The siege of Herat was part of the
Islamic conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
The r ...
which was commanded by
Ahnaf ibn Qais
Abu Bahr Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays () was a Muslim commander who lived during the time of Muhammad. He hailed from the Arab tribe of Banu Tamim and was born of two noble parents. His father named him ad-Dhahhak, but everybody called him ''al-Ahnaf'' (the ...
.
Background
Caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
(634-644) launched an offensive against the
Sassanid Persian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
in 642, and by 651 the Empire was destroyed. However, parts of
Khorasan were held by Sasanian loyalists helped by their
Hephthalite allies.
In 651 the mission of conquering Khurasan was assigned to Ahnaf ibn Qais by
Abdullah ibn Aamir
Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Kurayz ( ar, أبو عبد الرحمن عبد الله بن عامر بن كريز) (626–678) was a Rashidun politician and general, serving as governor of Basra from 647 to 656 AD during ...
. Abdullah started to march in 650 from
Fars and took a short and less frequent route via
Rayy
Shahr-e Ray ( fa, شهر ری, ) or simply Ray (Shar e Ray; ) is the capital of Ray County in Tehran Province, Iran. Formerly a distinct city, it has now been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran as the 20th district of municip ...
, while Ahnaf then marched north directly to
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
, in present-day Turkmenistan. Later Ahnaf was sent by Abdullah to lead the vanguard of banu Tamim and 1000 Asawira through Quhistan. The people of Tabasyin later revolted from the caliphate just to be reconquered by Ahnaf who now exacted heavier tool of tax. Ahnaf continued to advance. At first Herat agreed peace and pay Jizya.
The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History edited by Touraj Daryaee
/ref>
Battle
In 652, Ahnaf was forced to attack Herat again after the latter was once again revolting. He 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
*Islamic conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
The r ...
* History of Arabs in Afghanistan
*Early Muslim conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
* Sassanid Empire
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herat, Siege Of
652
Battles involving the Hephthalites
Battles involving the Rashidun Caliphate
650s conflicts
Sieges of Herat
Muslim conquest of Persia
Sieges involving the Sasanian Empire