Battle of Ray (651)

Not to be confused with Battle of Ray (811), a battle fought between the armies of Al-Amin and Al-Ma'mun during the Fourth Fitna.

The Battle of Ray was fought between the Sasanians and the Rashidun Caliphate in 651. It was also part of the rivalry between the Ispahbudhan family and the Mihran family.

Battle of Ray
Part of Islamic conquest of Persia
Picture of the Ray Castle, constructed under the Parthian Empire, the kinsmen of the Mihran family.
Date 651 Location Ray, Iran Result Muslim-Ispahbudhan victory
Belligerents
Rashidun Caliphate House of Ispahbudhan	Sasanian Empire House of Mihran
Commanders and leaders
Al-Nu'aym Farrukhzad	Siyavakhsh †
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Low	Heavy

Background

In 642/643, the Muslim Arabs had conquered Media, and continued to penetrate into the Iranian plateau. In 651, Farrukhzad, the spahbed of Khorasan, and minister of Yazdegerd III, mutinied and left for Tabaristan. On his way to Tabaristan, he met the Arab general Nu'aym near Qazvin, and made peace with him. He then agreed to aid the Arabs against his rival Siyavakhsh, who had murdered his father in 631.

Battle

The combined Ispahbudhan-Arab army engaged in a night battle against Siyavakhsh's army at the foot of the mountain just outside Ray. Farrukhzad led some of Nu'aim's cavalry by a little-known route into the city, from whence they emerged to attack the defenders' rear, causing great slaughter. To set an example, Nu'aym ordered the destruction of the Old Town, which called "al-Atiqah" by the Arabs, (perhaps the aristocratic quarter of Ray). However, the town was later rebuilt by Farrukhzad, whom became the ruler of Ray.

Sources

• Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.