Archaeologists uncover possible site of historic battle that shaped Islam's spread

A British-Iraqi archaeological team, using declassified 1970s-era US spy satellite imagery, has uncovered what they believe to be the site of the historic Battle of al-Qadisiyah, a decisive clash that played a key role in the expansion of Islam in the seventh century.

The Battle of al-Qadisiyah took place in Mesopotamia — modern-day Iraq — in the 630s A.D., between Arab Muslim forces and the army of the Sassanid Persian dynasty during a time of rapid Muslim expansion. The Arab forces triumphed, advancing further into Persia (modern Iran), Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

A collaborative team of archaeologists from Durham University in the UK and the University of Al-Qadisiyah discovered the site while conducting a remote sensing survey to map the ancient Darb Zubaydah, a pilgrimage route from Kufa in Iraq to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, established more than a millennium ago. Their findings were published in the Antiquity journal. While mapping the route, the team observed a location about 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Kufa, in Iraq's southern Najaf province, which had features that closely matched the descriptions of the al-Qadisiyah battlefield in historical records. The area, a desert with scattered patches of agricultural land, showed signs consistent with those mentioned in ancient texts.

William Deadman, an expert in archaeological remote sensing at Durham University, noted that Cold War-era satellite images are frequently utilized by archaeologists working in the Middle East. These older images often reveal features that have since been destroyed or altered, making them more useful than current satellite imagery, which may not capture such details. “The Middle East has developed so much in the last 50 years, both agricultural expansion and urban expansion,” he said. Some of the distinguishing features at the al-Qadisiyah site, such as a distinctive trench, were “much more pristine and clear” in the 1970s images, he added. 

A ground survey confirmed the findings, persuading the team that they had accurately identified the site. The key features included a deep trench, two fortresses, and an ancient river that, according to historical reports, was once crossed by elephant-mounted Persian troops, said Jaafar Jotheri, a professor of archaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah and a member of the discovery team. The survey team also uncovered pottery shards consistent with the time period of the battle. Jotheri mentioned that Iraqis of his generation, who grew up under Saddam Hussein's rule, were intimately familiar with the battle, down to the names of the generals involved on both sides. 

The battle held significant political connotations at the time, as Iraq was embroiled in a brutal war with Iran throughout the 1980s. Saddam Hussein often pointed to the Battle of al-Qadisiyah as a symbol of impending victory for Iraq. "Like most children growing up in that era," Jotheri recalled, "I had watched a popular movie about the battle multiple times as it was on regular rotation on television." In the post-Saddam era, al-Qadisiyah has become a political litmus test, with Iraqis’ views of the battle now often shaped by their perspectives on Iran, which has strengthened its influence in Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. 

By Naila Huseynova