Yu. Goman, PhD in History, Associate Professor
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
V. Liustei, Master’s Student
Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, Kyiv, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2021.149.2
MILITARY AND POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE VICTORY OF THE MUSLIMS IN THE BATTLE OF AL-KAZIMA IN 633
The Battle of Kazima in 633 marked the beginning of a series of successful victories by General Khalid ibn al-Walid on the west bank of the Euphrates, which opened up opportunities for the Arab Caliphate to defeat the Iranian Sassanid Empire. The battle was a minor and secondary skirmish between Iranian border guards and nomadic robbers. The number of soldiers involved in the battle on both sides was not significant. In fact, the battle of Kazima was a clash between Arab Muslims and non-Muslim Arabs with the support of a small contingent of professional Iranian troops. The Iranian command followed passive and wait-and-see tactics, while the Arab military leader Khalid ibn al-Walid used mobile rapid maneuvering tactics to determine its course. The Iranian army and its allies were forced to fight after a long grueling march through the desert and weakened fighting spirit. At the beginning of the battle, the Arabs managed to trap and kill the Iranian commander Hormuzd, which further worsened the moral and psychological condition of the Arab Confederates allied with the Sassanids and led to their escape from the battlefield.
The victory in the battle of Kazima had a largely moral and psychological significance for the Muslims, as it persuaded non-Muslim Arab tribes to join the Arab Caliphate. As a result of the victory at al-Kazimah, Muslims received significant material resources as military booty, which increased the influence of Muslims among the Arab leaders.
It is not scientifically appropriate to call the battle of al-Kazimah a "battle of chained or tied" because of the absolute fiction of the plot about a load of iron chains in the convoy of the Iranian army. The fact that soldiers were tied up during combat formation was common in Iranian military practice, but its use was inappropriate in the Battle of Kazima.
Keywords: Arab conquests, Khalid ibn al-Walid, “battle of the chained”, Kazima, Arab-Persian wars, Hira, Sassanid Iran.
Submitted: 23.05.2021
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