyyah

Academic studies of the Battle have revealed numerous topoi that make up a common schema of the Arab Muslim conquests (see Donner; Noth). These literary layers appear to have accumulated since the period immediately following the Battle, when story-tellers (quṣṣāṣ) embellished their narrative, often in an attempt to glorify past ancestors. The modern usage of the al-Qādisiyyah, thus, has heavy emotional baggage and invoking its name grants deep meaning.

[edit] Qādisiyyat-Ṣaddām: The Iran-Iraq War

‘The Sword of Qādisiyyah’, sometimes known as the ‘Hands of Victory’, opened August 1989
‘The Sword of Qādisiyyah’, sometimes known as the ‘Hands of Victory’, opened August 1989
Iraqi 25-dinar note, with the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah depicted in the background
Iraqi 25-dinar note, with the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah depicted in the background
Commemorative stamp issued by Iraq depicting both Battles of al-Qādisiyyah
Commemorative stamp issued by Iraq depicting both Battles of al-Qādisiyyah
Famous Baghdād mural of Ṣaddām surveying the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, with modern tanks in the foreground
Famous Baghdād mural of Ṣaddām surveying the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, with modern tanks in the foreground
Iraqi medal issued to commemorate ‘Ṣaddām’s Qādisiyyah’
Iraqi medal issued to commemorate ‘Ṣaddām’s Qādisiyyah’

The most notable use of Qādisiyyah’s emotive power was the dubbing by Ṣaddām Ḥusayn of his eight-year war against Iran as Qādisiyyat-Ṣaddām (Ṣaddām’s Qādisiyyah). The first instance of this naming occurred on 02 April 1980, a half-year before the outbreak of hostilities, on the occasion of a visit by Ṣaddām Ḥusayn to al-Mustansiriyyah University in Baghdād, where a bomb attack on the previous day had injured his vice-president, Tarīq ʿAzīz. Ṣaddām blamed the newly-founded Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and, drawing the parallel to the 7th-Century battle, he announced:

In your name, brothers, and on behalf of the Iraqis and Arabs everywhere we tell those [Persian] cowards and dwarfs who try to avenge Al-Qadisiyah that the spirit of Al-Qadisiyah as well as the blood and honor of the people of Al-Qadisiyah who carried the message on their spearheads are greater than their attempts. (See Ṣaddam, E3)

[edit] Other examples of the usage of al-Qādisiyyah

Support for Ṣaddām’s historical characterisation of the modern war was further bolstered through several cultural symbols. An Egyptian film released at this time cast the Battle in ethnic terms (Arab against Persian) and Iraqi scholar Kanan Makiya has commented on the significance of various building and architectural projects that evoked al-Qādisiyyah, such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that contains a sword allegedly belonging to Saʿd right next to Ṣaddām’s personal machine gun. Makiya has called this an attempt to make Ṣaddām ‘the Sa’ad ibn-abi-Waqas of the 1980s’ (see Makiya, 11).

[edit] Art, architecture, literature, cinema, and media

  • Ṣaddām’s victory arch, called The Sword of Qādisiyyah, opened August 1989, and one of the largest art pieces in the world. (See Makiya, 1) (image)
  • Egyptian mega-film al-Qādisiyyah, released in 1981.
  • Iraqi newspaper al-Qādisiyyah, established in 1981.
  • Mural depicting Ṣaddām surveying the ancient Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, with modern tanks in the foreground. (photograph)
  • Al-Qādisiyah Palace, designed by TIGRIS Enterprises in Iraq between 1983 and 1993. (website)

[edit] Government institutions and symbols

[edit] Geographical locations

[edit] Educational institutions and recreational organisations

[edit] Military forces and installations

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] See also

[edit] Academic and primary references

  • Baram, Amatzia. Culture, history, and ideology in the formation of Baʿthist Iraq, 1968 – 69. New York City: St Martin’s Press, 1991.
  • Bengio, Ofra. Saddam's word. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  • Donner, Fred McGraw. The Early Islamic conquests. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.
  • Makiya, Kanan. The Monument: Art, vulgarity, and responsibility in Iraq. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
  • Noth, Albrecht (in collaboration with Larence I Conrad). The Early Arabic historical tradition: A Source-critical study. Translated from German by Michael Bonner. Studies in late antiquity and early Islam, 3. 2nd edition. Princeton: Darwin Press, 1994.
  • ‘Plan for 34 disabled students’. Bahrain Tribune, 05 October 2001.
  • Rida, Muhammad. ‘Qadisiyya: A New stage in Arab cinema’. Ur 3 (1981): 40-43.
  • Ṣaddām Ḥusayn. ‘Address given’. Baghdād, Voice of the Masses in Arabic, 1200 GMT 02 April 1980. FBIS-MEA-80-066. 03 April 1980, E2-3.
  • Streck, Maximillian. ‘al-Ḳādisīya’. EI¹.
  • at-Tabarī, Abū Jaʿfar 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.
  • Vaglieri, Laura Veccia. ‘al-Ḳādisiyya’. EI².

Coordinates: 31°35′N 44°30′E / 31.583, 44.5