BATTLE OF NEHÂWEND, AND THE SUCCESS OF THE ARABS OVER THE PERSIANS BY THE FAVOUR OF THE MAJESTY OF THE LORD.

After the battle of Jalûlâ had taken place, the sovereign of the Arabian E’râq and of Persia, Yazdejerd B. Shahryâr, unable to find a resting-place anywhere, fled with a number of his courtiers and intimate friends in great haste from the swords of the Ghâzis [i.e., combatants for the religion], and marched till he arrived in the country of Ray, and rested himself in the town of that name from the fatigues and toils of the journey. At this time Abu Mûsa went, by order of Fârûq, with troops to Khozestân, purified that country from the filth of the presence of the idolaters, and sent Hormuzd, the governor of that region, to Madinah, as is recorded in detailed histories. When Yazdejerd B. Shahryâr had been informed of the conquest of that country, he knew that the Arabs would attempt to conquer all the other provinces; he therefore despatched couriers to the notables of Essfarân, of Qum, of Kâshân, of Ttabaristân, of Qûmas, of Dâmghân, and of all the provinces under his sway, with the following message: ‘Foes and antagonists have stretched forth their hands to obtain possession of the dominions of the Sasanian dynasty, and having expelled us from the abode of the Sultanate and the residence of our fathers and ancestors, they are bent upon subjugating the whole monarchy to its furthest boundaries. It being incumbent upon all classes, the simple and the gentle, to defend the country, multitudes of them are hereby enjoined to betake themselves to the district of Nehâwend, there to join Fyrûzân, who is one of the princes of the mountains, my plenipotentiary and appointed by me commander-in-chief of all the troops of Khorâsân and of E’raq, so that he may by the favour of God the Most High ward off the enemy from us.’ The chiefs and princes of the various provinces having with the nobles and notables obeyed the behest of Yazdejerd, prepared for hostilities and marched with the greatest readiness to Nehâwend, so that in a short time one hundred and fifty thousand men assembled in the vicinity of Nehâwend in the shadow of the banners of Fyrûzân, who was celebrated in the inhabited quarter of the world for his bravery, intelligence and spirit. When the rumour of the gathering of the opponents had spread far and wide, A’mmâr B. Yâser, who had, after the removal of Sa’d B. Abu Woqqâss, been appointed Governor of Kufah, sent a courier to Madinah to inform O’mar of the assem­blage of the opponents and foes. O’mar asked the messenger: ‘What is thy name?’ He replied: ‘Qaryb B. Tzafar’ [meaning, Near, Son of Victory]. O’mar B. Alkhattâb, having obtained certainty of the prevalence of the companions, continued: ‘Victory is near if it pleaseth Allah the Most High.’ Taking afterwards the letter of A’mmâr B. Yâser in his hand, he ascended the pulpit, praised God, and said: ‘O ye Arab people, the Lord of glory and of beneficence has vouchsafed to you the favour and strength to accept Islâm; then He has caused you to vanquish your foes, and has by His grace elevated the banner of your prosperity. Now, it has become known from the letter of A’mmâr that the notables of Persia have fitted out a large army, and having risen to contend with the Musalmâns, are desirous of entering Kûfah and Bossrah; moreover, they intend, after conquering those provinces, to march against the two sanctuaries.* What is your opinion on this subject? and who of you will under­take to nullify their wicked attempt?’ The first of the noble companions [of the prophet] who spoke was Ttolhah B. A’bdullah, who, extolling the intelligence and shrewd­ness of O’mar, professed his readiness to follow and obey his decision, but O’thmân said: ‘It is my opinion that thou must issue orders for calling out all the troops of Yemen and of Syria, and must thyself, accompanying the pro­fessors of Islâm, march straight to Nehâwend.’ O’mar being displeased with the words of O’thmân, and desirous to be seconded by the luminous mind of A’li the Com­mander of the Faithful, asked: ‘O father of Hasan, what thinkest thou of this matter?’ The receptacle of the Vicariate replied: ‘If all the inhabitants of Syria* leave that country, it is probable that the greediness of the Byzantines will become excited, and that they will enter it; and if the denizens of Yemen also leave their habitations empty, it is possible that the undaunted Abyssinians will conceive the intention of occupying that province. If thou appearest in person on the battlefield and the Persians are apprised of the fact, they may say, “If we can destroy the king of the Arabs we shall be delivered of all our troubles,” and may therefore make greater efforts than they otherwise would. If, which God forbid, thy person were to be injured, the calamity could not be remedied. We have in the time of the apostle of Allah—u. w. bl.—and till now, trusted in the favour of God and not to the number of the troops. According to my opinion, one-third of the forces of Yemen, of Syria and of all the countries of Islâm, ought to remain quiet and comfortable in their places, whilst another third ought to engage in fighting the enemy. Thou must appoint a man to command the army who is adorned with the decoration of valour, foresighted in war and experienced in hostilities. If the figure of victory presents itself upon the speculum of our expectations all will be well, and in the contrary case thou wilt, as long as thou remainest sitting upon the couch of health and security, be able to remedy calamities and to engage in levying another army.’ O’mar exclaimed: ‘I swear by God that the words thou hast spoken are true, and the same have also occurred to my mind.’ Also A’bbâs B. A’bdu-l-muttalleb, of whose advice the young and the old stood in need, approved of the opinion of A’li B. Abu Ttâleb, whom O’mar thereon asked: ‘Who, thinkest thou, is of the victory-boding companions worthy of the post of Amir, so that the troops should in the shadow of his banner engage in eradicating the foes?’ His lordship replied: ‘No’mân B. Muqarn Almazany is the fit man for this business.’ Hereon all the notables, the Anssâr and the Mohâjer opened their mouths in approbation of the lion of attack [i.e., A’li], so that the lot of selection fell upon that blessed man, who had also been one of the companions of his holy and prophetic lord­ship. After due consultation O’mar gave the letters patent, appointing him commander, to No’mân, and said: ‘I entrust thee with the duty of distributing the booty of Nehâwend; thou must keep the road of equity and allot the property which God the Most High will bestow upon the Musalmâns according to merit, and if, which God forbid, a calamity should occur and thou remainest alive, thou art no more to appear in my sight; because if, after a misfortune had befallen those who fight for the religion, my eye should ever alight upon thee, the wound of being separated from them would become fresh.’ He also issued the following injunction: ‘In case No’mân B. Muqarn should attain martyrdom, Hudhayfah Alyamâni is to be the Amir of the troops, and if a calamity befalls him, Jaryr B. A’bd Aljabaly must take the command of the army after him Jaryrah B. Moghyrah B. Sha’bah is to be acknowledged as Amir, and if he be slain the reins of the transaction of affairs are to be in the hands of Asha’th B. Qays Kindy.’ To No’mân he sent the following message: ‘Thou art to cause A’mru B. Ma’dy Karab and Ttolhah B. Khowylad to accompany thee in this expedition, and to consult them in strategical matters.’ When forces from all quarters had assembled in the shadow of the standard of No’mân, they were counted and found to amount to thirty thousand brave men, with whom he thereon marched to Nehâwend. When Fyrûzân obtained cognizance of the approach of the Arab army, he engaged in excavating a fosse, strengthening also the towers and ramparts of Nehâ­wend. It is recorded in some books that when No’mân had marched the necessary distance and had reached the vicinity of the camp of the army, he halted half a farsakh from it, and that during two months no other hostilities occurred between them except the shooting of arrows; whereon Fyrûzân, annoyed by the prolongation of inactivity, desired a Musalmân to be sent to him for the pur­pose of declaring his intention to him. No’mân thereon despatched Moghyrah B. Sha’bah as an envoy, who, on reaching the pavilion of Fyrûzân, asked permission to enter. Having been admitted into the assembly, he beheld Fyrûzân with a costly diadem on his head sitting on a golden throne, in front of which many notables were stand­ing, and the first words uttered by Moghyrah were the following: ‘The companions will not return until they have deprived you of this stronghold, of this precious crown, and of this golden throne.’ Having said these words, he leapt up and took his seat by the side of Fyrû­zân on the throne, intending to impress the enemies of the religion by his boldness. The attendants of Fyrûzân, however, incensed by this movement, laid hands upon him, whereon Moghyrah said: ‘I do not know your customs! Take off your hands from me, because it is not usual with monarchs to insult envoys.’ Fyrûzân then forbade them to injure Moghyrah, and said to him: ‘There is no nation on the face of the earth more wretched and more famished than the Arabs. Go and tell thy friends to depart from this country and to save their lives. If they have invaded this country for the sake of food and raiment, we shall bestow upon them what they stand in need of, and shall present them with land enough for their support.’ Moghyrah said: ‘We were destitute, but God the Most High has enriched us by causing us to follow His prophet. We were weak and despised, but by accepting the religion of Islâm we have become strong and respected, and the Sasanian dynasty lost its kingdom and prosperity because your king had torn to pieces the letter of the apostle of God.* The gist of my words is that you must accept Islâm or pay the capitation tax, or else come out from within the fosse that the Righteous Judge may decide between us and you [in battle].’ Fyrûzân, having turned his face to the pillars of state [i.e., grandees], said: ‘This Arab has uttered words which are in conformity with truth and sincerity.’ He then addressed Moghyrah as follows: ‘Return thou, and I shall come out on Wednesday to attack the Arab army.’ He kept his word, marched out on the said day, drew out his army in battle-array and fought bravely. The battle continued on Thursday, and although No’mân B. Muqarn had attained martyrdom on Friday, the army of Islâm prevailed and gained the victory.

Abu Hanifah Dinwari, whose words may be trusted, states in his history that No’mân B. Muqarn had, after marching the requisite distance, halted at three farsakhs from Nehâ­wend, whereon the Persian army marched under the command of Mardânshâh B. Hormuz boldly towards the victorious forces, halted near the camp of the adherents of Islâm and excavated a deep fosse around their troops. Thus both armies remained for a long time encamped opposite to each other, the Persians never leaving their entrenchments to give occasion for hostilities. No’mân B. Muqarn, wearied and dismayed by this state of affairs, consulted A’mru B. Ma’dy Karab as well as Ttolhah B. Khowylad, and said: ‘The Persian army is daily on the increase by the reinforcements it is receiving, and is, never­theless, not budging from its camp. They are sitting at ease and in comfort in their own country, whereas we are far from ours. Such being the case, what will be proper to do?’ A’mru replied: ‘I think we ought to spread a rumour freely and publicly that O’mar has reached the proximity of the mercy of God [i.e., has died]. When the Persian army obtain cognizance of this, they will come out from their entrenchments and pursue us whilst we are pretending to be on the march back to our country, but when they have sufficiently approached us, we shall attack them, and perhaps by means of this ruse the countenance of victory will manifest itself on the speculum of our aspirations.’ No’mân, having approved of the suggestion of A’mru, acted in accordance therewith, so that when the Persians were informed of the return of the Arabs, they hastened after them with great eagerness and full confi­dence, but when the Arabs perceived that the Persian army could not possibly retreat to their first position, they halted. When the Persian grandees had taken notice of this state of affairs, they were under the necessity of meeting the Arab warriors and engaging in hostilities, so that during that night, which resembled in horror the day of the resur­rection, the warriors of the Persians, and the champions of the Arabs, those for fear of their lives, and these from their longing for the gardens of paradise, shut their eyes to the dangers of the contest.

Wednesday morning, when the royal cavalier of the revolving spheres hastened with a gory standard into the azure field [i.e., when the sun rose], the notables of the Persians and the chiefs of the Arabs engaged in putting their armies in battle order. According to the tradition of Aa’thum Kûfi, No’mân B. Muqarn Almazany appointed A’mru B. Ma’dy Karab Alzobeydy with a number of brave Arabs to command the centre of the army, giving the right wing in charge of Asha’th B. Qays Kindy with a crowd who would have deemed it disgraceful to flee, and entrust­ing the left wing to Moghyrah B. Sha’bah Thaqfy with warriors able to disperse foes by means of their swords and spears, but leaving Qays B. Hobyrah Almurary with a detachment in ambush. The warriors of both armies and heroes of both countries became turbulent and stormy, like the waves of the Indian Ocean; the mill of war revolved on that day till the night, and rivers of blood flowed like water on the battlefield. When the night set in, both parties ceased fighting and retreated to their positions. On Thursday the contest was more arduous than it had been on Wednesday; the Arab heroes disabled the elephants of the Persians with their arrows and swords, but many of themselves were also wounded. If the gently ambling steed of the reed were to jot down all the details of these battles, it is likely that prolixity would hinder the account from being perused. In short, on Friday morning No’mân, having donned white garments, mounted a gray charger, engaged in arranging the lines, and waited for the hour in which his holy and prophetic lordship was generally accus­tomed to begin a fight, namely, at the time of the Friday prayers, when preachers ascend pulpits and begin the devotions with the words: ‘O Allah, help the troops of the Musalmâns.’ On that occasion No’mân said to the troops which resembled the revolving sphere: ‘I shall give signals by means of the Takbyr; when I shout it the first time, you are to get ready by tightly girding your loins and steadying your horses, the second time you must direct your lances towards the breasts of the foes and draw your swords, and when I shout the third time you must unani­mously begin extirpating the foes, and attack them with swords and daggers.’

It is recorded in the ‘Mostaqassa’ that on the day of the battle No’mân incited his men to fight for the religion, shouting the name of the Creator, and said: ‘An intima­tion from the invisible world informs me that I shall this day taste the potion of martyrdom, and shall have the honour of meeting the prince of existing beings—u. w. bl. —and let after me Hudhayfah Alyamâny be the com­mander, after him Jaryr B. A’bdullah Aljabaly, and after him Moghyrah B. Sha’bah.’ It is related that when the third shout of the Takbyr of No’mân struck the ears of the victory-boding army, it made a unanimous onslaught upon the enemy, on which occasion a lethal arrow struck No’mân B. Muqarn, whereon his spirit departed to the regions of sanctity; then his beloved brother, Sowyd B. Muqarn, having conveyed his body to a tent and dressed it in a robe, shouldered his sword and mounted his charger, and the Musalmâns beholding him appearing thus, took him to be No’mân himself, so that in consequence of the shrewdness of Sowyd the death of No’mân [having remained unknown] caused no change in the army of Islâm. On that day a Persian grandee, Nûshjân by name, made his appearance on the battlefield, intending to fight, but remained on one spot; A’mru B. Mâ’dy Karab, who wanted to slay the elephant, said to his relatives: ‘I shall attack this elephant. If I slash off the trunk of this beast with my sharp sword all will be well; if, on the contrary, the foes approach me and hinder me, do not fail to come to my aid and rescue.’ Having given this injunction, A’mru approached Nûshjân, who, however, discharged several arrows quickly at him and wounded him. Then the relatives of A’mru advanced, and the followers of Nûshjân likewise, whereon both parties assailed each other. Meanwhile A’mru, watching his chance, cut off the trunk of the elephant, who immediately turned back, but fell prostrate after going a few paces, and perished, whereon the Musalmâns obtained access to Nûsh­jân, and sent him to hell. Then Jaryr B. A’bdullah Aljabaly with Ttolhah B. Khowylad Alasdy incited the troops whose war-cry was victory very eagerly to fight and to make an end of the contest. On this occasion A’mru B. Ma’dy Karab said to his friends: ‘My mind bears witness that I shall this day attain martyrdom, and that of these two armies the one which is sure of salvation will be victorious. I shall gladly sacrifice my life in the path of God, and having made provision for eternity I shall depart.’ Having by these tender words burnt the hearts of his beloved friends and saddened their countenances, the Amir A’mru alighted, tightened the girth of his horse, mounted it again, drew his avenging sword, flourished it, and, reciting some verses appropriate to the occasion, uttered the Takbyr shout, and galloped towards the enemy, the cavalry of the Bani Mudhaj following his example. When the combatants of both parties had commingled, the horse of A’mru B. Ma’dy Karab happened to fall, but ran away as soon as he had disentangled himself; some Persians then attacked him, and in defending himself his sword broke; he had, however, another, Dhi-l-nûn by name, which he drew and used till it likewise became unserviceable. At last, one Behrâm of the opponents inflicted such a blow upon A’mru with his sword that he departed to the gardens of paradise. After that the army of Islâm dislodged the Persians with a desperate struggle, sending many of the accursed fellows to hell. It is related that the number of the Persians slain amounted to eighty thousand, and Fyrûzân took refuge in the mountains with four thousand of his intimate friends; he was, however, pursued by Qa’qa’ B. A’mru, with one thousand rank-breaking warriors, and slain with all his followers. On that occasion much booty was gained, and after setting aside of it one-fifth [for the public treasury of Madinah], every horseman obtained six thousand and every footman two thousand dirhems, Sâyb B. Aqra’ being the distributor.

It is narrated in chronicles that Tukhâr Khân, who was one of the Persian grandees, and enjoyed a high dignity during the reign of Khosru Parviz, had a wife who was the most beautiful woman of the period; Khosru Parviz, how­ever, associated and commingled with her. When Tukhâr Khân knew this, he separated from his wife, and the Kesra [i.e., Khosru Parviz] having obtained the information, said to him, ‘We have heard that thou possessest a sweet spring, but drinkest no water from it.’ Tukhâr Khân replied: ‘O king, I was drinking water from that spring, but one day I saw a lion walking around it, so that I was frightened and returned no more to it.’ Parviz, pleased with the ingenuity of this explanation, went to his castle, and taking all the ornaments of his women, whose number amounted to three thousand, presented them to the wife of Tukhâr Khân, but to him he gave a crown of gold encrusted with rubies and pearls. After Tukhâr Khân had been slain in the battle of Qâdesyah, his children and relatives buried all these gifts in a certain village and suitable spot. When these people had likewise been slain, an agriculturist and landholder went to Sâyb B. Aqra’ and said to him: ‘If thou wilt give quarter, with security of life and property to me, to my children, and to my followers, I shall point out to thee a treasure the value of which exceeds all bounds.’ Sâyb replied: ‘If thy words be true, thy life and property will not be injured.’ Hereon the said individual guided some confidential men of Sâyb to a place where he made them dig up two boxes, one contain­ing the jewelled crown of the Kesra, and the other the ornaments of the women, which had been presented to Tukhâr Khân and to his wife. Hudhayfah Alyamâny sent one-fifth of the booty and the two boxes, in which, accord­ing to law, the troops had no share, with Sâyb to Madinah. When O’mar had ascertained the state of affairs, and had given thanks to God, he said [to Sâyb]: ‘By sending me these two boxes, Hudhayfah wants to lead me into temp­tation! Now go to Kûfah, and after having sold these things, set apart one-fifth of the money [for the public treasury] and distribute the rest of it among the victorious army.’ Sâyb then took the two boxes to Kûfah as he had been commanded, and sold them to A’mru Makhdhûmy for the price of two thousand dirhems, and the writer of these pages says that to poor people like us a sum like this would be sufficient for life.

The Musalmâns surnamed the battle of Nehâwend the ‘victory of victories,’ because after it they never encoun­tered such a multitude of Persians, and when Yazdejerd B. Shahryâr was apprised of the defeat of Fyrûzân and his death, he was dismayed and embarrassed, and wished to depart from Ray to Khorâsân. On this occasion the Governor of Ttaberistân paid him a visit, and, presenting him with many gifts, said: ‘The country in which your servant is dwelling contains many strongholds and for­tresses, as well as a multitude of brave warriors; if the sovereign of the world were to honour that region with his presence, efforts would be made to serve him worthily.’ Yazdejerd rejected this proposal, and, after some delibera­tion, selected the province of Sejestân, where he marched and dwelt for some time, but afterwards departed to Ttûs, in the fortress of which place he desired to find a refuge. The commandant of it, however, although he sent gifts, begged to be excused from admitting him to it. Having been thus disappointed, Yazdejerd went to Merv, but perished in that excellent province, as will be narrated in the account of the Khalifate of O’thmân B. O’ffan.

During the Khalifate of O’mar, the victories of Damas­cus, of Fahl, of Ba’lbek, of Hamss, of Aleppo, of Qazwyn, were gained, the battle of Yarmûk took place, Aylyâ [Jeru­salem] was conquered, with Qyasserah [Cæsarea?] and the cities of Alexandria, Hirah, Madâin, Nehâwend, Dynwar, Essfahân, Ray and Qûms, as well as Ttaberistân, Ahwâz, Khozistân and Kermân, as far as the boundaries of Makrân and Essttakhar Fârs [Persepolis], with other towns and provinces, as the broken - tongued reed has jotted down in the general account of the events of these times. And now the author returns to his task of completing seven volumes, which will be a sufficient excuse to discern­ing men [for not recording minute events].