The conquest of Persia was one of ‘Umar's great achievements. Write an account of any two battles fought with the Persians during his caliphate.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2016). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] In answer to this question, candidates need to name any two of the battles that were fought against the Persians during 'Umar's term as caliph and give a detailed account of them. Giving dates, names of generals, other relevant details and outcomes of the battles will help gain higher levels. Brief notes are given below on the battles. Battle of Namrak: The Persians were furious at the fall of Hira. They sent a large army under Rustum. Muthanna bin Harith asked the caliph for reinforcements and the battle of Namrak was fought by Muthanna and Khalid bin Waleed in 634. The Persians were defeated. Battle of Jasr (Bridge): Rustum assembled a huge army at the bank of the Euphrates. The Muslims crossed the bridge under the command of Abu 'Ubaid ath-Thaqafi in 634. Fierce fighting broke out; Abu Ubaida was martyred and the Muslims were in chaos. Someone cut the bridge to encourage them to fight but it had the opposite effect. The Muslims lost the battle. Battle of Buwaib: Shocked at the defeat, 'Umar sent reinforcements to Muthanna's army. A large Persian force of 200 000 men under Mehran met the Muslim army at Buwaib; a fierce battle was fought, the Persian commander was killed and 100000 of their men lost their lives. The battle was won by the Muslims. Battle of Qadisiya: The Persian emperor Yezdgird assembled a large force under Rustum. The Muslim army was led by Sa'd bin Abi Waqas who offered the Persians three options: accept Islam, pay jizya or fight. They opted to fight. A fierce battle was fought in 637. The battle lasted for three days and a Muslim force of 28000 men defeated a Persian force of 120000. Rustum was killed in this battle and the Persians were defeated. After Qadisiya, Sa'd, with the permission of the Khalifa, occupied Madain, bringing the whole territory from the Euphrates to the Tigris under the banner of Islam. Again, Sa'd's army met the Persians at Jalula and defeated them. Battle of Nahawand: After the surrender of Jalula, there was peace for some time but then the Persians united against the Muslims. They were 60000 in number and the Muslim forces were 30000. Both armies met at Nahawand and there was a fierce battle for two days. On the third day, the Persians took refuge in the forts but by using a clever strategy the Muslims got them out and defeated them. Thus, in 642 the Persians were completely defeated at Nahawand. The above notes are brief for the reference of examiners; candidates need to give fuller accounts of the two battles they choose to write about.
2. [4] The candidates need to choose any one battle that was fought against the Persians. The battle they choose to write about does not necessarily have to be from the two they have written about in part (a). They do, however, have to say why in their view the one they have chosen to write about was the most important one fought between the Persians and the Muslims. Evaluation is what is being looked for and here candidates could write about the effects of the battle after it was over or perhaps compare it to other battles.