Death of Mothanna. Safar, A.H. XIV. April, A.D. 635.
Before Sád reached the rendezvous, Mothanna had passed away. Omar entirely approved his having withdrawn from Mesopotamia, to the right bank of the Euphrates, and there rallied the Bedouin tribes along the lower waters skirting the desert.[254] This was all the more necessary, as the court of Persia was then endeavouring to detach the great tribe of the Beni Bekr ibn Wâil by an appeal to their ancient alliance with the house of Hîra. Moänna, brother of Mothanna, had just returned from a mission to this (his own) tribe, and had succeeded in frustrating the attempt. Bearing intelligence of this success, as well as the melancholy tidings of his brother’s death, he went out to meet Sád on his march. He communicated also his brother’s dying message to the new commander, advising that the Arabs should hold to their ground on the confines of the desert. ‘Fight there the enemy’ were the last words of Mothanna;—‘Ye will be the victors; and, even if worsted, ye will still have the friendly and familiar desert wastes behind: there the Persians cannot enter, and from thence ye will again return to the attack.’ Sád, as he received the message, blessed the memory of the great general. He also made the family he had left his special care; and, the more effectually to discharge the trust, as well as to mark his estimate of the man, he, in true Arab fashion, took to wife his widow Selma.
Sád marshals his troops in new order.
The army was marshalled by Sád anew. Companies were formed of ten, each under a selected leader. Warriors of note were appointed to bear the standards. Columns and battalions were made up by clans and tribes; and so by clans and tribes they marched, and also went into the field of battle. Departments also were established for the several services incident to a campaign.[255] The chief commands were all given to veterans, who had fought under the Prophet’s banner; for in this army there were no fewer than 1,400 Companions, and ninety-nine who had fought at Bedr.[256] Following Mothanna’s counsel, which was confirmed by Omar, Sád marched slowly to Odzeib, still on the border of the desert. Encamps at Câdesîya. A.H. XIV. Summer, A.D. 635.Leaving the women and children there under protection of a squadron of horse, he advanced to Câdesîya. Here was a great plain washed on its eastern side by the ‘old’ Euphrates,[257] and bounded on the west by the Khandac, or Trench of Sapor (in those days a running stream), with the desert beyond. The plain was traversed by a road from the south, which here crossed the river by a bridge of boats leading to Hîra, and onwards across the peninsula to Medâin. Such was the field on which the great battle was to be fought that would settle the fate of Persia. Sád, keeping still to the western bank of the Great River, fixed his head-quarters at Codeis, a small fortress overlooking the stream a little way below the bridge. He had thus the great plain behind him on which to deploy his troops, with the river in front, and the Khandac and desert in his rear. Here encamped, the army awaited patiently the enemy’s approach.
Yezdegird, impatient at the ravages of the Arabs, orders advance.
Rustem sought to play the same waiting game; but the King grew impatient. The Arabs, from their standing camp, made continual raids across the river into Mesopotamia, and as far north as Anbâr. The castles of the nobles were attacked, and their pleasure-grounds laid waste. A marriage procession fell into the hands of one of these parties near Hîra, and the bride, a satrap’s daughter, was carried, with her train of maids and wedding trousseau, captive to the camp. Herds were driven from the fens and pastures of the delta, to supply the army; for the forays were meant at once to furnish food, and to punish such as had thrown off their allegiance to the Moslems. The people were clamorous; and the great landholders at last gave notice to the court that if help were delayed, they must go over to the enemy. Moved by their cries, Yezdegird turned a deaf ear to Rustem, and insisted on an immediate advance.[258]
Yezdegird summoned by a deputation of Arab chiefs to embrace Islam.
Meanwhile, Sád maintained a constant correspondence with the Caliph, who now called for a description of the country. ‘Câdesîya,’ Sád told him in reply, ‘lay between the Trench of Sapor and the river; in front of the army was the deep stream, which on the left meandered through a verdant vale towards the town of Hîra; a canal led up in the same direction to the lake of Najaf, on the margin of which stood the palace of Khawarnac. His right was guarded by an impassable swamp, and his rear rested on the Khandac and the desert.’[259] Omar, satisfied with his general’s report, enjoined upon him vigilance and patience. But first, he said, Yezdegird must be summoned to embrace the Faith at the peril of his kingdom. With this commission, a party of twenty warriors, chosen for their commanding mien, crossed the plain and presented themselves at the gates of Medâin.[260] As they were led to the royal presence, the rabble crowded around, and jeered at the rough habit of the Arabs, clad in striped Yemen stuff, and armed with the rude weapons of the desert, all contrasting strangely with the courtly splendour of the regal city. ‘Look!’ they cried mocking, ‘look at the woman’s distaff,’ meaning the Bedouin bow slung over the shoulder, little thinking of the havoc it was soon to make in their crowded ranks. As the Chiefs entered the precincts of the palace, the prancing and champing of the beautiful steeds, and the wild bearing of the stalwart riders, struck awe into the heart of the king and his effeminate nobles. Yezdegird demanded, through an interpreter, wherefore, thus unprovoked, they had dared to invade his kingdom. One after another the Arabian spokesmen told him of the Prophet who had wrought a mighty change in their land, and they explained to him the nature of Islam, its blessings and its obligations. ‘Embrace the Faith,’ they said, ‘and thou shalt be even as one of us; or, if thou wilt, pay tribute, and come under our protection; which things if thou shalt refuse, the days of thy kingdom are numbered.’ The king replied contemptuously: ‘Ye are naught, ye are naught! hungry adventurers from a naked land; come, I will give you a morsel, and ye shall depart full and content.’ The Arabs replied in strong but modest words. ‘Thou speakest truth. We are poor and hungry; but the Lord will enrich and satisfy us. Thou hast chosen the sword; and between us shall the sword decide.’ The king’s wrath was kindled. ‘If it were not,’ he cried, ‘that ye are ambassadors, ye should have been put to death, all of you. Bring hither a clod of earth, and let the mightiest among them bear it as a burden from out the city gates.’ The Arabs embraced the happy augury. Asim forthwith seized the load, and binding it over his shoulders, mounted his charger and rode away. Rustem coming up at that moment, the king told him of the affront he had put upon the simple Arabs. ‘Simple!’ cried Rustem, ‘it is thou that art simple;’ and he sent in haste to get the burden back again: but Asim was already far away with his treasure. Hastening to Câdesîya, he cast the clod before his chief, and exclaimed, ‘Rejoice, O Sád! for, lo, the Lord hath given thee of the soil of Persia!’[261]
Rustem, with immense host, marches from Medâin,
Rustem could now no longer delay the campaign. Elephants, cavalry, and soldiers had been gathered from every quarter to swell the host. He set out at the head of an army 120,000 strong.[262] But he still delayed, marching slowly and unwillingly. The auguries, drawn from astrology and divination, all boded some great disaster. But he cherished the hope that the Arabs, pinched in their supplies, might, as in days of old, break up and disappear; or, at any rate, that, wearied with the suspense, they might be drawn from their strong position across the river. After many weeks’ delay upon the road, he passed over the Euphrates below Babylon, and encamped under the ruined pile of Birs Nimrûd. and encamps opposite the Arabs. A.H. XIV. October, A.D. 635.Advancing on Hîra, he chided the people for siding with the Arabs; they replied with justice, that, deserted by their King, they had no resource left them but to bow before the invaders. At last, having whiled away four months from the time of starting, Rustem, passing Najaf, came within sight of the Moslem force, and pitched his camp on the opposite bank of the river.