Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

xLiii OVERTHROW OF PERSIAN EMPIRE 535
reached the victor, who hastened back to the capital, and
Mothanna, who never despaired, fell back unmolested
on Allis.
Omar met the disaster with the grand spirit which
inspired the first Caliphs, and reinforcements soon began
to pour in. Meanwhile Mothanna had been recruiting
among the friendly tribes, and when fresh troops reached
him from Medina he took the field once more. He met
the enemy close to the site of Kufa, on the right bank of
the western branch of the Euphrates, known then as
Bowayb.
The Persian army, encouraged by its previous victory,
crossed the bridge without hesitation and advanced on the
Moslems in three great columns, headed by elephants. At
first the advantage lay with the assailants, but Mothanna,
among whose allies was a Christian chief, made a great
charge which broke the Persian centre. This decided the
fate of the day, and the defeated Persians were killed or
drowned almost to a man. The Moslem casualties were
but the victory
of Bowayb was deemed well worth
heavy ;
the cost owing to the crushing losses suffered by the
enemy, the vast spoils captured, and the immunity thereby
secured for the great raiding expeditions which followed.
Mothanna, whose wounds at the " Battle of the Bridge "
had been serious, died a few months later. In him the
Moslems lost one of the greatest of their generals.
The Organization of a Great Army for the Persian War,
A.H. —The 14 (635). capture of Damascus in a.h. 14
(635) and the defeat of the Byzantine army on the
Yermuk, and again in the valley of the Jordan, had
transformed the entire military and situation.
political
There was no longer any need to keep the main Moslem
army in Syria, and it was to divert the victorious
possible
veterans for the conquest of the Persian Empire. A
summons to arms produced a ready response, and levies
hastened in from every corner of Arabia.
Sad was chosen to be the leader of this great force.
Noted as " the first who drew blood in Islam " and as a
famous archer, the new Amir had considerable military
qualifications, and as a nephew of the Prophet's mother