[1] The first mention of the Persians is made in Jeremiah xxxix. 3.
[2] Herodotus, Ctesias, Deinon, Theopompe, Hermippe, Plutarch, Diogenes Laertius, Pliny, Strabo, Pausanias, Dion Chrysostom, Damascius, Theodorus of Mopsuestia, &c.
[3] Mahomedan writers: Firdousi, Mirkhoud, Tabari, Masoudi, Shahrastani, Dimisqhi, Ibn Fozlan, &c. Armenian writers: Eznik, Elisée, &c.
[4] The cuneiform Achæmenian inscriptions found in Persia and in other places, deciphered and published by Grotefend, Burnouf, Lassen, Rawlinson, Norris, Spiegel, de Saulcy, Oppert, Menant, Kossowicz, &c., &c.
[5] Arrien, Expédition d’Alexandre, liv. iii., cxxii.
[6] Weil, Geschichte der Khalifen nach handschrift, Grosstentheils Quellen, &c., &c., ch. ii. pp. 54 et seq.; Mannheim, 1864. Caussin de Perceval, Histoire des Arabes, liv. ix. p. 400, 1848. Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, from the most early period to the present time, vol. i. c. vi. p. 170, London, MDCCCXV.
[7] “Quadesyeh—A place celebrated for the battles fought there between the Mussulmans and the Persians.[8] It is about fifteen farsakhs from Koufah and four miles from Ozhaïb; longitude, 69°; latitude, 31° 2′ 3″. It was in the year 16 of the Hejira, under the Caliphate of Omar ben Khatthab, that the Mussulmans, commanded by Sa’d ben Abi Waqqas, fought against the infidels. During the action, Sa’d had withdrawn into the castle[9] to watch the movements of his troops. This step was regarded as a proof of cowardice, and a Mussulman in the army composed the following verses against him (thawil metre):—
“Seest thou not that God has sent us the victory, whilst Sa’d is hiding behind the gates of Quadesyeh?
He was thinking then of increasing his family and of making his wives mothers, for the wives of Sa’d know not the privations of celibacy.”
Another poet, Bischer ben Rebi’ah, has spoken of the battle of Quadesyeh in these terms (same metre):—