View source for Battle of Chains

{{Short description|7th-century battle during the Muslim conquest of Persia}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Chains
| partof            = the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]
| image             = Region of battle of chains.png
| image_size        = 220px
| caption           = Map showing the location of Kazima, Uballa and Hufeir in present [[Kuwait]] and [[Iraq]] respectively.
| date              = April 633 [[AD]]<ref>Parvaneh Pourshariati, ''The Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire'', (I.B. Tauris, 2011), 193.</ref>
| place             = [[Kazima]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandestrategy.com/2007/12/sword-of-allah-chapter-19-battle-of.html|title=Chapter 19: The Battle of Chains|access-date=2015-01-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818023643/http://www.grandestrategy.com/2007/12/sword-of-allah-chapter-19-battle-of.html|archive-date=2016-08-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| result            = [[Rashidun Caliphate]] victory
| combatant1        = [[Rashidun Caliphate]]
| combatant2        = {{flagicon image|Derafsh Kaviani flag of the late Sassanid Empire.svg|size=22px}} [[Sasanian Empire]]
| commander1        = [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon image|Derafsh Kaviani flag of the late Sassanid Empire.svg|size=22px}} [[Hormozd]]{{KIA}}<ref>Parvaneh Pourshariati, ''The Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire'', 193.</ref><br>{{flagicon image|Derafsh Kaviani flag of the late Sassanid Empire.svg|size=22px}} [[Qubaz]] <br>{{flagicon image|Derafsh Kaviani flag of the late Sassanid Empire.svg|size=22px}} [[Anoshagan]]
| strength1         = 18,000
| strength2         = 40,000 (primary sources) 15,000–20,000 (modern estimates)
| casualties1       = Low
| casualties2       = High
}}
{{Campaignbox Muslim Conquest Persia}}
{{Campaignbox Campaigns of Khalid ibn Walid}}
The '''Battle of Sallasil''' ({{langx|ar|معركة ذات السلاسل}} ''Dhat al-Salasil''),<ref>Parvaneh Pourshariati, ''The Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire'', 192.</ref> often referred to as the '''Battle of Chains''', was the first battle fought between the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] and the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian Persian Empire]] in April 633. The battle was fought in [[Kazima]] (present day [[Kuwait]]) by the forces of [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] and the Persians under [[Hormozd (Sassanid general)|Hormozd]]. It was fought soon after the [[Ridda wars|Ridda Wars]] were over and the [[Arabian Peninsula]] was united under the authority of the Caliph [[Abu Bakr]]. Indeed, it was the first battle of the Rashidun Caliphate in which the Muslim army elected to extend its frontiers outside of Arabia, thus initiating the [[Arab conquests]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Howard-Johnston |first=James |date=June 2010 |title=The Middle East in the Seventh Century: Arab Conquests |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/6524/chapter-abstract/150450963?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=academic.oup.com |pages=459–460}}</ref>

==Background==
Muthana ibn Haritha Shaybani was a tribal chief in north [[Eastern Arabia]], residing close to the Persian border. After the [[Ridda Wars|wars of apostasy]], Muthana raided the [[Persian people|Persian]] towns in [[Mesopotamia]]. The raids were successful, with a considerable amount of booty being won. Muthana ibn Haritha went to [[Madinah]] to inform Caliph [[Abu Bakr]] about his success, and Abu Bakr appointed him as the commander of his people; after this he began deeper raids into [[Mesopotamia]]. Using the mobility of his [[light cavalry]] he could easily raid any town near the [[desert]] and disappear again into the desert, leaving the [[Sasanian army]] unable to chase him. Muthana’s actions made [[Abu Bakr]] decide to conquer [[Mesopotamia]] from the Sasanians. To make certain of victory, Abu Bakr decided on two measures: the army would consist entirely of volunteers, and it would be commanded by his best general, [[Khalid ibn Walid]]. After defeating the self-proclaimed prophet [[Musailima]] in the [[Battle of Yamama]], Khalid was still in the Yamama district when Abu Bakr sent him orders to fight the [[Sasanian Persian Empire]]. Making [[Al-Hirah]] (an area in Mesopotamia) the objective of Khalid's mission, Abu Bakr sent reinforcements and ordered the tribal chiefs of northeastern Arabia Muthana ibn Haritha, Mazhur bin Adi, Harmala and Sulma to operate under the command of Khalid. In approximately the third week of March 633 [[AD]] (first week of [[Muharram]] 12th [[Hijra year|Hijrah]]) Khalid set out from Yamama with an army of 10,000 men. But before doing so he wrote to Hormozd, the Persian [[governor]] of the frontier district of Dast Meisan:

{{quote| Submit to Islam and be safe. Or agree to the payment of the Jizya, and you and your people will be under our protection, else you will have only yourself to blame for the consequences, for I bring the men who desire death as ardently as you desire life.<ref name="Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 554">Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 554.</ref>}}
The tribal chiefs and their warriors (2,000 each) joined Khalid in his quest. Thus Khalid entered the Persian Empire with 18,000 troops.<ref name="Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 554"/> The Persian commander informed the [[Shah|emperor]] about the threat from [[Arabia]] and concentrated an army for the battle, consisting of a large number of [[Christian Arab]] auxiliaries.

==Khalid’s strategy==
The [[Sasanian army]] was one of the most powerful and best equipped armies of the time, and was an ideal force for a set-piece, head-on confrontation. The only weakness of the Persian army was in its lack of mobility: the heavily armed Persians were not able to move fast, and any prolonged movement would tire them. On the other hand, Khalid's troops were mobile; they were mounted on [[camel]]s with [[horse]]s at the ready for [[cavalry]] attacks. Khalid's strategy was to use his own speed to exploit the lack in mobility of the [[Sasanian army]]. He planned to force the Persians to carry out marches and counter-marches until they were worn out, and then strike when the Persians were exhausted. Geography would help [[Khalid ibn Walid]] to carry out this strategy successfully. There were two routes to Uballa, via Kazima or via Hufair, so Khalid wrote a letter to the Persian leader Hormozd from Yamama so that he would expect Khalid to arrive via the direct route from Yamama to Kazima and then to Uballa.

==Battle==
Expecting [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] to come though Kazima, Hormozd marched from Uballa to Kazima. At Kazima there were no signs of the [[Muslim]] army. Soon information was given by scouts that [[Khalid ibn Walid]] was moving towards Hufeir. As Hufeir was only 21 miles from Uballa, this endangered Hormozd’s base. Uballa which was an important port of the [[Sassanid Empire]], situated near modern-day [[Basra]]. Hormozd immediately ordered a move to Hufeir, 50 miles away. Khalid waited at Hufeir until his scouts informed him about the hurried approach of Hormozd. Passing through the desert, Khalid moved towards Kazima. On his arrival at Hufeir, Hormozd was informed about Khalid’s march towards Kazima. Because Hormozd could not leave the Kazima route to the Muslims, the heavily armed [[Sassanid army]] was once again ordered to set off for Kazima. The Persians arrived at Kazima in a state of exhaustion.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

[[Image:Battle of chains-mohammad adil rais.gif|thumb|right|240px|
{{legend|#ef1000|[[Rashidun army|Muslim army]]}}
{{legend|#5200FA|[[Sassanid army|Sassanid Persian army]]}}<br/>
Movement of [[Khalid ibn Walid]]'s army and the [[Sassanid army]] before the battle. Khalid's strategy was to wear out the Sassanid army.]]

Hormozd at once deployed the army for battle in the normal formation of a centre and wings. The generals commanding his wings were Qubaz and Anoshagan. The men linked themselves together with chains as a sign to the enemy that they were ready to die rather than to run away from the battle field in case of defeat. This lessened the danger of a breakthrough by enemy cavalry, as with the men linked together in chains it was not easy for [[cavalry]] groups to knock down a few men and create a gap for penetration. Since the [[Sassanid army]] was organized and trained for the set-piece battle, this tactic enabled it to stand like a rock in the face of an enemy assault. But the chains had one major drawback: in case of defeat the men were incapable of withdrawal, for then the [[chain]]s acted as fetters. It was the use of chains that gave this battle its name.<ref>Tabari: Vol. 3, p. 206.</ref> Hormozd had deployed his army just forward of the western edge of Kazima, keeping the city covered by his dispositions. Khalid deployed his army with the desert behind them, so that they could retreat there in case of defeat. The exhausted Persian army was unable to stand the attack for long and the Muslims successfully penetrated the Persian front in many places. Sensing defeat, the Persian generals commanding the wings, Qubaz and Anoshagan, ordered a withdrawal, which led to a general retreat. Most of the Persians who were not chained managed to escape, but those who were chained together were unable to move fast, and thousands of them were slain.

==Aftermath==

After the Battle of Chains, Khalid defeated the Persian armies in three more battles and captured his objective: [[Al-Hirah]]. The first [[Muslim conquest of Iraq]] was completed within four months. [[Abu Bakr]] did not direct Khalid to move deeper into the Sassanid territory, as the Sassanids had ordered reinforcements. Khalid's orders were now to set out to win over the [[Persians|Persian]] population of Hira. After nine months he sent him to command the [[Muslim conquest of Syria]].

==References==
<references/>

==Online resources==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210000537/http://www.swordofallah.com/html/bookhome.htm A.I. Akram, ''The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns'', Lahore, 1969]

{{coord missing|Kuwait}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chains}}
[[Category:Battles of Khalid ibn Walid]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Rashidun Caliphate]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Sasanian Empire]]
[[Category:Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia]]
[[Category:Military history of Kuwait]]
[[Category:633]]