Battle of Walaja

Part of Islamic conquest of Persia
Campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid

Map showing the region in Iraq where Battle of Walaja was fought.

Date	May 633 A.D
Location	Mesopotamia (Iraq)
Result	Decisive Rashidun Caliphate victory

Belligerents

Rashidun Caliphate

Sasanian Empire,
Christian Arab allies

Commanders and leaders

Khalid ibn al-Walid

Andarzaghar
Bahman Jadhuyih

Strength

15,000

30,000-50,000

Casualties and losses

~2000+

20,000

The Battle of Walaja was a battle fought in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in May 633 between the Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid ibn al-Walid and Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha against the Sassanid Empire and its Arab allies. In this battle the Sassanid army is said to have been at least three times the size of the Muslim army.

Khalid decisively defeated the numerically superior Sassanian forces using a variation of the double envelopment tactical manoeuvre, similar to the manoeuvre Hannibal used to defeat the Roman forces at the Battle of Cannae; however, Khalid is said to have developed his version independently.

Prophet Mohammad died on 8 June 632, Abu Bakr succeeded him as first Caliph. Abu Bakr's Caliphate lasted for 27 months, during which he crushed the rebellion of the Arab tribes throughout Arabia in the successful campaign against Apostasy and restore the authority of Madinah over Arabia. Once the rebellions had been put down, Abu Bakr realized that the Sassanid Empire and the Byzantine Empire both threatened the borders of the nascent Muslim state and that passiveness would only lead to invasion. He therefore launched campaigns against the Sassanid Empire and the Byzantine Empire, setting in motion a historical trajectory that in just a few decades would lead to one of the largest empires in history. After the Ridda Wars a Muslim tribal chief raided the Persian frontier towns in Iraq. After the success of these raids, Abu Bakr planned to expand his empire. He started with Iraq, which was under Sassanid occupation at the time. It was important for Abu Bakr that his expedition did not suffer a defeat, for that would confirm and strengthen the fear of Sassanid military strength. To overcome these concerns, he decided that the army that would battle the Persians would consist entirely of volunteers. He put in command of the army his best general, Khalid ibn al-Walid. The Muslims invaded the Sassanid Persian Empire in April 633, and defeated the Sassanid army in two consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains and the Battle of River. Khalid's basic plan was to inflict as many casualties on the Persians as possible. Also, to meet as little resistance as possible along the route of his advance, with the objective of capturing Al-Hira.

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