Dhi- Qar and the Arabs’ pride

The importance of the battle of Dhi Qar and its consequences

Dhi- Qar is very important in terms of its nationalistic manifestations between the Arabs and Persians. For the first time in history, the Arabs have proved their strength in such a bold event, to the extent that the Persians didn’t expect such boldness. Thus, their spirit has risen. Although a number of Arab tribes were taking the Persian side, yet, deep inside they were supporting the rest of the Arab tribes. As a proof, Beni Iyad, at the decisive moment of the battle, stopped fighting with the Persians and consolidated with Beni Sokon and some of Beni Tamim, Bakr, and Sheban against the Persians.

As a result of the Persian defeat, Khosrow aimed to exclude Iyas ibn Qabisah from the rule of Al-Hirah, for he was held responsible for the defeat, as he was the Supreme Commander of the army. According to some Arab narratives, he is said to have fled the confrontation, as he ran away from the battlefield on realizing the loss of his army, and went to Khosrow to inform him of the victory of the Persians, fearing that Khosrow might cut his arm like did with whomever delivered him bad news.

The Arabs boasted, and continue to boast, of the day of Dhi- Qar, about which Al-A’sha said:

Persian soldiers got closer

To the place supposed to fight over.

But found themselves heading forward

To where they’ll be killed, awkward!

They were the Persians bravest and strongest

Yet Arab soldiers were for real the greatest

When started fighting they were beheaded

And Bakr’s horses got them dreaded

By mid of the day, they all started running

For their lives, for this, they were running

In his dictionary, Yaqut al-Hamawi stated that Hanu Dhi Qar: is a night- walk away from Dhi Qar, and Dhi Qar: a place with water, that Bakr bin Wael possess, and is located close to the kufa between it and Wasit.

One of the results of Dhi- Qar is that when Khosrow’s army and their Arab allies arrived, Iyad tribe sent to Hani’: We came to your fight forcibly, should we come to you and flee from Khosrow’s army? He answered: no, I ‘d rather you fight with them, and once we got hold on them, you may act like you got defeated and retreating in the desert.

The Persian army and their allies arrived, and found Hani’s army taking refuge in a desert without water or trees. Hani’s army have already had enough water for his army, unlike, the Persians who began to die of thirst. Both armies fought fiercely, yet Iyad’s tribe got themselves defeated before Hani’s army, and, hence, they outsmarted the Persians and defeated them. And they returned to Khosrow, defeated, after they have had every leader, Khosrow sent to get him Hani’ alive, got killed.

Dhi- Qar was a land covered with tar. When Khosrow saw them broken like that, he said to them: Where is Hani’? And where are your leaders who do not know how to escape?! At first, they remained silent, then, and shouted, saying: We fought against the Arabs in their desert. and we got betrayed, the tribe of Iyad betrayed us, and our leaders got killed. Thus, Khosrow almost lost his mind, and it was not long till he died out of heartbreak, so his son, Kavad II, took his place.” These narratives and events also came in the history of Ibn al-Athir, “the complete History.”

In sum, the inevitable result was the defeat of the Persians and a painful blow to Khosrow, who was unable to regain his control over the Arabian Peninsula and the Arabs.