THE CONQUEST OF IRAQ (THE BATTLE OF CHAINS)
The Battle of Chains
When Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed, may Allah be pleased with him, finished the wars against the apostates, he received orders from Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him, that he should march to Iraq and start operations in the region of Uballah where the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, met. Four other columns each under the command of Muthanna, Madhaar, Harmalah, and Salama were also directed to proceed to Iraq to reinforce the main Muslim army under the command of Khalid Ibn Waleed.
Uballah, being a junction of many land routes, was the gateway of Iraq and commanded great strategic importance. The Governor of the district was Hormuz, a veteran General and a skilful administrator. He was an imperialist, very haughty and an intolerable man. He held the Arabs in contempt, and thus he was very disliked. His harshness and high handedness became the subject of a saying among the local Arabs: “more hateful than Hormuz,” and “there is no infidel more wicked than Hormuz”.
As soon as Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed received orders to march to Iraq, he sent a letter to Hormuz calling upon him to accept Islam. The letter read: “Surrender to Islam, and you will live in peace. In the alternative you may agree to the payment of Jizyah, and you and your people will be under our protection. Otherwise you will have only yourself to blame for the consequences. I have brought you a people who desire death as ardently as you desire life.” Thus the letter gave Hormuz three options: to embrace Islam, to pay the Jizycih, and fighting.
Getting no reply, Khalid divided his army into three regiments of 6,000 men each. Hormuz, on the other hand, mustered his forces and set out from Uballah to encounter the Muslim forces. On the direct route from Uballah to Yamaamah, the first stage was Kazimah, and Hormuz decided to fight the Muslims at that place. His idea was that the Muslim forces should be kept away from Uballah. On arrival at Kazimah, Hormuz deployed his army with a center and two wings, the right and the left. Ilis men were linked together with chains, and in this state of affairs the Persians awaited the arrival of the Muslim forces.
Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed gave a slip to the Persians, and instead of following the direct route to Uballah via Kazimah, he followed the indirect route via Hafeer. Hafeer was much closer to Uballah than Kazimah, and when Hormuz came to know that Khalid had already reached Hafeer, he was very upset. He immediately ordered his forces to march to Hafeer. When they reached Hafeer, they found that the Muslim forces had left for Kazimah. The Persians had no option but to march back to Kazimah. When the Persian forces reached Kazimah, Khalid allowed them no time to rest. As the Muslim forces were already deployed for battle, the Persians were forced to go into action. The Persian forces were linked in chains, and it was due to the use of these chains that the battle of Kazimah is called the “Battle of Chains.”
Hormuz wanted to cut the fight short by murdering Khalid treacherously. So, no sooner had the two armies engaged in battle than he challenged Khalid to fight a duel. Hormuz instructed some of his men to remain close to him, so that when he gave a signal they should fall on Khalid and kill him. Khalid at once dismounted and before long his foe was killed.
The death of Hormuz had demoralized the Persians, but nevertheless, they fought hard. The Muslims assailed vehemently, but the chain-linked Persian infantry withstood all attacks. The Muslims redoubled their attacks, and the Persians were forced to fall back. The Persians found their chains to be a death trap, and as they retreated held together in chains they suffered heavy casualties. Before the night set in, the Muslims had won the battle.
Thousands of Persians were killed, and thousands of them were taken captives. The war booty that fell into the hands of the Muslims comprised wagons, armor, stores, costly garments, horses and a good amount of money. Four-fifth of the booty was distributed among the Muslim soldiers and one-fifth was sent to the Caliph at Madeenah. So large was the booty that the share of each cavalryman came to a thousand dirhams. The booty included (lie 100,000-dirhani cap of Hormuz studded with diamonds and pearls. The Caliph offered this cap as a present to Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed. The battle of the Chains at Kazima unchained for the Muslims the gate of Iraq. The so-called uncivilized Arabs had defeated the Persians so proud of their civilization extending over a thousand years.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.)
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