Al-Qādisiyyah

Al-Qādisiyyah, a historical city in southern Mesopotamia, southwest of al-Hillah and al-Kūfah in Iraq, is most famous as the site of the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in circa 636, which saw a force of Arab-Muslim invaders defeat a larger army sent by the Sāsānian Empire. Prior to the Arab conquest, al-Qādisiyyah was but a small village on the western side of the Euphrates River, near an old castle at `Udhayb. However, during the centuries that followed, al-Qādisiyyah grew in size and importance and was a noted stop along very important highways of commerce that led to Baghdād and Makkah (see Alavi, 100). Another Qādisiyyah existed on the Tigris River, off the road between Baghdād and Sāmarrā', not very far from the Euphrates city. Both...