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Khalid had now resumed
his march on what was to be the last leg of his journey to Hira.
He decided to use the river for transport and had all the heavy
loads of the army placed in boats. As the army advanced on camels
and horses, the convoy of boats, manned and piloted by local Arabs,
moved alongside. Khalid had not gone far, however, when the water
level fell and the boats were grounded. The son of Azazbeh had dammed
the river.
Leaving the army stranded
at the bank of the Euphrates, Khalid took a detachment of cavalry
and dashed off at a fast pace along the road to Hira. Before long
he arrived at Badqala, to encounter the Persian horse sent forward
by the son of Azazbeh as an outpost. These green Persians were no
match for the Muslim veterans; and before they could organise themselves
for defence, Khalid's horsemen bore down upon them and slaughtered
them down to the last man. Next Khalid opened the dam so that the
water flowed once again in the right channel; and the army resumed
its advance by river.
The son of Azazbeh also was not as wakeful
as, the situation demanded. In the belief that his outpost at Badqala
was sufficient precaution against surprise by the Muslims-not for
a moment doubting that the outpost would inform him of the approach
of danger-he had relaxed his vigilance. Then suddenly he was hit
by Khalid. Most of the Persians in this group were killed, including
the young commander; but a few fast riders managed to get away to
carry the sad news to Azazbeh.
From these riders Azazbeh heard of the loss
of the cavalry group and the death of his son. From couriers who
came from Ctesiphon he heard of the death of Ardsheer. Heartbroken
at the loss of his son and staggered by the news of the Emperor's
death, he found the burden of his responsibilities too heavy for
his shoulders. He abandoned all intentions of defending Hira against
Khalid; and crossing the Euphrates with his army, withdrew to Ctesiphon.
Hira was left to the Arabs.
Khalid continued his advance towards his
objective. It is not known when he abandoned the boats and took
to the road, but this must have happened a few miles downstream
of Hira. Expecting stiff opposition at Hira, Khalid decided not
to approach it frontally. Moving his army round the left, he bypassed
Hira from the west and appeared at Khawarnaq, which was a thriving
town 3 miles north-north-west of Hira. 1
He passed through Khawarnaq and approached Hira from the rear. There
was no opposition to his columns as they entered the city. The inhabitants
were all there. They neither fled nor offered any resistance, and
were left unmolested by the Muslim soldiers as they entered deeper
into the city.
Soon the situation became clearer; it was
a mixed situation of peace and war. Hira was an open city; the Muslims
could have it. But the four citadels of Hira, each manned by strong
garrisons of Christian Arabs and commanded by Arab chieftains, were
prepared for defence and would fight it out. If Khalid wanted any
of these citadels, he would have to fight for it.
Each of the four citadels had a palace in
which the commanding chieftain lived; and each citadel was known
after its palace. The citadels were: the White Palace commanded
by Iyas bin Qubaisa ('King' of Iraq); the Palace of Al Adassiyin
commanded by Adi bin Adi; the Palace of Bani Mazin commanded by
Ibn Akal; and the Palace of Ibn Buqaila commanded by Abdul Masih
bin Amr bin Buqaila.
Against each citadel Khalid sent a part
of his army under a subordinate general. These generals, besieging
the citadels in the order in which they have been mentioned above,
were: Dhiraar bin Al Azwar, Dhiraar bin Al Khattab (no relation
of Umar), Dhiraar bin Al Muqarrin and Muthanna. All the generals
were ordered to storm the citadels; but before doing so they would
offer the garrisons the usual alternatives-Islam, the Jizya or the
sword. The garrisons would have one day in which to think it over.
The generals moved out with their forces and surrounded the citadels.
The ultimatum was issued. The following day it was rejected by the
Christian Arabs and hostilities began.
1. Nothing remains of Khawarnaq but a mound
600 Yards west of the Nejef road.
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