Battle of Babylon was fought between the forces of

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

and

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...

in 636. Muslim Arabs won the encounter to maintain their pursuit of conquering

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

Prelude

After a Muslim victory in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, the Caliph

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

ruled that it was time to conquer the Sasanian Empire's capital of Ctesiphon. Zuhra ibn Al-Hawiyya's military body left in advance and occupied

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

, where he expected the rest of the troops to reach him. Then he crossed the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

and proceeded along the road to Ctesiphon. He waited in Burs, after the victorious Battle of Burs, at the right bank of the Euphrates for the bulk of the Muslim troops to reach him. The next step was

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

, on the opposite bank of the Euphrates, a fortified city where it was known there was a large concentration of Sassanian forces. Babylon was strategically important and the access key for Sawad, the territory between the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

and the Euphrates.

Battle

By mid-December of 636, Muslims gained the Euphrates and camped outside Babylon. The Sasanian forces in Babylon are said to have been commanded by Piruz Khosrow, Hormuzan, Mihran Razi and Nakhiragan. Whatever the reason, it is in fact that the Sassanids were unable to oppose a significant resistance to the Muslims. Hormuzan withdrew with his forces to his province of

Ahwaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

, after which the other Persian generals returned their units and retreated to the north.

Aftermath

After the withdrawal of Sasanian forces, citizens of Babylon formally surrendered. They were granted protection to the unusual condition of

jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...

's payment. Some collaborated with the victorious Muslims against the Sasanians and provided valuable information on the disposition of Persian forces. Some Babylon engineers are said to have been employed for the construction of roads and bridges. While the bulk of the Muslims stationed at Babylon, Zuhra received from Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās the order of chasing the Sasanians who had withdrawn from the city before they could concentrate somewhere else and oppose a new resistance.

References

{{reflist Battles involving the Sasanian Empire Battles involving the Rashidun Caliphate Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia 636 Military history of Babylon