Battle of Jalula
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Battle of Jalula | |||||||||
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Part of the Muslim conquest of Sassanid empire | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Sasanian army ) |
Rashidun Caliphate )(Rashidun army | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Farrukhzad Mihran Razi † Piruz Khosrow Varaztirots Hormuzan |
Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr at-Tamimi Tulayha | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
20,000 | 12,000 | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Heavy[1] | Heavy[1] |
The Battle of Jalula was fought between the Sasanian Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate soon after conquest of Ctesiphon.
After the capture of Ctesiphon, several detachments were immediately sent to the west to capture Qarqeesia and
Prelude
After capturing Ctesiphon, several detachments were immediately sent west to capture Qarqeesia and Heet, forts at the border of
The Persian forces at Jalula were commanded by general
Jalula was a town of great strategic importance, a bottle-neck to Northern Iraq. To have Jalula under the rule meant to have the gate to Northern Iraq. Persians therefore expected an attack on Jalula. Defense of Jalula was also very important for the strength of Empire and maintain order in the far flung frontiers of the Persian Empire.
As instructed by the Caliph
Battlefield
At Jalula, both the flanks of Persians and Muslims rested upon natural obstacles. Diyala River on east and broken ground on the west. Broken ground was unsuitable for cavalry and even the movement of infantry en masse was difficult and would have exposed them to Persian Fire-Power.
Opposing plans
Mihran, the Persian commander at Jalula, was a veteran general who had fought Muslims in Qadisiya and knew well of the Muslims' tactics. He dug entrenchments and placed caltrops in front of them, to slow down Muslim advances. The Persian troops intended to wear the Muslims down by letting them launch a frontal attack thus exposing themselves to Persian archers and siege engines led artillery. The caltrops also hindered the speed of Muslim cavalry and infantry. Mihran deployed his army in classical defensive formation with the intention of launching the attack when Muslims had suffered enough and the nucleus of their power had been destroyed.
Hashim, the Muslim commander, on reaching the battlefield, analyzed that the Persians could not be attacked from the flanks due to those natural barriers and approaching them from the front would be costly. He decided to lure the Persians out of the defenses of entrenchments and caltrops. Hashim planned to launch a frontal attack and make a feint retreat under Persian fire, and once the Persians were away from their trench, his cavalry would capture the bridge on the trench, cutting off the Persians' escape route.
Rashidun troops deployment
In the records of Muslim chroniclers from the era of the 7th century to 10–11th centuries there is known the detail about the composition of the Rashidun army and units involved in this battle. There is some version of the deployment composition.
It is recorded by
- Hashim ibn Utba as overall commander
- Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr at-Tamimi commanding the vanguard
- Si'r bin Malik commanding the right wing of the army.
- Amr bin Malik bin Utba commanding the left wing of the army.
- Amr bin murra al Juhani commanding the rear guards.
While Talha (
- Jarir bin Abdullah al Bajali commanding the right wing of the army.
- Hujr bin Abdullah al-Kindi commanding the left wing of the army.
- Makshuh al Muradi commanding the obscure placement of wing units of the army.
- Amr bin murra al Juhani commanding the cavalry in the center.
- Talha (Tulayha) ibn Khuwaylid ibn Nawfal al-Asadi commanding the infantry.[3]
Battle
The battle began with Muslim's frontal attack; after engaging for some time Muslims feint a retreat and fell back in an organized manner. Mihran, sensing the time is on hand to launch an offensive for him, ordered the entrenchments to be bridged. Once the
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The Muslims' feint retreat
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Persian offensive
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General engagement
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Qaqa's outflanking maneuver
Aftermath
The Persians suffered heavy casualties and the battle ended in a complete Muslim victory. Women and Children were enslaved as Spoils of war and Umar says « in fear of Children of these Slave-women who are going to be born, I seek refuge in Allah».[4] After the battle Hashim laid siege to Jalula. Persian emperor Yazdegerd III was in no position to set a relief force to Jalula and the fortress surrendered to Muslims seven months later on the terms of annual payment of Jizya (tribute). After capturing Jalula Muslims captured Tikrit and Mosul, completing their conquest of Iraq.
After the conquest of Iraq (region west of
See also
- Islamic conquest of Persia
- Muslim conquests
- Sassanid Empire
References
- ^ a b "ʿARAB ii. Arab conquest of Iran – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.IranicaOnline.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-597713-4
- ^ ISBN 1400847877.
- ISBN 978-9640001202.