Battle of Ayn al-Tamr

Battle of Ayn al-Tamr
Part of Islamic conquest of Persia and
Campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid
Date633 AD
LocationAyn al-Tamr, Sasanian Empire
Result Decisive Muslim victory[1]
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate Sassanid Imperial Army[2]
Arab Christian Auxiliaries[3]
Commanders and leaders
Khalid ibn al-Walid Mihran Bahram-i Chubin
Aqqa ibn Qays ibn Bashir (POW)
Strength
500-600[4] Unknown number, although it consisted of a "great" following of Arab Christian tribes and Sassanian troops.[5]
Casualties and losses
Few High[6]

The Battle of Ayn al-Tamr (Arabic: معركة عين التمر‎) took place in modern-day Iraq (Mesopotamia) between the early Muslim Arab forces and the Sassanians along with their Arab Christian auxiliary forces. Ayn al-Tamr is located west of Anbar and was a frontier post which had been established to aid the Sassanids.[7]

The Muslims under Khalid ibn al-Walid's command soundly defeated the Sassanian auxiliary force, which included large numbers of non-Muslim Arabs who broke earlier covenants with the Muslims.[8] According to non-Muslim sources, Khalid ibn al-Walid captured the Arab Christian commander, Aqqa ibn Qays ibn Bashir, with his own hands.[9]

Aftermath

After the battle, some Persians had hoped that the Muslim commander, Khalid ibn al-Walid, would be "like those Arabs who would raid [and withdraw]."[10] However, Khalid continued to press further against the Persians and their allies in the subsequent Battle of Dawmat al-Jandal.

Converts

When the Muslim army conquered the town of Ayn al-Tamr they found a number of Arab Christian priests in a monastery. One of them was called Nusair another called Sirin. They both embraced Islam. Nusair was the father of Musa bin Nusayr, the supreme commander of the forces which later conquered Spain under the leadership of Tariq bin Ziyad, the second in command for Musa bin Nusayr. Sirin, the other convert, was the father of the scholar Ibn Sirin who became one of the more celebrated Muslim theologians.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Iraq After the Muslim Conquest by Michael G. Morony, pg. 224
  2. ↑ Annals of the Early Caliphate by William Muir pg. 85
  3. ↑ Iraq After the Muslim Conquest by Michael G. Morony, pg 224
  4. ↑ The Origins of the Islamic State, Being a Translation from the Arabic, Accompanied with ... by Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā al-Balādhurī, Philip Khūri Hitti, pg 169
  5. ↑ Annals of the Early Caliphate by William Muir, pg 85
  6. ↑ Islam at War: A History by George F. Nafziger, Mark W. Walton, pg. 20
  7. ↑ The Caliph's Last Heritage: A Short History of the Turkish Empire by Mark Sykes
  8. ↑ The Book of Revenue: Kitab Al-Amwal by Abu 'Ubayd Al-Qasim Ibn Sallam, pg 194
  9. ↑ Annals of the Early Caliphate by William Muir, pg. 85
  10. ↑ Poetics of Islamic Historiography: Deconstructing Tabari's History by Boaz Shoshan, pg. 55

Bibliography

  • A.I. Akram, The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns, Nat. Publishing. House, Rawalpindi (1970) ISBN 0-7101-0104-X.

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