History Corner

Before the Islamic army took over Persia in 636, the Sassanid dynasty had ruled for 300 years. By the time Yazdgird III was king, Persia had been weakened by entanglements with the Byzantine struggles and internecine upheavals. Muslim ambassadors came to bring Shah Yazdgird III to Allah, but instead the Shah dumped dirt on an ambassador’s head who returned to general Sa`d ibn Abī Waqqās and declared, “They are giving us their territory.”

Sa’ad directed the battle from his stronghold at al-Qādisiyyah. The struggle with Sassanid general Rostom Farrokhzad lasted four days. At first Rostom’s elephants confounded the Arabs, but then Q’aqa arrived from Syria to help him attack them in the eyes. When the elephant leaders were dispelled, the rest ran in disarray. ants, sending the rest in disarray.

On the fourth day of the battle, sand blew into the Persians’ faces. Q’aqa rode into the thick of battle, found Rostom, and killed him. Hilal ibn 'Ullafah cut his head off, sending the troops into chaos. The slaughter of the Sassanids went late into the night. The Muslims blew through Yazdgird’s palace, drove out the Zoroastrians and Christians, and hauled away everything they could carry back to Arabia.

So if Rostom Farrokhzad had stood up then, as George W Bush -- who will go down in history as one America's presidents -- is standing up today, Iran wouldn’t be this big problem.