Siege of Herat (652)
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| Siege of Herat | |||||||||
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| Part of the Muslim conquest of Persia | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Sasanian loyalists Hephthalites | Rashidun Caliphate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Unknown | Ahnaf ibn Qais | ||||||||
The Siege of Herat was part of the Islamic conquest of Persia which was commanded by Ahnaf ibn Qais
Background
Caliph Umar (634-644 CE) launched an offensive against the Sassanid Persian Empire in 642 and by 651 the Empire was destroyed. But parts of Khorasan where held by Sasanian loyalists and their Hephthalite allies.
In 651 the mission of conquering Khurasan was assigned to Ahnaf ibn Qais by Abdullah ibn Aamir. Abdullah started march in 650 from Fars and took a short and less frequent route via Rayy. while Ahnaf then marched north direct to Merv, in present Turkmenistan.,.[1] while later Ahnaf was sent by Abdullah to lead the vanguard of banu Tamim and 1000 Asawira through Quhistan. the people Tabasyin later revolted from the caliphate just to be reconquered by Ahnaf who now exact heavier tool of tax. after that Ahnaf continue to advance. at first Herat agreed peace and pay Jizya.[2]
Battle
In 652, Ahnaf was forced to attack Herat again after the latter was once again revolting. defeated the ruler of Herat and made a once again made treaty with him. However, the ruler of Herat along with the Karenids and many other natives of Khorasan, later rebelled against the Arabs, but were defeated at the battle of Badghis.
See also
References
- ^ The Muslim Conquest of Persia By A.I. Akram. Ch:17 ISBN 0-19-597713-0,
- ^ The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History edited by Touraj Daryaee